Edifier s350db vs edifier s880db vs wharfedale (12.1?) + amp +-sub vs...(??)

[Anthos]

So I've been trying to get myself sorted a bit in the audio side of things lately and in need of some opinions on the matter. (ah, the objective is in search for a couple of speakers to use on the pc for pretty much a bit of everything)

After some searching around I was at first gonna settle on the edifier s350d as they been having some great reviews. However one of the reviews I've read from a respectable (?) side mentioned that the s880db seemed to offer better performance then it got thrown into the mix as well. The latters are 2.0 instead of the 2.1 of the former but apparently they still hold up well.

While trying to decide between the two I ran into a discussion and then reminded of my self the wharfedale's that I was looking at quite many years ago as a home cinema option.

Apparently the 12.1 got released recently with not many reviews or information so far. I could go for the 9.1 that have been around for a while and are a bit cheaper. However issue is that it is a bit difficult to benchmark audio without being able to actually listen to the devices which is where personal experiences and opinions come into play.

Should I just stick with the edifier (either) and just call it a day? Or would the wharfedales (or other brand if you can suggest) sound so much better (and considering that price-wise it would most likely end up in a similar range no matter what I end up choosing) that not following that route would be asinine? Probably with the wharfedale's I would forego any sub and just stay on a 2.0 system but I am not fully set yet.

What do you people think?

 

[kidloco]

Those S880DB look interesting. I’ve had a few active speakers and they have all developed faults within a year or 2. Even my current set, an expensive (for me) pair of Dynaudio Xeo 2s have recently developed a fault and I dropped them off at Doug Brady’s hifi in Warrington yesterday. God knows how long I will be without them with all the delays going on at the min. There are 10 months old.

The point to all my rambling (I think there’s one) is that its got me looking again and I’ve been looking at proper amp and passive speakers. It would be nice to get more than a year or 2 out of them.

I really like the sound of the little Dali bookshelf speakers. A set of them paired with a little amp would sound lovely.

It’s hard to demo at the min. But try if you can.

 

[Marsman]

There are some very good powered speakers; and if looking at more expensive studio monitors, some excellent ones. Kidloco makes a good point though with faults developing with powered speakers. Because the amp is housed inside one of the speakers, it makes it more of a hassle should there be a problem.

There's the example above and not that long ago, someone posted a thread about an issue with some Q Acoustic powered speakers. With the QA speakers, the repair was looking at more than what it was worth.

I've always tended to favour passive speakers and an amp, partly because of the reason above.

I've got some Wharfedale 9.1's myself. Shame their cost as gone up a little, but they are still great speakers nonetheless. I don't use them on my desk though; too large and location restricts their performance. They perform considerably better on stands either of my TV unit in the middle of a long wall. So more room to breathe in other words. I did try them on my desk some years back, which is in the corner of a room, just for the sake of curiosity. The speakers that I use on my desk are smaller 4" woofer Roth's, which work better in that location; although, to be perfectly honest, even smaller cheaper Roth's don't perform as well as they can on my desk. Tried them on my speaker stands and they did sound better there. Nature of the beast; desk in a corner of a room is not the ideal place if you want to get the most from speakers.

To the question in hand, of whether to just get the Edifier S350DB 2.1 set. Edifier do make some good speakers and for 2.1 speakers, the S350DB look decent; but, you'd be spending £250 on a set of speakers that still have the amp inside one of the speakers (subwoofer), so there is still the hassle if a fault develops at some point. Such speakers are convenient, but that can come at a cost.

In years gone by, Acoutic Energy Aego M 2.1 speakers cost around £120. That was a good price to pay for the convenience of 2.1, which also got decent sounding speakers. Now, majority of £100 2.1 speakers are rubbish and you've got to pay £200+ for anything decent. If you pay less, there is a less of a concern should something fail and whole thing becomes useless.

I'd more inclined to get passive speakers and an amp with the option of a subwoofer at a later date if required, which is probably not surprising, given what I put above.

Whilst on the thought of passive speakers; didn't know Wharfedale had released a Diamond 12 series. I'm disappointed they dropped they curved cabinets that graced the 9, 10 and 11 Diamond's.