Recommendations for affordable pair of active speakers?

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#2782170 22-Sep-2021 15:05

ilovemusic:

There was a pair of small Quad actives on TM a few weeks ago.

A bit scruffy looking but they can sound very good.

Otherwise, Audioengines over Edifiers.

Yeah, I'm happy to look second-hand, so have been trawling through TM (man, it really is time they sorted out their categories in this area - closest is 'wall speakers'!), and at the moment there's not much. A pair of black A5+s came on today but they want $550 for them s/h (essentially the same price as new from PB Tech).

There's also a pair of Paradigm Shift A2 active speakers - I'd not come across this model before but am comfortable with the brand (our main home theatre speakers are Paradigms). The problem with those is the seller wants $900, whereas (as I pointed out to him!) The Listening Post has recently sold a set for $500. Does anyone know if these are worth looking at more closely if another pair comes up for sale (or this seller becomes more realistic)?

bendud

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#2782180 22-Sep-2021 15:27

If you want to spend a bit more than the Edifiers, I'd go Rurark MR1 MkII. But they are a lot more expensive in NZ than e.g. the UK.

You could get quite depressed looking at the reasonably priced options available at Richer Sounds....

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jonathan18

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#2782205 22-Sep-2021 15:49

Yeah, the Ruarks are about $600 NZ if purchased in the UK, and $900 here, so quite a bit outside my budget sadly.

Interestingly, some models can be a good deal here - the LSXs are $1650 NZ at Richer Sounds but are $1500 at Rapallo - but that's an even more unjustifiable price!

https://www.richersounds.com/kef-lsx-black.html

https://www.rapalloav.co.nz/product/kef-lsx-wireless-mini-monitor/?gclid=CjwKCAjwhaaKBhBcEiwA8acsHNHS7SqYIJFLQiVLrApogomoiDvtiXhLiPC_1Os2pV5H9bc53BLZTRoCoLsQAvD_BwE&v=d76c77a873e2

jonathan18

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#2782493 23-Sep-2021 10:16

As I suspected, my partner's happy with the aesthetics of the 5+s (in bamboo), but won't countenance any of the Edifier range sitting in our dining room, so probably should have started out with that so as to narrow the options!

So it looks like the 5+s it is, unless I win Lotto or someone comes up with other options that don't top $700; I agree, as per Handle9's comment, my requirement for a line out does make it harder to find suitable models, but I really don't want to give up being able to fill out that lower end with a sub.

@Sideface: do you know if Audioengines go on special much?

Sideface

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#2782502 23-Sep-2021 10:28

jonathan18: @Sideface: do you know if Audioengines go on special much?

Audioengines are rarely discounted, and the bamboo finish is harder to find.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see them on sale now at PBTech for $629 ($699 elsewhere).

I'm almost tempted to get another pair myself ... 🙄

Sideface

jonathan18

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#2782526 23-Sep-2021 10:40

Sideface:

jonathan18: @Sideface: do you know if Audioengines go on special much?

Audioengines are rarely discounted, and the bamboo finish is harder to find.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see them on sale now at PBTech for $629 ($699 elsewhere).

I'm almost tempted to get another pair myself ... 🙄

Don't you dare! I added them to my cart at PB Tech and got a warning that as it's not an item they hold in stock they can't guarantee either supply or that the price is correct. I held off pressing 'buy' to make that previous post, just in case I need a backup plan (and find they can't supply them at that price). Or someone comes up with another alternative (which is looking unlikely...).

I imagine if PB Tech can't source them at that price I'll hold off a bit to give a firm like Computer Lounge to have a sale, as I'm not in any real hurry.

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bendud

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#2782588 23-Sep-2021 11:04

I have to say I would be tempted to increase your options by using passive speakers, and hiding a small amp with the chromecast somewhere out the way!

I'm not sure if you have a sub already? I see Wildash have a Bluesound speaker/sub combo for 599 on TM; the white version I think looks pretty smart.

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jonathan18

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#2782633 23-Sep-2021 12:29

bendud:

I have to say I would be tempted to increase your options by using passive speakers, and hiding a small amp with the chromecast somewhere out the way!

I'm not sure if you have a sub already? I see Wildash have a Bluesound speaker/sub combo for 599 on TM; the white version I think looks pretty smart.

b

@bendud: I guess that is a possibility, and worthy of some consideration because, as you say, the options re speakers does become far greater (including s/h options). It would need to be a very compact amp so as to still provide (most of) the benefit of getting rid of the current amp (which was a selling point to my partner!). And, if I went down this route I'd be looking at spending no more than the same amount (say $650sh) for both the amp and speakers (Yep, I do have a sub, so only looking for these.)

So I'd be keen on recommendations for both:

Compact amps:

size is critical - smaller is better, but still needs to be good enough to produce a decent sound and fill a medium-sized room
not worried re the number of inputs, remote etc, given its intended single use is via a CC Audio
needs a pre out for a sub
I'm wondering if an Ali Express-sourced amp or similar would be up for the job?

Passive bookshelf speakers, as per those earlier requirements:

relatively compact, especially depth (no more than about 22cm)
able to fill a moderately sized room with decent quality audio
a simple and attractive aesthetic (using the Audioengines as setting the standard!)

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice thus far.

tieke

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#2782648 23-Sep-2021 13:01

Regarding a good small cheap amp, I've got a couple of SMSL ones that are great - the Q5 Pro is the only small one with a subwoofer out, and a quick ebay search shows that it is currently about $200 delivered.

acetone

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#2782653 23-Sep-2021 13:08

I will add to the Audioengine 5+ recommendations.
I have had these for 6 or so years and they are great.

And yes I went with the bambo model :) but the black will do just fine.

Wakrak

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#2782683 23-Sep-2021 14:01

Shippy21 still works for free shipping @ PB Tech if you end up going through them. The Bamboo is $618 for me through University discount.

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#2782789 23-Sep-2021 14:14

+1 Audioengine. I’ve had a few different makes & models, even disregarding price Audioengine is still flat out the best listening experience.

Megabyte - so geek it megahertz

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#2782798 23-Sep-2021 14:21

There's some nice looking Peachtrees on TM, but look a bit deep for your size requirements. Gary Anderson has the well reviewed Dali Spektor 1s on sale in walnut, they are (I think) about 20cm deep.

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jonathan18

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#2782812 23-Sep-2021 14:36

Having taken a poke around at options for passive speakers, some of the better-value ones at the moment seem to be the Q-Acoustics QA3010 or QA3020 models at $300 and $400 respectively; so spending around $200 on an amp like that suggested above would be on-target budget-wise, but would the outcome be better?

Looking at that amp (SMSL Q5 Pro), it's certainly pretty small (137x103x33mm), but one thing I came across was its power consumption in 'standby' - as it'll be tucked away out of easy reach I'll not be wanting to turn it off on the device itself (wonder if it would work with a wifi switch? That's how I turn the current amp on.) What's your experience with this, @tieke, and any other pros/cons you'd report?

But I do have some concerns with these small cheap amps in terms of reliability, longevity power consumption, etc. Plus there is something nicely cohesive about a single product solution, and I'm certainly seeing lots of Audioengine fans coming out to recommend the product. Having an external component, however small, also makes it a slightly less easy sell to my partner (given part of the rationale for the original purchase was clearing out everything from the shelf!).

@Warak - that's a damn good price with uni discount, but how unfair of you to dangle that under my nose given I can't access it! Thanks for the free postage code, though.

jonathan18

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#2782830 23-Sep-2021 14:50

bendud:

There's some nice looking Peachtrees on TM, but look a bit deep for your size requirements. Gary Anderson has the well reviewed Dali Spektor 1s on sale in walnut, they are (I think) about 20cm deep.

b

Cheers - yeah, those Peachtrees look beautifully made but agree the depth may be too much, primarily as the speaker terminals are (assumingly) fully in addition to the 21cm given. Will read up some more on the Dalis, so thanks for the heads-up; did notice the relatively low efficiency of this model (83 dB), so unsure how these would be driven by a relatively small amp? (I do want the opportunity to listen to these loud on some occasions!)

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