I own two pair of Dynaudio powered speakers and love them. One pair of Xeo and one pair of Focus stand mounts. I control them with my iPhone via the Dynaudio app.
May be worth a look/listen.
Best-
May be worth a look/listen.
Best-
Very new to high end audio - Recomendations
Hello, as the title says etc etc.
a few years member of headfi and enjoy my personal mobile setup, but looking into something for the home. This site was suggested as a nice place to look around in.
Knowledge is almost zilch when it comes to speakers/amps etc.
I'm thinking maybe active speakers and I can line out from my DAP, will that work? How do active speakers perform best? what would work out better if matching prices in active speakers or passive with an amp?
Budget is fairly low, max £1000. Something to introduce me into the scenery. Something nice secondhand (preloved) or if a nifty setup can be bought new at a budget along those lines. Thanks in advance for any suggestions :)
a few years member of headfi and enjoy my personal mobile setup, but looking into something for the home. This site was suggested as a nice place to look around in.
Knowledge is almost zilch when it comes to speakers/amps etc.
I'm thinking maybe active speakers and I can line out from my DAP, will that work? How do active speakers perform best? what would work out better if matching prices in active speakers or passive with an amp?
Budget is fairly low, max £1000. Something to introduce me into the scenery. Something nice secondhand (preloved) or if a nifty setup can be bought new at a budget along those lines. Thanks in advance for any suggestions :)
71 responses Add your response
Whatever you do, spend as little as possible on cables. They give you least bang for the buck, so get everything else right first. Then upgrade when you feel the itch, and make sure that you try before you buy, and that those new cables are really the best use of upgrade money. And leave vinyl alone for now. It's a whole new level of commitment. My opinion. YMMV Good luck! |
Vanatoo would be a good place to start. I have both their “Zero” and “One” on desks in my home with USB input from Roon on my computer. https://vanatoo.com/shop/speakers/transparent-one-encore/ Nice place to start with full powered speakers including a DAC and Bluetooth input. Excellent for the price, but beware it is just an introduction to future possibilities… |
These might be worth checking out for someone new to hifi gear and looking for some good sound with nice flexibility for inputs. Local dealer near me sells them and I’ve listened to them many times while at his shop. Impressive little package with what I feel is a good starting point for new folks on the 2 channel journey and keeping a budget in check. https://www.kantoaudio.com/powered-speakers/tuk/ |
I personally agree with artemus_5 and I think passive speakers with an integrated amp is the way to get started. JBL 580s and 590s are good starter speakers. Every 3-6 month JBL sells them off their sight at 50% off or more. They are a screaming deal at this prices. Ignore the list price as they are on sale several times a year. Klipsch RP600M is also a good starter option. |
@murphythecat Audio gear is just like high-end watches. A watch may cost 40k and the other $400 or $4000 With high-end gear, you are paying for incrimental improvements to already superior pro gear. That extra 10-20% is worth it to some people. The watch with the highest price likely has a prestigious name behind it. The inner workings are significantly more complex and refined. With regards to amplifiers and other audio components, the engineers who designed it worked hard to ensure its performance characteristics. Their bills also need to be paid...marketing....and distribution. On the flip side, cheaper audio gear (and watches) are produced in much higher numbers. The manufacturing process may be much easier as well. |
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Typically powered speakers are used in pro sound applications whether they be studio or live sound from a band. With your budget an integrated amp with a couple speakers would be the way to go. You can use bookshelf or monitor speakers if your room is not very big,. The integrated amp consists of a preamp which accepts the signal from your source ( CD player, streamer, etc) and sends the signal to the amp which sends the amplified signal to the speakers. The integrated amp will give you the proper inputs for whatever source you use which is often lacking in powered speakers. Also Audiogon is probably not the best place to shop for you at this point in time. Most of the stuff will probably be above your budget. But have a look anyway. Look at Audio Advisors and maybe Crutchfield which will probably be able to put together a system that meets your needs at your budget. Also, They have salesmen which may be able to help you with a phone call if that is possible for you. I believe you may be in Europe somewhere and I'm not sure the possibilities. Hope this helps. |
The studio monitors are gears toward near field listening (as in sitting at a desk or mixing board) and are very flat tonally. Lots of people want more color (more bass, less highs etc) than flat studio sounds. Me I like a flat sound. Many (maybe most) powered speakers are geared toward the pro market abs designed just to hook up to a dac or preamp which your DAP could function as. The output voltage could be pretty low though as home equipment is designed for 3v input I think and protectable stuff is around 1.5v output. Power speakers designed for home a lot of times you can just use airplay or wifi from your phone. No “source” needed. Way our of your budget but something like Kef would be nice. https://us.kef.com/digital-hifi/active-desktop/ls50-wireless-2.html Based on your audeze headphones (I have owned the LCDX) you might like the paradigm Shift A2. They have really strong bass for their size and soft highs. They are $350 each in the US. They have no wirless capability. https://www.paradigm.com/en/powered/a2 audeze have very strong deep bass. You will probably end up wanting a sub in the long run to be happy. |
@james633 I have the Audeze LCDI4. What do you mean exactly when you said Focal and ATC targeting the studio market? What are the other brands targeting? Also, I've heard the term 'studio monitors' are they all small speakers passive or active that are used for mixing purposes only? I'm after something I can just place mostly anywhere in the house and listen for musical perjoyment (a mix between perfect reference and enjoyment) :P, Source is Master tidal, with at this stage line out with a Sony zx507 DAP. |
Active speaker are fine and you can run them as stated above. I can’t really recommend any as I have only used a few. Most people on here use passive speakers and separate power amps to tune the sound a bit more. Paradigm kef Dynaudo ATC focal B&W are all highend brands that make good powered speakers with Focal and ATC targeting the studio market. Headphones are pretty good these days so just any old cheap powered speaker will probably be disappointing. What headphones do you use and like? As passive speakers that are a lot of good used deals on here (audio mart might work better in Europe). Even a modest setup will be more enjoyable than headphones IMO (I have a bunch of headphones too). The speakers just have way more soundstage and presents. Videos of best budget system ideas. https://youtu.be/ZlWShSH5RRs https://youtu.be/Fdb8wLd73Tg |
Have a look at these search results. I’m amazed there are so many choices. https://www.google.com/search?q=inexpensive+powered+speakers&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&tbm=i... |
