Active speakers advice

[justanothergeordie]

I wonder if anyone can give me some advice choosing a new set of active speakers on a paltry budget?

I have a pair of original AudioEngine A5's from about 12 years ago and the active speaker's volume has almost gone. My budget's not huge – about 300 – I did toy with the idea of a pair of Q Acoustics with a budget bluetooth mini amp but I'm not sure the quality of the amp would match or even ruin the speakers. I also don't really like the idea of going back to separate systems with cables as I liked the simplicity of playing Spotify from iPhone to my AudioEngine's through bluetooth.

I looked at Sonos but thought a set of Ones might not have enough oomph for the size of the room and I can't stretch to a Five unfortunately. I've had recommendations of amps and bookshelves like for example the Yamaha CRXN470D streamer but am not keen on the space it would take up unless it was be significantly better than actives.

Could anyone recommend anything at that price point? There seem to be lots of active speakers in that price range but lots of differing opinions and the forum seems to be the best place for good advice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gray]

With your budget I would have to consider these:

Adam T5V active studio monitor (set of two) for sale | Bax Music

Buy your Adam T5V active studio monitor (set of two) at Bax Music and enjoy delivery in 2 business days, a 3-year warranty and our lowest-price guarantee.

www.bax-shop.co.uk

 

[muljao]

2 of these

ADAM Audio T5V

Active Nearfield Monitor Equipped with: 5" woofer and 1.9" U-ART ribbon tweeter, 2x Class-D amplifiers: 50W RMS woofer, 20W RMS tweeter, Frequency range: 45 - 25000 Hz, Crossover frequency: 3 kHz, Maximum input level: 106 dB (1m/pair), Rear bass...

m.thomann.de

1 of these

PROZOR DAC Converter 192KHz Bluetooth V5.0 Receiver Toslink Coaxial SPDIF Optical Input RCA 3.5mm Output with Volume Adjustable Digital to Analog Audio Converter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy PROZOR DAC Converter 192KHz Bluetooth V5.0 Receiver Toslink Coaxial SPDIF Optical Input RCA 3.5mm Output with Volume Adjustable Digital to Analog Audio Converter at Amazon UK.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Gray]

That's 2 votes for the T5's.
Thomann has the best price.....watch out for the extras from EU shops.

 

[justanothergeordie]

Thanks for the reply, can I ask a couple of questions and apologies in advance if I sound stupid.

Is there a difference between "traditional" speakers and studio monitors in terms of sound? I'm looking for a bit of power and bass but I missed a bit of detail and soundstage with my old AudioEngines as they got older. I've read lots about monitors being used to mix music and wondered if they could be used the same as you would with separates.

Also, if I have an Amazon Echo Flex and another bluetooth adapter lying round somewhere, would I be able to plug these into the Adam if it has a mini jack to enable Bluetooth?

Thanks again

 

[muljao]

You can plug any adapter in, you'll just need mini jack to rca. You need to plug both speakers into power and run a cable to both speakers from bluetooth also.

Power and detail are what studio monitors excel at. Some have narrower area of concentrated sound, Adam tv5 is said to have wide dispersion

 

[justanothergeordie]

Thanks. So if I went for the setup as described, I'd need to run cables from the Prozor bluetooth converter to each of the speakers? I have them quite far apart at the moment – about 15ft. The room they're going in is approx 20ft x 16ft.

 

[muljao]

Yes

 

[muljao]

If I was only going to use bluetooth this might tempt me

Audio Pro Addon C5A with Alexa built-in, Wireless, Bluetooth, Smart Speaker with Multi-room – Black : Amazon.co.uk

Audio Pro Addon C5A with Alexa built-in, Wireless, Bluetooth, Smart Speaker with Multi-room – Black : Amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.co.uk

Seems to be an offer at the moment. A pair in stereo, slightly above budget but very tidy

 

[justanothergeordie]

Ha! Thanks, there's always something above the budget to tempt...

Has anyone tried the Kali Audio LP-6?

 

[justanothergeordie]

I was also advised to take a look at the Steljes Audio NS3 but wasn't sure there was as much power now that I look at the Adams or Kalis...

 

[jjbomber]

Also, if I have an Amazon Echo Flex ....... would I be able to plug these into the Adam if it has a mini jack

Thanks again

Perfect solution for Spotify. You don't need Bluetooth, just a 3.5mm to RCA adapter.

 

[justanothergeordie]

Excuse my ignorance again but could someone explain what I'd need and how I'd connect both speakers and the Proper BT adapter together? I don't see many connectors on the back of both the Adam or the Kali...?

 

[muljao]

There are rca outputs on back of bt adapter. One goes to one speaker, the other to the other. The kali has a single rca on each, not sure about the Adam (think it does)but if not you'll get an rca to whatever input it is there also

 

[Gray]

....could someone explain what I'd need and how I'd connect both speakers and the Proper BT adapter together?

2 of these would do it, one out to each speaker.
Each is 3 metres long, enough for your 15 feet apart speakers:

Sub Woofer Lead Single Phono RCA Cable 3m Gold OFC Opus by Cambridge Audio | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sub Woofer Lead Single Phono RCA Cable 3m Gold OFC Opus by Cambridge Audio at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[justanothergeordie]

Thanks for that. I don’t see a mini jack for the Echo Flex or my BT adapter on the back of the speakers though?

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for that. I don’t see a mini jack for the Echo Flex or my BT adapter on the back of the speakers though?

Why do you want to plug a bluetooth adapter into your speakers?

 

[justanothergeordie]

To stream music from my iPhone

 

[Gray]

Thanks for that. I don’t see a mini jack for the Echo Flex or my BT adapter on the back of the speakers though?

You don't need to connect both of those devices though, do you?
One or the other, by RCA lead, with or without adaption from a 3.5 mm stereo socket (depending on which single device you go with).

 

[justanothergeordie]

Sorry for the confusion, no just one or the other for BT. I have both lying around somewhere so wondered if I could use either for BT instead of the Prozor as muljao mentioned at the start of the thread. Although I see the Prozor has a DAC...?

 

[justanothergeordie]

So... in the end I actually decided to go with something completely different! A Denon DM41 paired with a couple of Q Acoustics 3020i's. Completely different to what I originally wanted and over budget, naturally!

 

[muljao]

Great speakers,supposed very good mini system, enjoy

 

[justanothergeordie]

Thanks muljao – I appreciate all the advice!

 

[Deliriumbassist]

I was selling Q Acoustics when the 1000 and 2000/2000i series were out and about, alongside the equivalent Denon, which was the DM35 - great combo back then, and I highly doubt that would have changed very much since with the latest interactions of the two.

 

[RoA]

It has been quite a while since I have listened to Adam and other active Speakers at my friendly Absolute Music in Poole. Probably over ten years ago when I briefly contemplated to get some cheap studio bookshelves for home hifi use.

Two things put me off, firstly the industrial looks though the Adam T5 is probably a better example and the generally revealing sound balance which does not make for relaxing listening. - All the little monitors lacked bass compared to everything else but Adam's tweeters are super 'bright'. They may show up flat'ish on a graph but sounded everything else but. - Still, of the ones I tried the Adam (X7?) were one of the better ones if my ageing memory serves well.

I think if money (and space) are tight these little active monitors may be a good solution but I would advise try before you buy. As you move up in price and steer towards well engineered active speakers made for home use things get significantly better imho.