Sorry, another newbie

[admin_exported]

Hi guys, long time lurker, 1st time poster.

Have a budget of £2,000 GBP. All of my music is hard drive based either lossless wma/flac or 320kbps mp3.

My living room is 4 x 5m and the speakers need to be positioned at the 4m wall no more than 30cm away from the wall IDEALLY.

I mainly listen to U2, Queen, late 80's early 90's dance pop & rock.

Have owned a rather large AIWA for past 10 years+ and was very happy with it..... UNTIL I started listening via hi-fi headphones when my music seem to totally change. It felt like I hadn't heard half of the notes before and was totally blown away by what I had been missing. Now I never turn my AIWA on anymore and feel it sounds awful to say the least.

I'm now in the search for an amp, dac and standmount speakers that will fill my downstairs with music whilst at the same time giving me the sound stage and dynamics I can no longer live without, but WITHOUT having neighbors complaining of bass through our extremely thin walls.

Currently have X-Fi Xtreme Music soundcard on the PC, but can build my own PC or replace with a laptop as required if necessary.

What should I start with on my auditions.

Thanks all in advance for your input and apologies for yet another newbie question.

 

[The_Lhc]

paul01527:
Hi guys, long time lurker, 1st time poster.

Have a budget of £2,000 GBP. All of my music is hard drive based either lossless wma/flac or 320kbps mp3.

I'm now in the search for an amp, dac and standmount speakers that will fill my downstairs with music whilst at the same time giving me the sound stage and dynamics I can no longer live without, but WITHOUT having neighbors complaining of bass through our extremely thin walls.

AVI ADM 9.1, half your budget, won't knock the walls down with bass and relieves you of the requirement for a DAC or amp. That leaves you around 900 quid for the source. You've got a PC so use it as storage and get something like SB Touch or a Sonos ZP90 (got an iPhone?) and feed the digital out straight into the AVIs, job done and you'll still have more than 500 quid left of your budget.

They were reviewed by the magazine not that long ago, look in the review section, I think they're exactly what you're looking for.

 

[plastic penguin]

Welcome to the forum

About two weeks ago I heard Cambridge 840 with DacMagic and Monitor Audio speakers and it sounded rather good. The amp is good that facilitates all you need with your PC set-up.

Alternatively, Naim recently released the new UnitiQute, but when you factor in the prices for speakers it will no doubt take you over budget or around the top-end, anyway.

 

[the record spot]

Another shout for the AVI speakers, also, the Genelec 8030A or the 8040A active system. All three of which are excellent. I heard the Genelecs a few weeks ago on two different occasions and was astonished by how good they were (£AVI £1125, Genelec 8030A - £825 or so, 8040A - around £1200).

See also the Acoustic Energy AE22 Actives, which bear a rather smart and impressive design to boot (£800 or so). For all of these except the AVIs, you'll need to add a DAC unless you're happy with the onboard DAC on your computer (the offboard DAC will likely be way better, so allow for that cost too).

 

[Anonymous]

You know I never considered active speakers.... but at the same time I assumed active speakers would be poor non-hifi quality.

Have no idea what a SB Touch or Sonos ZP90 is, so I'll have to google those - perhaps I'm starting to show my age lol

Will these still play loud enough if I wanted to throw a xmas party for instance?

Thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

If you want to go the active route, and bearing in mind upgrading isn't easy if you choose this route, then I'd add the B&O Beolab 4000 to the mix. Haven't heard the AVIs, but as a general rule (pace, RS) I found the Beolabs a touch sweeter and more open than the Genelecs, good though they are.

If you choose to stick with passives, then the Naim Nait 5i / Totem Arros would be hard to beat, and I'd argue better than the speakers mentioned above. Auditioning is the key whatever the case.

 

[The_Lhc]

paul01527:
You know I never considered active speakers.... but at the same time I assumed active speakers would be poor non-hifi quality.

No no, quite the opposite, especially if you ask AVI...

Have no idea what a SB Touch or Sonos ZP90 is, so I'll have to google those - perhaps I'm starting to show my age lol

Sorry, that's Squeezebox Touch and Sonos's Zoneplayer 90, they're digital music streamers, designed specifically to pull your audio files from your PC and send them on to a DAC or an amp, my suggestion would mean you only have the AVI speakers, with either of these streamers connected digitally (the AVIs, as mentioned, have a very good quality DAC built in, so you don't need a separate one) and that's it, so it reduces the clutter quite considerably and from the way you describe what you want from your sound quality I think this will be right on the mark.

The question is though, do you have a network router in your house for your broadband internet connection (both of these products will stream internet radio and the like incidentally), because both of these will want to connect to it (wirelessly for the Touch, wired for the ZP90, unless you get the Zonebridge, £70). Also, if you don't have an iPhone/Touch/Pad you'll need a Sonos controller, which will bump the price up some more (still within your £2k though), the Squeezebox comes with a remote already, although it's designed as a touchscreen device.

Will these still play loud enough if I wanted to throw a xmas party for instance?

I'd have thought so. The AVIs have a matching subwoofer as well, if you really want to go nuts but that's another 800 quid and might just push you over your budget.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys for all these really fast replies, that has given me lots to research prior to booking audition.

Can I assume that all of the active speakers listed simply take a 3.5mm digital connection and have their own onboard DAC, or do they take RCA and let the soundcard do all the D-A Conversion?

I guess what I really need to know with active speakers, does it make a blind bit of difference which soundcard I have?

Once again, many thanks to you all.

 

[Anonymous]

Only the AVIs have a built-in DAC. The others will require one if you wish to go digital. Something like the MF v-dac or the Firewire Spitfire would do the trick.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, replied above without reading your post in time first.

I do have wireless router so that would be great if I dont need the PC anywhere near the speakers.

Blimey, it must be my age (40 last week lol) but I'm starting to feel as out-of-touch with technology as my elderly mother must feel ROFL.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Then lhc's suggestion is good but do audition. Because speakers are active doesn't mean you're going to like them, just as with passive speakers, so you should always listen first. Don't trust us, either: your ears may tell you something totally different to what is said here.

 

[Anonymous]

I know exactly what you mean, bought last in-ear headphones off website based soley upon reviews and hate the sound with avengence. Then bought cheap (£30) active speakers to get me through a few weeks, review said brilliant, my ears said disgraceful.

Will read a few reviews of all the speakers mentioned above and try to find local dealer with perhaps 2 or 3 I can compare next to each other. Think I'll ask for a passive set up to audition too at the same time for my own peace of mind.

Many many thanks again guys, really appreciated - will let you know what I auditioned and which ones I selected for purchase.