Advice new hifi system

[svenselino]

Hi everyone,

I am planning on buying my first Hifi system for our living room (30m2) .
I was looking at a music streamer, DAC and (active) speaker for about 2000 euros.
Hopefully I can get some advice on the items om my shortlist
I only stream Spotify at this moment. I usually stream music as background music, but I also want to hook it up to my tv.

One setup I found is the Cambridge Audio CXN100 (€1050) with the KEF LSX II LT (€800).
I imagine the CXN100 is performing better than the CNX10 with the DacMagic 200m / Mojo 2, although it would be more difficult to upgrade.
KEF LSX II LT seems like a good choice, but Q Acoustics 5020 or Active Energy AE I are also options
Floorstanding speakers could also be an option for me, with the Q acoustics M40 (€800) being my speaker of choice.

Based on the information I have provided, would this be a good setup? Or should I go for a passive speaker with a nice amp?
Any recommedations or advice? Thanks already

 

[Deliriumbassist]

There's no real need to have the CA unit with the LSX II LT - everything is already built in - streamer and DAC. That would then open up your budget to LS50WII, which I think would be even more suitable for your room size.

 

[svenselino]

Thanks for the reply! That makes a lot of sense.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

I've said it once, I've said it a few times now, but for the money....a pair of Acoustic energy ae1 active speakers with the Wiim ultra streamer are a excellent pair performers,....please do not buy into these speakers with built in dacs /streamer's,....you can't ever upgrade to a better dac /streamer with them and if the manufacturer stops supporting them.....they'll be obsolete in no time.....the Acoustic Energy ae1 active are proper active speakers with independent power supplies for each unit...no umbilical chord here please....and if you ever do feel the need to upgrade the streamer, the ae1's will lift the performance another notch or two.....oh and did I say I have this very system as a 2nd in my summer house....it's glorious.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for the reply! That makes a lot of sense.

I was about to say the same thing.
When buying active speakers it makes sense, as always, to get a pair that work well in your listening room then note what other functions they may already have internally and work backwards from their. No point in buying something that has a dac onboard if the speakers already include a dac for example....

 

[daveh75]

I've said it once, I've said it a few times now, but for the money....a pair of Acoustic energy ae1 active speakers with the Wiim ultra streamer are a excellent pair performers,....please do not buy into these speakers with built in dacs /streamer's,....you can't ever upgrade to a better dac /streamer with them and if the manufacturer stops supporting them.....they'll be obsolete in no time

They have various analogue and digital inputs, so there is nothing stopping people from connecting a DAC or streamer should they wish to.

the Acoustic Energy ae1 active are proper active speakers with independent power supplies for each unit

As are, and do the Kefs.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

They have various analogue and digital inputs, so there is nothing stopping people from connecting a DAC or streamer should they wish to.



As are, and do the Kefs.

OK Dave.....but the kefs still use a slave speaker with the "inter"speaker cable being the method in how it receives the information from the master unit. Which makes them not really a true active pair.

 

[Al ears]

They have various analogue and digital inputs, so there is nothing stopping people from connecting a DAC or streamer should they wish to.



As are, and do the Kefs.

Only financial does it not make sense to connect a DAC to something that already has one internally.
Why buy a turntable with an inbuilt phono stage if you already have an amp with an internal Phono stage was my point.

 

[daveh75]

OK Dave.....but the kefs still use a slave speaker with the "inter"speaker cable being the method in how it receives the information from the master unit. Which makes them not really a true active pair.

They are a true active pair. To say they aren't is nonsense.

They have active xovers and both the Primary and secondary speakers contain dedicated amplification for both HF and LF like any other active setup.

 

[daytona600]

Klipsch Nines active speakers with HDMI-ARC for your TV + add a Wiim Mini for Streaming

 

[daveh75]

Only financial does it not make sense to connect a DAC to something that already has one internally.
Why buy a turntable with an inbuilt phono stage if you already have an amp with an internal Phono stage was my point.

I was purely making the point that they don't just suddenly become doorstops should music services or Kef stop supporting them as skinnypuppy implied.

Would you suddenly go out and buy a new TV when streaming services become unsupported or would you simply by a cheap streaming dongle and plug it into a HDMI port?

 

[Deliriumbassist]

OK Dave.....but the kefs still use a slave speaker with the "inter"speaker cable being the method in how it receives the information from the master unit. Which makes them not really a true active pair.

That is NOT what active means.

'Active' refers to the fact that the audio signal goes through a crossover before being amplified.

To break down the three major ways of system design:

Passive system:

Source->Amplifier ->Speaker (crossover->drivers)

Powered speaker system:

Source->Speaker(amplifier->crossover->drivers)

So a powered system is essentially the same as passive, just the amplifier is inside the boxes rather than separate

Active speaker system:

Source->crossover->amplifiers->drivers

An active system can have the amplification and crossovers inside (as in the aforementioned KEF) or outside the speakers (some Linn Exakt systems with passive speakers).