I wonder if my now rather elderly Rega Kytes qualify as 'easy to drive'. I'm using a Sony mini system at the moment and, although the sound is reasonable, the system box has far more facilities than I now need. A simple amp would be a good replacement and let me bring the Kytes out of retirement.
New speakers, £100 budget, 5.1/2.1??
- Thread starter rick827
- Start date
Cheers for the reply.
I know all about getting into amp and separates territory, that was my problem in the first place! Hehe. I'm just worried that if I go for normal PC speakers the lack of sound quality will annoy me and decent mid-range is important. Especially seeing as I'm going from a fully amped 5.1 set-up to this.
This is partly why I'm so keen on the Aego's because they are closer to normal Hi-Fi than most PC speakers. I just don't understand why they couldn't include a headphone socket.
As opposed to a splitter, which as you say would reduce the sound quality, is it possible to get a switch that would send the full signal down one of either of the two outputs?
Cheers
Panzer
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I can't help but feel that many proponents of the separate amp/speaker route haven't heard what the Aego Ms are capable of, and lump them undeservedly in the same bracket as Logitech's sub-£100 offerings.
I've had the opportunity to compare a Cambridge Audio/Gale set up to the Aego Ms in the workplace; a roughly 50-square-metre room. While the separates kicked out some power and sounded quite neutral, the Aegos that replaced them were noticeably more detailed - especially at higher frequencies - with excellent tonal balance. Not harsh, always musical.
Other workers - all familiar with the separates' sound - commented on how they could hear things that they'd never heard before. Yes, that old audiophile cliche - only this time the separates were on the wrong end of the comparison. It was the audio equivalent of drawing back heavy curtains [or for a more muso analogy, like taking the toilet paper from the NS10s
].
They're not too bad for power, either: if you consider the on-switch of the Aegos to be at 8 o'clock, we never have to go above 11 o'clock to get good listening levels, and there's no doubt that there's headroom to spare [but we have adjoining offices to consider, sadly!]. They fill the room with ease; we've had people come into the office who think we're winding them up when we point out that all this sound is coming from these tiny speakers and sub.
As for burn-in, I'd say they might need some to 'settle' the top end, though it's hard to say with any objectivity. Any changes have been so gradual to be realistically imperceptible.
So while a separate amp/speakers combo can be the best listening solution [and I've yet to hear the T-Amp, though I've read great things], For less than a ton I'd go with the Aegos every time.
It's just a pity about the headphone socket absence. Still, any half-decent headphone splitters won't noticeably degrade the signal any more than an amp's headphone-amp routing would, I reckon.
I've had the opportunity to compare a Cambridge Audio/Gale set up to the Aego Ms in the workplace; a roughly 50-square-metre room. While the separates kicked out some power and sounded quite neutral, the Aegos that replaced them were noticeably more detailed - especially at higher frequencies - with excellent tonal balance. Not harsh, always musical.
Other workers - all familiar with the separates' sound - commented on how they could hear things that they'd never heard before. Yes, that old audiophile cliche - only this time the separates were on the wrong end of the comparison. It was the audio equivalent of drawing back heavy curtains [or for a more muso analogy, like taking the toilet paper from the NS10s
].They're not too bad for power, either: if you consider the on-switch of the Aegos to be at 8 o'clock, we never have to go above 11 o'clock to get good listening levels, and there's no doubt that there's headroom to spare [but we have adjoining offices to consider, sadly!]. They fill the room with ease; we've had people come into the office who think we're winding them up when we point out that all this sound is coming from these tiny speakers and sub.
As for burn-in, I'd say they might need some to 'settle' the top end, though it's hard to say with any objectivity. Any changes have been so gradual to be realistically imperceptible.
So while a separate amp/speakers combo can be the best listening solution [and I've yet to hear the T-Amp, though I've read great things], For less than a ton I'd go with the Aegos every time.
It's just a pity about the headphone socket absence. Still, any half-decent headphone splitters won't noticeably degrade the signal any more than an amp's headphone-amp routing would, I reckon.
At £25 it's worth buying one just to try, they sound very good. Quite a clear, neutral sound and a little light on the bass but overall quite enjoyable to listen to.
When I have a bit more money I am going to get some small speakers and set them up with my laptop, powered by the T-Amp I have.
Does your case not have a front line out/headphone socket?
You don't need a degree to realize when you look at any small speaker the midrange is not going to be all that how can it be when the speaker is 4cm in diameter.
I disagree on the above poster i too hear details i never heard before but put on some rock and crank the volume up and prepare to be disappointed.Look at the speakers size how can it defy the laws of psychics
and output anything other than the high end of the treble and lack midrange ? pc speakers are not much better than tweeters found on some separates speakers.It's no use saying wow these sound great when the music is all bass and treble of course they will sound great it's a sub and over sized tweeters basically.
I disagree on the above poster i too hear details i never heard before but put on some rock and crank the volume up and prepare to be disappointed.Look at the speakers size how can it defy the laws of psychics
and output anything other than the high end of the treble and lack midrange ? pc speakers are not much better than tweeters found on some separates speakers.It's no use saying wow these sound great when the music is all bass and treble of course they will sound great it's a sub and over sized tweeters basically.
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C64, have you actually heard Aego Ms in action?
Following your "frequency range is directly proportional to cone size" logic, in-ear headphones would be incapable of delivering nothing but a tinny fizz. Obviously, this isn't the case.
I'm guessing that you're blithely dismissing the many years' knowledge and experience of the people at Acoustic Energy - people who, let's remember, have quite the reputation within hi-fi and pro-audio circles as pioneers of big sounds from small enclosures.
If you need further convincing that size doesn't matter thanks to the appliance of physics and intelligence, take the example of Phil Jones - the creator of the seminal Acoustic Energy AE1s - and his methods of bass guitar amplification:
http://www.philjonesbass.com/PRODUCTS/SPEAKERS/SIX-PAK.htm
500W of solid hi-fi bass through what are - at least in bass amp terms - 'over sized tweeters'? impossible!
Look, I know that these forums go through trends of recommending certain products with varying justifications - Medusas, Shure E2Cs, Sennheiser HDs, Aegos, American muscle cars and BMWs [Hi there, Gibbo!] - and that one oft-squeaked mantra is "Separates over PC speakers for the unanimous win". When you're talking larger budgets, separates can easily show their power and class and put PC speakers in their place; but based on my experiences, for less than £100 you'd have to be either very lucky or very diligent to find separates that deliver the clarity, detail and transient-handling abilities that the Aegos do.
I guess it depends on whether one wants to sacrifice sonic integrity for more oomph or not; something has to give at this price point. Logitech's philosophy, to use a pertinent example, has always been "more powah!!! [and aesthetics]". AE's philosophy, well... isn't that. Not that I've found any Aego system lacking for power [I also own an Aego P5 5.1 system, and boy, does it shine in Home Theatre situations]. These unassuming little speakers can really project.
Heh, I guess I must be coming across as quite the rabid fanboi, huh?
Panzerbjorn: Sorry, I don't have any knowledge of splitters so it'd be wrong of me to recommend any. Having said that, Malcolm's front-panel idea sounds eminently sensible, if indeed your case does have front-mounted AC97 audio.
[EDIT: Right, I'm at work now, and I've just done a direct A-B comparison between the Aego Ms and the Cambridge Audio A1 amp/Gale Mini Monitor combo [total cost new: £150]. The difference is even greater than I remember, so either something's broken with the amp/speakers, or more likely: the Aego kicks the separates' ass into next week. Phew, rabid fanboi-ism justified]
Following your "frequency range is directly proportional to cone size" logic, in-ear headphones would be incapable of delivering nothing but a tinny fizz. Obviously, this isn't the case.
I'm guessing that you're blithely dismissing the many years' knowledge and experience of the people at Acoustic Energy - people who, let's remember, have quite the reputation within hi-fi and pro-audio circles as pioneers of big sounds from small enclosures.
If you need further convincing that size doesn't matter thanks to the appliance of physics and intelligence, take the example of Phil Jones - the creator of the seminal Acoustic Energy AE1s - and his methods of bass guitar amplification:
http://www.philjonesbass.com/PRODUCTS/SPEAKERS/SIX-PAK.htm
500W of solid hi-fi bass through what are - at least in bass amp terms - 'over sized tweeters'? impossible!
Look, I know that these forums go through trends of recommending certain products with varying justifications - Medusas, Shure E2Cs, Sennheiser HDs, Aegos, American muscle cars and BMWs [Hi there, Gibbo!] - and that one oft-squeaked mantra is "Separates over PC speakers for the unanimous win". When you're talking larger budgets, separates can easily show their power and class and put PC speakers in their place; but based on my experiences, for less than £100 you'd have to be either very lucky or very diligent to find separates that deliver the clarity, detail and transient-handling abilities that the Aegos do.
I guess it depends on whether one wants to sacrifice sonic integrity for more oomph or not; something has to give at this price point. Logitech's philosophy, to use a pertinent example, has always been "more powah!!! [and aesthetics]". AE's philosophy, well... isn't that. Not that I've found any Aego system lacking for power [I also own an Aego P5 5.1 system, and boy, does it shine in Home Theatre situations]. These unassuming little speakers can really project.
Heh, I guess I must be coming across as quite the rabid fanboi, huh?
Panzerbjorn: Sorry, I don't have any knowledge of splitters so it'd be wrong of me to recommend any. Having said that, Malcolm's front-panel idea sounds eminently sensible, if indeed your case does have front-mounted AC97 audio.
[EDIT: Right, I'm at work now, and I've just done a direct A-B comparison between the Aego Ms and the Cambridge Audio A1 amp/Gale Mini Monitor combo [total cost new: £150]. The difference is even greater than I remember, so either something's broken with the amp/speakers, or more likely: the Aego kicks the separates' ass into next week. Phew, rabid fanboi-ism justified
]
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Nice mini-review there simisker.
Fully justifies me ordering them last night now thanks!
Unfortunately I won't have the option of front mounted speaker ports for much longer because I'm upgrading to a laptop. However I did some searching yesterday and found what I was looking for
Panzer
Fully justifies me ordering them last night now thanks!
Unfortunately I won't have the option of front mounted speaker ports for much longer because I'm upgrading to a laptop. However I did some searching yesterday and found what I was looking for
Panzer