professorhat
Well-known member
gwardsmith said:
There is an app called Apple Remote - this allows you to play music from your iTunes library on your Mac / PC.
gwardsmith said:
An "active" speaker is essentially one where the amplification is built into the speaker, rather than requiring an external amplifier (in quotes as technically this is just a powered speaker - a true active speaker is a bit more complicated than that, but it doesn't really matter too much at this stage - see Wiki for a reasonable explanation). Monitors essentially are terms used in pro audio circles as the speakers are designed for accurate audio reproduction - this may be what you're after, but others prefer a different sound. It's about subjective taste and it's why auditioning is important rather than just buying someone else's recommendation.
gwardsmith said:
Most likely you would, but which you prefer is something only you can discover. The same goes for whether you'd prefer one brand's active monitor over another's, or one brand's passive speaker over another's.
I personally think your first step is to go out and have a listen to some of the different types of system so you can make a more informed choice of which area you should be concentrating on. Take some of your own personal favourite classical pieces for reference. However, there are a few questions others have asked here which, if answered, might help them to point you in the right direction.
Overdose
Well-known member
John Duncan said:
Harsh, but fair.
My BM5s don't look too bad and not disimilar from the focus 110A. They could do with some grills though, to stop little fingers from pressing the 'squashy' button that is the tweeter. :O
professorhat
Well-known member
John Duncan
Well-known member
Overdose said:
Agreed, I think they look nice, but they're getting on for 850 a pair new and, as you say, don't have grilles so they'd be ruled out in the JD house on that fact alone.
Yes - on second thoughts, the passive ones look much much nicer. I think I'm now in favour of a passive system.
John Duncan
Well-known member
For the budget you're starting with, I think that's a good call. Now take your laptop down your local Superfi and get them to play you a Marantz PM6004 with some 150-200 quid standmounts, and see what you think... 
EDIT - and if they have an Onkyo TX-8050 as well, compare the two and let *me* know what you thnk, because I'm dying to hear what all the fuss is about :-D
EDIT - and if they have an Onkyo TX-8050 as well, compare the two and let *me* know what you thnk, because I'm dying to hear what all the fuss is about :-D
Hi Gabrielle,
It is indeed possible to enjoy classical music for your budget,
I listen to tonnes of it on my set up and lov it.
Johns recommendation of the Marantz is a good choise, another amplifier to look at could be the NAD326 bee or the new Cambridge Audio 651a which has a USB connection in the back. You could plug the Mac straight in the back using its on board DAC. It's £440 so uses up a bit too much of your budget, but if your budget goes up to 750 then then that leaves a very reasonable budget for some speakers. If you go for Standmounts speakers make sure you get some reasonable stands to attach them to using blobs of Blu tac. The Apollo A3 speaker stands are very good value at about 65 pounds.
my last piece of advice would be to at least try to find a speaker that goes quite low, classical music does benefit from a speaker with good bass response, which is why I choose the Monitor Audio's.
I hear on the grape vine that the Tannoy v1 Standmounts speakers are good with classical and they are just over a 100 pounds. The also go quite low.
Good luck with your search, and remember to trust your own ears.
It is indeed possible to enjoy classical music for your budget,
I listen to tonnes of it on my set up and lov it.
Johns recommendation of the Marantz is a good choise, another amplifier to look at could be the NAD326 bee or the new Cambridge Audio 651a which has a USB connection in the back. You could plug the Mac straight in the back using its on board DAC. It's £440 so uses up a bit too much of your budget, but if your budget goes up to 750 then then that leaves a very reasonable budget for some speakers. If you go for Standmounts speakers make sure you get some reasonable stands to attach them to using blobs of Blu tac. The Apollo A3 speaker stands are very good value at about 65 pounds.
my last piece of advice would be to at least try to find a speaker that goes quite low, classical music does benefit from a speaker with good bass response, which is why I choose the Monitor Audio's.
I hear on the grape vine that the Tannoy v1 Standmounts speakers are good with classical and they are just over a 100 pounds. The also go quite low.
Good luck with your search, and remember to trust your own ears.
if you are serious about calssical think about one of main characteristics of recorded classicla music - high dynamic range.
this means that speakers need to be able to reproduce sound well at high (and low) levels. active speakers tend to do this better, i.e. play high levels with less distortion.
(human hearing interprets distortion as loudness - did you ever notice that at a classical concert you hear music at about 80 to 100dB but you do not feel like asking the orchestra to play quiter, while if you try an average speaker to play that level at home you are very likely to want to turn it down - because it will be distorted. and this is what is much less likely to happen with a good active speaker than with a passive one. try it. compare).
please do not buy without comparing several passive and active setups and try those with classical music you know well. then choose the setup you like.
an example of active system you may want to try - for abt 800gbp you can get a mint used pair of adm9 which is all you need (no other boxes). they are very very good, especially for classical and are hard to beat even with much higher budgets. you can get plenty other actives like eg adam audio artist 3 or 5, for less money, but then you will also need a dac.
please do nto rely on advice only (including mine), try and compare for yourself!
this means that speakers need to be able to reproduce sound well at high (and low) levels. active speakers tend to do this better, i.e. play high levels with less distortion.
(human hearing interprets distortion as loudness - did you ever notice that at a classical concert you hear music at about 80 to 100dB but you do not feel like asking the orchestra to play quiter, while if you try an average speaker to play that level at home you are very likely to want to turn it down - because it will be distorted. and this is what is much less likely to happen with a good active speaker than with a passive one. try it. compare).
please do not buy without comparing several passive and active setups and try those with classical music you know well. then choose the setup you like.
an example of active system you may want to try - for abt 800gbp you can get a mint used pair of adm9 which is all you need (no other boxes). they are very very good, especially for classical and are hard to beat even with much higher budgets. you can get plenty other actives like eg adam audio artist 3 or 5, for less money, but then you will also need a dac.
please do nto rely on advice only (including mine), try and compare for yourself!
I think you'll find, but correct me if I'm wrong that the Artist speakers have a USB connection , so can be connected straight to the Mac. Further a brand new pair may fall within your budget, Performance wise the shouldn't be too far off the AVI's if not the same.
John Duncan
Well-known member
Adam Artist. The models I can find are 3/5/6. Quite pretty, but expensive and you won't find them on your average High Street.
indeed adam audio artist have USB input but I do not know their spec (i.e. bit depth and sampling rates that it will take).
manufacturer:
http://www.adam-audio.com/en/multimedia/products
pro audio shop (online and real shops):
http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/active-monitors/
hifi shop (online and real shop):
http://www.bartlettshifi.com/productlist.asp?main=HiFi&sub=Computer_audio
bartletts also sell AVI adm or find used ones on e-bay or the forum.
http://www.adam-audio.com/en/multimedia/products
pro audio shop (online and real shops):
http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/active-monitors/
hifi shop (online and real shop):
http://www.bartlettshifi.com/productlist.asp?main=HiFi&sub=Computer_audio
bartletts also sell AVI adm or find used ones on e-bay or the forum.
6th.replicant
Well-known member
Perhaps the OP should also consider which type of music file they will be playing - ie MP3, AAC, ALAC (aka Apple Lossless) or AIFF (CD's native file-type when using OS X).
Is your MacBook Pro (MBP) already loaded with music or will you be transferring your CD collection onto the MBP? If the latter, for classical music it's probably best to save/rip your CDs in ALAC - best compromise re CD-type sound quality vs hard-drive (HDD) space.
In turn, consider that the average 1-hour duration CD ripped in ALAC will consume c. 300MB of HDD space. So you might need extra HDD capacity, eventually.
Is your MacBook Pro (MBP) already loaded with music or will you be transferring your CD collection onto the MBP? If the latter, for classical music it's probably best to save/rip your CDs in ALAC - best compromise re CD-type sound quality vs hard-drive (HDD) space.
In turn, consider that the average 1-hour duration CD ripped in ALAC will consume c. 300MB of HDD space. So you might need extra HDD capacity, eventually.
I'm pretty much in the same position as you and therefore very interested in the advice you are receiving on this thread. For my part (in the spirit of trying to be helpful but caveated with the fact that those people giving you regular responses on here are experienced users of hi-fi equipment whereas I'm reigniting my interest in it again after a decade or so) can I suggest you consider/audition the following based on what I've read in terms of online reviews and forums on here:
Onkyo TX-8050 (£250 new) - everything in one box receiver with reportedly very good audio quality (amplifier, direct inputs for iPod and computer via USB port or coaxial input etc, DAB tuner, internet radio, wireless streaming of music so don't need to have laptop directly connected. Best info on this see the forum on here: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/onkyo-tx-8050-alert-its-arrived-its-arrived and this (American) website: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-MAYSy3dxONe/p_580TX8050/Onkyo-TX-8050.html?search=Onkyo+VENDORID580&ssi=0&tp=47043
That would leave £250 for speakers, speaker stands, interconnect cables and speaker cables. From what you said your budget could go above £500 so might do worse than reviewing the Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 speakers (£250) which won the What Hi-Fi 2011 Award winning speaker in £200 to £350 category: http://www.whathifi.com/review/monitor-audio-bronze-bx2
As everyone always says (I will try to heed the advice myself when I've narrowed my choices down) it's best to find a decent Hi-Fi store and arrange to have a listen.
Good luck and enjoy, I'm starting to think that if I can stay patient (it's hard) that the hunting and choosing may be nearly as good as the listening.
Onkyo TX-8050 (£250 new) - everything in one box receiver with reportedly very good audio quality (amplifier, direct inputs for iPod and computer via USB port or coaxial input etc, DAB tuner, internet radio, wireless streaming of music so don't need to have laptop directly connected. Best info on this see the forum on here: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/onkyo-tx-8050-alert-its-arrived-its-arrived and this (American) website: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-MAYSy3dxONe/p_580TX8050/Onkyo-TX-8050.html?search=Onkyo+VENDORID580&ssi=0&tp=47043
That would leave £250 for speakers, speaker stands, interconnect cables and speaker cables. From what you said your budget could go above £500 so might do worse than reviewing the Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 speakers (£250) which won the What Hi-Fi 2011 Award winning speaker in £200 to £350 category: http://www.whathifi.com/review/monitor-audio-bronze-bx2
As everyone always says (I will try to heed the advice myself when I've narrowed my choices down) it's best to find a decent Hi-Fi store and arrange to have a listen.
Good luck and enjoy, I'm starting to think that if I can stay patient (it's hard) that the hunting and choosing may be nearly as good as the listening.
So, from what everyone is advising, I have to decide between:
1) the active system (ie. with amp inside the speakers)
2) a traditional system with amp, dac, and passive speakers.
I now need to go out and listen in order to decide which sounds best to my ears. Can anyone suggest good hi fi shops in London?
Also, someone suggested the Adam A3X along with a better DAC than the one found in the Adam Artist speakers. Does anyone have any opinions on this?
Once again, many thanks to you all of all this most useful advice.
1) the active system (ie. with amp inside the speakers)
2) a traditional system with amp, dac, and passive speakers.
I now need to go out and listen in order to decide which sounds best to my ears. Can anyone suggest good hi fi shops in London?
Also, someone suggested the Adam A3X along with a better DAC than the one found in the Adam Artist speakers. Does anyone have any opinions on this?
Once again, many thanks to you all of all this most useful advice.
My 1 month journey back into Hi-Fi so far:
:exmark: I need to get a much better quality sound than this from my laptop!
:type: Research online ...
This is easy, can afford something, bring on the music, job done.
:cheers: I'll have a pint to celebrate what I'm going to buy tomorrow.
:read: Hang on, what did he say?!
:type: What did she say?!!
:type: Better check this out................
:read: Hmmm, there's a fair bit of choice.
:rant: Quite a lot of opinion too.
:hs: A lot of helpful people on these forums.
:help: Hmm, there's a fair bit of choice!!!!
:wall: Can't there be a Hi-Fi store which has stock of SOMETHING I want to audition somewhere near here!
:type: Stuff this, I'll buy it online, can't be bothered to wait for them to get stock.
:quest: Where's my order?
3 bluudy weeks and still not here, why aren't they responding to my emails or picking up the phone?
:mail: Got a feeling I know what's in that envelope from that solicitor sounding firm....
:doh: Thought that online price was a bit too good to be true.
:shame: Should have been patient.
:wave: Well, I can pretty much kiss goodbye to that money then.
ray: Visa payment protection? C'mon Visa you can do it! You'll look out for me.
:beer: Short :beer: Short :beer: :beer: Wine ....well, there's more to life than money, forget about it. Hic. Ouch.
:type: Research online...................................................................
:quest: What the hell is an Onkyo TX-8050???
:boohoo: apparently it's fine for instrumental.
:cheer: The Record Spot and matthewpiano seem to think it's not too bad.
oke: It can't be 4am can it?!
:quest: How long's this Onkyo thread?!?
:argh: What the hell ISN'T the Onkyo TX-8050???????????
Seriously, to all on these forums, thanks for being there to tempt me to spend my credit card limit, not sure what the hell I was thinking the last 10 years allowing my music to be locked up in laptopcatraz. All I've got to do now is figure out how to get it out!"
:exmark: I need to get a much better quality sound than this from my laptop!
:type: Research online ...
This is easy, can afford something, bring on the music, job done.:cheers: I'll have a pint to celebrate what I'm going to buy tomorrow.
:read: Hang on, what did he say?!
:type: What did she say?!!
:type: Better check this out................
:read: Hmmm, there's a fair bit of choice.
:rant: Quite a lot of opinion too.
:hs: A lot of helpful people on these forums.
:help: Hmm, there's a fair bit of choice!!!!
:wall: Can't there be a Hi-Fi store which has stock of SOMETHING I want to audition somewhere near here!
:type: Stuff this, I'll buy it online, can't be bothered to wait for them to get stock.
:quest: Where's my order?
3 bluudy weeks and still not here, why aren't they responding to my emails or picking up the phone?:mail: Got a feeling I know what's in that envelope from that solicitor sounding firm....
:doh: Thought that online price was a bit too good to be true.
:shame: Should have been patient.
:wave: Well, I can pretty much kiss goodbye to that money then.
ray: Visa payment protection? C'mon Visa you can do it! You'll look out for me.:beer: Short :beer: Short :beer:
:beer: Wine ....well, there's more to life than money, forget about it. Hic. Ouch.:type: Research online...................................................................
:quest: What the hell is an Onkyo TX-8050???
:boohoo: apparently it's fine for instrumental.
:cheer: The Record Spot and matthewpiano seem to think it's not too bad.
oke: It can't be 4am can it?!:quest: How long's this Onkyo thread?!?
:argh: What the hell ISN'T the Onkyo TX-8050???????????
Seriously, to all on these forums, thanks for being there to tempt me to spend my credit card limit, not sure what the hell I was thinking the last 10 years allowing my music to be locked up in laptopcatraz. All I've got to do now is figure out how to get it out!"
John Duncan
Well-known member
Bartlett's in Islington certainly would seem a good place to start because they have a better appreciation - and range - of actives (in that they have an appreciation - and range - at all) than most dealers. They'd be able to demo the Marantz amp and Wharfedale speakers I suggested against some active alternatives, for example.
John Duncan
Well-known member
I haven't heard the 8050 so I can't specifically recommend it, but I've heard the 10.1s and like them very much and trust record spot's and matthewpiano's opinions sufficiently to think that it would absolutely be worth hearing them together and judging for yourself, yes.
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