what to look for in speakers?

Resa69

Resa69

Resa69

Associate
Joined
25 Aug 2013
Posts
186
Location
London, Northolt
Im getting one of them big ass hifi systems for my room for music and so I can hook it up to my pc for gaming. Are the watts all I need to care about? I saw some with ridiculous figures (like 190000w) etc.

Any input is appreciated
 
What HiFi did you get, what space do you have for bookshelf speakers/floorstanders.

Watts are not everything, quality low wattage amps can outshine high wattage generic models by a large margin.

More details needed.

Those ridiculous wattage figures you've seen will almost certainly be PMPO. Any brand that markets that value should be binned immediately.
 
mrk said:
What HiFi did you get, what space do you have for bookshelf speakers/floorstanders.

Watts are not everything, quality low wattage amps can outshine high wattage generic models by a large margin.

More details needed.

Those ridiculous wattage figures you've seen will almost certainly be PMPO. Any brand that markets that value should be binned immediately.
Click to expand...

I havent bought anything yet mate. I got quite a lot of space I can mount one of them shelves for more space if needs be. I cant really remember im going tonight to see but there were sony systems, lg etc. Nothing generic.
 
Get a NAD amplifier and some B&W or Dynaudio speakers. Will be much better than one of the "consumer" systems.
 
mx0range said:
can you give us a better idea of what a 'big ass hifi' is?
Click to expand...

I will post some pictures of them tonight with the price so you guys can give me some suggestions. Thanks for the replies.

NirK said:
Get a NAD amplifier and some B&W or Dynaudio speakers. Will be much better than one of the "consumer" systems.
Click to expand...

I will post some pictures of them tonight with the price so you guys can give me some suggestions. Thanks for the replies.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Resa69 said:
I havent bought anything yet mate. I got quite a lot of space I can mount one of them shelves for more space if needs be. I cant really remember im going tonight to see but there were sony systems, lg etc. Nothing generic.
Click to expand...

sony and lg are generic stuff for everyday consumers not for someone looking for something of real quality.

sony and lg are like fiat and ford compared to NAD and Tannoy which are more like Jaguar and Mercedes.

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/c-43-speakers.aspx

take a look there for some quality gear but you need to be far more specific.

how many speakers you looking for?

do you want a sub? or happy with getting enough bass from floorstanders?

do you want bookshelf speakers? or floorstanders? or ceiling/wall mounted speakers? etc?
 
Psycho Sonny said:
sony and lg are generic stuff for everyday consumers not for someone looking for something of real quality.

sony and lg are like fiat and ford compared to NAD and Tannoy which are more like Jaguar and Mercedes.

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/c-43-speakers.aspx

take a look there for some quality gear but you need to be far more specific.

how many speakers you looking for?

do you want a sub? or happy with getting enough bass from floorstanders?

do you want bookshelf speakers? or floorstanders? or ceiling/wall mounted speakers? etc?
Click to expand...

http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/hi-fi-systems/shake-5

Hello mate I'm not sure what type, however I just went and ive been offered these for £400 do you think its any good?
 
Resa69 said:
Im getting one of them big ass hifi systems for my room for music and so I can hook it up to my pc for gaming. Are the watts all I need to care about? I saw some with ridiculous figures (like 190000w) etc.

Any input is appreciated
Click to expand...

This is my mates "big ass" system
Qnrp1Mi.jpg
And it's "only" 9900 watts, so I'd be somewhat suspicious of any home system thats outputting ~200k watts!

As others have said, it depends what kind of system you are looking for.
 
Resa69 said:
http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/hi-fi-systems/shake-5

Hello mate I'm not sure what type, however I just went and ive been offered these for £400 do you think its any good?
Click to expand...

If the only thing you care about is volume, rather than audio quality and clarity, then yes it is fine and very loud, though not as loud as the 2400w spec sheet would have you believe, as it doesnt come with a 2400w power supply for a start
 
Resa69 said:
http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/hi-fi-systems/shake-5

Hello mate I'm not sure what type, however I just went and ive been offered these for £400 do you think its any good?
Click to expand...

what will you be using as your media source?

cd's? mp3 player? phone? laptop?

it's good if you want an all in one solution but if the amp dies your left with 2 useless speakers.

buy seperates and if the amp dies you simply replace the amp.

i would buy seperates like this

http://www.richersounds.com/product/floorstanders/tannoy/mercury-v4/tann-v4-dk-oak

plus

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/as500/yama-as500

then just plug in your source to the amp
 
Psycho Sonny said:
what will you be using as your media source?

cd's? mp3 player? phone? laptop?

it's good if you want an all in one solution but if the amp dies your left with 2 useless speakers.

buy seperates and if the amp dies you simply replace the amp.

i would buy seperates like this

http://www.richersounds.com/product/floorstanders/tannoy/mercury-v4/tann-v4-dk-oak

plus

http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/as500/yama-as500

then just plug in your source to the amp
Click to expand...

Sources are my phone, tv and computer.

Why would the amp die?
 
I would just like to say, that before I knew anything much about audio, I had a Panasonic SC-AK750, it looked like this: http://p.totu.pl/photo/hires/SC_AK770_EG_EB_080207.jpg
And I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. It had a claimed output of 750W and could shake a room. I thought the sound quality was just fine.

I then started listening to people who knew better than me, and got a 20 year old Sony Hi-Fi and a pair of old Wharfedale Hi-Fi speakers. I bought the old Hi-Fi for £80 used, and the speakers for £80 (bargain purchase), and they made the Panasonic seem utterly utterly disgraceful. It was a night and day difference. That two-decade-old not-particularly-special Hi-Fi amp, paired with those speakers, was 1000 times better. It even produced an equal amount of bass despite having no subwoofer, and it went equally loud, despite only having an output of 110W.

Since then I have upgraded my amplifier to a Marantz PM5003 which I found in a garage sale, barely used, and I still have the same speakers, Wharfedale Diamond 9.2's. (quite rare speakers actually), and for just £120, I have a setup which can easily send shivers down your spine when you supply it with a nice clean song.

I should point out however, that I was incredibly lucky to find those audio components for those prices.
 
Last edited:
Resa69 said:
Sources are my phone, tv and computer.

Why would the amp die?
Click to expand...

Because they aren't built to last forever.

I had one of those types of systems and the control centre died after ten years and I was left with two useless speakers.

Had I bought seperates the speakers could have been re-used with a different amp. The speakers you get with these systems will only ever work with the original unit and nothing else.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Because they aren't built to last forever.

I had one of those types of systems and the control centre died after ten years and I was left with two useless speakers.

Had I bought seperates the speakers could have been re-used with a different amp. The speakers you get with these systems will only ever work with the original unit and nothing else.
Click to expand...

Can confirm, amp died in my Panasonic system and I was left with some useless speakers. Best thing that ever happened to that thing. :p
 
Don't buy the Sony one...

If you want stereo (not 5.1) then get a NAD 326 Bee amplifier and some B&W 685 or Dynaudio DM 2/7... That will cost you about £600 same as that sony and will be much better.

The NAD 326 is rated at 50w RMS 400w PMPO but will probably go louder without distorting than the sony rated at 2400w. You will never actually use it at more than about 50% volume anyway so sound quality is more important. If you want massive bass then get some floorstanders or a sub.
 
Last edited:
I can vouch for the massive bass given off by good floorstanders :p The Tannoy V4 will rumble so well you will feel your chest thump (think like a minin cinema hall when action happens and you feel the bass in your body, not just hear it) if you call for it and that's the output from a "puny" 35wpc NAD amp :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom