[Mediahound]

The A2s sound great with a sub. That way you can crossover a lot of the bass to the sub to get them to really shine. They sound great that way.

 

[driftingbunnies]

It will be difficult to find a better amp that's small and cheap. sometimes you can find vintage receivers for like 30-40 bucks on craigslist but then if you can't fit them then it's useless. I think a T-amp would be fine for the time being. I'm sure the S30's are fine but if you can find something around $200 on audiogon, it's very possible it'll be better since it's used and most of the stuff on there is high quality stuff. Just take your time with this stuff since I'm assuming you won't get rid of it anytime soon. Even if you were, I would say the first thing to go would be the T-amp and then source/speaker depending on what deals you can find.

 

[JMT391]

Thanks, I will check audiogon for some deals on bookshelf monitors. I may be able to fit a receiver with some work, but I'm not sure so I will also think about that. I do, however, have a good quality DAC (the Asus Xonar) so I might just want to go with a plain old amplifier.

phototristan - I would try the A2s with a sub eventually, but I would rather use passive speakers so I can have a bit more upgrade-ability.

 

[driftingbunnies]

I have tried both the A2's with a martin logan dynamo and a pair of passive speakers. While the A2 sound does improve with subwoofer, most passive speakers will sound the same if not better than the A2s. Of course we're assuming that the passive speakers cost about the same as the A2's. The active part of the A2 just limits them and moves more cost towards that instead of higher quality parts.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftingbunnies /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course we're assuming that the passive speakers cost about the same as the A2's. The active part of the A2 just limits them and moves more cost towards that instead of higher quality parts.

I agree. The A2's are great in that they are 1) small 2) active, but common sense dictates that the same money can get your either 1) more speaker 2) higher quality parts for the same money.

As well, in order to get any kind of decent perceived bass out of those tiny 3inch drivers, the A2's have a heavily EQ'ed sound, whereas with any decent passive such as a $200-ish PSB Alpha, Infnity Primus or many other candidates, they are engineered to give a flat frequency response. Adding a sub is just going to augment the A2's bass hump, so you are still left with a upper midbass emphasis unless you highpass the A2s at 120Hz or higher.

 

[Cheap Wire]

My first post and modest recommendation.

Speakers: In a dorm room no speaker will sound great. I recommend the Infinity SS2002 or similar Infinity. I bought the SS2002 ten years ago while in college. I have a much better system now but I still play these speakers quite a bit. With high quality amps and source these speakers sound great. Can be found in great condition for less than $50.

Receiver: Cheap, used pioneer or other. Like the previous posts mentioned, you should be able to pick one up for under $100.

This way you are out less than $200 if everything is stolen.

If you need a little more:

Amp: I would buy one that I would have for a long time as this is one of the foundations of a good system. Here I would recommend Emotiva: UPA2 $299. Emotiva often has sales.

Preamp/processor: Again Emotiva for this price range or something used.

You could also take this as a chance to start building your own amps.