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Amplifier + bookshelf speakers vs. powered?

R

repoman0

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
1,275
Hi all -

I'm looking at spending about $200-300, preferably at the bottom of that range, on a nice 2.0 or 2.1 setup for my computer, since I've been stuck with Logitech Z3 for a while and my headphones destroy them. I know that Audioengine A5, etc and Swan setups are highly regarded, but would there be any advantage in doing receiver + bookshelves and maybe sub? Would I get higher audio quality at the same or lower price point? Using S/PDIF optical out to a receiver would mean avoiding on-board sound processing, correct? (and also a motherboard swap for me, but that's irrelevant, less than $25 after selling)

Thanks!
 
This plus this will be rocking, shop around for better pricing.
I returned the Audioengine A5 for this along with some Polks since I don't need digital input, much better sound quality over A5s.
 
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I'll start by saying you can also do powered actives and add a (active) sub later should you feel it is required. That'd be personal preference really, I haven't felt such a need and I like my bass to make itself known.. my setup is more than good enough for me and you'd be suprised how far the low-end extends on some studio monitors.

About the other option with the reciever, well the advantages could be that on an analogue level the reciever sounds better than your computers soundcard (this answers your question about spdif) and well, that's about the only advantage I can think of, except for having a lovely, but big, reciever that you can do other AV things with and open the possibility of future upgrades to 5.1

Conventional wisdom would dictate that passive bookshelf speakers are inferior to active speakers, to be honest, putting the amps into the speakers themselves and matching the electronic characteristics of the amps to the physical character of the speakers drivers is the most logical thing in the World. Shame home audio is anything but 'logical' for the most part.
If applicable, there's really no contest between bi-amped actives, with active-crossover networks vs. passive + passive. More economical aswell, since one is paying for exactly the right amount of amplification required.

Edit: that setup Ghitz linked is nice, as a European I forget how little you folks pay for gear over there. To best that with your budget you'd probably need to go on eBay and get very lucky buying used.
 
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Solstice said:
Conventional wisdom would dictate that passive bookshelf speakers are inferior to active speakers, to be honest, putting the amps into the speakers themselves and matching the electronic characteristics of the amps to the physical character of the speakers drivers is the most logical thing in the World. Shame home audio is anything but 'logical' for the most part.
If applicable, there's really no contest between bi-amped actives, with active-crossover networks vs. passive + passive. More economical aswell, since one is paying for exactly the right amount of amplification required.
Click to expand...

I would disagree with this statement. Passive speakers are inferior to active speakers? Really, that is the first I have heard of that.
 
Superior by design, yes. Makes perfect engineering sense.

Only way to bring a passive speaker up to the level of an active speaker is to remove its crossover network entirely, use two (or three, depending) mono block amps per speaker and put an active crossover inbetween the line level preamp and the monoblocks and wire each amp individually and directly to one speaker driver each.

That would create a 'pseudo active' speaker and would also burn a big hole in your wallet and require many boxes of equipment, but otherwise the result / performance would be equal enough.
 
Depends on your budget and where they're being used really. For computer desk setup If i had £300 to spend i would by bookshelf speakers, if i have £800 i would buy a pair of Genelec monitors.
However if it was a Hi-fi setup in the lounge then that would destroy the need for near field.
 
They'd be used on my desk about three feet in front of me, and also for the whole room when I'm not on my computer. It's a small room though.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm not sure I like the idea of having to buy a receiver so I may still go with active powered speakers, unless the audio quality per dollar is far outweighed. I don't have a lot of room here as it is with only the Z3.

I have a while to think about it anyway before I get the courage to cough up that much money on something.
 
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