/r/ help on finding a good speaker setup. I've never had anything better than a bluetooth speaker and want to spend under £200 on a good setup.
I'm looking at the Edifier R1280T, Trust Vigor Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 and maybe Wharfedale DX-1HCP 5.1
For the latter two I think you need an amplifier? What the fuck is this? Whats the difference between a good and shit one? What do I actually need for a really fucking good sounding setup?
I'm also interested in this.
Currently using Bose Companion 2 on my laptop, which I'm quite comfortable with. I've heard the JBL LSR 305 are the best in their price range. Is it worth it to upgrade?
>What do I actually need for a really fucking good sounding setup?
more money
with that budget your best bet is to check classifieds and thrift shops to get the maximum out of it
since you're from over there I'd recommend great old english speakers that didn't fall into the vintage meme category yet, for example celestion ditton series
pair them with any working stereo amp or receiver and you're off for a good start
I wouldn't recommend active speakers like the lsr if you don't have the infrastructure for it because no volume control and no input switching like with a stereo receiver
>£
speakers are the most important part of any set-up. That being said if you get great speaks then you need a quality amp to drive them and get the most out of them.
Spend the money on good speaks and they should last you a decade or more.
KEF are great speaks without being too spendy but not cheap.
If you are in the UK go to richer sounds if there is one close and buy the cheapest amp and the cheapest speakers, it will be under £200. That will give you a solid base to improve your setup if you want to later when you know what you want.
I've found a few on eBay, would they really be better than getting a Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 or DX-1HCP 5.1?
I'll probably get whatever I get from eBay desu. Much cheeper.
Any idea where I can read up on this stuff? Ive found almost nothing on YouTube. How will I know what I want when I don't understand the technicalities?
the diamond 9.1 are good speakers, but they're tiny which means a very compromised low end.
with going used you'll be able to find good speakers that actually play full range at a similar price
>I think you need an amplifier?
>What the fuck is this?
An amplifier is what powers the speakers. A preamp is what controls the volume. A combination of an amplifier and a preamp is called an integrated amp. An integrated amp plus a radio tuner is called a stereo receiver(or just a receiver for short). A receiver plus video inputs is called an A/V receiver. So the most basic setup that will sound good is speakers, a stereo receiver, and something to play music. Speakers and amps can last for decades so don't be afraid to buy used or refurbished to save money.
Holy shit, golden info right there. Thanks. The Wharfedale DX-1HCP 5.1 has multiple speakers so would that give me good quality on all ranges? Also would this work with a normal integrated amp since its multiple speakers and from what I've seen they usually only have a left and right bit?
Or would I honestly be better off getting some old vintage speakers? Also what old amp can you recommend me looking at on eBay?
I wouldn't get a surround set for music listening, pretty useless
You're welcome! For a surround setup, you generally need an A/V receiver; most integrated amps and stereo receivers will only have two inputs(and maybe an extra one for a subwoofer).
I haven't heard the specific Wharfedales you're looking at, but I have heard other similar speakers by them and been very impressed. I have the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s myself. They've been replaced by a newer model at this point so you might be able to get the originals used in your budget range.
The most commonly recommended entry level vintage amps are probably the NAD 3020 and the Pioneer A400, but they both have become a bit pricier recently as more young people want to get their first upgrade from cell phone speakers and ear buds. The most commonly recommended new entry level stereo receiver is probably the Onkyo TX-8020
There's a lot of great 5.1 mixes out there. Bjork's Vespetine is mindblowing in 5.1.
Just get Yamaha HS5s and call it a day to be honest.
Note that NAD's also released an expensive new digital version of the 3020 which makes it harder to search for the original. Marantz PM-32 and the Arcam Alpha are also popular vintage amps
absolutely, but it's like 0.2% of the market
>r/ help on finding a good speaker setup. I've never had anything better than a bluetooth speaker and want to spend under £200 on a good setup.
Room size? And at what distance will you be listening at? Near field (1-5 feet), mid-field (6-10 feet) or far-field (>10 feet)?
You want to ensure you have the space to place the speakers properly, like so
>british pounds
>using a fiat currency that is inflated by dead dinosaurs
A set of quality speakers can last you 25+ years.
In most cases, you wont need much more than bookshelf speakers, I've owned a pair of floorstanding speakers for 10 years now that weigh 70 pounds each and I have never turned the volume knob past 12 on them. I've could have gotten the same sound and experience with smaller speakers.
The bass is nice though.
Buy quality stuff and it will last you half a lifetime. Buy cheapo stuff and it will sound ok for about 3 years untill you blow the tweeters one night you're drunk and accidentally trip over the aux cable.
Ask around your local Hi Fi stereo shop, stay away from electronic stores with stereo/speaker/home entertainment departments, those guys dont know shit and are payed to push shit like Bose on you.
>monitor speakers for recreational listening
Just no.
Monitor speakers are dull and they are dull for a reason. They have very flat frequency response for monitoring, mixing and producing. That's their job and they excell at that.
But the price is that all music you play on them will sound flat and lifeless. Hi Fi does alot better job at breathing life into your music and enhancing certain frequency ranges which you cant achieve to the same degree with an EQ. Some speakers are punchy and agressive, some speakers have a smooth sound to them and you have a wider spectrum to choose from.
And to add, most monitor speakers are very dependent on good positioning, room treatment, room size/shape and the listener being right infront of the speakers for them to really sound good. HiFi speakers are much more forgiving.
but what exactly makes a speaker hifi or monitor? just the manufacturer writing either or the other on the box?
Monitor speakers have a really flat frequency response and a very transparent sound (all details are very audible)
When you mix music, you want the truest recreation of sound possible so you dont mix blindly, in return, music on studio monitors sound really flat, dull and lifeless.
HiFi tend to have a frequency curve with more accenuated frequency ranges and add some color to the sound (CAN make music sound better, more exciting, more punchy, larger etc) Some speakers sounds like turds no matter what you play on them.
I pretty much said the same thing again, but that's the jist of it.
so balance and faithfulness shouldn't be the highest goal of any playback system?
wouldn't a certain emphasis (i.e. imbalance) on my end fit with some source material by accident but sound like ass with some other?
have to add that some hifi and monitor speakers exists in the grey areas between hifi and monitor speakers.
Yamaha HS5 and HS7 is not one of them.
>fit with some source material by accident but sound like ass with some other?
rarely, but you have loud speakers like Cerwin & Vega that have an HEAVY emphasis on bass and top end with very little detailed mid range. Rap, Rock and bass heavy electronic music will probably sound good on those for many. You can play jazz and easy listening on them and it will sound completely all right, but not as good as with a more balanced speaker.
The scale can tip to much in either direction. To much emphasis on coloring and you end up with super aggressive speakers like Cerwin&Vega, to much emphasis on transparancy and detail and you end up with flat and dull speakers like HS7.
A good hifi speaker exists in the real between those two.