Speakers to perform well at low volume

mercury2

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Looking for some speakers for my flat....since it's a flat I'm wanting something I don't have to crank up to get the best from them

don't have an amp or reciever yet

was thinking about £500 for speakers...just reading another thread and saw the KEF q900 are massively reduced as a new model is out, seem like a bargain but would speakers like those be decent at lower volumes?

would mainly be music via bluetooth, possibly connect up to tv/sky/consoles
 
I think the monitor audio bronze 2 do well at low volume. It's actually tricky to get ones that do, but I have these in a room where I can only basically listen low, and I like them. I can't say which ones are better, but 500 is a good budget
 
...the room is about 14ft square

I was thinking floor standing as there's nowhere suitable to sit speakers on just now, don't really want more furniture, stands would be ok I suppose, can see them getting knocked over tho :eek:
 
...the room is about 14ft square

I was thinking floor standing as there's nowhere suitable to sit speakers on just now, don't really want more furniture, stands would be ok I suppose, can see them getting knocked over tho :eek:
Standmounters on stands will take up the same space as floorstanders but may be better in a flat. If you buy heavy stands that can be filled and blutac your speakers to them, they won't knock over to easy.

The Jbls suggested above might be a great different choice. Add a Chromecast or a Bluetooth receiver and away you go, sorted, no amp needed. If you prefer ease of use look at the jbls and a marantz mcr611, use it's preout. Cd player, Bluetooth, streamer and optical ins for the telly, include stands and your still under 700 for speakers and a do it all hub
 
active speakers are sounding likje the better option... ones with bluetooth, even better..

these seem great value but geared more towards TV/PC? good review on here for them
Q Acoustics BT3 Stereo Bluetooth Speakers

something between those and the £2k! QEF LS50a wireless maybe
 
Ha ha, have a look at Yamaha nx n500 speakers, they might just be all you need
 
it's always the same when I come on this forum...end up looking at something completely different to what I first mention!!

those Yamahas look nice, doesn't seem to be a lot of active wireless larger sized speakers...or maybe I just can't find them
also been looking at other studio monitors like krk rokit 5, certainly more options if not wanting bluetooth intergrated
 
As you've mentioned studio monitors I'll suggest an option.

Pair studio monitors of choice at 300 or less. The Jbls are apparently great. I recently bought a set of Mackie MR6 mK3 that are quite big in that they have 6.5 inch woofer and can fill a space with sound. They also sound good at lower volume in my opinion of course.

So set monitors, a second hand av receiver that has preouts, I bought a marantz sr 4400 off a member here for 40 quid. The av receiver acts as my control hub, or similar to an amp and conventional passive set up in operation, but not in set up. The receiver has digital and analogue inputs and volume control for the active speakers. Throw in a Bluetooth receiver for 30 approx quid and a Chromecast audio. This is the setup I have in a converted shed, it's great.

If you decide to buy a cd player, any regular dvd or Blu-ray that has a digital out can act as a transport, radio is already built into receiver, just another option
 
having a (remote) volume control is a good point

think I'd be looking at a receiver with bluetooth/airplay if I went with the studio speakers, minimal is good!

suppose going to demo speakers is the best way but I find it hard to tell, standing up, in a shop, in the middle of the day.. only thing I have just now is Edifier r1600T plus for my PC, they sound alright but the bass could be punchier..
 
yeah, can't find a bad word about them apart from one mention that HS5's might be better for Rock...I listen to a lot of Classic Rock/80's guitar stuff, but I also listen to Classical and electronic music!
from what I can gather it looks like they're out-performing higher priced speakers....
I doubt there's even any need but at what price do you think other speakers start to get better than the JBL?
 
yeah, can't find a bad word about them apart from one mention that HS5's might be better for Rock...I listen to a lot of Classic Rock/80's guitar stuff, but I also listen to Classical and electronic music!
from what I can gather it looks like they're out-performing higher priced speakers....
I doubt there's even any need but at what price do you think other speakers start to get better than the JBL?
There's a bit of disagreement on this thread but might be of interest to you
Answered - Downsized Hi-Fi Setup
 
That got a bit cringed!...Think I'm like the guy in that thread, hard to believe something can be so good for the amount of money! might just go for these badgers.... JBL LSR305 Two Way Active Studio Monitors with Stands (Pair) at Gear4music.com

I rearranged my living room last night, put the Edifier speakers on stools either side of the TV to get an idea.(they usually sit 2ft apart screwed to the sides of a little corner desk!) Def going to need a remote volume control, hated not being able to adjust sound or mute as some channels are louder than others, I see the Q Acoustics can use the Sky remote for volume, a receiver that did that would be smart
 
That got a bit cringed!...Think I'm like the guy in that thread, hard to believe something can be so good for the amount of money! might just go for these badgers.... JBL LSR305 Two Way Active Studio Monitors with Stands (Pair) at Gear4music.com

I rearranged my living room last night, put the Edifier speakers on stools either side of the TV to get an idea.(they usually sit 2ft apart screwed to the sides of a little corner desk!) Def going to need a remote volume control, hated not being able to adjust sound or mute as some channels are louder than others, I see the Q Acoustics can use the Sky remote for volume, a receiver that did that would be smart
Gear4music are excellent and will refund you in full within 30 days if these don't suit (unpack carefully and keep all bits n pieces). Any bluetooth or chromecast will give you vol control, so at leat you can give em a spin
 
..I got a digital guitar amp from them before and returned with no problems, they even offer you 180 days trial/refund if you take out the extended warranty, which is £12 for these speakers, so 6 months to try them out!

for the volume I'm meaning the TV for Sky...know I said mainly music...it will be but after moving things around the only place to get the speakers far apart and not in a corner is either side of the TV, so may as well use them for the TV too!
 
..I got a digital guitar amp from them before and returned with no problems, they even offer you 180 days trial/refund if you take out the extended warranty, which is £12 for these speakers, so 6 months to try them out!

for the volume I'm meaning the TV for Sky...know I said mainly music...it will be but after moving things around the only place to get the speakers far apart and not in a corner is either side of the TV, so may as well use them for the TV too!
A control hub/ av receiver with front preouts or a preamp would make it a whole lot more user friendly alright
 
ordered the 305 speakers from Gear4Music, arriving the morn hopefully

need to do some research on a receiver, the way it's turned out it might make sense to get a surround system so the option's there in the future
ill just get a chromecast for now I think
tempted to just use wires the now but can see the speakers getting pulled off their stands!
 
there's a lot of connections on the back of that! :D

need to figure out what I need/want, these speakers are a fair bit under what I thought about spending, and no amp needed!
 
there's a lot of connections on the back of that! :D

need to figure out what I need/want, these speakers are a fair bit under what I thought about spending, and no amp needed!
There is indeed a lot of connections. You may find that a chromecast does everything you want. I bought an older cheaper (because it had no hdmi inputs) avr for 40 on here and it has digital, coaxial and analogue inputs. I have as said a bluetooth plugged in, ended up being a rather inexpensive set up considering the amount of connectivity

I had my eye on an Arcam Irdac 2, but didn't nedd it once I realised what the avr was capable of with its inbuilt dac etc (ps- I still want an Irdac, and am making up excuses in my mind as to why i need one :) )
 
kinda forgot..I have one of these in the loft http://bin.snmmd.nl/m/m1mywtwwetqn.jpg
cant plug a surround source in to it tho..not sure if the volume controls the line out either...just get 5.1 from DVD's, although thats not important the now..

more question...
am I right in thinking almost every receiver will use phono plugs for output to the speakers?

suppose it should be 2x RCA to TRS like this Roland Dual TRS - RCA Interconnect Cable, 3ft/1m at Gear4music.com

and...what is the usual way to connect a chromecast? TRS to dual RCA lead?
 
That line out would enable use with the speakers as a source selector, but the line out will be a full volume (likely 2v output), you need preout to be able to use the amp to control the speaker vol (you set the speakers at full vol, but the preamp controls the volume by increasing or decreasing the preamp voltage out to the speakers

this is the type of cable for plugging CCA to speakers
Bolongking 6.3mm Mono 1/4 inch Jack to 3.5mm Stereo Jack Audio Cable Instrument Cable Male to Male with Zinc Alloy Housing and Nylon braid (3m): Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

You also with jbl 305 need to select the right input switch mode (-10 or +4) depending on balanced or unbalanced, fyi cca in will be unbalanced
 
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ahh ok

thinkI see what a pre-amp does now

I'm assuming balanced is for studio use...does any hifi or TV equipment use balanced audio? my guitar/recording stuff I could use TRS to TRS but thinking about it, if it's always RCA plug outputs on av receivers etc it's always going to be unbalanced?
 
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Might I suggest this?

BOXED Arcam Diva AVR100 Audio Video Amplifier 230WATT, RDS Radio Tuner RDS, DTS | eBay

The easiest and least expensive way to get a top class preamp is to buy an older model top class AV amp still.

It has all the connection that you'd reasonably need. Unless you want hdmi switching, but that starts to get expensive. And it's unnecessary if you're not going all out home cinema bound.

The Arcam is a bargain at this price and you'll end up with excellence all round.
 
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thanks Paul...I really dunno what to get receiver wise so just going to keep it simple for now.....see what happens
can't seem to find a definite answer on how iTunes on iPad and a Chromecast work

was hoping it was as simple as all audio from the iPad goes through the chromecast, like with Bluetooth Audio in cars
but I see there's app's to get around DRM protection..why?
 
iTunes doesn't work through Chromecast alas.
 

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