Bookshelf 2.0 + cheap amp Vs all-in-one type 2.1s

TwsT said:
the law gives you 14 days to test them, they aren't sealed anyway and it's pretty hard to damage a speaker. As long as you take care of them I see no reason for you not being able to return them under your right to cancel.

Downside is sending two separate boxes back both weighing 5kg could get expensive.

Pretty sure once you get them back however and start listening to them you will know almost instantly if you're going to like them but I'd leave them a day or two and try them again to be sure.

As for halls yes you're right but private tenants also leave in june 30th at least they did in cardiff
Click to expand...

True, I may well just do that.

What would I need to hook a pair of them up to my PC? I'm struggling to figure this out... I don't need an amp, but do I need a soundcard? I've always just used my motherboard's built-in audio (Gigabyte Z97X SLI). Do I need a splitter and then two other types of cables?
 
right well you need a soundcard or Dac - onboard will be fine to start with.

you need an item that puts out an un-amped signal then you need some jack leads or rca - rca or rca to xlr.


If I am to be honest if you don't have a dac or soundcard I would consider a second hand AV receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers then you can run optical from the spdif on your motherboard to the receiver (which will act as a dac and an amp)

It will be the cheaper solution.

but yes you can if you want run the jbls from your soundcard but you'll probably want to consider a DAC or soundcard upgrade to get the best from them. On board is prone to interference and personally i find them to have average quality dac's.
 
TwsT said:
right well you need a soundcard or Dac - onboard will be fine to start with.

you need an item that puts out an un-amped signal then you need some jack leads or rca - rca or rca to xlr.


If I am to be honest if you don't have a dac or soundcard I would consider a second hand AV receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers then you can run optical from the spdif on your motherboard to the receiver (which will act as a dac and an amp)

It will be the cheaper solution.

but yes you can if you want run the jbls from your soundcard but you'll probably want to consider a DAC or soundcard upgrade to get the best from them. On board is prone to interference and personally i find them to have average quality dac's.
Click to expand...

Be aware if you want to upgrade to surround sound later that optical can only carry 2 channel PCM audio from the PC to the receiver, unless you buy a sound card that has DTS Connect or Dolby Live. An easier/cheaper solution would be to have HDMI out to the receiver, and have the receiver pass the video to your screen. This is providing you don't need 120Hz support though.
 
Marsman said:
LOL, true.

I might be tempted to go to RS and grab a pair of BX2's, if I didn't have to make a 120 mile round trip to get to their nearest store.

Plus, there's those AKG K612's that TwsT will be getting in that are winking at me! I don't really need them, but it's very tempting to buy nice things I don't really need!
Click to expand...
Gone to RS today at lunchbreak and met the helpful guy who kindly demo some smaller bookshelfs for me last Friday (bought the Q3010 in the end). Spoken with him about being aware of the BX2 on sale at £150 and debating with myself if I should get one, and explained I have read good things about the speakers but never listened to it in person, he kindly offered to demo for me.

After listening to the demo, I just knew I must have it! I asked about how much stock they still have (I haven't walk to have lunch so no car, so any purchase will have to be after work), and to my disappointment he said there's only 1 left and it was in Oak colour, with no black left. But I really don't want Oak colour, as the rest of my setups are mainly black...he then said there's opened box black one, but it was £135 which was barely any cheaper than the new ones at £150.

I returned to RS after work as asked more about the opened box, and it turns about I could get further 10% off the £135. I ask if I would be about to use the -£10 for spending over £100 after the 10% off, and he said typically they wouldn't allow discount offers in conjunction with each other, so the 10% off would work out better than the £10 off. I don't know if I was showing disappointment of won't be able to get £10 off after the 10% off, he gone back to the counter's PC and did some checking, and then he offer me the deal price £115, as a gesture basing on the fact they have 3 of the BX2 opened box and was able to give me this low price! At this price I was very excited, but of course with opened box, there's still the concern of the condition that they are in.

He went to the storage at the back and grabbed the "opened box BX2" that's still in the original package. He opened it up to check the condition with me together, and to both our surprise, the speakers appeared not even been removed from the warps! Everything looks like new...so why "opened box"? On further inspection...oh the manual and warranty card (if there was one) are missing :p So I ask him how would the warranty/guarantee stand if the warranty card is missing? He told me since RS would be handling the warranty anyway, all I have to do is fill in the 6 years guarantee card with RS like I did for my 3010, and they will take care of it if anything goes wrong! :D And so I proceeded to the counter and paid the £115, and the nice guy helped me to carry the box to my car outside :p

Anyway I have just taken them out of box:
Nmvm4Xym.jpg
KyyU9Ham.jpg
Have now set it up and burning them in. I am well chuffed for picking up practically a new pair of BX2 with 6 years guarantee for just £115! :p

Gonna need to get some better speaker cables though.
 
Last edited:
Marine-RX179 said:
Gone to RS today at lunchbreak and met the helpful guy who kindly demo some smaller bookshelfs for me last Friday (bought the Q3010 in the end). Spoken with him about being aware of the BX2 on sale at £150 and debating with myself if I should get one, and explained I have read good things about the speakers but never listened to it in person, he kindly offered to demo for me.

After listening to the demo, I just knew I must have it! I asked about how much stock they still have (I haven't walk to have lunch so no car, so any purchase will have to be after work), and to my disappointment he said there's only 1 left and it was in Oak colour, with no black left. But I really don't want Oak colour, as the rest of my setups are mainly black...he then said there's opened box black one, but it was £135 which was barely any cheaper than the new ones at £150.

I returned to RS after work as asked more about the opened box, and it turns about I could get further 10% off the £135. I ask if I would be about to use the -£10 for spending over £100 after the 10% off, and he said typically they wouldn't allow discount offers in conjunction with each other, so the 10% off would work out better than the £10 off. I don't know if I was showing disappointment of won't be able to get £10 off after the 10% off, he gone back to the counter's PC and did some checking, and then he offer me the deal price £115, as a gesture basing on the fact they have 3 of the BX2 opened box and was able to give me this low price! At this price I was very excited, but of course with opened box, there's still the concern of the condition that they are in.

He went to the storage at the back and grabbed the "opened box BX2" that's still in the original package. He opened it up to check the condition with me together, and to both our surprise, the speakers appeared not even been removed from the warps! Everything looks like new...so why "opened box"? On further inspection...oh the manual and warranty card (if there was one) are missing :p So I ask him how would the warranty/guarantee stand if the warranty card is missing? He told me since RS would be handling the warranty anyway, all I have to do is fill in the 6 years guarantee card with RS like I did for my 3010, and they will take care of it if anything goes wrong! :D And so I proceeded to the counter and paid the £115, and the nice guy helped me to carry the box to my car outside :p

Anyway I have just taken them out of box:
Nmvm4Xym.jpg
KyyU9Ham.jpg
Have now set it up and burning them in. I am well chuffed for picking up practically a new pair of BX2 with 6 years guarantee for just £115! :p

Gonna need to get some better speaker cables though.
Click to expand...

Excellent deal, enjoy them - mine are still playing away happily in my 7.1 AV system, I've had them for 4 years now and still don't feel the need to buy new ones.
 
That's a fantastic deal, Marine. Will they replace the QA 3010, or are you going to use them somewhere else?

Having lots a speakers is great. :D Although the disadvantage is that you can't just easily switch speakers like you can with headphones.
 
Marsman said:
That's a fantastic deal, Marine. Will they replace the QA 3010, or are you going to use them somewhere else?

Having lots a speakers is great. :D Although the disadvantage is that you can't just easily switch speakers like you can with headphones.
Click to expand...
The QA 3010 with my Edifier S730 sub would still be for my desk use, as 2 foot distance would be no good for using with the BX2 (and also my desk wouldn't be able handle the deeper bass, as it will vibrate and distort the bass sound), and nevermind the fact that I haven't got a stereo amp/mini hifi unit yet. I only have them hooked up to my Yamaha receiver as speaker B at my TV at the moment.

TwsT said:
wires, wires, wires everywhere!
Click to expand...
Those wires/cables are unused...I will most probably tidy up the place today, as it is getting a bit mess here :D
 
Last edited:
no i meant to have lots of speakers that you could easily swap on demand you woudl have wires everywhere, wasn't a comment on your room :P
 
Marine-RX179 said:
The QA 3010 with my Edifier S730 sub would still be for my desk use, as 2 foot distance would be no good for using with the BX2 (and also my desk wouldn't be able handle the deeper bass, as it will vibrate and distort the bass sound), and nevermind the fact that I haven't got a stereo amp/mini hifi unit yet. I only have them hooked up to my Yamaha receiver as speaker B at my TV at the moment.


Those wires/cables are unused...I will most probably tidy up the place today, as it is getting a bit mess here :D
Click to expand...

Don't speak to me about mess. :p My place is a mess and needs tidying up. I keep finding other more interesting things to do though! :D

Makes sense to not replace the 3010's with the BX2's. Glad to see logic overcame the desire for bigger speakers on your desk. :D

I once saw someone place floorstanding speakers on his desk. The crazy fool. :p
 
Right, I will probably go take a listen on Monday to the BX2s, but I suspect I'll end up buying the JBLs to try them out at least.

If I am using on-board audio for now I still can't figure out how to set them up - I've been told I need a 1xstereo 1/8" TRS to 2xmono 1/4" TS cable - but frankly I don't see how that would work. Only one thingy can go into each speaker, and one thing into my green audio output of the PC - but this has three connectors. They're also different colours, so I presume what's supposed to happen is I buy two of these cables, plug them into the speakers, then plug the other end into something else, which then plugs directly into my mobo?

Ugh, so confused.
 
I do like the look of the JBL's. I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my speakers, but those JBL's are just a bit too big for my desk.

Anyway, back on subject: Yes you need a 3.5mm stereo to 2x mono 6.35mm cable. Link
 
Iused my Ruarks with a Soundcard and sent the soundcard back and got a DAC to replace it and they sound so much better i paid £299 for my Ruarks so didn't want them to have just a soundcard
 
nicknack35 said:
Why use your PC for sound that be a total waste of good speakers and there performance buy a decent DAC if your speakers are active
Click to expand...

It's just a short-term measure. I would have to get worse speakers + DAC, but this way I'll get myself good speakers and when I can afford to I'll invest in a DAC.

Marsman said:
I do like the look of the JBL's. I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my speakers, but those JBL's are just a bit too big for my desk.

Anyway, back on subject: Yes you need a 3.5mm stereo to 2x mono 6.35mm cable. Link
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, yes, I've got one of those cables in my Amazon basket right now, but I still am somewhat confused. Do I simply plug the 3.5mm end into the green audio port of my mobo, and then one of the 6.35mm ends into each speaker? Or am I missing something?
 
Yes, that's correct.

The 3.5mm jack has what is known as '3 poles' jack. Left channel, right channel and ground. Each speaker needs mono (left or right) and the ground '2 poles'. The cable just splits the stereo into left and right.
 
Tacitus said:
It's just a short-term measure. I would have to get worse speakers + DAC, but this way I'll get myself good speakers and when I can afford to I'll invest in a DAC.
Click to expand...

Always the best way, spending the money on the speakers first. Great speakers will still sound good with an average DAC, whereas a great DAC isn't going to do much at all unless you've got great speakers connected to it. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom