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Active Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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I want you guys to take a look at these 4 spinorama graphs and tell me which of these 4 you would prefer.

Which one would you buy?
You can select one or multiple options.
You can guess the speaker models from these spinorama if you wish, but keep it to yourself for now.
I just need your opinion.
I'm going to reveal the speakers, their preference scores and their prices after this.

Speaker A:
1637897808700.png


Speaker B:
1637897773321.png


Speaker C:
1637897819816.png


Speaker D:
1637897831531.png


Thanks.
 
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sweetchaos

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That concludes what we already know...that you don't have to look at just the preference score to understand which speaker is more preferred. The spinorama shows us the character of the speaker.

Results:
Speaker A: Edifier R1280t. Preference Score 1.9. Costs $100
Speaker B: Mackie CR3-X. Preference Score 2.3. Costs $80
Speaker C: Neumi BS5P. Preference Score 4.2. Costs $130
Speaker D: Presonus Eris 3.5. Preference Score 1.5. Costs
$100

I agree with Speaker C. That's the only one I would buy.

Speaker C, is Neumi BS5P, only costs $30 (the cost of a dinner) more than the rest of the options.

As I've done with passive speakers, where I've removed recommendations below a certain preference score (of 3.0), doing the same for actives shows us that the only speaker that should be recommended is the Neumi BS5P.
Looking at both the well-designed spinorama graph and the high preference score of Neumi BS5P, tells me that it should be the only speaker recommended below US$150/pair price point.

With that, I'm about to remove the Edifier R1280t, Mackie CR3-X, and Presonus Eris 3.5 from the recommended list, since they fall below preference score of 3.0.
If you think otherwise, please let me know of your reason.
 

richard12511

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I want you guys to take a look at these 4 spinorama graphs and tell me which of these 4 you would prefer.

Which one would you buy?
You can select one or multiple options.
You can guess the speaker models from these spinorama if you wish, but keep it to yourself for now.
I just need your opinion.
I'm going to reveal the speakers, their preference scores and their prices after this.

Speaker A:
View attachment 168117

Speaker B:
View attachment 168116

Speaker C:
View attachment 168118

Speaker D:
View attachment 168119

Thanks.
C looks best to my eye, though I'd probably use a slight negative shelf filter above ~600Hz.
 
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sweetchaos

sweetchaos

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I've never heard this speaker, so I can't comment about my own experience.

I can tell you I'd rather listen to this speaker rather than the other 3 speakers posted above (post 61), simply based on it's spinorama.
We thoroughly understand frequency response and how it relates to our perception of sound.
Our understanding of distortion is much less relatable to our perception of sound.
This is why speakers like JBL 305P/306P/308P MKII's are often recommended, even-though they have higher-than-normal distortion handling.
Yet, they still sound good because of their flat-ish frequency response.
That's because frequency response is a primary factor of our enjoyment, and distortion handling is secondary.
I can relate since I have JBL 305P MKII.
Of all the people who heard these, not one has commented on their louder than normal distortion. Everyone just says "It sounds good."

I also looked at Erin's written review, and didn't see anything related to distortion that makes Erin not recommend this speaker.
His final conclusion was:
Bottom line is I can now proudly recommend these speakers with the aforementioned settings.
 

steve59

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I would add the meridian dsp 7200 at used prices.
 

Destination: Moon

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The Nuemi is a fantastic speaker once you take the time to plug the ports and flash the new eq file if it's not up to date. It's serious short coming is lack of bass and no way to implement a sub on the powered version.
I use them outside as a portable setup. My other speakers are DBR 62 and AA plus from Philharmonic.... If the Nuemi reached deeper they'd be on par at lower levels
 

dfuller

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The Nuemi is a fantastic speaker once you take the time to plug the ports and flash the new eq file if it's not up to date. It's serious short coming is lack of bass and no way to implement a sub on the powered version.
Pretty easy to use a sub that has a built in LPF/HPF, like most studio subs.
 

Sancus

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It's serious short coming is lack of bass and no way to implement a sub on the powered version.
I'm a bit confused by this, what makes it easier to implement a sub on the passive version...?
 

dfuller

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Curious to see how the Behringer B2031A will stack up against the Kali LP-8 V1 and V2.

Just an observation - the Behringer is significantly heavier.
If it's anything like the passive... Probably pretty well!
 

Destination: Moon

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I'm a bit confused by this, what makes it easier to implement a sub on the passive version ...?

It's easier because you have a separate amp that you can connect to the sub in a couple ways.
On the powered Neumi your cant connect a sub properly if you utilize it's BT receiver. It's on board BT is surprisingly good. I use it for most of the listening I do with them
 

dfuller

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It's easier because you have a separate amp that you can connect to the sub in a couple ways.
On the powered Neumi your cant connect a sub properly if you utilize it's BT receiver. It's on board BT is surprisingly good. I use it for most of the listening I do with them
Most if not all subs accept line level inputs, and many have line level outputs too.
 

Sancus

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It's easier because you have a separate amp that you can connect to the sub in a couple ways.

There aren't too many power amplifiers with crossovers built-in, and you don't connect them to subs directly, unless you're using a REL sub with their terrible high-level inputs, but yeah just don't.

Usually the crossover is built into the sub(simplest but least configurable) or you use a crossover built into the DAC or a 2nd box between the DAC and amps/subs like a miniDSP.

But there is only one line coming from the powered numi. So you can only feed one channel to the sub

You do DAC -> sub crossover -> speakers(active) or amp(passive), with the L/R line levels.
 

Destination: Moon

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There aren't too many power amplifiers with crossovers built-in, and you don't connect them to subs directly, unless you're using a REL sub with their terrible high-level inputs, but yeah just don't.

Usually the crossover is built into the sub(simplest but least configurable) or you use a crossover built into the DAC or a 2nd box between the DAC and amps/subs like a miniDSP.



You do DAC -> sub crossover -> speakers(active) or amp(passive), with the L/R line levels.


The problem I see is when you intend to make use of the powered speakers internal BT DAC....?
 

Sancus

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The problem I see is when you intend to make use of the powered speakers internal BT DAC....?

Oh, I didn't realize it had that. Yeah, there is no way to connect a sub AND use their BT. That's just a design compromise they made, I guess. Some actives w/BT have a subwoofer output. But relative to the passive speakers, it's the same issue. In both cases you can use a reasonably priced DAC with its own BT to work around.
 

More Dynamics Please

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Curious to see how the Behringer B2031A will stack up against the Kali LP-8 V1 and V2.

Just an observation - the Behringer is significantly heavier.

Regarding the B2031A's weight, as I recall from the noaudiophile.com teardown it has a beefy A/B amp with toroidal transformer and dense, thick MDF cabinet (1 1/8" baffle behind the woofer) with heavy bracing. Bottom line was that the quality components and construction far exceeded his expectations based on the modest price.
 
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