I am setting up a new “office” and I find myslef in need of new speaker as a result.
In the very long term I would like to get some kind of dolby atmos set up, but I don’t think this will be the room for that so I am not really considering that at them moment.
So I am fine with some 2.1 system, mostly for gaming and I suppose some streaming movies/series.
It doesn’t need to be BUDGET budget but I also don’t want to break the bank with this. Maybe 500 euros at most for the entire setup, that would be the speakers, the sub, amp and dac. I suppose that might be a little bit tight when including the amp and dac though (which should double as headphone amp/dac)
The desk would also be right against the wall, so front ports would be welcome.
Reckon I’d be around 80ish cm away from the speakers at most.
As for the room, it’s…weird. There is no way I will be able picture this…
The red part would be the desk.
It’s like…1 room split, vertically, in two?
With the striped area being an alcove for the door.
And the horizontal line being stairs that might as well be a ladder.
So the desk would not even be centered against the wall.
I’m finding it hard to find reviews/suggestions.
There are a bunch of brands in europe that don’t get covered by US reviewers and vice versa.
And then there are some gaming combos that none of the audio reviewers seem to talk about.
Or you have speakers like the Micca MB42 versions where most people seem to agree they are nice and are available here too, but nobody talks about combining them with a sub or amp/dac. Like they might mention they’re nice with a sub but don’t give any suggestions.
Any input would be welcome.
++edit++
At least for the foreseeable future, this would be connected to an NVidia shield, so it appears I would need a bluetooth receiving capable dac or some some sort of AVR with HDMI so I can split the audio.
Right now I am looking at Edifier R1280T for speakers and ESI aktiv10S for the sub.
Since boith are active, I suppose I don’t actualyl need a an amp with this? Unless I would wan tot add some kind of tube pre-amp. that would leave about 200 for a dac.
Honestly the Swan M10 Plus (or the OG M10) is pretty much unbeatable in value. This coming from someone with the Swan Oasis 140 + Cambridge Audio Minx X301.
Can’t find any swan on amazon and the sub is a bit out of budget I would say.
that said there is an offer on ebay with a sub for under 100.
I’d much rather stick to amazon, for simplicity, but that seems almost suspicously good?
With the current setup I would be looking at an ifi zen dac v3 as dac. In that 200ish price range that seems to still be up there?
^ is all you need, if the dac in your source (TV/PC?) is bad enough though, I would just get a jcally dongle. Like the JA3. or even the Apple dongle. Saves a LOT of money instead of buying something like that Ifi you mentioned which is both a DAC and an AMP (amp part is not needed for active speakers).
and from what I read, the edifier s can sound a bit muddy, and the micca would be better if not for the lower bass, but since I would be adding the sub, that’s not an issue. would that be a better combo?
I really don’t like muddyness. I have like zero speaker experience but I enjoy my DT880 600 ohm and never felt they sound sharp. So having better high and mids seems like it would benefit me?
The DAC would also allow me to continue using my DT880 600hms.
I would not be using them regularly but if on occasion I want to play coop, that is what I would be using.
Of course if you have more use of it than JUST the (active) speakers, then there is use for it. Still, if you want the most value you would just pair an amp with a smaller dongle, that should be cheaper than a combo kit like that ifi.
Do note that if you buy from amazon.com and are in europe like I am (I am in Sweden), then it may cost around 100 usd extra for shipping/import…in which case you might as well buy this if you want a passive speaker.
or this for an active one.
to pair with another sub, it is certainly the more “future” proofed method than a 2.1 kit.
Ah shoot, I forgot the IFI ONLY has USB in, the RCA is only an output.
So that would not actually work. I can’t find an Analog to digital converter that puts out USB.
So I would need a different DAC one that can take HDMI or has some sort of RCA compatible in.
In the same class as the Zen CAN, because I don’t really want to downgrade from there.
I currently run a zen stack of the first generation, but that is staying in the current room.
That is to say… it COULD work but it woudl take one of the only 2 usb ports on the Shield.
I would rather keep that for other stuff if possible.
TV out (its in here if the shield is sending content to the TV)-> Shield in → shield out (usb) → Ifi in (usb) → ifi out (rca) → speakers in (RCA) → speakers out (sound)
There is no difference between sources that measures at least to a certain point, you have a harder time finding something that is actually bad nowadays.
TV out (its in here if the shield is sending content to the TV)-> Shield in → shield out (usb) → Ifi in (usb) → ifi out (rca) → speakers in (RCA) → speakers out (sound)
starting at TV Out? not following you there?
The way I see it, it owuld be
Shield (HDMI) → Splitter()
not straight to Monitor because it has no HDMI outout or coaxial, buit it does have SPDIF
and then:
Splitter(HDMI → Monitor (no TV)
Splitter(audio, so RCA or coaxial for most) → DAC(RCA) → amp(RCA)
->SUB(XLR)
->Speaker(Speaker cable)
or:
Splitter(HDMI → Monitor (no TV)
Splitter(HDMI or USB) → DAC(HDMI or USB) → amp(RCA)
->SUB(XLR)
->Speaker(Speaker cable)
OR, sure, sacrifice a USB slot and then go straight to DAC and leave the HDMi for the monitor. But that only leaves me with 1 slot. Certainly doable but USB slots are a premium. I’d prefer to avoid hubs if possible.
Or as mentioned above, after double checking, I suppose HDMI to monitor and then SPDIF back into DAC could work too. (but the ifi also does not have that)
A Fosi zd3 has SPDIF in and is a sabre dac, that would let me try out something different, see if I can tell any difference. And Bluetooth for that, matter.
oh ok so let me get this straight, you are not using a TV but a monitor and the shield is like a mini pc that sends the audio and the video?
in which case the chain would be with the ifi and this is where you cannot use an XLR sub but:
shield out (hdmi) → monitor in (hdmi)
shield out (usb) → ifi zen in (usb) → ifi zen out (Rca) → edifier T5 (sub) in (Rca) → edifier T5 out (rca) → speakers in (rca, or rca → banana cable)
Yes, PC downstairs streaming to the shield via sunlight/moonlight or whatever they are called.
Monitor upstairs connected to the shield…with keyboard/mouse/Controller, whatever else.
