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Advice on a set up for a beginner!

Soymilk

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Joined
Jan 4, 2025
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Hey everyone!

I’ve been exploring this site and others more frequently lately, and I’ve really grown to love the audiophile/audio enthusiast community. While I’ve been passionate about great sound for a while, I’ve always felt unsure about where to start. My current setup includes the Hifiman Sundaras paired with a DAC/amp from iFi, which has been a fantastic introduction to high-quality audio. This setup got me wondering about the possibilities in the speaker space—if headphones can sound this amazing, what could speakers bring to the table?

I’m looking to dive into the world of speakers but want to keep my budget around $1,000. For some background, I’m a student in higher education, so I move between apartments pretty often. Because of that, I’d prefer a setup that’s relatively simple and easy to manage. I’ve been leaning toward tower speakers over bookshelf models for their portability and perceived performance, but I’ve come across conflicting advice about price-to-performance ratios and whether a high-end amp is truly necessary to drive tower speakers compared to bookshelves.

Primarily, I’ll be using the speakers to listen to music, but I’d also love to have a setup that enhances my movie-watching experience. If anyone has been in a similar position, I’d greatly appreciate your advice! What setup would you recommend for someone in my situation?

Thanks so much for your insights!
 
Hey everyone!

I’ve been exploring this site and others more frequently lately, and I’ve really grown to love the audiophile/audio enthusiast community. While I’ve been passionate about great sound for a while, I’ve always felt unsure about where to start. My current setup includes the Hifiman Sundaras paired with a DAC/amp from iFi, which has been a fantastic introduction to high-quality audio. This setup got me wondering about the possibilities in the speaker space—if headphones can sound this amazing, what could speakers bring to the table?

I’m looking to dive into the world of speakers but want to keep my budget around $1,000. For some background, I’m a student in higher education, so I move between apartments pretty often. Because of that, I’d prefer a setup that’s relatively simple and easy to manage. I’ve been leaning toward tower speakers over bookshelf models for their portability and perceived performance, but I’ve come across conflicting advice about price-to-performance ratios and whether a high-end amp is truly necessary to drive tower speakers compared to bookshelves.

Primarily, I’ll be using the speakers to listen to music, but I’d also love to have a setup that enhances my movie-watching experience. If anyone has been in a similar position, I’d greatly appreciate your advice! What setup would you recommend for someone in my situation?

Thanks so much for your insights!
My college-age son loves his Neumann KH 120 actives. You can often get them used for $1000 or so -- be patient until you do, look on Reverb.com and hifishark.com. They're easy to move around, don't break when you do, and require only an input signal from a digital or analog source. One and done.
 
Hey everyone!

I’ve been exploring this site and others more frequently lately, and I’ve really grown to love the audiophile/audio enthusiast community. While I’ve been passionate about great sound for a while, I’ve always felt unsure about where to start. My current setup includes the Hifiman Sundaras paired with a DAC/amp from iFi, which has been a fantastic introduction to high-quality audio. This setup got me wondering about the possibilities in the speaker space—if headphones can sound this amazing, what could speakers bring to the table?

I’m looking to dive into the world of speakers but want to keep my budget around $1,000. For some background, I’m a student in higher education, so I move between apartments pretty often. Because of that, I’d prefer a setup that’s relatively simple and easy to manage. I’ve been leaning toward tower speakers over bookshelf models for their portability and perceived performance, but I’ve come across conflicting advice about price-to-performance ratios and whether a high-end amp is truly necessary to drive tower speakers compared to bookshelves.

Primarily, I’ll be using the speakers to listen to music, but I’d also love to have a setup that enhances my movie-watching experience. If anyone has been in a similar position, I’d greatly appreciate your advice! What setup would you recommend for someone in my situation?

Thanks so much for your insights!
Revel f35 or f36 when on sale. I purchased f36 on sale for 600 each. F35 is on sale now for 400 each. Look at review on this site. Wonderful speakers
 
Welcome,

Consider a WiiM Amp (reviewed at ASR) driving a pair of passive loudspeakers. A WiiM Amp has an ARC HDMI jack and can apply automatic room correction. My first choice for loudspeakers would be a pair of Revel F35's in High Gloss White - currently $400 each at Crutchfield. Unfortunately the combination exceeds your budget. I have used a WiiM Amp with a pair of Polk ES60 tower loudspeakers (reviewed at ASR) and perceived more clarity enabling automatic room correction - making for a performant combination.

The Polk ES60 weighs 52 pounds. Perhaps a lighter 'ES55' or 'ES50' would make more sense. Accessories4less dot com often has 'refurbished' variants of Polk ES tower loudspeakers with a 2 year Polk warranty available to sell. A recent firmware update for the WiiM Amp allows the USB-A jack on the back panel to be a digital output. I am using it as a source for a Topping EX5 DAC/headphone amp. Perhaps this USB-A jack could be a source for your iFi DAC/amp.

As an aside, I use a pair of 'High Gloss White' Revel M16 bookshelf/stand mount loudspeakers and this finish looks more 'luxurious' than the wood grain vinyl wrapping my Polk ES60 loudspeakers.
 
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your incredible advice—this community is amazing, and your thoughtful responses are why I hold it in such high regard! After doing some more research, I’ve decided to go the bookshelf speaker route and settled on the Elac Debut 3.0 6.3. However, I’m now facing a dilemma about how to drive them.

While I’d love to eventually build a surround sound setup, I’m unsure when I’ll actually make the leap. This raises the question: Should I start with a simpler all-in-one amp/DAC/streaming solution (like the Wiim Ultra or Wiim Amp Pro) now and upgrade later? Or would it be better to invest in an AVR (like a 7.2 AVR from Sony, Onkyo, etc.) right away for future expandability?

I’ve also heard that the Elacs benefit greatly from having a subwoofer to complete their sound. Does anyone have recommendations for budget-friendly subwoofers under $300?

Thanks in advance for your insights!
 
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your incredible advice—this community is amazing, and your thoughtful responses are why I hold it in such high regard! After doing some more research, I’ve decided to go the bookshelf speaker route and settled on the Elac Debut 3.0 6.3. However, I’m now facing a dilemma about how to drive them.

While I’d love to eventually build a surround sound setup, I’m unsure when I’ll actually make the leap. This raises the question: Should I start with a simpler all-in-one amp/DAC/streaming solution (like the Wiim Ultra or Wiim Amp Pro) now and upgrade later? Or would it be better to invest in an AVR (like a 7.2 AVR from Sony, Onkyo, etc.) right away for future expandability?

I’ve also heard that the Elacs benefit greatly from having a subwoofer to complete their sound. Does anyone have recommendations for budget-friendly subwoofers under $300?

Thanks in advance for your insights!
For that money, used SVS or 2 of the Costco Klipsch. Can't vouch for the Klipsch, they are bottom feeder quality but run within their limits, should be great.
 
Any AVR recommendations for under $500, and should I still get a subwoofer for the ELACs?
 
Personally, I just wouldn't think you could get enough of an AVR for $500. For me I would rather have a 2.2 starter system where the $500 should get you more robust amplification. Especially if you are willing to look at the second hand market.

Frankly the second hand market would be my first go to for everything assuming you have a decent enough second hand market you trust. Just a good way to stretch your budget. Again, especially if this isn't your forever system.
 
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