Small system for bedroom (active speakers?)

radiorog

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Jan 1, 2013
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Hi everyone,
I've recently moved into a new pad and have my main hi-fi system now in the living room area. I therefore need a new small set up for my bedroom. I don't want to spend lavish amounts (£200 - £500) and all I really want to do is stream via Bluetooth from my phone or tablet. I don't want lots of boxes in this room. I know at this price I won't be looking at the ultimate sound quality, but would like a decent level of clarity, and as good bass response as possible. I would like the quality to be better than say the Bose mini link!(in clarity terms). I have seen single speaker units that could work, bit I was guessing maybe some small active speakers would be the right choice here. What do you think? I recently heard some focal active speakers for around £250 that sounded good, but they would be too big for my room aesthetically. I know some people rate Adam actives and other brands on this forum, and was wondering if people have thoughts on these please.
Thanks very much!
 

Andrewjvt

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Jun 18, 2014
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radiorog said:
Hi everyone,
I've recently moved into a new pad and have my main hi-fi system now in the living room area. I therefore need a new small set up for my bedroom. I don't want to spend lavish amounts (£200 - £500) and all I really want to do is stream via Bluetooth from my phone or tablet. I don't want lots of boxes in this room. I know at this price I won't be looking at the ultimate sound quality, but would like a decent level of clarity, and as good bass response as possible. I would like the quality to be better than say the Bose mini link!(in clarity terms). I have seen single speaker units that could work, bit I was guessing maybe some small active speakers would be the right choice here. What do you think? I recently heard some focal active speakers for around £250 that sounded good, but they would be too big for my room aesthetically. I know some people rate Adam actives and other brands on this forum, and was wondering if people have thoughts on these please.
Thanks very much!

There was a good pair of avi dm5s on ebay a few days ago for £500 but that was quite high and im sure he would go lower.
They would be good imo.
 

davedotco

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Most speaker 'packages' that include Bluetooth (or Airplay) are likely to be powered rather than true active designs.

There are good reasons for that, primarily handling the digital processing in one place to avoid timing issues, so you end up with a powered speaker in a 'master/slave' configuration, the Dali Zensor AX models being good examples.

Speakers like this tend to be expensive, but they are convenient and, effectively, plug and play but if you are prepared to be flexible, you can do better. For example, use a Bluetooth receiver such as an Arcam Miniblink or similar and pair this with a pair of 'studio type' active speakers, entry level Adams, such as the A3X would be just about in budget but there are plenty of options.
 

jjbomber

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davedotco

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muljao said:
Epoz actimate blue look like a lot of system for the money

These are a complete solution that gives you plenty of options that cover most of the bases.

Where they fall down is sound quality, they are quite low powered and lack precision and control, pleasant enough in many ways.

A pair of proper actives with some sort of Bluetooth 'dongle' should sound way better for the money, though you lose all the flexibility and convenience.

The buyer's choice, as always.
 

muljao

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davedotco said:
muljao said:
Epoz actimate blue look like a lot of system for the money

These are a complete solution that gives you plenty of options that cover most of the bases.

Where they fall down is sound quality, they are quite low powered and lack precision and control, pleasant enough in many ways.

A pair of proper actives with some sort of Bluetooth 'dongle' should sound way better for the money, though you lose all the flexibility and convenience.

The buyer's choice, as always.
That's a pity. I nearly bought a set of these at one stage. I couldn't demo first and went a different road. Everything I read about them suggested excellent sound, but better to get an actual user report than a review
 

davedotco

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Are actually a very nice product but are more suited, soundwise, to a non enthusiast. The sound is big and full sounding but lacks the definition and control that a more experienced enthusiast would be looking for. For someone like me who looks for clarity and 'tightness' they sound rather bloated, but my preferences are more extreem than most.

An altogether different prospect though, are the similarly priced Yamaha RN-N500 speakers, fully active design with network streaming capability and Spotify Connect built in.

Sound is considerably more potent, tighter and precise in all respects, very balanced product, currently just £489.
 

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