[sxiang518]

Sorry for my bad English.
After reading numerous positive review of A2, I purchased them. However, I found the sound is very muddy and the bass definitely overwhelms the mid and the high. The D1 dac I purchased also does not make too much difference. Generally speaking, I found passive speaker with dedicated amp always sound better. I used to have sony ss-b1000 with lepai, and they beat all of the computer speaker in the same price range. I have been enjoying my ath m50 and x10. Basically, I am looking for a sound system that could produce the same sound signature as my headphone: balanced low, mid and high. Most of computer speaker either have no bass at all (like the bose c2) and too much bass (audioengine a2). I did some research, here is some of my option.
 
1. M-audio av40/BX5. They seem to have more controlled bass. One thing that particular make them more accurate is that they are designed as studio monitor. This gives me the impression they would have a balanced sound signature. Another advantage is they should perform better in close range, since passive speaker are not designed for close-field use.
 
2. Audioengine A5. Some people claim that A5 is basically louder version of A2. I'm afraid it will have too much bass too. The reason there is universal positive review of audioengine speaker is that audioengine put a lot of bass to make their speaker sound more "consumer friendly" today. Just imagine, what kind of music an average person would listen to. But if you like to listen to classical, jazz and vocal etc, too much bass just overwhelms the mid and the high.
 
3. Just stay away with those active speaker. The Sony SS-b1000 with lepai is actually a very good system with low price. Though, SS-b1000 has a balanced sound, Its sound definitely feels a little bit "cheap " too. I am wondering how would the audiosource amplifier with polkaudio tsi100 perform. Not sure, if lepai is enough to power them.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxiang518 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Generally speaking, I found passive speaker with dedicated amp always sound better.
---
3. Just stay away with those active speaker. The Sony SS-b1000 with lepai is actually a very good system with low price. Though, SS-b1000 has a balanced sound, Its sound definitely feels a little bit "cheap " too. I am wondering how would the audiosource amplifier with polkaudio tsi100 perform. Not sure, if lepai is enough to power them.
 

 
That depends on a lot of factors. Within the same price point, if you have the same money for an active speaker and a speaker and integrated amplifier, the former means it was already engineered to sound "right" by the standards of the manufacturer, the tendency being that it will be as accurate as possible for that price range, given they designed the amp too. With passives, it depends on what amp you find - back then it was a matter of getting used but beefy amplifiers, but now it's just about getting a clean fullrange Class D amplifier with which hopefully doesn't struggle with a speaker with a complex load or inefficient drivers.
 
Personally, if you have the space, then it's not a bad idea to stick with separates. That way if one breaks you can get a cheap replacement while the other is being repaired/replaced, or you can still get to keep half the combo and experiment with the other half.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by sxiang518 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I used to have sony ss-b1000 with lepai, and they beat all of the computer speaker in the same price range.
 
...
 
2. Audioengine A5. Some people claim that A5 is basically louder version of A2. I'm afraid it will have too much bass too. The reason there is universal positive review of audioengine speaker is that audioengine put a lot of bass to make their speaker sound more "consumer friendly" today. Just imagine, what kind of music an average person would listen to. But if you like to listen to classical, jazz and vocal etc, too much bass just overwhelms the mid and the high.

 
You're also comparing speakers that are inherently on a different "class" in terms of size - the Sonys have a 5.25" woofer vs the A2's 3.5" woofers. Woofers aren't like engines where a 3.5l DOHC Ferrari engine can spin to 8000rpm, say "hell with torque," and get the same amount of horsepower as a 5.7l OHV Chevy, then rely on a balanced chassis to get more grip at the rear while an inexperienced driver in the Chevy would probably slip and not be able to use the torque ot pull out of corners.
 
Also, at least by my ears, Audioengine tends to color its speakers, likely due through crossover and enclosure design (heck, over here the mere fact that Audioengien dealers here are the same dealers for Beats and Apple* rings my alarm bells), and the A2 is definitely more colored than the A5. What the A2 is designed for primarily is compact size, followed by non-fatiguing treble (new listeners tend to get wowed by loads of treble or by its relative absence), and a close third is bass, given modern music is beat-driven.
 
That said I didn't exactly spring for the most accurate active monitors myself, but I did get a pair that I won't complain about if I had gotten either the Audioengine - the Swan D1080MkII 08. It has 5" drivers so it extends lower naturally without relying too much on the box vent design like the A2; and neither was it tuned to make more bass than the drivers can deliver without distortion, which is something I noticed on the A5's when I auditioned them; but it has soft dome tweeters that for all I know may be smoothed out further by the crossover (or they just optimized the pairing of the drivers, I wouldn't know) so I can listen to them for hours while working at home. Best of all I paid around the equivalent of $155 for them, vs $245 for the A2 or $470 for the A5 (local dealer prices, and no we don't get the same seasonal sales as in the US).
 
Admittedly though if I wanted more accurate monitors for recording, I'd probably get something else designed for use by pros. And the Swans I really, really wanted were the more compact, pro-style enclosure X4's (they look like Genelecs, and I suppose the cabinets should have less resonance than the D1080 and M200), but I'm too cheap.

 
*Not that iDevices absolutely suck, even for SQ, but the stuff that most people buy to go with them tends to have SQ as a priority well behind aesthetics , compact size and convenience regardless of what it says on the box. Like how I got asked why my cans were too large, but for some bizarre reason they think the Beats are compact enough for walking around with it hanging on their necks.
 
Quote:

1. M-audio av40/BX5. They seem to have more controlled bass. One thing that particular make them more accurate is that they are designed as studio monitor. This gives me the impression they would have a balanced sound signature. Another advantage is they should perform better in close range, since passive speaker are not designed for close-field use.
 

 
Same case with my Swans - a larger woofer in a more properly designed enclosure will generally have cleaner bass and more impact, than a considerably smaller driver in an enclosure with the vents designed to squeeze the maximum amount of bass extension. And yes, as dedicated studio monitors these are voiced and measured at near-field so its very likely to do better if that's what you intend to use them for.

 

[nagual]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57439115-47/build-your-own-desktop-stereo-for-under-$70/
 

 

[cnhardwick]

The A2 are something of a mixed bag. I too am a little disappointed in them and find it surprising how much praise they get. Having listened to them for a couple of months now I have come to the conclusion that they just try to do too much with their small size. Their 2.75 inch drivers are just incapable of producing deep bass. Audioengine attempted to make up for that by boosting the midbass but result is just muddy and overwhelming like you said. Nevertheless, with a little EQ it becomes apparent that the A2 are still decent. With the bloated midbass out of the way you can hear the detail in the mids and treble that was being drowned out. They are way ahead of my former Logitech speakers (which were way ahead of any other PC speakers I have heard). In the end I have just decided the A2 simply too small and tuned not to my taste. 
 
If you are looking to stay in the same price range as the A2 I would probably look into the Swan D1080 like the previous poster suggested as well as the M-Audio BX5 D2 like you mentioned. The dark horse might be Monoprice's new studio monitors. If you looking to spend more than that the Airmotiv 4 or 5 would be worth checking out.

 

[warpdriver]

Go with a PSB speaker.
 
They are tuned as neutral as can be for any manufacturer since PSB tunes their speakers for flat response in the NRC.
 
Alpha B1, Image B4, Image B5, Imagine Mini depending on your price range. (note that Image and Imagine are two lines with Imagine being higher end). I have the Mini and of course, for $700 a pair they are in another league. I paired my Mini with Audioengine N22 amp, Fiio A1 and now a Teac AH01. But the $250 B1 are great little speakers which have been the basis of many entry level audiophile systems for decades now (The B1 is the third iteration of the original Alpha)
 
Also they have a new active speaker but I haven't heard it.
 
I agree that passive is still the way to go. Many studio monitors are too exacting, they are meant for you to analyze the music (hear into the mix) rather than enjoy it, and other choices like Audioengine are too colored/flavored. But PSB makes speakers that are both musical but accurate as well.
 
I bought a few studio monitors: Dynaudio, Adam and Genelec and I prefer my little PSB setup for just general desktop listening.

 

[cel4145]

The sensitivity of your Sony speakers is 87db into 8 ohms. If you buy a better set of passive speakers that has similar or better sensitivity, then you should be able to get the same or better volume out of them with your Lepai.

I, too, run passive speakers, and I agree with warpdriver about preferring them. There's a lot of hype about powered speakers being better (and a lot of it coming from people who have never heard a similarly priced, good passive setup). I think that preference probably comes down to personal listening tastes more than anything else.

That being said, passive speakers last for a LONG time, and there's no reason not to look for used. You could get a great value on a used pair of passive speakers for a few hundred dollars that would sound phenomenal with your lepai amp, then upgrade the amp later on. Or, buy a used receiver for $100 off your local Craigslist if you want better amplification.

If you want a new set of passive speakers, look into the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 SE. They will have a much better overall sound than your Sony's, with even tighter bass response. They tend toward neutral (perhaps not as much as the PSBs, not sure). Ascend Acoustics is an Internet direct speaker manufacturer, so their speakers are typically a better value than other speakers that you can buy at hifi stores at the same MSRP (no middle man fee built into the price).

 

[sxiang518]

Very interesting. I never heard of PSB speaker. But they do look nice. Most of monitor are just too big for my taste.I will give it a shot.

 

[sxiang518]

Quote:

Go with a PSB speaker.
 
They are tuned as neutral as can be for any manufacturer since PSB tunes their speakers for flat response in the NRC.
 
Alpha B1, Image B4, Image B5, Imagine Mini depending on your price range. (note that Image and Imagine are two lines with Imagine being higher end). I have the Mini and of course, for $700 a pair they are in another league. I paired my Mini with Audioengine N22 amp, Fiio A1 and now a Teac AH01. But the $250 B1 are great little speakers which have been the basis of many entry level audiophile systems for decades now (The B1 is the third iteration of the original Alpha)
 
Also they have a new active speaker but I haven't heard it.
 
I agree that passive is still the way to go. Many studio monitors are too exacting, they are meant for you to analyze the music (hear into the mix) rather than enjoy it, and other choices like Audioengine are too colored/flavored. But PSB makes speakers that are both musical but accurate as well.
 
I bought a few studio monitors: Dynaudio, Adam and Genelec and I prefer my little PSB setup for just general desktop listening.

Very interesting. I never heard of PSB speaker. But they do look nice. Most of monitor are just too big for my taste.I will give it a shot.