[Skwalker]

For computer audio, could anyone please share inputs on some or all of the following speakers both individually and in comparison with each other, or even comparison with other speakers not listed here if experience allows that:
Adam Audio F5
Emotiva Airmotiv4
PSB Alpha PS1 + PSB SubSeries 100
Aktimate Mini+
Paradigm Shift A2
 
I'm not an audiophile, mainly just want a pretty good lasting speaker. But who knows, maybe I'll turn into an audiophile with a good speaker on hand!  I am considering all 5 of these speakers.
 
All 5 of these speakers as a set listed would cost very similar price in my region.
 
I know Adam and Emotiva are classified under Studio Monitor, but would they still make youtube or lower quality music sound nice?
 
PSB Alpha PS1 seems to be the only one not classified as hi-fi here, but it is said to excel high-mid range; with the addition of the included sub, it'd fill the lower range as well. Would this make the PSB comparable to the other speakers in terms of sound quality?
 
How are each of those considering music,  watching movies/videos, and gaming?
 
Appreciate any response, any would help me a lot in my decision!!

 

[cel4145]

Hi-fi is an overused term by marketers to describe anything that plays audio. So don't concern yourself with whether or not something is described as "hi-fi" or not. The PSB sub should go lower than any of those other speakers, if that is important to you. Deeper bass extension can be a plus for certain types of music, movie watching, and gaming

I tend to think that the problem is not so much that some speakers make bad recordings sound bad, as they tend to make good recording sound so good that you notice the difference more. It it were me, I would just pick the ones that you feel have the best overall sound quality.

Emotiva Airmotiv are currently unavailable here in the US. Sure you can still get them?

A lot of those speakers have been discussed extensively on head-fi already. If you google the speaker name/model with the term "head-fi", you'll find lots of threads discussing many of them. Also try searching for reviews of them on CNET (using CNET as a search term);l know that CNET has reviewed some of them. Try Stereophile, too

 

[Skwalker]

Hi-fi is an overused term by marketers to describe anything that plays audio. So don't concern yourself with whether or not something is described as "hi-fi" or not. The PSB sub should go lower than any of those other speakers, if that is important to you. Deeper bass extension can be a plus for certain types of music, movie watching, and gaming

I tend to think that the problem is not so much that some speakers make bad recordings sound bad, as they tend to make good recording sound so good that you notice the difference more. It it were me, I would just pick the ones that you feel have the best overall sound quality.

Emotiva Airmotiv are currently unavailable here in the US. Sure you can still get them?

A lot of those speakers have been discussed extensively on head-fi already. If you google the speaker name/model with the term "head-fi", you'll find lots of threads discussing many of them. Also try searching for reviews of them on CNET (using CNET as a search term);l know that CNET has reviewed some of them. Try Stereophile, too

 
 
Thanks for your reply!!
 
Could I ask another question?
 
I was trying out the PSB Alpha PS1 + PSB SubSeries 100  at my friend's house. I discovered that the PSB SubSeries 100 (subwoofer) consistently have a hissing sound that can clearly be heard even more than 5 feet away in a quiet room. I think it may be too loud to ignore it as "white noise"...
The hissing sound:
-does not change at all regardless of the subwoofer volume or the main speaker volume.
-persists unchanged even unplugging the LFE input connection from the main speaker's sub-out (leaving only the power plugged in).
-audible playing relatively quiet music (doesn't need to be that quiet)
-the other speakers are silent.
 
What could be the problem here?  How loud of a hiss is considered acceptable as white noise usually for a subwoofer?
 
Thanks.

 

[cel4145]

Glad to help

A subwoofer should be quiet like any powered speaker. I can think of two potential issues (there might be more) which might be a result of your friend's particular setup/configuration rather than a fault of the sub:

1) The PSB SubSeries 100 is a tiny little sub. It's meant for nearfield usage (sitting a few feet away), and really does not have the power to fill a room at higher volumes. If your friend has the gain (volume) turned up too high trying to get the sub to produce a lot of bass, then that might cause the background noise because the audio signal from the source is being amplified a lot more than it should.

2) Read about ground loop hums and audio equipment. If your friend has the speakers or computer plugged in a separate outlet from the sub, this could be the problem.

Personally, because of (1) above regardless of whether or not that's the hiss problem, I would skip the PSB SubSeries 100 and look for a sub with an 8" (or larger) driver. There's a good chance you could find an 8" or 10" sub that would have deeper extension (go lower) than the SubSeries 100. It's just easier to design a larger driver that will. And definitely should get more maximum output.

 

[Skwalker]

Glad to help

A subwoofer should be quiet like any powered speaker. I can think of two potential issues (there might be more) which might be a result of your friend's particular setup/configuration rather than a fault of the sub:

1) The PSB SubSeries 100 is a tiny little sub. It's meant for nearfield usage (sitting a few feet away), and really does not have the power to fill a room at higher volumes. If your friend has the gain (volume) turned up too high trying to get the sub to produce a lot of bass, then that might cause the background noise because the audio signal from the source is being amplified a lot more than it should.

2) Read about ground loop hums and audio equipment. If your friend has the speakers or computer plugged in a separate outlet from the sub, this could be the problem.

Personally, because of (1) above regardless of whether or not that's the hiss problem, I would skip the PSB SubSeries 100 and look for a sub with an 8" (or larger) driver. There's a good chance you could find an 8" or 10" sub that would have deeper extension (go lower) than the SubSeries 100. It's just easier to design a larger driver that will. And definitely should get more maximum output.

For 1),  the hissing persists exactly the same manner even when all volumes are turned to 0.
 
For 2), that sub came with a 2-prong power cable (no ground).  This is so for most electronics in our country.
 
Can these still be the problem?

 

[cel4145]

For 1),  the hissing persists exactly the same manner even when all volumes are turned to 0.

For 2), that sub came with a 2-prong power cable (no ground).  This is so for most electronics in our country.

Can these still be the problem?

Sorry. I don't know. I'm no expert on that. Just sharing potential causes I've heard about.

 

[imeem]

my Audioengine A2 also has the hissing noise too. But it's noticeable when the room is silent and when like 30 inches away. I'm starting to think it's the way they make the speakers. My first speakers had no noise,  my second speaker's hiss was loud enough for me to return it. My third speakers (the A2s) had less noise than my second one. 
 
My subwoofer also make noises too, but it's more of a hum than a hiss and it's not noticeable unless i go up close to it.  
 
this may provide additional information: http://www.turtlebeach.com/support/entry/830516298/

 

[Skwalker]

Thanks again for your replies!!
 
The noise he's experiencing is "pure hiss", no low frequency hum. It is noticeable even 2 meters or so away in his room.  He says when sleeping with it running, it literally sounds like it's blowing air continuously (until it finally went into standby mode).  Again, he unplugged all signal inputs and turn volume down to 0, leaving only power socket plugged in, and the hiss persisted unchanged.  He even tries to ignore it by turning the front side slightly away from where he's sitting. It gets tiny bit better, but still hard to ignore, particularly when playing soft music or, especially, when not playing any music.  No problem when he plays music to a certain loudness.  He's soooo worried lol,  he got the whole set just 3 days ago from now....