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December 29, 2013 - 1:34pm
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Another set-up recommendations thread
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IMHO, if you will be listening to powerful dub and reggae and other "low music", it's more ideal to get good bass response from your main speakers, too, and not just from the subwoofer. So you might want to go up the line from that Pioneer model, which just has 4" mid/woofers. Check "recommended components" here, and Robert Reina's reviews of multiple affordable speakers, where he concisely compares and contrasts them too.
Those BS-22 speakers hould be a good choice, with a subwoofer.
I recommend that Music Hall A15.3 amplifier. I think it is the best one you can get in that price range.
For the subwoofer are there any particular good brands? The Pioneer SB22 range also has a matching subwoofer, should I go with that?
Thanks for the replies btw!
Plenty of good subwoofer brands, at all sorts of price points. But there's some sense in staying in the "family", so the Pioneer matching one should suffice.
There are lots of good subwoofers out there. The price range for a good one is around $700 to $4000 each.
I suspect that may be more than you want to spend.
The only ones I would recommend for under $500 are the JBL ES250PBK and the Polk PSW505.
You can get those for under $300, and they are pretty decent, within their limits.
For the kind of music you want to listen to, you will not be satisfied with anything smaller than a 12-inch sub with 350 watts RMS.
Well, seems like the Pioneer's are not available in my country :(
I have been reading up on reviews on the Audioengine a5+ and they seem to be relatively good including a good price (and they are available in Switzerland ;) ) I saw they were also on the recommended components list so I guess these would be equally good (or better) than the Pioneer's?
Thanks for all the help so far guys. I'll be happy when I can finally listen to some music with quality sound(have been using old Logitech speakers for 5 years where one speaker is broken).
Edit : The Wharfedales 10.1 also get universal praise, are they considered up-to-date with the competition? On What-hifi the reviewer suggested there might be better things out for the price...
The AudioEngine A5+ is amazingly good for the price. And they include a built-in amplifier so you don't have to buy an amp. You would still need a phono preamp for your turntable (or a preamp with a phono input). The preamp would also take inputs from all other music sources (CD, etc). Altho the A5+ can handle up to 2 line level inputs, without having to have a preamp.
I'd get their matching subwoofer (or one from another company) if you're going to crank that dub.
Is there any disadvantage of having active speakers (apart that they require a power source)?
For the amp I am looking at integrated amplifiers. Maybe I will adding more stuff to the system over the years, so I am looking for something future proof.
Yes, and every component and system and choice has pros & cons. Active speakers require a power source, and although their amps are optimized for their speakers, you do give up flexibility for more inputs as you note. You also don't get to upgrade the amp separate from replacing the speakers.
There are more choices in amps and in speakers when considering separates, since there are relatively fewer active speakers out there. Also, most active speakers in the consumer market are relatively small, often made for computer/desktop use, so for big speakers (mostly) you need regular ("passive") ones.
Ok, my sister's boyfriend (from US) is going to buy the Pioneer's for me and ship them.
For the integrated amp, the Music Hall is a bit too expensive where I live. The NAD C 316BEE seems to just make it in the budget, what do you guys think?