Ooo nice! For the Emotivas, the front knob doesn’t control speaker volume?
No it does, I mean you would just have to get a volume control for the a150, but the a100 has a volume knob
Im super intrigued, it’s just the back power button -_-
Either I get the Emotivas A100 or an SMSL amp (Z didn’t review the Denon amp so Ima stray away from that one)
Any recommended SMSL amps? The SA300 and SU-8 look interesting
So I don’t think the sa300 is going to be enough power imo, and the su-8 is a dac, not a speaker amp
Dang I see, and right I meant the SD-18 sorry.
I really don’t want to get the Emotivas because of the back power button -_-
what to do hmmm
I use the topping PA3 for mine fills up my room with with headroom gets plenty loud but if you want more power I hear the smsl sa-98e is good
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True, but the 98e isn’t going to be as clean as the pa3 imo, but if you really want to crank them the 98e could be a good option
If the Topping PA3 doesn’t distort at high volumes, I’ll definitely consider buying that amp! I’ll keep reading reviews on Topping and SMSL speaker amps
I’m waiting for the SA 300 review from Z also
Actually im super considering the PS Sprout100 but as an all-in-one. So no extra DAC like the SMSL SU-8. Just the PS Sprout100 powering the RB42s and a potential subwoofer to fill in the low end bass.
Can I run optical from PC to Sprout100, then RCA out to RB42s and sub just fine without distortion, treble screech, overheating, or any other issues that I’m unaware of?
I have my sprout100 hooked up to martin logan motion 4i. drives them plenty fine and loud and distortion free. and they are not efficient at all. Thing about the sprout 100 tho, if you have a sub hooked up, the sprout100 auto xovers at 120hz. just keep that mind, if you do not have a sub hooked up it has a bass boost option.
It will drive the rb42’s with ease.
you would also not hook up rca to passive speakers. buy smallish banana plugs. they cram a lot on the back panel and large banana plugs will not fit. depending on your sub you will either LFE, dual rca, or old school wire in/outs.
What subwoofer do you plan on using? Most modern subs have LFE.
The sprout100 is a really good amp for sure, a great all in one
Yeah, I can’t recommend the Sprout 100 more highly. Powers my LS50s and sub with no problem
+1 on the Emotiva BasX A-100 amp. Super heavy duty amp and it looks great for a basic power amp.
I’m noob so sorry for the beginner questions, what does auto xovers at 120 hz mean? As in the amp’s max is 120 hz and going beyond has no effect? I do plan on getting a sub, bass boost from default windows enhancements always muffled and lowered the sound volume which was annoying.
Why no RCA? That, optical, and XLR is all I know because that’s what Z mainly praises haha. Oh and he hates USB because of the automatic prompts to install drivers. Don’t know what LFE and if wire in/out means that twisting the cable to fit into the lift-up port shit, holy moly definitely not considering subs like that.
I haven’t thought long term yet so I didn’t look up subs. I will after I decide on an amp all-in-one or dac + amp combo. Was looking into cheap brands because for me cheap subs work. I have a sub that came with the Logitech Z333 and I’m already super happy with that because simply it just filled in lower frequencies that the “monitors” can’t output
back power button is a deal breaker, i’m hella lazy lol and I imagine it would feel super awkward every time to easily power a dac at the front and then lunge forward to the back to power an amp.
Oh and I haven’t looked up the Martin Logan Motion 4is in detail, but dang they look nice and at a mid-range price. They must sound great!
Holy moly the LS50s are expensive, they must sound super nice even w/ a shitty amp haha. But then again great expensive speakers can reveal flaws of an amp or dac. So that’s great news. If you ever tried any SMSL amp and still prefer the Sprout 100s, that would mean a lot thanks!
I just bought these from Amazon can, and I listened to all your videos on amps, DACs and purchased: Topping D50s which goes to slee novo headphone amp which goes to a topping pa3 out to these incredible little bomb rockets! 80x80 is more then enough!!! Ty Z! <3
So, I didn’t plan on buying speakers until I was set up in a pretty permanent living situation. That’s what got me into headphones, because I could get really great audio for relatively cheap compared to “endgame” stereo/speaker setups will run you. After hearing a few really good headphones, I decided I wanted great desktop/nearfield speakers, but I only wanted to buy one pair vs. buying multiple headphones to see what I liked. I did a good amount of research and never saw anyone give these a negative review. I saw plenty of reviews saying other speakers were better, and there were better value vs. cost options, but I really liked the way they looked. Considering they are on my desk and about 2 feet away from me, I didn’t want to not enjoy looking at them. I spent $800 for these, and list price is $1300, but you can catch them on sale or with open box deals a few times each year.
The speaker community is even more eager than the headphone community to tell you your gear is crap. There are a lot of posts that told me the Sprout 100 wasn’t powerful enough to get the most of these speakers, but I think that more applies to a full room setup. At 2 feet away I barely have to raise the volume to get what I need from them, even if it doesn’t achieve what these speakers are capable of. I also own a turntable that I don’t use so much that I wanted to spend top dollar to connect it. The Sprout plays my vinyl when I’m in that mood, and does a great job with all my desktop gaming/movies and a surprising amount of music listening as I find the headphone out to be very underrated. If I could have done it all over again, I would have bought this as my DAC/Amp/phono/headphone all in one and wouldn’t have missed out on much at all. I haven’t owned an SMSL amp, but I have the D1 DAC that’s pretty much my endgame DAC until I maybe one day go all in on a Chord TT
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I had the same strat too of buying a headphone until I settled down, but they just don’t fit me for some reason. I tried the Sennheiser 600 and the AKG 712 pro and both hurt my head that are around the ears where the cuffs push on. Glad you like them! I’ll keep those speakers in mind for the much later future thanks lol
How does the Sprout sound alone vs Sprout+amp? I’m mainly interested in fullness, clairty, sound stage, accuracy, bass, decent lows and high range, and no screeching treble or distortion. Any detailsl will help me decide to purchase the Sprout speakers.