Powered full range monitor as center channel from MX3 "sub" out?

[msat]

Hello all!

First time poster here. Been trying to be a cheapskate for an audio setup to attach to my (cheap) TV via toslink which is connected to the latest Chromecast w/remote. At first I tried a set of powered Rockville HD5 which had most of the features I wanted, and while I considered the sound quality acceptable, both bluetooth connectivity and the included remote were a flaky mess, so those got sent back. Then I decided to get the Topping E30 to connect to my 8" Event 20/20BAS powered monitors that have been sitting unused for years, just to immediately find that something sounded off. As it turns out, one of the tweeters stopped working. I opened it up and investigated the amp PCB, but didn't find anything immediately wrong. I then checked the tweeter resistance and it was open. Strange. It worked the last time I used them. Well, finding a replacement tweeter is a somewhat expensive proposition, and even if I got one, I still think the amp is suspect. So I decided to instead go with a Topping MX3 due to the generally favorable reviews (I'm still trying to be cheap), and a set of Neumi BS5 speakers after reading Erin's review (used the affiliate link too ). While I was at it, I also got some foam isolation wedges to cant them upwards since I have little choice but to put them on my TV stand which sets them too low.

Anywho, on to the reason for this post. While normally I don't listen to music or TV very loud or require much bass, it dawned on me that for those times I do want those things, maybe I could use my remaining functional 20/20BAS monitor. And since the "sub" output on the MX3 isn't low-pass filtered, I thought that I could use the monitor as a center channel of sorts that will also help with freqs lower than what the BS5s are happy with. Does this sound like a silly idea?

Also, it might seem stupid, but one of the reasons I wanted to go with Topping is that it is supported by the Chromecast remote, which is the only remote I want to use. Truth be told, if Edifer was supported (and probably will be eventually), then I would have just got a set with toslink and BT and called it a day. But I suspect the MX3 + BS5s will be a better sounding and more flexible setup. At least I hope so, considering I'm in about +$100 over a suitable set of Edifers.

 

[PatriciaP]

Have you purchased the mx3? I bought it to connect to Mission bookshelf speakers.
I am regretting it.

Bluetooth is unreliable, so poor that I get dropout every few minutes. The same source, my phone gets smooth performance from my active speakers. I see that MP3 and MP4 and flac all require transcoding, heavy work which the phone usually can cope with, but the ancient Bluetooth module in mx3 can't receive reliably despite the antenna

I also found that the lg TV own speakers are less distorted at equivalent volume levels.

 

[msat]

So I've only tested BT when I got it, though I decided to try it again after reading your post, and I haven't noticed any dropouts yet (unlike the previous all-in-one set of speakers I tried). Tried it from several areas where I'd likely have my phone - so far so good. AFAIK, the MX-3 only supports SBC encoding like most BT receivers, so it's almost a sure thing that your source is going to have to transcode your files/internet stream.

Now I'd like to point out that I mainly use the optical connection, so keep that in mind as that's the limit of my experience with this.

As for distortion, I haven't noticed any. my setup is the new Google Chromecast w/remote -> TV via HDMI -> MX-3 via optical. When I first got the Topping E30, the chromecast's remote supported it, but apparently the remote code on the MX-3 is different, and unsupported. I then found out that the Chromecast can control the volume of the audio it sends through HDMI, so I control it that way, while keeping the MX-3 at 85. Also, I rarely go over 3/4 volume on the chromecast. How that equates to the volume you're listening at, I don't know, but sound quality remains good and undistorted for me.

At first I was only marginally pleased, but since using it just about every day all day after work and on the weekends, I've grown quite fond of the setup. I won't pretend it's the greatest thing in the world, but I really don't have any big complaints.

If you're having issues, then hopefully you can either exchange it (to see if that helps) or return it and get something else. While my experience has been good, that doesn't have any bearing on yours. Hopefully you can find something similar that you're happy with!

 

[PatriciaP]

I'm glad you are getting what you need from mx3, especially not getting dropouts in BT mode.

Reading comments on Qdelix 5k BT, it seems that the 2.4 MHz WiFi channels compete with BT, those are congested in evenings so this may contribute to the dropout rate. In addition, the active speaker supports aptx which doesn't require transcoding.

If I didn't touch the screen and left it in one position I wouldn't have dropouts either. As it's my internet device, I didn't leave it untouched for long.

The poor optical connection to lg tv was not expected, and maybe this unit is a lemon. I needed to have mx3 at 57 volume to match the internal TV volume of 11 (low late night volume). Any higher than 57 was unpleasant and I have heard reports that mx3 have burnt out which it would do if held constantly at 60% of its volume.

I'm going to keep my AB stereo amplifier separate dac and RPI streamer attached to the TV for the moment, as Topping mx3 is not a suitable "all in one" for my use case.

 

[PatriciaP]

Back to your original topic, you can wire your active sub and neumi speakers into the topping speaker posts.

Then you can set the crossover to suit your music or film.

 

[msat]

Yeah, 2.4GHz is a pretty congested frequency spectrum now a days, at least in a densely populated area with a bunch of wifi/BT activity. I don't know, but maybe the antenna on the MX3 makes it *too* sensitive. You can possibly try removing it and see if that helps. The thing is, Topping along with many other small brands are unlikely to be as rigorously tested as products from more reputable companies. Or at the very least, they're more willing to accept performance issues due to budget/schedule/etc constraints.

BTW, aptX is a codec just like any digital audio format, so it too has to be transcoded, but all that should pretty much be invisible to the user.

So you're getting dropouts when you simply use your phone while browsing the web or something? That's strange.

While I doubt it's the problem, have you tried using a different optical cable? As for failure rate, every product from every manufacturer experiences that (even ridiculously expensive electronics used in aircraft). I don't know if Topping is any worse than the others, but from the little bit I've seen of their circuit boards, to my eye is looks like their development team have pretty good engineering chops. That said, I'm not trying to be an apologist for them, and it sounds like you have hardware issues.

As for the OT, I don't actually have a sub - It's a full range powered monitor with an 8" woofer, so it's pretty convenient that the sub out on the MX3 isn't low pass filtered. I haven't tried it out yet because so far I've been satisfied with both the volume and the amount of bass coming out of the Neumi speakers.

Why did you get the Topping anyway? It seems to me that your existing setup was pretty good!

 

[PatriciaP]

I have been decorating the living room, we found damp issues. We need to allow plaster to dry, and we can't use the room for a few more weeks. Our set up has a great sound, I love big orchestral works, chamber pieces, soprano. I miss my music especially as I have not been able to get to any concerts since January, like everyone else.

I thought a tiny amp would fit in the bedroom and put some old speakers back into use for improving TV sound. To my surprise, the TV speaker is better than this combo. It's an LG TV which doesn't make much impact on the large living room, but sounds ok in the bedroom. In a few weeks it will be back in the living room I hope!

I have returned the mx3 now. I don't know if the problem is with the hardware, or if I expect too much of a tiny amplifier with Bluetooth. Your comment on sensitivity is worth trying if I have this issue again. It's not the first time I have had drop outs of WiFi in bedroom, so the environment is certainly a factor.

The arylic hardware seems to offer better Bluetooth codecs, aptx HD does this use another part of the GHz spectrum?

 

[msat]

Ah, well hopefully you can get back to some proper listening in your living room. My TV speakers can't come close to my setup. It's like listening through tin cans.

The low-level operation of bluetooth stays the same regardless of codec used (though that will be changing soon!). However, the way a given codec operates might make it less or more prone to noticeable dropouts.