Question Should i get hifi separates instead of a bluetooth speaker?

sharpexit3000

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I have an Audio Pro Drumfire and think it sounds great but am I missing out by not buying hifi separates? I mainly listen to Spotify but have the option of going to Tidal for higher quality streaming.
 
I tried a Naim Muso ... twice. Firstly the mark one then the mark two. On both occasions they were followed by separates - quite modest ones.
I found the Wireless/Bluetooth/streaming speaker to lack something essential.
 
Unless you have two speakers (active or passive) suitably spaced apart there is no way of recreating a decent stereo sound field for your two ears. Even using two small Wi-Fi speakers (Sonos, HomePod, etc.) spaced apart will give a massive boast to the perceived sound quality.

So either buy a stereo pair of active speakers or go down the separate route if you want better sound. P.S. Wi-Fi will give much better sound quality than Bluetooth.
 
I have an Audio Pro Drumfire and think it sounds great but am I missing out by not buying hifi separates? I mainly listen to Spotify but have the option of going to Tidal for higher quality streaming.
If you were going to spend money, how much money would you have to spend?


The Drumfire is what it is, and does what it does, but it is NOT Stereo.

If you are serious about music, serious enough to pay for a TIDAL subscription, then you need to explore other options.

What those other options are will depend on how much money you have to spend and the size of your room combined with the ability of that room to allow you to functionally place a system.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Your question is equivalent to asking should I have a gourmet meal or a MacDonalds (apparently people eat them).
 
Separates all day long. Depending on budget you can tailor both amp and speakers to suit your room.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

I’ve decided to get some separates. I’m at my parents house during lockdown where my room is about 11’ x 12’, but in the long term I’ll be moving the system to my living room at my own house which is a bit smaller (not sure of the exact size).

what equipment do you recommend? I used to have monitor audio rs5s 13 years ago and i liked those, so i was thinking of the silver 200s. I generally listen to dance music and sometimes pop. I was also considering the Marantz nr1200 or the yamaha rn803d.

my budget is £2k.
 
my room is about 11’ x 12’,
living room at my own house which is a bit smaller

Whilst the MA Silver 200 are not large floorstanders, I think they are still slightly too large for both rooms, unless you want excessive bass - as some folk do.

For an 11' x 12' room and smaller, I'd suggest a pair of standmount speakers with a single 5" bass/mid driver in each cabinet. If you enjoy a heavier bass sound, maybe a 6.5" bass/mid driver in each cabinet. To obtain clean, deep bass in a small room, a subwoofer is often the best way to go because you can set the level of bass independently of the main speakers. Buy a pair of speakers too large for the room and you're either stuck with excessive, often soft-sounding bass or an equaliser/room correction is required.

Unless you decide to go for higher quality streaming, I'm not sure it's a good idea to blow £2k on a system to play Spotify files.
 
£2k is a good solid figure to play with but what sort of system are you looking at? Amp and speakers are a given but there are so many variables you can play with. Speakers: floor standing, stand mount or even powered speakers (with the amplifier built-in). Then do you want to play cds, vinyl, connect to a tv? You might want a separate streamer or one integral with your amplifier or something like the Kef LS 50 wireless which is essentially amp, speakers, streaming services all in one. Food for thought.....? Let us know more.
 
Your question is equivalent to asking should I have a gourmet meal or a MacDonalds (apparently people eat them).
I was going to say - Buttered Toast vs a Full Steak Dinner.

Still, yours works too.

But a lot of details are missing, mostly Budget.

Steve/bluewizard
 
£2,000 should give you lots of Options. Though small 5" Floorstanding might work I would be inclined to agree to start with Bookshelf, then add Sub(s) if you feel the need. Keep in mind this goes against my general philosophy, I'm a big-speaker big-floorstander guy, but I'm also a practical guy.

I might have a slight bias toward Wharfedale, they are very sweet mellow easy to listen to speakers, and would likely work well in a smaller room.

Right now the Wharfedale EVO are getting very good reviews, and the large EVO 4.2 bookshelf has a lot of praise. And Easily inside our budget.




At £600/pr, that leaves you plenty of money for Subwoofers if you feel you need them.

There are many reviews of the EVO speakers on YouTube, check them out. This person has several Reviews, and Comparison. He likes a mellow speaker, and ranks these above the KEF LS50 for sound quality.

YouTube - Tharbamar - EVO 4.2

Further, the Yamaha RN803D has Full Bass Management, so adding a Subwoofer using that Amp should be easy enough. Plus lots of features and plenty of Power.

Another Large Bookshelf that I like would be the Monitor Audio Silver 100 (£649) which has a 8" bass driver -


For music, if you decide to get one or more Subwoofers, I would not get gigantic Movie Subs, I would stick with something around 10". You are not necessarily going for Super Deep bass, but rather larger driver than your bookshelf to provide more impact.

BK Electronics tops the list of high value Subs -


Just off the Top of my Head, I would suggest the BK Elec - XLS200 (10", 275w, £355). Available in both Front Firing and Down Firing, and in a wide range of Finishes -


You mighty want to give some thought to the approximate seating distance from the Speaker. Bookshelf tend to do better close up. Whereas Floorstanding, depending on the configuration, can take a bit more distance to fully develop their sound.

Though pure speculation, I would say 10ft or more, and Floorstanding are probably OK. But 10ft or less, and I think you are leaning more toward Bookshelf.

But you can do what you want. Again, even if you choose floorstanding, the right configuration can be made to work at shorter distances.

EDITED:

If you decide on Bookshelf, I would not buy a Sub until you have had the bookshelf a while. Find out how close they are to what you need, then consider where you want to go from there.


Give it some thought.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Thanks for the further responses.

I have decided on the rn803d as I have had a Yamaha av amp before and liked how it sounded. I’d imagine the stereo amp would sound even better. I have also had floorstanders before in both rooms and they sounded great so I’ve decided to go for the monitor audio silver 200s.
 
I have my hifi set up at my house now. Sounds amazing. One complaint though: it can’t handle the bass from Valley of the Shadows; the bass seems to cut out before it gets really low. Do i need a subwoofer or do the speakers need running in? Any recommendations?

Also, I’m using Spotify at the moment which sounds pretty good to me, but am I missing out by not going with tidal or some other high quality service?

Thanks in advance for any responses.
 
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Bass will improve as the speakers run in, but you may also want to consider moving the speakers closer to the rear wall to improve the bass. Also check the speaker phase is correct and look for things in the room that may be creating a node reducing bass.

If after run in and playing with position you need more bass then a sub is the only way to go. At least the Yamaha RN803 has room correction to make sub integration easy.
 

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