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The $700 Amp/Speakers Challenge

Blumlein 88

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oh yeah i could look around for used stuff of course, but the challenge here is a new gear within the budget. :)

as far as the reason for passives, i just like them better, and might want to upgrade in the not too distant future.

the Andrew Jones towers and Onkyo receiver were a considered option of mine.

oh, and I'm not much of a bass head. but could add a sub later as well

I have a good DAC. And don't bother suggesting good cables. ;) lol
Okay you might want to upgrade in the not too distant future. However if powered speakers give better quality at lower price, you've got more money to upgrade in the future and experience better music between now and then.

I think in the particular price range and use scenario you describe it is one of the areas where the benefits of active speakers is the clearest.

Also, the cable suggestion earlier in the thread wasn't some tweako expensive cables. It was simply a clean convenient way to connect your DAC with RCA outs into the XLR inputs of a powered speaker.
 
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Sgt. Ear Ache

Sgt. Ear Ache

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One more vote for actives. FAR and away the best bang-for-buck. Upgrading isn't an issue since any speakers that will significantly better the under $500 actives will cost many times more, so the loss of a few dollars of power amplification isn't significant.

It's 2019, not 1991.

i'm sorta stuck in 1984 myself. lol. I still like a separate amp with a nice big volume knob and a few other buttons to push. Call me crazy! :D
 

Blumlein 88

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Not to mention arguably the closest to full range you're likely to get at the price considering the "2.0 only" aspect. Though I chose the 305's because I felt the midrange was better than on the 308's - and was willing to sacrifice a little bass to have it.
Yes, I agree with you. For his budget he could also get the 305's and a 310 woofer. Though I understand the OP said he didn't want a sub.
 
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Sgt. Ear Ache

Sgt. Ear Ache

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oh yeah I always get something a little better than the rca's that come bundled with the component and some slightly heavier gauge speaker cable...but I don't really think it makes a difference that I can hear.
 

D700

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oh yeah I always get something a little better than the rca's that come bundled with the component and some slightly heavier gauge speaker cable...but I don't really think it makes a difference that I can hear.
Klipsch 6s are sweet if they talk you into actives, tons of fun, includes a DAC
 
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Sgt. Ear Ache

Sgt. Ear Ache

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yeah if I was running a hundred feet or something I'd want extra good stuff, but for 8 or 10 feet runs I don't worry much...
 

JohnYang1997

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i haven't heard any passive speakers come close to Yamaha hs7 under 1k. These are very good. Very very good.
Next step above is eve sc205, these sound really really good as well. More airiness, smoothness and more dynamics.
In terms of why active speakers are wise. You don't have waste on passive crossovers. And you get individual amping for each driver. That's way more ideal than the configuration of amp+passive speakers.
 

JohnYang1997

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If one is able to measure the distortion etc at the input of the driver after the crossover you will know how much degradation there is. I haven't done tests exactly like this. But I did test with headphones, test at the amplifier output and at the driver. The distortion is more than 10 fold at bass frequency. You can imagine what would happen with a passive crossover circuit.
 

StevenEleven

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I've had the fs-sp52s for several years now. I have not grown the least bit tired of them. I am listening to them right now and I literally listen to them every day. The thing is, you put them ON THE FLOOR (thus the FS). It is a very big deal to be able to just move and slide them around for optimal sound and imaging. I have powered speakers in other parts of the house. But around the fs-sp52s I have built an entire AV surround sound system. I have added or upgraded everything BUT the fs-sp52s. They have no flash. They just sound natural and let you forget about them. I would not want to upgrade from them because I would be concerned whatever I got would not be quite as good a fit for me. You put them on the FLOOR and MOVE them wherever you want. So they're a thousand speakers in one! Just slide them around ON THE FLOOR. And the sound changes!!!

Also the Onkyo TX-8020 has a sub out, if you want to take the $320 in pocket change and put it toward that. And you would put the sub and the speakers ON THE FLOOR. And move them around until you like the sound!

Are you gonna put your fancy powered speakers ON THE FLOOR and move them around until everything sounds JUST RIGHT? Are ya, you POWERED SPEAKER PUNKS?

I didn't think so! Nuff said. This conversation is OVER! :cool:
 
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Blumlein 88

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I've had the fs-sp52s for several years now. I have not grown the least bit tired of them. I am listening to them right now and I literally listen to them every day. The thing is, you put them ON THE FLOOR (thus the FS). It is a very big deal to be able to just move and slide them around for optimal sound and imaging. I have powered speakers in other parts of the house. But around the fs-sp52s I have built an entire surround sound system. I have added or upgraded everything BUT the fs-sp52s. They have no flash. They just sound natural and let you forget about them. I would not want to upgrade from them because I would be concerned whatever I got would not be quite as good a fit for me. You put them on the FLOOR and MOVE them wherever you want. So they're a thousand speakers in one! Just slide them around ON THE FLOOR. And the sound changes!!!

Also the Onkyo TX-8020 has a sub out, if you want to take the $320 in pocket change and put it toward that. And you would put the sub and the speakers ON THE FLOOR. And move them around until you like the sound!

Are you gonna put your fancy powered speakers ON THE FLOOR and move them around until everything sounds JUST RIGHT? Are ya, you POWERED SPEAKER PUNKS?

I didn't think so! Nuff said. This conversation is OVER! :cool:

I'll use something like this:
1562811754672.png

Or this:
1562811794456.png


For about $50, and not only move them around till everything sounds just right, I'll also adjust them to just the right height. You can do that with your floorstanders can't you punk? :)
 

JohnYang1997

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Class D amplifiers are getting better. If you don't worry too much about purity, the sound is fine. So, recent powered speakers are a good option.
Hs7 uses lm3886 which is cleaner than most commercial amplifier. And the fact the two drivers are bi amped there is much more power. Sc205 is class d amped which to me doesn't matter as the end result is good.
 
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Sgt. Ear Ache

Sgt. Ear Ache

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i haven't heard any passive speakers come close to Yamaha hs7 under 1k. These are very good. Very very good.
Next step above is eve sc205, these sound really really good as well. More airiness, smoothness and more dynamics.
In terms of why active speakers are wise. You don't have waste on passive crossovers. And you get individual amping for each driver. That's way more ideal than the configuration of amp+passive speakers.

so the volume control is on the back of each speaker? Back in the 80s, i owned a set of Acoustic Research powered partners. They sounded good, but adjusting the volume was a real pain.
 

JohnYang1997

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so the volume control is on the back of each speaker? Back in the 80s, i owned a set of Acoustic Research powered partners. They sounded good, but adjusting the volume was a real pain.
yamaha hs7 yes they are in the back. I personally use them at 9 oclock and it's loud enough for me.
Eve sc205 has the volume control in the front. That's more convenient.
 

StevenEleven

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These are supposed to be excellent as well. Sony. SS-CS3. Floorstanders.

$400 a pair. At most.

No funky volume knobs on the speakers. No rickety speaker stands. No bizarro world balanced-to-single-ended-cables. Just. Put. Them. On. The. Floor. Wherever. You. Like. Toe them in. Or move them away from the wall. Spread them out. Or bring them closer together. To fill your room. With optimal imaging and frequency response. Simple.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS3-F...Sony+speakers&qid=1562816321&s=gateway&sr=8-8

And don’t let all the satisfied customers scare you off. :D

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS3-F...d=1562816321&s=gateway&sr=8-8#customerReviews
 
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TankTop

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I’ve gotten component video cables from Comcast a couple times after giving their equipment back, I believe they are unmarked monster cables.
 

Blumlein 88

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I’ve gotten component video cables from Comcast a couple times after giving their equipment back, I believe they are unmarked monster cables.
I don't think they are unmarked Monster cables. They are pretty good, well shielded RG6. I've used a few myself. I've compared some with Deltawave getting better than 100 db nulls vs Audioquest Diamond Hyperlitz.
 

TimW

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I would like to suggest the inclusion of room correction in whatever kind of system you end up putting together. In my experience it will make much more of an impact on sound quality then wheather your speakers are active or passive, or how "clean" your amplification is.

Also don't underestimate the importance of good bass reproduction in a system. Even if you are not a self pronounced EDM loving bass freak, you will appreciate good bass.
 

headshake

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Pioneer FS-SP52 towers ($260 per pair) and Onkyo TX-8020 2-channel receiver ($120). $380 total, $320 to spare. All Amazon Prime.
I just recommended that same pair to a buddy... he ended up getting a soundbar because he thought towers were too big. Oh well.


Back to the $700 challenge... refurbs. If you like JBL, sign up for the mailing list. Things go on sale all the time. Refurbs have free returns and warranties.
 

BillG

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OK, you have 700 US dollars in your pocket - not a penny more! :) You need an amp, and a set of speakers for a small/medium-sized room. Your goal is to put together the absolute best, most highly-focused and straight-forward "bang for the buck" 2.0 system possible. No subs. No powered speakers. No muss no fuss. Just a good clean amp and a set of speakers. The source will be your laptop through a DAC you already have.

These, as they can often be found on sale for >=$250USD, and the Harmon group of companies knows what they're doing when it comes to speaker design:

https://www.harmanaudio.com/R162BK.html

And this, as it can be found for >$450USD, if one shops around:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-yamaha-wxa-50-streaming-amp.7964/

P.S. My source would be a PC/smart device via WiFi, since that amp doesn't have direct USB input for its DAC. It can, however, play audio files directly from an attached USB storage device.
 
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