Budget speakers (~100$) to replace old Sony amp + Sony passive speakers

[matteof93]

At home I currently have an old Sony TA-AX22 amp that is connected to my computer and to a couple of old Sony SS-E55.
The problem of this setup is that it takes up so much space...so I am thinking about buying some budget speakers such as the Edifier MR4.

Do you think that the audio quality of the old setup is still better than the quality delivered by modern speakers? I mostly listen to symphonic metal music.

Sony SS-E55: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/ss-e55.shtml
Sony amp: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/ta-ax22.shtml

 

[ZolaIII]

I don't know really. With that budget certainly not even from Edifier.
You can see what you can find from mesured ones from them that is objectivity good enough for you and even so pair them with at least their T5 sub (or preferably a better one). If I whose you for a so lo budget I would try with cheap subwoofer if you can integrate it on what you have already (as I don't know which outputs does that amp have) it probably won't be really convint for use.

Edifier R1280DBs (sub-out) + T5 review

For the first time the delivery is not in a 20kg box, that's refreshing. Oh hey it says Bluetooth 5.0 on the box. Unboxing The bag tells you to keep it away from babies. This is a grown man's speaker. The double-layer of wrapping is what we've gotten used to seeing from Edifier ...as...

forums.hardwarezone.com.sg

Best luck and have a nice time.

 

[staticV3]

At $130 per pair ($90 on sale!), the MR4 is really bargain basement when it comes to active monitors. It's ok, but not good. See Amir's review here.

Active studio monitors start getting good at around $120 a piece ($240 for two) with stuff like the JBL 305P/306P, Adam T5V, iLoud Micro.

B&H currently has the 305P MKII in used, like new condition for $80 a piece. Seems like a good place to start.

 

[JayGilb]

You might want to look at getting some used powered studio monitors. Stores like Guitar Center have lots of used models available at a decent price and will ship to your home.
Link: Guitar Center Used

 

[ZolaIII]

I am more for new option especially when it comes to cheap/ultra cheap offering. For the price Edifier is really hard to beat and 2 year warranty is OK.

 

[matteof93]

I don't know really. With that budget certainly not even from Edifier.
You can see what you can find from mesured ones from them that is objectivity good enough for you and even so pair them with at least their T5 sub (or preferably a better one). If I whose you for a so lo budget I would try with cheap subwoofer if you can integrate it on what you have already (as I don't know which outputs does that amp have) it probably won't be really convint for use.

Edifier R1280DBs (sub-out) + T5 review

For the first time the delivery is not in a 20kg box, that's refreshing. Oh hey it says Bluetooth 5.0 on the box. Unboxing The bag tells you to keep it away from babies. This is a grown man's speaker. The double-layer of wrapping is what we've gotten used to seeing from Edifier ...as...

forums.hardwarezone.com.sg

Best luck and have a nice time.

Edifier MR4 are currently sold for 100€ on Amazon (Spanish store, but no problem for me since I am in Italy and in EU we can purchase whatever we want from other EU countries without any need to pay additional taxes).
Honestly, I do not even know how good is "good enough" for me. All I know is that I mostly use AKG K612 Pro headphones (+EqAPO) and the sound is good enough (but I have never tried anything more hi-end).

I would prefer not to use the old Sony SS-E55 speakers because they are huge (67 cm x 26 cm x 27 cm).
Power output of the Sony amp: 30 watts per channel into 8Ω

 

[matteof93]

At $130 per pair ($90 on sale!), the MR4 is really bargain basement when it comes to active monitors. It's ok, but not good. See Amir's review here.

Active studio monitors start getting good at around $120 a piece ($240 for two) with stuff like the JBL 305P/306P, Adam T5V, iLoud Micro.

B&H currently has the 305P MKII in used, like new condition for $80 a piece. Seems like a good place to start.

I cannot buy from US stores since I am based in Italy. Here I have searched a few online stores that sell used stuff but no luck at finding one of those monitors (i.e., JBL 305P) at that price.

 

[ZolaIII]

On second thought buy UMIK 1 (microphone) and tune those Sony speakers, do a reproduction trogh PC with some of the players with deacent DSP chain including available plugin's for it (I use JRiver for example). I mean old three way Sony with 10" wafer can't be all that bad, amp is fine & so is claimed 30 W @8 Ohm's output as long as it works fine. And remember there is no free rides nor all that much possibilities for space saving (small bookshelf's with a sub and flore stands will took same if not even more space). I am telling you like that as you are not all that green regarding EQ-ing (at least with hedaphones) off course you will have to make some efforts and do some learning and that's why it is not a free ride. It's better of course when you have properly mesured speakers to see what and how much could/should be done and what is the room influence in the first place but you work with what you have.

 

[matteof93]

On second thought buy UMIK 1 (microphone) and tune those Sony speakers, do a reproduction trogh PC with some of the players with deacent DSP chain including available plugin's for it (I use JRiver for example). I mean old three way Sony with 10" wafer can't be all that bad, amp is fine & so is claimed 30 W @8 Ohm's output as long as it works fine. And remember there is no free rides nor all that much possibilities for space saving (small bookshelf's with a sub and flore stands will took same if not even more space). I am telling you like that as you are not all that green regarding EQ-ing (at least with hedaphones) off course you will have to make some efforts and do some learning and that's why it is not a free ride. It's better of course when you have properly mesured speakers to see what and how much could/should be done and what is the room influence in the first place but you work with what you have.

I do not have the knowledge to do what you are suggesting...and I do not have the time to learn. I simply want a set of speakers that sounds decent enough for someone who wants to listen to music while working from home and doing other stuff. At the same time, I do not want to waste 100$ for a set of active speakers that will sound worse than what I already have. I guess my best option is to order a set of Edifier MR4 from Amazon and test them against the old Sony setup I have at home.

 

[ZolaIII]

Thing is i don't believe those speakers are bad and I am certain a small 4~5" (you would nead at least 7~8" and good one's for that) two way bookshelf's won't even come close to them but you are free to try. It's not all that hard to learn to use PEQ and filters if you reconsider (and you can try practicing with EqAPO) at some point. Best regards and wishes regarding upcoming and past holidays.

 

[xavx]

Don't have much to compare with but I find the MR4 absolutely fine after EQ. Don't get the R1280, they have no soundstage at all with or without EQ.
I wonder what the JBL 305p concretely bring as extra for computer speakers

 

[matteof93]

Thing is i don't believe those speakers are bad and I am certain a small 4~5" (you would nead at least 7~8" and good one's for that) two way bookshelf's won't even come close to them but you are free to try. It's not all that hard to learn to use PEQ and filters if you reconsider (and you can try practicing with EqAPO) at some point. Best regards and wishes regarding upcoming and past holidays.

I managed to find a pair of Pioneer CS-3030 for free...they sound much better than the Sony SS-E55 speakers.
Tech info here: https://www.hifi-wiki.de/index.php/Pioneer_CS-3030

Apart from replacing the cables, I think I'll keep using the Pioneer speakers...but I might change the amplifier, because my old Sony is producing some background noise (that can be noticed) when the eq buttons are set to whatever mode (except for "manual", which however does not sound very good no matter how I adjust bass and treble).

Any suggestion for a super cheap amplifier? 100$ or even less....

(I understand that asking for a sub 100$ amp in this forum is kind of blasphemy )

 

[ZolaIII]

@matteof93 most of AVR's and amplifiers have old and not really good ADC's and DSP's that result in such so basic recommendation is to disable it, basic tone controls (bass, trable) how ever usually work OK.
Plenty of cheap Chinese amplifier but thei are usually bare naked and usually don't last for very long.
For example read:

Aiyima T9

Does anyone here own or have heard the Aiyima T9? The T9 has some very good reviews and some of the sound demos i have heard on Youtube would make you believe it sounds as good as some more expensive amps on the market. Is it really that great, or maybe just overhyped by Youtuber reviewers in...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Glad you find better speakers for free,best of luck and have a nice time.

 

[Mal]

Don't have much to compare with but I find the MR4 absolutely fine after EQ. Don't get the R1280, they have no soundstage at all with or without EQ.
I wonder what the JBL 305p concretely bring as extra for computer speakers

Can you get them sounding fine using the on-board tone controls to EQ? Or using a Schiit Loki?

 

[Saidera]

At $130 per pair ($90 on sale!), the MR4 is really bargain basement when it comes to active monitors. It's ok, but not good. See Amir's review here.

Active studio monitors start getting good at around $120 a piece ($240 for two) with stuff like the JBL 305P/306P, Adam T5V, iLoud Micro.

B&H currently has the 305P MKII in used, like new condition for $80 a piece. Seems like a good place to start.

What's the primary difference between MR4 and 305P/T5V/iLoud? At around half the price, is MR4 limited in some way?

It seems MR4 is perfect for those who want the studio name but aren't fussed about connectivity and quality.

 

[Penelinfi]

Apparently there's a secretly revised version of the mr4 , so if you can find the later made ones it's a flatter response.

Edifier MR4 measurements (It's probably been upgraded.)

Hi Guys! I actually measured Edifier's MR4 in its early days, too. This is what I had measured before using Klippel's equipment and software, and the FR(on-axis) of the speaker tended to be similar to what @amirm had measured...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You'd still need a small sub to get the same bass quantity as those older large speakers.