I've currently got my computer hooked up to a giant, old stereo system with tape decks and a CD player that I haven't used in almost a decade.
Is there a cheap way I can get rid of the mixer/amplifier/middle thingamabob between the speakers and have a compact box that connects the speakers to my computer?
>>25268 Not sure what you were expecting mate, £32 is pretty cheap when we're talking about audio amplifiers. You could easily spend hundreds on higher quality and power units, not that you should given that you only need them for PC speakers.
If I was in your position I'd probably pick up a second-hand car amp; there's millions of them around, they're solidly built and should sound fine, but it'd look weird on the desk and you'd need to rig up a PSU for it.
>>25268 >something I can buy off aliexpress for a tenner
You could do that, but it'll be a shit knock-off with half the circuitry missing that doesn't actually live up to any of the certifications that it claims.
>>25274 >>25275 In my old lab, we used to buy all of our lasers from a cheapo Chinese place. The instruction manuals and packing had some delightful Engrish. My favourite moment was when the university told us we couldn't buy anything unless it had a CE sticker, so they said "okay" and just printed one out and bunged it on.
This is oft-repeated bullshit. There is no such thing as a "China Export" mark.
There are shitloads of products out there with a CE mark slapped on them without any declaration of conformity, let alone any of the actual testing and documentation to support one. This is hardly specific to Chinese products, it is done all over the place.
There are also products out there with the wrong spacing between the C and the E. Often fully compliant, tested and documented products. Frankly I'm not surprised, because the proper version is just shitty kerning.
I was just laying out the regulatory label for a product last week, I carefully used the proper proportions for the CE mark, and it does just look shit.
That's rather the point. I've had multiple conversations with Chinese manufacturers and middlemen where I've requested a copy of the declaration of conformity for a CE-marked product and they've responded "no, no, is China Export mark". There seems to be a freemen-of-the-land kind of logic about mis-spaced CE markings in some quarters.
Of course I've also seen blatantly bullshit declarations, forged TÜV certificates, obviously fictional test reports and all sorts of other shenanigans. I can't count the number of exporters who've offered to slap CE stickers on a consignment of non-conforming goods.
Bloody Brussels bureaucrats, sharing information on highly dangerous consumer goods. You can't do anything in this country without someone trying to keep you alive.
>>25290 >>25291 It turns out the Chinese simply don't give a fuck about anything. Product needs a CE mark? Just slap one on. What if it doesn't actually comply? Doesn't matter, we'll ship it anyway. Just look at this fuss over the South China Sea, where the Chinese authorities have basically told the UNCLOS tribunal to go fuck themselves.
>>25294 Plenty of the warnings are sensible, like the fire-extinguisher which doesn't extinguish fires, or hair-dryers that burst into flames. But a lot of them are issues that should be resolved by common sense, like "childrens fancy dress can't have a tail on in case they get it caught".
>>25295 Oh please, UNCLOS and anything to do with the UN is just used to do America's bidding. Since when can you stroll into someone else's area of influence, someone else's seas, and tell them to stop doing what they are doing.
It's like The International Criminal Court; it is just an instrument to bully African and Asian countries. They might as well just call it the African Criminal Courts and be done with it.
Yes. The number on your speakers is a maximum, not a minimum.
Amplifier power is less important than you might think. Doubling the amplifier power only increases the loudness by 3db, which is the smallest perceptible difference in loudness. To double the perceived loudness, you actually need to increase the power by 10x.
>>25352 Soundbars are generally only the better setup vs. one alternative: rear-mounted, built-in HDTV speakers, and this is really the only thing that they are supposed to replace.
Soundbars need to have a low enough profile to sit under the front of the majority of HDTVs, limiting cone size and consequently the frequency/dynamic range they can produce. They typically compensate for this by saturating the range they can fill in various ways which invariably sound like shit. They have little stereo separation (never mind surround); it's a mostly unavoidable design limitation, as they must not be too wide to protrude out of the sides of the average set, and they're ~4 small cones sitting right next to each other in a straight row. Some like the Panasonic bar linked are slanted, which allows for larger cones, but project sound upwards at the ceiling, at the expense of poor room acoustics (the same problem that rear-mounted speakers have, though to a lesser extent).
If you don't have the room for something better, a £70 soundbar will beat what came on the back of your TV - but that wasn't even what the OP was asking for. They were asking for advice on an amp for a pair speakers they already own. It was a month ago so it's probably a moot point anyway.
Can I hijack this thread and ask for recommendations on a nice reasonably priced little amp?
I've been using a pair of M-Audio monitors for a while but the transformer on one of them has gone and the other has been buzzing a bit for a while, and I can't be arsed having them repaired. I've dug out a pair of lovely big 90s Kenwood speakers my dad had in the loft, and they sound great, but I don't want all this daft EQ nonsense going on, I just want a nice clean and accurate sound if possible.
A second-hand Cambridge Audio A1 off eBay should cost you about £50. It's not a massively powerful amplifier, but it sounds great and is utterly reliable. Pretty much every hifi geek has owned an A1 at some point.
>>25368 >>25363 What components are necessary for an entry level setup? From the little I've read, low end studio monitors (x2?), a DAC and an amp; but what about audio source? I have a large collection of flac albums that I play through my PC, so something that I could stream to from my PC?
Active studio monitors have their own built-in amplifiers. You only need a separate amp if you're using passive hifi speakers. A DAC or audio interface can stream music from your PC via USB. Consider an entry-level audio interface like the Presonus Audiobox or the Focusrite Scarlett Solo.
If you want your speakers in a different room to your PC, you can use a WiFi streamer or a hard disk audio player. Bluetooth streamers have limited range and reduced sound quality.
Wifi streaming used to be an expensive ballache, but the Chromecast Audio has changed all that. It's a £30 dongle that can stream lossless audio from any PC or Android device. It takes about 10 minutes to set up, it's ridiculously easy to use and it can be expanded to a multi-room setup if needed.
In case I wasn't clear, you'll need an interface/DAC or a wireless streamer, but not necessarily both.
The only other thing you'll need is the appropriate audio cable to connect the DAC or streamer to your speakers. If you're not sure what you need, let me know what kit you've chosen and I can make sure you get the right cable.
Thanking you sir. The Chromecast has a built-in DAC? Would you recommend the amp/passive speaker setup over the studio monitors? A hard disk audio player? How does that differ from the Chromecast? I will make another post this evening after some researching. If I went wired, and I wanted speakers in another room, I would need to run a long USB cable from PC to the DAC/speakers. Is this often done? What kind of specs would a PC need to stream audio? For example, I have a Raspberry Pi 3, maybe I could attach that to a DAC/speakers and stream to it, so it is doing what the Chromecast would have done? (I think I will get Chromecast for simplicity but I am just considering).
The Chromecast has a built in DAC. You plug in an amp or monitors, connect to your home wifi and it just works. It has TosLink digital output as well as analogue audio, so you can connect it to a swanky audiophile DAC if you so desire.
I prefer studio monitors, but there are merits to hifi gear. Studio monitors don't require a bulky external amplifier, but you do need to run a power cable to each speaker. They're designed to provide a neutral and accurate reproduction, while hifi gear tends to have a slightly hyped frequency response. There's a degree of personal preference involved. If you're spending a decent amount of money, it's worth heading to Richer Sounds and your local music tech specialist to hear stuff in person.
Hard disc audio players work as a stand-alone system, controlled via a traditional remote control or a special app. You plug the player into an amp or powered speakers, as you would a CD player. Some of them just play music stored on the hard drive, some can connect to streaming services like Spotify and Tidal. It's not an option I'd recommend, because they're very expensive and often have clunky interfaces.
Long USB cables require active repeaters every five metres. If you're using a wired connection over a distance, it may make more sense to use a long audio cable.
Any old PC is fine for audio streaming. You could use a Raspberry Pi as an audio player, although it's a considerable faff to set up. You'll need to install Linux, then figure out some way of controlling it. I wouldn't recommend it if you're not an experienced linux user.
The big advantage of Chromecast Audio is that it works absolutely seamlessly from your other devices. You just press the cast button in a supported app and the music plays through your speakers. You can stream audio files from your PC using Plex, but you can also stream things like podcasts, Spotify or iPlayer Radio directly from a phone or tablet.
>>25408 Okay, chromecast seems good. So all I need is DAC+hifi, or studio speakers. I would like ones that are good enough that if I maybe upgrade the chromecast I can keep the speakers without them acting as a quality bottleneck. Since the chromecast which acts as a wifi destination AND a DAC is £30 while the other entry-level DACS that you linked (Presonus Audiobox and Focusrite Scarlett Solo) are £70-£90, I guess the chromecast may be a bottleneck for audio quality (though I probably wouldn't notice it). I would like to have these speakers alternately in my room and in the living room of my shared apartment. Here is some equipment I have seen recommended:
Active:
Yamaha HS Series
JBL LSR Series
Mackie Mr6 Mk3
I wouldn't worry too much about the DAC quality of the Chromecast, it's not something you'll realistically notice on <£1000 speakers. It's just a wifi chipset and a DAC in a box, whereas the audio interfaces mentioned have far more features - headphone amplifiers, microphone inputs etc. They're not all that different in terms of DAC performance, which is a gnats fart from perfect in both cases.