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Speaker choice

infurnus99

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Hello!
I am trying to get myself a speaker and I came to a SP-BS21-LR for 75$. I cant find any reviews on this set of speakers and doesnt know how well the speaker will perform. For SP-BS22-LR, its can be found 125$ used (mint condition) and 210$ brand new. I trying to choose among this 2. Anyone can give me suggestion which speaker to i go with?
Or should I get a studio monitor straight? My plan was to get the Rokit 5 G4 first and move into Genelec 8030c afterwards.
My current setup is
DAC: Topping E30
Headphone Amp: Topping L30
Headphone: ATH-M50x
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlet 2i2
 

Rick63

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With the gear you have I'd go with active monitors. I have an L30 and it works great as a preamp for them.

I'm using mine with a pair of Tannoy Reveal 502's that I just got this week while on sale at Sweetwater @ 50% off ($74.50 ea./$149 pr.) I don't know how they measure but for my non-critical music/TV setup in my bedroom I'm very pleased. The cabinets are also built quite a bit better than the JBL 3 Series and Kali LP series I've also owned. They are now out of stock, but there are lots of good choices out there and I'm sure you'll get some good recommendations.
 
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infurnus99

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Welcome to ASR. Are you in the states?
Yes, studio monitors would be my suggestion as well.
No, I am from Malaysia. It is very hard to get cheap deals for speakers in my country. Getting used is the best route i can find.
May I know if I were to use studio monitors, how can I pair the device for turntable playback? I am planning to get a turntable after getting a good set of speakers.
 

Tom C

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You’ll need a phono stage for the turntable, unless you get a turntable with the phono stage built in. In any case, most commonly, the output of the phono stage will have RCA connecters. The inputs for the monitors will be XLR. The easiest solution is a cable with rca on one end, and xlr on the other end. You can find them ready made, or make them yourself. It’s not an ideal situation, but phono stages with xlr connectors for output tend to be expensive and hard to find.
 
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infurnus99

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You’ll need a phono stage for the turntable, unless you get a turntable with the phono stage built in. In any case, most commonly, the output of the phono stage will have RCA connecters. The inputs for the monitors will be XLR. The easiest solution is a cable with rca on one end, and xlr on the other end. You can find them ready made, or make them yourself. It’s not an ideal situation, but phono stages with xlr connectors for output tend to be expensive and hard to find.
If the phono is equiped with balanced output but it receive signal from turntable through rca connection, will my studio monitors receive a balanced or unbalanced signal from the phono.
 

Tom C

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It will have to be unbalanced, because the rca connector can’t do balanced, and the connecting cable cannot convert unbalanced into balanced
 

JRS

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No, I am from Malaysia. It is very hard to get cheap deals for speakers in my country. Getting used is the best route i can find.
May I know if I were to use studio monitors, how can I pair the device for turntable playback? I am planning to get a turntable after getting a good set of speakers.
I am curious as to why you would want a TT right away--do you have a large vinyl collection? I understand the attraction of vinyl for many, but another path might be to postpone purchasing the turntable and spend the several hundred dollars needed to get a decent rig to buy better speakers instead. This is the price range where an extra hundred or two can make a huge difference IME.
 

Tom C

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I have to second this. I know what it’s like to have a curiosity about something, but the headaches will be fewer, the cost will be lower, and the sound will be better if you stick to digital and skip the turntable, at least for now. The rca/xlr/balanced/unbalanced mismatch can be completely avoided, for example.
 

DVDdoug

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I am planning to get a turntable
Why? That's a serious question... Do you already have records? Are you new to vinyl or are you old enough to remember vinyl? (I grew-up with vinyl and I'm NOT going back!)

Although some people and some "audiophiles" enjoy vinyl and even the sound of vinyl, technically the sound quality is inferior to digital.

MP3 is lossy compression but I'll take a good MP3 over vinyl... MP3 doesn't suffer from "snap", "crackle", and "pop" or the general background noise, or the distortion & frequency response errors you sometimes get with vinyl. It can be very difficult to hear the difference between a good-quality MP3 and the uncompressed original but it's easy to hear the noise on records, especially during the "silence" between tracks.

A "traditional" turntable doesn't come with a phono cartridge or phono preamp (AKA "phono stage") but there are lots of USB turntables (and some "DJ turntables") that are ready-to-go with a cartridge & preamp with analog line-level outputs. Knowzy,com has lots turntable reviews & other information. He's mostly focused on digitizing vinyl but he's also got tons of information about regular analog turntables.

This would push you over your budget, but there are several good active studio monitors with 8-inch woofers starting around $400 USD a pair. To me, 8-inches is the minimum for a woofer and/or you can add a subwoofer (hopefully larger than 8-inches.)

With active monitors and multiple audio sources you'll want some kind of "control center" to switch inputs and control the volume. Usually, that's done with a receiver (or preamp or integrated amp). Receivers are the most common solution, but most affordable receivers are designed for passive speakers so they don't have preamp outputs.

Preamps & integrated amps are "specialty items" so they are usually more expensive than a receiver. Modern AVRs (Audio Video Receivers) include a DAC and a remote control, etc., but you have to shop-around and probably have to pay more to find one with preamp-outputs. (In the old days receivers, preamps, and integrated amps, all had a built-in phono preamp but today it's more rare.)
 

FrantzM

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If you’re serious heed these people advices and run away from Vinyl. An inferior , difficult and fussy medium. Not worth the bother. I come form the Vinyl world where $5,000.oo cartridges and $10,000.oo turntables are “entry level”. Regardless of price these are all objectively inferior to an Apple dongle costing $10. You read it Ten US dollars. Stick to digital and invest in a pair of studio monitors. I suggest the JBL LSR 308. There are many others.

Peace.
 
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rman9

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If you’re serious heed these people advices and run away from Vinyl. An inferior , difficult and fussy medium. Not worth the bother. I come form the Vinyl world where $5,000.oo cartridges and $10,000.oo turntables are “entry level”. Regardless of price these are all objectively inferior to an Apple dongle costing $10. You read it Ten US dollars. Stick to digital and invest in a pair of studio monitors. I suggest the JBL LSR 308. There are many others.

Peace.
So your advise would be to run from vinyl.. I have been itching to jump onto that medium.. When I was really young, I had a Philips TT with a ceramic cartridge and I enjoyed how beautiful it sounded. I have a good digital system now, but again.. the itch..
 

Tom C

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Sounds like my situation was similar. Five years and however many dollars later, the thrill is gone, baby.
 

rman9

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Sounds like my situation was similar. Five years and however many dollars later, the thrill is gone, baby.
That's my fear.. the itch leading to a slippery slope or hitting an oil patch.. What setup do you have?
 
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I grew up in the 1970s and vinyl was the uncontested ultimate source of high fidelity music reproduction. I abandoned the hobby for 30 years whilst surviving and finally exiting an unhealthy marriage mostly intact. Freed from that drain, I began to reexplore the field. Vinyl is an amusing detour from where I have found amazement; modern digital audio.
 

Tom C

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VPI Classic 4 with Audio Technica ART1000
Technics SL-1200GR with Ortofon 2M Mono SE
Both into McIntosh c2500 preamp, then to MC-275 power amp, driving Tannoy Definition DC-10A
Live and learn.
 

Holmz

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So your advise would be to run from vinyl.. I have been itching to jump onto that medium.. When I was really young, I had a Philips TT with a ceramic cartridge and I enjoyed how beautiful it sounded. I have a good digital system now, but again.. the itch..

I would not run to it, if you do not have a stack already, and if you are not hooked on the idea of it.
Just stick to digital and be happy.

I do pick up an album each week or so, but it is different, because I already have a collection and a TT.
 

Holmz

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VPI Classic 4 with Audio Technica ART1000
Technics SL-1200GR with Ortofon 2M Mono SE
Both into McIntosh c2500 preamp, then to MC-275 power amp, driving Tannoy Definition DC-10A
Live and learn.

Let me know if you are unloading any of it and are on the west coast.
 

Tom C

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I’m in the Midwest, but do plan to sell the tube stuff and the Tannoys. I’m waffling on the VPI because it is a handsome piece of gear.
 
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