Recommend an upgrade

[SteveX]

I currently use Creative Gigaworks T40 series 2 after down sizing from a 5.1 system.
Now looking for some kind of upgrade but sticking to 2.0 or possibly 2.1 at a pinch as my days of going full on are definately over and simplicity is now king!

I know the usual advice is to get hifi bookshelf speakers etc and I may end up doing that if necessary.

However I have been looking through the various Edifier options on OC and wonder if any of those would be an upgrade over what I have?
Any thought or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Purgatory]

I currently use Creative Gigaworks T40 series 2 after down sizing from a 5.1 system.
Now looking for some kind of upgrade but sticking to 2.0 or possibly 2.1 at a pinch as my days of going full on are definately over and simplicity is now king!

I know the usual advice is to get hifi bookshelf speakers etc and I may end up doing that if necessary.

However I have been looking through the various Edifier options on OC and wonder if any of those would be an upgrade over what I have?
Any thought or suggestions would be appreciated.

What's your max budget ? As you can get 2.0 speakers/studio monitors that destroy any of Edifier stuff, but again depends on what you are willing to spend.

 

[SteveX]

Initial budget is up to £500 or so, but up to £1,000 or more if something appeals to me and will last for some time.
My needs are not particularly high these days though, some music, a little gaming, and the usual youtubes, etc.

 

[hornetstinger]

Avr and stereo speakers?

 

[JasonM]

With desk speakers it's critical to get them on stands, the area between the tweeter and main driver should be around ear level. You should also use isolation foam between the speaker and the stand. So leave around £50 of your budget for these things.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Initial budget is up to £500 or so, but up to £1,000 or more if something appeals to me and will last for some time.
My needs are not particularly high these days though, some music, a little gaming, and the usual youtubes, etc.

Just to clarify it would be for general media consumption, and for music it's not really to the extend of reference/critical listening but more on the casual side?

Without too much fluffing about may be just go for a Creative Sound BlasterX Katana V2 (soundbar with sub)? They have Standard mode as well as virtual Surround Sound for Game mode, Concert, Movie etc as well, and can also decode Dolby Digital 5.1 audio source.

 

[hornetstinger]

Just to clarify it would be for general media consumption, and for music it's not really to the extend of reference/critical listening but more on the casual side?

Without too much fluffing about may be just go for a Creative Sound BlasterX Katana V2 (soundbar with sub)? They have Standard mode as well as virtual Surround Sound for Game mode, Concert, Movie etc as well, and can also decode Dolby Digital 5.1 audio source.

Don't.

A cheap second AVR and stereo speakers will blow a soundbar out of the water.

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Carbon Fibre at AV.com

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Carbon Fibre at AV.com

www.av.com

 

[JasonM]

The Prodipe Pro 5's punch well above their wait in terms of quality, far better quality then typically consumer stuff. They are proper entry level studio monitors.

Enceinte de monitoring Prodipe Pro5 v4 Black Wood

Moniteur 5'' professionnel (50 + 25 Watts RMS, bi-amplifié) Black Wood(Vendu à l'unité)

www.prodipe.co.uk

They can be purchased for just £76 each due to a listing mistake, but forum rules I can't tell you where they are being sold but you could try the rain forest.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Don't.

A cheap second AVR and stereo speakers will blow a soundbar out of the water.

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Carbon Fibre at AV.com

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Carbon Fibre at AV.com

www.av.com

Have you bother reading OP's posts?

"my days of going full on are definitely over and simplicity is now king!"

"My needs are not particularly high these days though, some music, a little gaming, and the usual youtubes, etc."

He is already well-aware of the typical recommendation of the bookshelf speakers, so I suggested other options for his consideration based on what he said.

Also have you actually listen the Creative Katana before giving the generic "eeeew soundbar baaaaaad" comment?

I have a set of the ARCAM MUSO speakers with Cambridge Audio x301 sub AND the Creative Sound BlasterX Katana V1 for my desk setup.

For music no doubt my Arcam set up is better than the Katana, but for games and movies the Katana gives much better atmospheric feel and immersion thanks to the virtual surround vs stereo, at the slight sacrifice of music sounding good instead of amazing.

Also footprint is another consideration; the soundbar can just sit in-front of/under the monitor, while a standmount speakers OP would have to make sure he has enough desk space for it since most standard size speakers would be 2x or 2.5x the footprint comparing to the Creative T40 II.

 

[hornetstinger]

A stereo set of speakers and a AVR is simple. And he said upgrade. Not downgrade.

 

[hornetstinger]

"For music no doubt my Arcam set up is better than the Katana, but for games and movies the Katana gives much better atmospheric feel and immersion thanks to the virtual surround vs stereo, at the slight sacrifice of music sounding good instead of amazing."

Virtual surround is terrible. Katana subwoofer is a boombox. You need to upgrade your cinema sound system instead of making compromises.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Virtual surround is terrible. Katana subwoofer is a boombox. You need to upgrade your cinema sound system instead of making compromises.

Yea keep going...go ahead and keep making assumption on things you don't own or used and keep arguing with someone that have them.

Also I am good with my current cinema setup; I got 7.1 set up with the Tannoy Revolution XT6F and a BK Monolith sub along with my 75" TV in the living room side.

 

[Gray2233]

Yea keep going...go ahead and keep making assumption on things you don't own or used and keep arguing with someone that have them.

Also I am good with my current cinema setup; I got 7.1 set up with the Tannoy Revolution XT6F and a BK Monolith sub along with my 75" TV in the living room side.

I've used the Katana and it's frankly terrible, almost any of the Edifier options at around the £80 range blow it out of the water in any usage circumstance.

The OP has established that they're happy to go the bookshelf route and have a healthy budget, why on gods green earth would you recommend they go for a soundbar of all things? If you're genuinely spending that sort of money on audio and still think that the Katana is a good shout for someone with a £500 budget that's open to at least medium sized set ups I would suggest getting your hearing checked out bud.

@OP: You'll be hard pressed to beat an AVR and a good set of bookshelves, plus it'll give you options to expand down the line. If you don't want the bulk or expense you could look into a LEPY Mini AMP as they're fairly well priced and can power something like the Diamond 9.1's well enough.

 

[Marine-RX179]

I've used the Katana and it's frankly terrible, almost any of the Edifier options at around the £80 blow it out of the water.

The OP has established that they're happy to go the bookshelf route and have a healthy budget, why on gods green earth would you recommend they go for a soundbar of all things?

If the usage was specifically for music, then there's no way I would suggest the Katana and I would recommend bookshelf speaker setup every time.

But from what I seen OP's usage is not exactly after audiophile experience and listening to classical or instrumentals, but just general media consumptions mainly YouTube, little bit of music and gaming. I'm not saying that's the definitely one must go for the KatanaX, but just something that could be a consideration.

There's also the option of going for a Creative X7 and hook-up a pair of bookshelf speakers up to it and adding a sub as well, and it could then be use either in Stereo for music, or Virtual Surround for games and movies.

 

[mattyfez]

How about:

This

Tangent Ampster BT II

Shop for Tangent Ampster BT MkII Stereo Amplifier with Richer Sounds for expert advice and lowest prices guaranteed

www.richersounds.com

And this

Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 (Black Oak)

Shop for Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 (Black Oak) Speakers Per Pair with Richer Sounds for a 6 Year Guarantee, expert advice and Lowest Prices Guaranteed

www.richersounds.com

Nice compact stereo pair:
Dimensions WxHxD (mm)

150 x 265 x 228 inc terminals

Has sub out if you want to add an active sub at a later date.

 

[Purgatory]

Initial budget is up to £500 or so, but up to £1,000 or more if something appeals to me and will last for some time.
My needs are not particularly high these days though, some music, a little gaming, and the usual youtubes, etc.

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Monitor Speakers​

They are studio monitors that no small sized speakers can touch and can be found online for £287.60 EACH they are sold in singles as these are pro gear and studios buy them to setup ATMOS studios too. So a pair will be £575.20 currently they are normally £350-£400 Each £700-£800 a Pair. I own a pair and I have much more expensive studio monitors and audio studio gear and nothing touches these for value. The sound they produce is so clear and accurate and even sounds like you have a sub out of something so small for their size and the sound so deep and three dimensional. You really need to listen to them to really understand where I'm coming from. They come with an ARC mic too in each speaker and ARC is room correction and if you watch reviews on youtube you will see reviewers using the mic. I just keep them at Flat and enjoy them like that without any ARC, but a very useful feature too.


If you google "IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Monitor Speakers & 3m Stagg XLR > Stereo Jack Cables" you will find the place that sells them in singles for £287.60 and they have the pair bundle with XLR cables too for £577 this is what I purchased as I use xlr cables. but as said they have them in singles too so you buy a pair and the cable to connect them to your pc or audio gear, they are powered speakers so no need for amps or anything more, just your pc or you can buy a dac to connect to them too if you want better sound than the sound from your pc if it has a not so good sound card.

What are you using as a sound source laptop,pc with sound card etc ?



Some reading for you about them :-

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM

Though compact and affordable, IK's newest monitors manage to cram in a remarkable amount of tech — and the results speak for themselves.

www.soundonsound.com

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM review

A compact monitoring solution for when you need a forensic level of detail

www.musicradar.com

iLoud MTM MKII

iLoud MTM MKII high-resolution compact studio monitor with more efficient drivers and twice the processing power to turn any space into the ideal mixing and mastering setup

www.ikmultimedia.com

iLoud MTM MKII

iLoud MTM MKII high-resolution compact studio monitor with more efficient drivers and twice the processing power to turn any space into the ideal mixing and mastering setup

www.ikmultimedia.com

Google some youtube reviews too and you will see what I mean.

https://www.youtube.com/c/DSAUDIOreview/search?query=mtm

Sound review comparing to other well known speakers and studio monitors, but remember in real they sound different in the sense they sound a lot larger and really the videos there are to give you some idea of how they sound compared to some very large speakers to them too and very expensive ones too compared to them.

The guy that runs the channel also loves the MTM and thinks they are the best small speakers ever for their size. They sound like speakers a lot larger than they should be, it's a very strange experience when you first turn them on and you are like where is the sub and the large speakers hiding. Like I said above you need to get them try them if you like them keep them if not return them and try again, I do that all time with speakers/studio monitors and how I land at what I like. These will not disappoint at the current price they are, I paid more for them and still think they are worth it even now.

 

[mattyfez]

Dont' try to re-invent the wheel. A good compact stereo speaker paired with a good amp will do the job a lot better than some silly sound bar.

 

[Purgatory]

Dont' try to re-invent the wheel. A good compact stereo speaker paired with a good amp will do the job a lot better than some silly sound bar.

Ohh god no, he's coming from creative gigaworks t40 series ii that are not bad speakers for the price and going to some rubbish soundbar is a downgrade. What I mentioned above makes the creative gigaworks t40 series ii sound like cheap plastic speakers and they sound good for their price range and normally the ones I recommend to people on a budget and my partner has a pair of them and she loves them and I think for the money they are very good value.

The iLouds MTM sound like 8" speakers or 6" speakers with a sub in comparison. They also sound huge with their soundstage and very three dimensional, when singers sing they sound like they are right in the room and instruments sound where they should be and you get depth too not just left and right panning and even height appears in the image. I was very shocked when I first listened to them and thought here we go pc speakers sold as studio monitors... how wrong I was and wished I purchased them earlier when they first came out.


Check this out 8" Yamaha HS8's very well known respected studio monitors compared to the ILoud MTM.

The size difference is huge and the little MTM's sound like large 8" speakers and I have huge studio monitors too adam a77x and focal twin 6 BE studio monitors and subs with each too, so comparing to some of the best studio monitors in the world here the little iLoud MTMs and think the iLouds punch over their weight by a huge margin.

If he wants speakers not a lot larger than the creative ones he has but sound like 8" large speakers these are the ones to get. For their size and price the can't be matched, I'm even thinking to grab another pair after seeing their recent price as they have come down a good bit since I got them and keep them as a spare pair for another setup.

 

[mattyfez]

But they are big speakers. not desk top speakers. lol;

The warfrdale 12.x are kinda perfect.

Dimensions WxHxD (mm)

150 x 265 x 228


I'm still running old skool creative T20's as pc speakers, for gaming, for what it's worth. Brilliant speakers for gaming and music.

But I do have an audio out to a 20 year old kenwood AV amp, with tannoy speakers for my TV when I want to go wild, it's far too powerful for my living room.

EDIT: I do also have a paradigm PDR10 active sub, and that can rattle the concrete out of your bricks if you are not carefull.

 

[Purgatory]

But they are big speakers. not desk top speakers. lol;

What you mean ? Want to explain a little more ?