Cambridge Audio One & Minx XL Speakers?

TwinCalliber · 25 Jun 2015 at 21:36

Hey All,

Been looking at getting an amplifier and speaker setup for a while. Been using the AE Energy Aego 2.1 speakers for about 5 years or so now, feeling like an upgrade!

Was looking on richersounds and saw they had a deal for the Cambridge Audio One & Minx XL speaker for £350, which bought separately would be around £550!

Is this any good? I have the Asus Xonar essence sound card in my PC which I would put through it and would want to put my PS4 through it as well

Any alternatives would be appreciated aswell!

Thanks!

Marsman · 26 Jun 2015 at 14:26

That looks like a good deal, with the speakers included for no extra cost. There's a lot of good options though with £350 to spend.

One question is: How good are those Minx XL speakers?

That's a hard question to answer with very little to no reviews on them. Cambridge Audio do make some great stuff, but when it comes to their speakers I've always felt there are better alternatives. Sure, the Minx XL are effectively free you could say, but is the bundle going to be as good getting a cheaper unit with better speakers?

The Minx One may be a very good stereo unit, but the sound is only going to be as good the speakers.

RS has some other options, like a Denon DM39 and Monitor Audio BX2 speakers for £300, or Monitor Audio A100 amp and BX2 speakers for £280.

The BX2 speakers are excellent speakers and almost certainly better than the Minx XL I'd say. They are larger than the Minx XL though, so if they are too big, they have the smaller BX1 available.

I guess it depends on what you need from the main unit/amp, PC and PS4 connection aside.

Do you need a CD player?

Do you need Bluetooth, or some kind of wireless connectivity?

Do you need the unit to be small?

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jun 2015 at 15:00

Just dropped by RS during my lunch break and had a quick demo on the BX2 (as I'm tempted to get one as well as they are only £150 at the moment...but my local store is out of black colour only with Oak colour left...RAGE!). Haven't decide to buy it or not yet.

I really love the sound of the BX2, but I would say you'd really need to be at a distance to be able to appreciate it. If you are want speakers to be on your desk, you'd best to go with a small set of speakers.

nicknack35 · 26 Jun 2015 at 18:29

That monitoir audio amp and the BX1'S would be ideal for my tv for music and films but im torn between them and the Q acoustics 3020 speakers

nicknack35 · 26 Jun 2015 at 18:31

The genre of music we would be listening to would be oldskool dance if that would make any difference to the set up we are looking for any help be great

TwinCalliber · 26 Jun 2015 at 18:33

Marsman said:
That looks like a good deal, with the speakers included for no extra cost. There's a lot of good options though with £350 to spend.

One question is: How good are those Minx XL speakers?

That's a hard question to answer with very little to no reviews on them. Cambridge Audio do make some great stuff, but when it comes to their speakers I've always felt there are better alternatives. Sure, the Minx XL are effectively free you could say, but is the bundle going to be as good getting a cheaper unit with better speakers?

The Minx One may be a very good stereo unit, but the sound is only going to be as good the speakers.

RS has some other options, like a Denon DM39 and Monitor Audio BX2 speakers for £300, or Monitor Audio A100 amp and BX2 speakers for £280.

The BX2 speakers are excellent speakers and almost certainly better than the Minx XL I'd say. They are larger than the Minx XL though, so if they are too big, they have the smaller BX1 available.

I guess it depends on what you need from the main unit/amp, PC and PS4 connection aside.

Do you need a CD player?

Do you need Bluetooth, or some kind of wireless connectivity?

Do you need the unit to be small?

Thanks for the reply!

This is all going to be on my desk, which doesnt have much space on it, so the smaller the speaker the better really. So the BX1s would be more ideal over the BX2s, but they are bigger than the Minx XLs. I will be sitting about 2 foot from the speakers aswell, so is it best to go for something even smaller? The bluetooth feature would be cool, but I dont need a CD drive. Will it be an improvement over my current setup aswell?

nicknack35 · 26 Jun 2015 at 18:53

The current speakers i have for my pc are the Ruark MR1'S they have had good reviews and a few reviews on this forum from not liking them they are active speakers with A and B amp built in they are £300 but i love them they sound very nice for there size they pack a good old punch

Marsman · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:48

TwinCalliber said:
Thanks for the reply!

This is all going to be on my desk, which doesnt have much space on it, so the smaller the speaker the better really. So the BX1s would be more ideal over the BX2s, but they are bigger than the Minx XLs. I will be sitting about 2 foot from the speakers aswell, so is it best to go for something even smaller? The bluetooth feature would be cool, but I dont need a CD drive. Will it be an improvement over my current setup aswell?

As Marine has already mentioned, smaller speakers are better for a desk really, so the Minx XL or BX1 would be more ideal than the BX2. There really isn't much size difference between the Minx XL and BX1. 4mm difference in width, with the XL being deeper with less height but the BX1 being taller and not as deep.

Q Acoustics 3010 are another option if you need smaller again, but they have a 4" woofer compared to the 5" in the BX1 and Minx XL. 5" will have a better bass response.

No doubt any of the speakers mentioned will be better than the Aego M speakers, but obviously won't match them for bass, so it depends what you are expecting. If you were to go for the Minx One bundle, then that has a subwoofer connection, so you could add one at some point if you wanted to. Denon DM39 also has a subwoofer connection, although a dedicated subwoofer connection isn't strictly needed in order to connect one, as many decent subwoofers have speaker level and line level connections.

Given that the biggest consideration is the speakers, it's probably best to go to your nearest Richer Sounds store and give a few of the speakers mentioned along with the Minx One bundle, a listen. You'll get an idea of what to expect then, and also which speaker sound you prefer.

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:49

TwinCalliber said:
Thanks for the reply!

This is all going to be on my desk, which doesnt have much space on it, so the smaller the speaker the better really. So the BX1s would be more ideal over the BX2s, but they are bigger than the Minx XLs. I will be sitting about 2 foot from the speakers aswell, so is it best to go for something even smaller? The bluetooth feature would be cool, but I dont need a CD drive. Will it be an improvement over my current setup aswell?

I was at the same position. I am also sitting around 2 foot/60cm from my speakers, and previously I had my KEF Coda 7 with 5" woofer and it was too "in my face". I have gotten a pair of QA Q3010 from RicherSounds last week (after demo against the BX1 and the new Bronze 1). Now I can turn up the volume more than I did with my KEF, and despite the the smaller 4" woofer, I feel that I actually get more out of it, probably due to "more space" between me and the speakers.

The BX1 £99 was not bad, but the to my ear the Q3010 just sound sound better, and doesn't cost much more after the £10 off for spending over £100 as a VIP member and end up being just £129. The Bronze 1 sounded the best out of the three and I could go as far as saying it is in a league of its own, but sadly so is the pricing at £229 which is nearly doubling the price of the BX1 and Q3010.

Marsman · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:57

nicknack35 said:
That monitoir audio amp and the BX1'S would be ideal for my tv for music and films but im torn between them and the Q acoustics 3020 speakers

That's quite a dilemma. Both are roughly the same size and both have 5" woofers. The question is: Is the QA 3020 worth twice as much as the BX1?

I think the BX1 is the better buy, purely because it costs £100. That doesn't necessarily means it's the better speaker though. Without listening to them both, it's nigh impossible to say. Best to go to a Richer Sounds store and ask if you can have a demo of them.

Marine-RX179 · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:04

Marsman said:
That's quite a dilemma. Both are roughly the same size and both have 5" woofers. The question is: Is the QA 3020 worth twice as much as the BX1?

I think the BX1 is the better buy, purely because it costs £100. That doesn't necessarily means it's the better speaker though. Without listening to them both, it's nigh impossible to say. Best to go to a Richer Sounds store and ask if you can have a demo of them.

I too think a 5" woofers would not be ideal at only 2 foot away. I mean I would have gone for the 3020 as well, if not for the first hand experience of biggest is not always better when you are not sitting far enough away from it.

Should really just look at 4" that most suitable to your preference and budget.

To be honest, I think sticking with your Aego 2.1 is probably the best choice, given your environment. Wouldn't be surprised if they still sound better overall than the bookshelfs at close distance.

Marsman · 27 Jun 2015 at 12:32

This is the trouble when you have another person asking a question in someone else's thread. Confusion will happen at some point as to who is replying to whom.

That post was in reply to nicknack is looking at speakers to go either side of his TV, so considering 5" is probably the better option. The better bass response will probably be more welcome when watching films.

I don't agree though with the OP sticking with his Aego's will be better than buying some bookshelf speakers, purely because there is a big hole when using a 2.1 speaker system with small satellites. For music, I just don't like them at all.

Best for him to take a trip to Richer Sounds and have a listen to potential purchases himself, because it does depend on what his expectations are.

While I could never go back to using 2.1 speakers, I remember some guy who moved to some very good bookshelf speakers and was disappointed with them, purely because his 2.1 speakers had more booming bass. They were cheap, and he thought they sounded better. Go figure.

nicknack35 · 27 Jun 2015 at 18:32

I had a 5.1 logitech for my pc. Before i got my Ruarks and i would never go back the music sounds more open and clear even though i don't have a sub with the Ruarks they sound 100 times better i use them with a Musical Fidelity v90 Dac. There great for tv films and music love them

Marsman · 27 Jun 2015 at 18:45

Couldn't agree more! Not heard the Ruark's, but I can see where you're coming from. I did have some fairly decent 5.1 speakers at one point, but again, for music, complete pants.

nicknack35 · 27 Jun 2015 at 18:57

The Ruarks are a Great bedroom Speaker for our HTPC set up you would not think that they was only 20 WATT but i suppose that's down to the quality of sound. I wouldn't have them for our main tv in the living room (even though they would be better then tv speakers). But for a bedroom for sure i have them on Atacama stands

Marine-RX179 · 28 Jun 2015 at 07:17

Marsman said:
While I could never go back to using 2.1 speakers, I remember some guy who moved to some very good bookshelf speakers and was disappointed with them, purely because his 2.1 speakers had more booming bass. They were cheap, and he thought they sounded better. Go figure.

I was at John Lewis yesterday, and saw a guy returning a SoundTrue™ in-ear to exchange for a Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ Tour in-ear...go figure

TwinCalliber · 28 Jun 2015 at 10:59

Marsman said:
This is the trouble when you have another person asking a question in someone else's thread. Confusion will happen at some point as to who is replying to whom.

That post was in reply to nicknack is looking at speakers to go either side of his TV, so considering 5" is probably the better option. The better bass response will probably be more welcome when watching films.

I don't agree though with the OP sticking with his Aego's will be better than buying some bookshelf speakers, purely because there is a big hole when using a 2.1 speaker system with small satellites. For music, I just don't like them at all.

Best for him to take a trip to Richer Sounds and have a listen to potential purchases himself, because it does depend on what his expectations are.

While I could never go back to using 2.1 speakers, I remember some guy who moved to some very good bookshelf speakers and was disappointed with them, purely because his 2.1 speakers had more booming bass. They were cheap, and he thought they sounded better. Go figure.

Yeah if I can find them time I will. Im not interested in booming bass, would rather it balanced and realistic to what im listening to, I dont listen to much electro or drum & bass, mainly rock/metal, can add a sub at some point down the road if im not satisfied. I am really tempted by the Audio one package, has all the right connections for me.

TwsT · 28 Jun 2015 at 11:07

Marine-RX179 said:
I was at John Lewis yesterday, and saw a guy returning a SoundTrue™ in-ear to exchange for a Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ Tour in-ear...go figure

horses for courses

beats make a sound that some people like (72% of the market apparently)
thing is once you're used to that signature much like an apple phone it will be hard to move away.