Headphone or portable speaker upgrade - *all working now*

rodders

rodders

rodders

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Hi all

Currently have a pair of Sony MDR-1A headphones and a Sony X33 portable speaker.

Considering upgrading one, but not sure what will give me the most bang for £

I listen to music on my phone with both items and on my PC with the headphones. I plug them into my speakers on the PC, is this the best place to plug them in for the best quality? They are Creative Gigaworks T20's

I have about £250 burning a whole in my pocket, which I don't think will be enough to 'upgrade' my headphones, but should make a good difference to the portable speaker
 
I was comparing my music through the T20s and my phone and the speakers were awful. Never noticed until making a comparison!

I'll have a look at amp/DACs. Something else to think about.

The portable speaker is for taking to work, garage etc... I guess my headphones are when I sit and actually 'listen' to music. Speaker is just something the background.
 
Yeah, that's a good shout. I did think about upgrading the PC speakers. But I don't have a lot of room. I'll check out sizes and see what fits.
 
hmmmmmmm, cant fit the JBL's in!

Alterations made!!!!!!! and the wife is happy....wtf...lol
 
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Yes I can fit some speakers in now :D and I'm quite liking the idea

Is the SA36 powerful enough to drive them?
 
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Marsman said:
Yes; even though the recommended power handling on Q Acoustics site is 25-75W. The SA36 only puts out around 12W into 8 Ohm, which does sound like a feeble amount of power, but when you're actually listening to how loud the speakers are, it's more than it sounds, so to speak. My Topping outputs about the same and my Roth speakers are 8 Ohm; 50% volume is much too loud sitting at my desk. The Q Acoustics are 6 Ohm, so compared to the Roth's, so you should get a few more watts of power. Really more than enough, unless you have ears of steel. :p

Just noticed that the SA50 can still be bought from the jungle site. I thought it had been discontinued. That will provide a bit more power for an extra £10. 25W per channel into 4 Ohm, so maybe 17W into 8 Ohm.

Ideally, these little amps are best suited for use on a desk for close listening. That's the beauty of them, being able to use passive hifi speakers on desk without having to place a much larger amp, but it shouldn't be much problem to fill a small to medium sized room with sound if need be. Trying to fill a larger sized room with sound is when they may start to struggle and lose out to a more powerful larger amp.
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I'm sure it will be powerful enough then, the T20's don't do a bad job.

Been reading some people say the 3020's don't have much base, how could I integrate a sub in the future if I wanted one? there's no output on the SA36?
 
Could I go for something like:

SMSL A2 HiFi 2.0 Pure Digital Audio Amplifier TDA7492
then I can put a sub in if I'd like later
 
Marsman said:
You only require an amp with sub out if the subwoofer has only line level input. If the subwoofer has high level speaker input as well, it can connect to the amp's speaker terminals that way and just uses the signal for listening. The subs own internal amp will power it, not the amp it's connected to.
Click to expand...

So an active amp can connect to a speaker output on the back of the sa50?
 
Next idea, bring up Wharfedale diamond 10.0 speakers from setup downstairs for PC and replace them with floor standers :D

ok, that's quite a pricey idea!! haha

Quite like the look of the Dali Spektor 1's. Little bit more compact
 
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well two disapointments today

1st Amazon have decided they've run out of stock of the headphones, so I'm not getting those till sometime, maybe never.....?

2nd put all the speakers up, DAC/amp etc... and nothing works, grrrrrrrrrrrrr, no sound!
 
Little help please, I've disabled all but the optical out on my motherboard. There's red light out the optical. DAC set to optical IN. All I get it louder hiss as I turn the volume up
I've checked the audio out and that's not higher than the DAC can accept.
Updated to latest audio drivers
I assume any optical cable is ok, I'm using an old QED one I don't use on my TV anymore.

Any other pointers? Thought I'd just plug in and it would work, doh!
 
Yes and the green sound bar next to it is going up/down.
Says I should be using the optical line, as I am, if I check properties.
 
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