Going around in circles need help! AMP + HiFi?

Xerco

Xerco

Xerco

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Joined
18 Aug 2010
Posts
347
Location
London
Hey!
My 2.1 SP2500 Corsair speaker system blew itself up, and after already replacing them once I do not feel like paying to ship them to Holland to get them replaced for the second time.

So my first question, 2.1 or 2.0?
I have been looking at: ProMedia 2.1, Logitech Z623 for 2.1's

But I do like the idea of 2.0 and having been looking at:
SMSL SA-50 50Wx2 TDA7492 T-AMP Hi-fi Digital Power Amplifier
Fluance SX6-BK High Definition Two-way Bookshelf

Does anyone have an recommendations on some nice bookshelfs with amp? My budget is around 250£. I have never bought a pair of HiFi's with amp, how much will I miss my sub? Will I notice?

Any guidance would be greats, thanks!
 
Fluance is a bit like BK subs. They're an internet-only direct-from-the-manufacturer speaker brand. By all accounts they're very good.

What impresses me most is the sensitivity. These are about $130/pr in the States. It's normal to see $:£ to account for transport and duty on most US products distributed in the UK. There's no European speaker that I know of with a conventional dome tweeter and 5" woofer that's anywhere near as efficient as the Fluance's 92dB. In fact, there's not many £500 speakers that are that efficient either.

If you can get your hands on the Fluances in the UK then they'd make a good match with a low powered T-Amp.

Yes, I know they quote 50W for the amp, but that's at horrendous distortion levels. Those in the know about the driver chip reckon it'll do around 30W at 1% Total Harmonic Distortion. That's still quite a lot of distortion compared to Hi-Fi amps which routinely measure a similar or higher wattage at 0.05% THD and without the roll-off issues.


For UK based equivalents, I've already mentioned that Fluance is a direct sales product, so there's probably £70-£100 worth of distributor and reseller costs and margin plus taxes and VAT to add to get an equivalent price range product in the UK. Given your £250 budget and the fact that there isn't anything around as efficient as the Fluances, then a slight rejig perhaps is in order to get a little more power from the amp to offset the lower speaker efficiency.

Speakers: Wharfdale Diamond 121 (£120) would be worth a look. Q Acoustics 2010i (£150).

Amps: If you liked the look of the little SMSL SA-50 then its bigger sibling the SA-98 (£70) might be of interest.
 
Hey thank you for the feed back.

Yeah I was looking into the Fluance and saw that.

I was looking at the Q Acoustics 2010i, but I found the Q Acoustics Q2020I are a little bit more expensive but seem bigger and overall better?

I also like that other amp. Thank you for telling me about the SMSL SA50.

So would Q2020I + SA-98 for around 240£ be pretty decent?
 
I've been looking at Q-Acoustics speakers currently too. I'd initially decided on the 2020i but I think their footprint will be just a bit too big for my desk as they're 278mm deep. The 2010i are 200mm deep which is a bit more sensible and puts them about in line with the front edge of my monitor stand.

That being said, Q-Acoustics have just released their new 3000 series range, so I'm going for the graphite 3010 speakers and a Topping VX1 amp/DAC. Little more expensive than the 2010i but still less than the 2020i.
 
TheVoice said:
I've been looking at Q-Acoustics speakers currently too. I'd initially decided on the 2020i but I think their footprint will be just a bit too big for my desk as they're 278mm deep. The 2010i are 200mm deep which is a bit more sensible and puts them about in line with the front edge of my monitor stand.

That being said, Q-Acoustics have just released their new 3000 series range, so I'm going for the graphite 3010 speakers and a Topping VX1 amp/DAC. Little more expensive than the 2010i but still less than the 2020i.
Click to expand...

I did not realize there was a 3000 series, very interested in the 3010 as I measured the 3020's up and they also do not fit on my desk. :(

I also like the the Topping VX1 amp, unless the 98 is better? If I could just fit the speakers onto my desk would It be worth it?
 
Honestly I've no idea about the amp, I was recommended the VX1 in my own thread a few weeks back and quite liked the look of it and the functionality it has. I've looked at a few alternatives but keep coming back to the VX1 and for £75 it seems like a nice unit and should hopefully pair nicely with the speakers.
 
Yeah I would have to agree it does look good. I also prefer the functions as you said. I may just go for this. So am I right that I just need some speaker wire and 4 4mm banana plugs?

I'v read different arguments on speaker wire, is there any difference? Also size of wire? Apologies for all the questions new to the HiFi scene.
 
With speaker wire at this level, you're trying to get as much power from the amp to the speakers with the minimum amount of loss. Distance increases the losses. Wire thickness is what can be changed to offset those losses. So the longer the run then the thicker the wire.

If you're looking at a desktop set up then the cable distances will be fairly short; maybe a couple of metres a side, if that. So the losses will be negligible. A 1.5mm cable will get you literally 99% of the power delivered to the speaker. You could waste a load of time debating the in's and out's of speaker cable versus mains cable versus coathanger wire versus etc etc etc, but in the end something decent such as 1.5mm thick in Van Damme Blue or Fisual S-Flex will cost you about £12 for 2x 2 metre runs. At that price (£1.50/m) is it worth wasting the time fretting over anything else?

Banana plugs make the wiring look tidier. They might be an idea for the amp due to its size. If your speakers need to be hard up against a back wall though you might want to consider just running the bare ends of the wire direct to the screwdown terminals. This will save you a good 2/3" / 2cm for not having the banana plugs suck out of the back of the speakers.
 
Sorry to hijack but I assume this is to be connected to a pc?

I've tried hooking up an hifi amp/speaker setup to my pc in the past but the humming which I assume was generated by the pc meant I had to go back to my logitec speakers.

I've not seen this SMSL T-AMPS before, would they be appropriate for a pc setup?
 
Hencore said:
Sorry to hijack but I assume this is to be connected to a pc?

I've tried hooking up an hifi amp/speaker setup to my pc in the past but the humming which I assume was generated by the pc meant I had to go back to my logitec speakers.

I've not seen this SMSL T-AMPS before, would they be appropriate for a pc setup?
Click to expand...

Poor shielding. That's either in the connection cable (very likely) or the amp is picking up interference as RFI from the PCs switching transformers. Other possibilities are insufficient signal level from the audio card, but that should affect the PC speakers as much as a Hi-Fi amp.
 
Ah ok, 1.5mm wire it is, as the distance is easily under a meter to each speaker. I may just use banana plugs for the amp and use the screwdowns for the speakers.

Yes this will connected to my pc via my Xonar DG 5.1 sound card (This should be fine?). I've read on a few sites that these speakers are not magnetically shielded, is this a problem? They will be either side of my monitor above my tower.
 
Thanks for the info on speaking cable lucid, was wondering about that. Found a couple of websites that will do specific lengths and fit connectors, saves me faffing with it.

Hencore said:
I've not seen this SMSL T-AMPS before, would they be appropriate for a pc setup?
Click to expand...

Yep, just takes an AUX input, or the Topping VX1 that I mentioned before uses a USB connection as it's a DAC as well, so it essentially replaces your soundcard/onboard sound.
 
TheVoice said:
Yep, just takes an AUX input, or the Topping VX1 that I mentioned before uses a USB connection as it's a DAC as well, so it essentially replaces your soundcard/onboard sound.
Click to expand...

So would this cause issues with my sound card? Xonar DG 5.1 or would they compliment each other?
 
The VX1 would bypass your soundcard entirely as it's USB. For me that's part of the appeal; I only have onboard sound. If you want to keep using your soundcard you may be better off with one of the amps you were looking at to start with that just takes a straight aux input from your soundcard. :)
 
Xerco said:
I've read on a few sites that these speakers are not magnetically shielded, is this a problem? They will be either side of my monitor above my tower.
Click to expand...

Mag shielding in speakers is a hangover from the days of CRT monitors and TVs. They're the ones that get affected by magnet fields. Flats screen LCD/LED monitors don't get affected by magnets. You'll be fine so long as you have an LCD/LED monitor
 
I might just replace my soundcard with the VX1.

lucid said:
Mag shielding in speakers is a hangover from the days of CRT monitors and TVs. They're the ones that get affected by magnet fields. Flats screen LCD/LED monitors don't get affected by magnets. You'll be fine so long as you have an LCD/LED monitor
Click to expand...

Ah right I thought so, but better safe then sorry :) Thank you guys.

Heres what i'll be going for:
Q Acoustics 3010
Topping VX1
Van Damme 2 x 1.5mm Audio Twin Interconnect Speaker Cable 2 Meter
Fisual Easy Fix Banana Plug
£225

Most likely ordering this tomorrow, but if anything stands out to anyone please shout :).
 
That was pretty much exactly what I ordered this morning! The VX1 from Amazon, and the cable (I went Fisual S-Flex black) and speakers from Audio Visual Online as they were doing 3.5% cashback (only £4.66 but it's something).

AVO dispatched earlier today so hopefully the amp is out tomorrow or Monday, would be nice for it all to be here for my birthday on Wednesday. :)
 
Hi,

Be interested to hear what you think when it arrives as I was literally about to do the same topping vx1, van damme blue cable just having a hard time deciding on speakers.

Hugest
 
Last edited:
Hugest_UK said:
Hi,

Be interested to hear what you think when it arrives as I was literally about to do the same topping vx1, van damme blue cable just having a hard time deciding on speakers.

Hugest
Click to expand...

Should have it all by sunday/monday I'll let you know in this thread.
 
VX1 arrived today, nothing to use it with until the speakers get here (and it's a birthday present anyway) but took it out the box and it looks like a very solid, well-made thing. Came with a standard UK plug too; had seen some reviews on Amazon I think saying you might need an adapter so I'm glad that wasn't the case.
 
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