R.I.P. my precious PM 2.1's

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cerwinvega

Limp Gawd
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Long story short...

Power surging, caused by faulty wiring in a house I moved into only recently (all fixed now, btw), has claimed my Promedia 2.1 kit I've had since 2003 or so. The set was on an APC surge protector, and was the only thing connected that was also powered on at the time. It may very well be coincidence, but I doubt it.

Tried two new fuses, the last of which resulted in a mighty *CRACK* sound from inside the sub, and....and then.....the smell of Magic Smoke :(

There's a guy on the Klipsch forums that does repairs, but I think I'm gonna just ship him my set to use as spare parts.

6 years is a good run, and it's time for something new:

- I want 2.1, and simplicity of use.
- I want something of comparable power.
- I am not interested in a standalone reciever/sub-sat setup.
- I'd like to keep it between $100-$200

What say you, [H] ?
 
AV40 if you can find them for $100ish

Energy sub from Audio Advisor is $100 (used to be $80...)

I think there are some Swan options that are good, but I'm unclear about your sub-sat comment.
 
Would I be able to use those with the audio output from this mobo ?

To clarify, I'd really rather have something I can just plug into the back of my PC, I don't want to run a receiver/passive bookshelf/powered sub setup.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Yeah they're both powered devices. Not the best solution, but it's what you want, and it should work well enough.

Plus a lot of the options that are much better involve bulky things, which I'm guessing is what you're avoiding...the compromise solution given that you're only after stereo would be one of the small desktop amps and passive speakers, but that's better on a slightly larger (~$300ish) budget I think.
 
cerwinvega said:
Would I be able to use those with the audio output from this mobo ?

To clarify, I'd really rather have something I can just plug into the back of my PC, I don't want to run a receiver/passive bookshelf/powered sub setup.

Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...

Yes, any active monitor setup such as the AV40's he was referring to can be plugged into you're motherboard via the standard 3.5mm jack.

The issue lies finding a quality 2.1 system. Most quality systems are 2.0, and you would need to buy a separate active sub to go with them. Is that something you are willing to do?
 
criccio said:
Most quality systems are 2.0, and you would need to buy a separate active sub to go with them. Is that something you are willing to do?
Click to expand...

I would be, provided the sub was no larger in physical size that the already large, for my tastes anyway, PM 2.1 sub, and that connections would be relatively simple.

I understand that the AV40's can be connected easily, but what of a standalone powered sub ? Same deal ?

If so I might just be sold on this setup.

Thanks for your help.
 
Subs deal with long wavelengths, and therefore need to be a bit large to do their job well.

It bears noting that the AV40s have fairly respectable bass even without a sub. If the bulk is a huge problem for you, get the AV40s and skip the sub.
 
id suggest getting the av40s and then, if the bass isnt enough, getting an active sub. But try the speakers alone first; they have a switch on the back that says bass boost which i leave off, but maybe i just dont like a lot of bass. they seem plenty deep as they are. however, they wont shake the walls like a 10" sub will
 
I'm all for a staggered approach too, then you know better what you're getting into.
 
soulesschild said:
Get a UPS next time :)
Click to expand...

I have one, an SUA750, but, I certainly won't be plugging ANY set of powered speakers into it, what a waste of battery.

As I said in the OP, they were on an APC surge protector so...I dunno. It may very well have been just a coincidence, as the APC never tripped.

To everyone else, thank you for your advice, AV40's it is. We'll see from there.
 
cerwinvega said:
I have one, an SUA750, but, I certainly won't be plugging ANY set of powered speakers into it, what a waste of battery.

As I said in the OP, they were on an APC surge protector so...I dunno. It may very well have been just a coincidence, as the APC never tripped.

To everyone else, thank you for your advice, AV40's it is. We'll see from there.
Click to expand...

That's interesting...maybe you could contact APC about their protection guarantee. I assume those surge protectors have some sort of money guarantee right? :D
 
What about the M-Audio BX5a's? About $190 and pack a lot more power than the AV40s.
 
If you go to Guitar Center is it possible to get a pair for around that much. My friend got a set for about $165. There are some NIB sets on eBay for 200 and some mildly used for $175-190.
 
Hi all,

Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread ... I'm looking for a 2.0 set of quality digital speakers. The M-Audio BX5as are about my budget, but are they digital? Does it matter?

What about the AV40s are they digital?

Cheers
 
btgman said:
but are they digital? Does it matter?
Click to expand...

Not really.

A dynamic speaker is basically an electromagnet whose amplitude and frequency of vibration are controlled via a variable current. "Digital" generally means that either there is a digital amplifier involved (not that useful of information) or that it accepts digital input, i.e. it has a DAC built into it. Sometimes that's desirable, sometimes not. Making an actual "digital speaker" would be...well, odd.

You can thank Logitech et al for abusing it as a marketing buzzword and generally muddying things.
 
ashmedai said:
Not really.

A dynamic speaker is basically an electromagnet whose amplitude and frequency of vibration are controlled via a variable current. "Digital" generally means that either there is a digital amplifier involved (not that useful of information) or that it accepts digital input, i.e. it has a DAC built into it. Sometimes that's desirable, sometimes not. Making an actual "digital speaker" would be...well, odd.

You can thank Logitech et al for abusing it as a marketing buzzword and generally muddying things.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. What I meant was, as you say, I'd prefer the speakers to accept digital input - I was under the impression this improves the quality of the sound. I have a pair of T20s at the moment, which are analogue and, since I have a digital sound card I thought it might be worth it.

So do the AV40s and the BX5as accept digital input?

Cheers
 
The AV40s don't take digital input, although they do have TRS jacks which is pretty nice. I'm not trying to sell anyone on them particularly, they're just a commonly available, reasonably priced, good quality option. The BX5a appears to only have XLR & TRS...both very good analog inputs, but neither lets you export the DAC.

The digital input thing serves one and only one purpose: it gets the signal to that point with minimal processing so that all digital-to-analog conversion and amplification occurs downstream of that point. If you have a decent amplifier / DAC of some form, digital input on speakers is usually a Bad Idea. If you are connecting them straight to your motherboard's onboard sound and it happens to have an S/PDIF port, then it could help somewhat by also improving the quality of those stages.

Incidentally, I glanced at those GigaWorks T20s. It looks like the AV40s should take them out back and beat the tar out of them irrespective of any source concerns. Getting a better source (in the form of a high-grade sound card, external DAC, etc) will just improve the AV40s further...but there's not much you cna do for the T20s.

If you want to improve the M-Audio speakers - get an E-MU. The 0202 is pretty effective even if you don't want to pony up for an 0404, and it can feed a balanced signal right into those TRS jacks while completely bypassing your onboard sound via USB. (The 0404 also has the option of optical input, the 0202 doesn't...this isn't such a huge issue if we're talking a computer source though.)
 
Wow - I've learned a lot here in the space of an hour. Thank you. I guess I'll stop stressing about 'digital' speakers, then.

I'd never considered an E-MU before but to be honest it's probably not worth it for me as I use a laptop and space is a premium so I don't really want to add the extra hardware and wires.

I was leaning towards the BX5as but you seem to be endorsing the AV40s quite heavily. You reckon this is the way to go? Any idea if the Audioenginre A2s are a better bet?

Again, thanks for all the info - it's much appreciated.
 
btgman said:
you seem to be endorsing the AV40s quite heavily.
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Nah, they're just a good option for the budget, and one whose quality is well known. Get the others if you prefer. Note that they don't have RCA or 1/8" connectors, so you'll have to come to an alternative arrangement with the wires...but I doubt it's something Monoprice can't fix cheaply.

Audioengine A5s are very nice. A2s are nice...but very small. Only go with very small if that's all you have space for.

Actually, I think an E-MU USB would be all the better for a laptop user. The odds of having good onboard sound are lower, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't come with PCI slots to install an aftermarket sound card in.
 
I feel like I've completely hijacked the OP's thread - but I guess this is all relevant to his question and the title ...

Ashmedai, I really appreciate all the info:

Space is an issue for me so the smaller the better would be great. But I don't want to compromise on quality if I can help it, obviously. So I was hoping the A2s would be as good quality as the AV40s (I don't have a problem paying the extra money).

If you're budget was around £150 and you wanted quality speakers, size being an important but secondary consideration, what would you go for?
 
Hmm, that's about $210?...so you have quite a few options. I'm really only sticking to a narrow list - if you see something interesting, ask. Also, used audio gear is a very, very good option that many audio enthusiasts eventually get into as a way to stretch their budget and recover part of their investment when they upgrade later. In one of these threads recently, Alai mentioned that he's selling off some Swan speakers he's done with - you could check if he still has them, if he's interested in selling them overseas, how much it would be, et cetera. (Swan is incidentally another good brand, and I think fairly available in Britain.)

If size is a big concern, the A2s are a very good option...but they will necessarily be inferior to something larger, especially in the midrange & bass frequencies. The A2s are unusual for their size in that they have proper cabinets, wood and everything, and are well engineered otherwise - so they will still thrash things like Logitech speakers.

One thing I would start thinking about is whether it's not better to get an amp + passive speakers. There are a lot of amp options that start opening up around $100, from small stereo units like a Gizmo to some limited receiver choices. There's also the option of getting powered speakers closer to the $100 side and spending $100ish on a DAC device like the Zero - the latter being a good option if you're also a headphone user. Me, I knew once the audio upgrade bug got me the first time that I'd be doing it again, so I went with the receiver and some cheap Polk bookshelves so I could upgrade more easily. Doing it again, I'd probably start in on headphone gear first - much faster quality gains for the budget.

The thing I would not be worrying about much until you hit around a $300 budget is a subwoofer. Below that, you're not really going to get a good one while still doing very well with the satellite speakers unless you find a really unusual deal. Most of the decent subs start around $100 alone, so you can probably understand why this is so.
 
Well, Asmedai, thanks again for all the advice.

I think I'll go with the A2s - I don;t have much space I it would be also be useful if they were fairly portable too. I consider my T20s to be reasonably good so I'm assuming that as an upgrade I won; tbe dissapointed.

My laptop is fairly highend so I hope the onboard audio is reasonable. I doubt I can hope for much more than that. So maybe I'll start thinking about an An E-MU or separate AMP for the future.

Cheers
 
I expect you won, yes.

I like incremental upgrades. There's no reason not to run the A2s off the the laptop, and you can get a USB device for them later. Amp...well, you can't really get an amp later for powered speakers - it's built into them, and usually can't be bypassed (without some tools and a soldering iron, anyway).
 
btgman said:
So maybe I'll start thinking about an An E-MU or separate AMP for the future.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Keep in mind the A2's are active monitors, meaning they are internally amp'ed. You can't use another amp to power them.

Unless you of course meant to say you might look into a DAC of some sort eventually.
 
Lol. I need to do some more reading before my upgrade. A separate Amp AND speakers for the future then, lol.

Btw, will there be a noticeable drop in quality with the A2s over the AV40s?
 
ashmedai said:
Yeah. They'll still sound great over the T20s though.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I was hoping it wouldn't be that noticeable. If the difference is considerable I should probably forget the size and go with the AV40s.
 
btgman said:
Hmmm, I was hoping it wouldn't be that noticeable. If the difference is considerable I should probably forget the size and go with the AV40s.
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the av40s are hardly portable, let me check dimensions for you.

~9" high, 6" wide, 7" deep, roughly
 
mnewxcv said:
the av40s are hardly portable, let me check dimensions for you.

~9" high, 6" wide, 7" deep, roughly
Click to expand...

Yes, that's true. Actually, I already checked the dimensions earlier. Anyway, having 'portable' speakers was always just a bonus and is secondary to sound quality.
 
btgman said:
I feel like I've completely hijacked the OP's thread - but I guess this is all relevant to his question and the title ...
Click to expand...

No worries, as my questions were answered on page one :)

Space is a bit of a concern for me though. I somehow didn't realize the AV40's were that big.

I'll definitely have to do some rearranging....

 
Dude, I've seen pictures of objects in another galaxy that had more pixels than that...
 
cerwinvega said:
No worries, as my questions were answered on page one :)

Space is a bit of a concern for me though. I somehow didn't realize the AV40's were that big.

I'll definitely have to do some rearranging....

Click to expand...

put the pc on the floor, slide the monitor to the right so that it blocks those shelves, put the stuff on those shelves on the top shelf after you find a place for your extra candle, coffee, and double width dvd case, put the left speaker where your old left was, and your right where the pc was. your welcome :D
 
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