New home owner needs new home audio

S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
Hello everyone! I just purchased my first home (well condo/apartment really) and I am currently furnishing what's missing and next on the list is a bookshelf/home audio setup. As I just made a large purchase, my budget isn't huge but I have been doing some research and narrowed it down to the options below. That is not to say that I am not open to other suggestions, as long as they fall within the price range reasonable to these, which seems to be somewhere between $600-$900. I pretty much have decided to go the powered route, with some wireless options thrown in, and one or two passive options thrown in the mix - in which I would need help finding a proper used receiver.
I stream majority of my music from Spotify & Pandora but I plan on picking up a vinyl player soon enough - more than likely one with a built in pre-amp.
Options in order alphabetically because thats how I had them lol:
Non-Powered Option:
 
Last edited:
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hello everyone! I just purchased my first home (well condo/apartment really) and I am currently furnishing what's missing and next on the list is a bookshelf/home audio setup. As I just made a large purchase, my budget isn't huge but I have been doing some research and narrowed it down to the options below. That is not to say that I am not open to other suggestions, as long as they fall within the price range reasonable to these, which seems to be somewhere between $600-$900. I pretty much have decided to go the powered route, with some wireless options thrown in, and one or two passive options thrown in the mix - in which I would need help finding a proper used receiver.
I stream majority of my music from Spotify & Pandora but I plan on picking up a vinyl player soon enough - more than likely one with a built in pre-amp.
Options in order alphabetically because thats how I had them lol:
Non-Powered Option:
Welcome.

Scratch the DEF Techs for sure.

Of that bunch I would be inclined to recommend the PSB Alpha AM5

All of those bookshelf speakers will require a decent sub and that needs to be included in the budget. Designers of bookshelf speakers these days assume a sub will be used.

What are you going to drive these speakers with? You will still need a front end, in terms of an AVP if it is an AV system or preamp if it is audio only.

If you don't already have a vinyl collection then there are better ways to spend your money, then on a turntable. Turntables are for people with legacy record collections, and, or collectors of rare discs. And I say that as an owner of four fine turntables.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Most people look for 6 or 6.5in woofers even in small rooms unless you are sitting very close to the speakers.

Just warning you so you don’t end up returning them. :)
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Most people look for 6 or 6.5in woofers even in small rooms unless you are sitting very close to the speakers.

Just warning you so you don’t end up returning them. :)
I disagree with that to an extent. The motor system has far more impact on spl. and even bass extension than cone diameter. The PSB unit has an F3 of 55 Hz, and decent power handling. That is better than most 6.5" units.
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
Welcome.

Scratch the DEF Techs for sure.

Of that bunch I would be inclined to recommend the PSB Alpha AM5

All of those bookshelf speakers will require a decent sub and that needs to be included in the budget. Designers of bookshelf speakers these days assume a sub will be used.

What are you going to drive these speakers with? You will still need a front end, in terms of an AVP if it is an AV system or preamp if it is audio only.

If you don't already have a vinyl collection then there are better ways to spend your money, then on a turntable. Turntables are for people with legacy record collections, and, or collectors of rare discs. And I say that as an owner of four fine turntables.
  • I haven't decided on the sub yet - was going to decide on the speakers first then try to choose. the Fluance comes with a subwoofer, and for the Klipsch's I would probably go with their R-120SW or SPL-10SW. Open to sub suggestions!
  • I intend on using it with my TV as well but I assumed because most of these had optical connections and a few had arc(HDMI) connections, and that I stream majority of my audio that I wouldn't need a pre-amp. Some of these are bluetooth connections, and if they don't they have AUX which I use my Audiocast connection to cast to.
  • Between my brother, mother, and I we have a couple hundred vinyls that we all share and switch cases with here and there. Plus my buildings common area has a library of vinyl as well to choose from.
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
Most people look for 6 or 6.5in woofers even in small rooms unless you are sitting very close to the speakers.

Just warning you so you don’t end up returning them. :)
This is good info to know. My condo is only roughly 850 sqft and in a pretty much square/rectangle layout. However I assume I will go bigger in my next purchase in 2-3 years.


The Fluance has dual 6.5" input on that?
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
No there are drivers around that size with decent performance.

Here is a 5" driver, 150 watts RMS with an Fs of 49 Hz.

PSB make well designed and thought out speakers.
It seems that most Bookshelf speakers tend to be 5"-6.5" but only getting over 5.5" well into the $1500+ range. So I need to be considering and looking at the Frequency Response of these speakers too right? What do I need to be looking for/considering when looking at that spec? I am not well versed in it.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
IMO, I wouldn't touch powered speakers if your goal is to ever expand upon your system and put them in as part of an AV system, or if you want to run a lot of different sources to them. Especially any source requiring HDMI. A fair bit of that purchase price is going to the internal amplifier and audio components to make that speaker work instead of just having a speaker which is built from the ground up to work 100% and sound good doing so. This is, of course, personal opinion, but if you can get an external AV (or just audio) receiver, then you can connect multiple sources to it. You may find one used that is top shelf quality for not a lot of cash, especially on the used marker, which sounds really good and has very good power output with excellent DACs and audio components inside of it.

Oh, and Def Tech isn't a crap brand, but some of their stuff can be a bit overpriced for what you get.

If you can, go locally and listen to some speakers for a bit to see if there is anything specific you like. I find that there are about 10,000 speaker brands and speakers out there. Most are priced appropriately, and most deliver the quality you would expect for your money. A few are rip offs of being complete garbage, and some just want too much money for what they deliver. But, at the end of the day, if you buy any speaker pair, they will generally be quality/price appropriate and everything else comes down to your listening preference.
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
IMO, I wouldn't touch powered speakers if your goal is to ever expand upon your system and put them in as part of an AV system, or if you want to run a lot of different sources to them. Especially any source requiring HDMI. A fair bit of that purchase price is going to the internal amplifier and audio components to make that speaker work instead of just having a speaker which is built from the ground up to work 100% and sound good doing so. This is, of course, personal opinion, but if you can get an external AV (or just audio) receiver, then you can connect multiple sources to it. You may find one used that is top shelf quality for not a lot of cash, especially on the used marker, which sounds really good and has very good power output with excellent DACs and audio components inside of it.

Oh, and Def Tech isn't a crap brand, but some of their stuff can be a bit overpriced for what you get.

If you can, go locally and listen to some speakers for a bit to see if there is anything specific you like. I find that there are about 10,000 speaker brands and speakers out there. Most are priced appropriately, and most deliver the quality you would expect for your money. A few are rip offs of being complete garbage, and some just want too much money for what they deliver. But, at the end of the day, if you buy any speaker pair, they will generally be quality/price appropriate and everything else comes down to your listening preference.
So what speakers would you suggest considering if I didn't go the powered route, and eventually did decide to expand to a 5.1 system?
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
So what speakers would you suggest considering if I didn't go the powered route, and eventually did decide to expand to a 5.1 system?
.

If it's just connecting to a TV, two channels and a subwoofer, all you need is a DAC with a pair of analog inputs for your phono (you need a phono preamp if you don't have one) and volume control. In your budget and powered, I would hesitate to buy these powered speakers

here's a detailed review
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
So what speakers would you suggest considering if I didn't go the powered route, and eventually did decide to expand to a 5.1 system?
I tend not to make a ton of recommendations, as I think there are a ton of good passive speakers on the market. Like... tons. I would listen and pick what I like...
From these...
Or maybe some THX Monorprice bookshelves.
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
I will have TV, Vinyl Player, an aux/google cast device at most ever for inputs.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I will have TV, Vinyl Player, an aux/google cast device at most ever for inputs.
That complicates the issue a lot. TVs no longer have analog outputs, only digital. Some do not have optical any longer, only HDMI eARC.

So with your selection you really need an AV receiver. What are you going to use to get your TV programs?
 
S

sgtslappy

Enthusiast
I dont see why
That complicates the issue a lot. TVs no longer have analog outputs, only digital. Some do not have optical any longer, only HDMI eARC.

So with your selection you really need an AV receiver. What are you going to use to get your TV programs?
I dont see why all of my tvs are only 2-3 years old and all have optical.
I dont have tv programs or service, I stream everything from streaming apps all built into my tv. I have all Roku powered TV's
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
I dont see why

I dont see why all of my tvs are only 2-3 years old and all have optical.
I dont have tv programs or service, I stream everything from streaming apps all built into my tv. I have all Roku powered TV's
That makes it more convenient then , I think just about every avr has optical/coax it’s just a matter of if those carry the surround formats. I’m not really sure what they carry .. I’m stuck using roku ultra .
And budget ofc , prices have gone up at that budget you may be stuck buying used or rock bottom gear . Those elac look nice , and some avr are under $500. You can always add a sub later on .
 
M

MrBoat

Audioholic Ninja
"Budgets," are for people who are never going to earn another cent in their lifetime, and it's false economy to start any recreational purchase with that limitation. It's a curse of the "gotta have it now" mindset that the banks and marketers exploit, and even perpetuate. The wiser option is to "save" for what you really want, as foreign as that sounds, this day in age. Shop in the mid price ranges of just about everything. This is typically where the best "value" lies.

With that budget, you would be way better off buying used. That's not even really a good DIY beginning budget if you were making everything from scratch yourself.
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
"Budgets," are for people who are never going to earn another cent in their lifetime, and it's false economy to start any recreational purchase with that limitation. It's a curse of the "gotta have it now" mindset that the banks and marketers exploit, and even perpetuate. The wiser option is to "save" for what you really want, as foreign as that sounds, this day in age. Shop in the mid price ranges of just about everything. This is typically where the best "value" lies.

With that budget, you would be way better off buying used. That's not even really a good DIY beginning budget if you were making everything from scratch yourself.
Do you even know what a budget is?
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
"Budgets," are for people who are never going to earn another cent in their lifetime, and it's false economy to start any recreational purchase with that limitation. It's a curse of the "gotta have it now" mindset that the banks and marketers exploit, and even perpetuate. The wiser option is to "save" for what you really want, as foreign as that sounds, this day in age. Shop in the mid price ranges of just about everything. This is typically where the best "value" lies.

With that budget, you would be way better off buying used. That's not even really a good DIY beginning budget if you were making everything from scratch yourself.
What are you trying to do? Get the poor guy in trouble? :eek: :D

I remember my first "budget" speaker system about 30+ years ago was $1,000 = 5 x $100 bookshelf + 1 x $500 sub.
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top