Speakers to pair with VTF-2 MK5 for music

Z

zaniix

Audiophyte
Budget is $500

I have a VTF-2 MK5 SUB paired with Dayton Audio MK402s driven by Dayton Audio APA150 (75wx2 @ 4 Ohms) I also have a Schiit Magni3 in front that is mainly acting as a volume control, long story I happen to have one and this is what It got used for.

This is used for music, the source is just mediocre digital streams. I am not an audiophile.
I like the sound of the MK402s, but I would like something louder.

I was hoping to find something to replaced the MK402s for under $500 that I can still power with my APA 150 and would give me more volume.
I was considering the SVS Prime Bookshelf , ELac B6.2 , ELac Uni-fi UB5, KEF Q105s

The reviews are confusing since some of these people doing youtube reviews are using amps that cost more than everything I have to push cheap speakers. I also think what I am looking for is much different than most since I am not using high quality sources.

I am not opposed to getting a different amp or powered monitors if that is the better option.

thanks!
-Chris
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Pairing more applies to wine and food than components. I wouldn't rely on reviews/videos for much either as far as research goes. The amp only needs to be sufficient for the speakers and your particular use of such, after that it's just additional gravy. I'd say you're just considering more a lateral move than a significant one, I'd aim higher in my speaker choices for significant upgrade. Amp needs could change with particular speaker choices, so keeping same amp I might try and go with higher impedance/sensitivity speakers vs lower....

Active speakers can be another consideration for sure.

As far as that Dayton being an appropriate amp for good sub integration, full range sub pre-out is only so useful.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
How much money ya got?
:D

Seriously, there are some great options out there, but we need to know your budget to help you!
Give us what you would like to spend and what you are willing to spend if it really gets a significant improvement over the other options!

Also, is this 2 channel (plus sub)?
What type of music?
Is this also for HT?
 
Z

zaniix

Audiophyte
How much money ya got?
:D

Seriously, there are some great options out there, but we need to know your budget to help you!
Give us what you would like to spend and what you are willing to spend if it really gets a significant improvement over the other options!

Also, is this 2 channel (plus sub)?
What type of music?
Is this also for HT?
I had the budget in the middle of the post, I added it tot he first line to be more clear, but I am looking to spend $500 or less

It is two channel, I split it out so I can feed the sub the same signal and let the SUBs internal crossover sort it out.
This will never be used for HT, I do not even have a TV near it. My Wife and I use this when we are working out, she listens to a lot of K-Pop and Pop music. I listen to some Pop but also older Metal music from the 80, or Rock from the 70's and even some old hip hop on occasion.


In short I just don't want to spend money and get zero improvement or end up with speakers I can't drive with my amp.

thanks
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I had the budget in the middle of the post, I added it tot he first line to be more clear, but I am looking to spend $500 or less

It is two channel, I split it out so I can feed the sub the same signal and let the SUBs internal crossover sort it out.
This will never be used for HT, I do not even have a TV near it. My Wife and I use this when we are working out, she listens to a lot of K-Pop and Pop music. I listen to some Pop but also older Metal music from the 80, or Rock from the 70's and even some old hip hop on occasion.


In short I just don't want to spend money and get zero improvement or end up with speakers I can't drive with my amp.

thanks
I had your budget in mind when commenting for the lateral move thing generally.

If only feeding a full range pre-out to a sub, all the sub has to offer is a low pass filter, not a crossover (which is a high pass for the speakers combined with a low pass for the sub). Many people like to overlap the range of the full preout and their sub, too.

ps that last bit should read overlap the full range of the speaker with their sub....
 
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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
The Outlaw Audio sale ends tonight. You can get some BLSv2 speakers for $500 right now, these are very good speakers and may be well what I would spring for in your circumstances at the moment if you are after bookshelf speakers. Here is a review. The JBL Studio 530s look to be very good as well and have an excellent discount on them at the moment. The infinity Reference 253 floor-standing speakers are on sale for $162 each, that is a ridiculously good deal for those speakers.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Sorry, I missed your budget when I was scanning!

With your budget, I would recommend three options:
The JBL 530's while they are on sale at $300/pr:
These will put out a ton more powerful sound and have good energy for a workout room (while still being accurate for their price).

I would consider (based on my own listening, which does not include the Outlaw speakers that ShadyJ recommended) these $440 Canton speakers with the ceramic tweeters the highest sound quality option in your price range, but they are only available in white. However, I think if they are totally for workout, the 530 might better serve you!
If white doesn't work for you, You can stretch your budget to $520 to get a 1" larger woofer and in black:

Last if you are pining for towers, these are very close to the quality of the 530's and an incredible buy at $270:

The Daytons you have are not bad for what you paid, but all three of these speakers are discounted by better than 50% from their MSRP and all three of them were good/competitive speakers at MSRP.

I also have the R162 that ShadyJ recommends, but I would have to give the 530's the nod for a workout room. Actually, I think the 530's are the best fit based on what I know, but I don't know what else you might have in mind for them. The 530's are pretty efficient and I think they will work well with your Dayton amp!

Like I say, it is a very good time to be buying speakers! I think any of the above will keep a smile on your face!
Get the speakers first then gradually increase the volume on your Dayton while listening for distortion. The Dayton amp is pretty decent, but I don't know how loud you like it for workouts!

I do agree with LovintheHD on the bass management, but get the speakers first, and we'll go from there (obviously, a amp/avr with bass management will likely get you past your $500 budget - unless you want to spend less on speakers). The least expensive option with competent bass management I would recommend is this $200 unit (but a TV is awfully handy for the setup menus, even if you temporarily use it for setup):

Note that this gets you bass management, but not much more in the way of power. Significantly more power will pretty much require your total $500 budget for the AVR!

Maybe @shadyJ knows about the efficiency of your Dayton speakers, I think he may have tested them?
 
Z

zaniix

Audiophyte
I ordered the JBL 530s's seems like a great deal for the money.

I am against using an AVR for this, it is really the wrong tool for the job. I rather buy a set of Emotiva Monoblocks or the A-5175 if more power is needed. AVRs just have too much junk inside that I have no use for

I have used in line low and highpass filters before with some amount of success and they are cheap, so I might try that. I just need to figure out where the cut off should be for the JBL 530s. I might try some 50hz or 70hz high pass filters on the amp input signal. I want some overlap with the sub, but I do not want the speaker trying too hard to reach into the lower range when my sub is taking care of it.

Thanks for the suggestions, have a Happy Holiday.

-Chris





Sorry, I missed your budget when I was scanning!

With your budget, I would recommend three options:
The JBL 530's while they are on sale at $300/pr:
These will put out a ton more powerful sound and have good energy for a workout room (while still being accurate for their price).

I would consider (based on my own listening, which does not include the Outlaw speakers that ShadyJ recommended) these $440 Canton speakers with the ceramic tweeters the highest sound quality option in your price range, but they are only available in white. However, I think if they are totally for workout, the 530 might better serve you!
If white doesn't work for you, You can stretch your budget to $520 to get a 1" larger woofer and in black:

Last if you are pining for towers, these are very close to the quality of the 530's and an incredible buy at $270:

The Daytons you have are not bad for what you paid, but all three of these speakers are discounted by better than 50% from their MSRP and all three of them were good/competitive speakers at MSRP.

I also have the R162 that ShadyJ recommends, but I would have to give the 530's the nod for a workout room. Actually, I think the 530's are the best fit based on what I know, but I don't know what else you might have in mind for them. The 530's are pretty efficient and I think they will work well with your Dayton amp!

Like I say, it is a very good time to be buying speakers! I think any of the above will keep a smile on your face!
Get the speakers first then gradually increase the volume on your Dayton while listening for distortion. The Dayton amp is pretty decent, but I don't know how loud you like it for workouts!

I do agree with LovintheHD on the bass management, but get the speakers first, and we'll go from there (obviously, a amp/avr with bass management will likely get you past your $500 budget - unless you want to spend less on speakers). The least expensive option with competent bass management I would recommend is this $200 unit (but a TV is awfully handy for the setup menus, even if you temporarily use it for setup):

Note that this gets you bass management, but not much more in the way of power. Significantly more power will pretty much require your total $500 budget for the AVR!

Maybe @shadyJ knows about the efficiency of your Dayton speakers, I think he may have tested them?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
(Psst, it’s not really about junk inside, rather economy of scale. But it is your system and your ducats! As long as it is enjoyable to you... congrats! By all accounts, the JBLs will be great!)
:cool:
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
SVS has a subwoofer matching tool called the Merlin Wizard.
As far as I can tell, they base their subwoofer recommendation on the cost of the speakers, but enter JBL and Studio 530 into it and select one of the "view recommended settings" buttons (it is the same regardless of which sub it is under).
In your case, ignore the AV Receiver info (which is for a bass managed receiver) and use the data listed under "Stereo pre-amp or receiver".
For the 530's, it recommends that you set the crossover on the sub to 60Hz and that a 12dB/octave slope is preferred (ignore that part since you have no control over it).
I don't know how much effort SVS put into this tool - There have to be many thousands of speakers, so they did not measure each one, but as a company with ID roots, they know we geeks would give them crap if they just made stuff up! I would consider 60Hz as a good starting point and go from there!
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I ordered the JBL 530s's seems like a great deal for the money.

I am against using an AVR for this, it is really the wrong tool for the job. I rather buy a set of Emotiva Monoblocks or the A-5175 if more power is needed. AVRs just have too much junk inside that I have no use for

I have used in line low and highpass filters before with some amount of success and they are cheap, so I might try that. I just need to figure out where the cut off should be for the JBL 530s. I might try some 50hz or 70hz high pass filters on the amp input signal. I want some overlap with the sub, but I do not want the speaker trying too hard to reach into the lower range when my sub is taking care of it.

Thanks for the suggestions, have a Happy Holiday.

-Chris
Talk about junk inside an avr then use junky workarounds like in line filters? Weird.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
An AVR will control the roll offs for your mains and your subs so they match and the composite is a flat FR (to the extent your mains and subs are flat through the crossover range) as the signal hands off from the mains to the sub.
There are a few Stereo Receivers that do this, but they are more the exception than the rule.

But don't worry about it today, get the 530's and set them up. See if you feel you have any holes in the crossover region or any places where the combined output of the mains and sub create an exaggeration at a specific bass frequency.
You may well get "good enough" if you are lucky!
 
Z

zaniix

Audiophyte
I got the JBL 530's and wow they sound amazing, just more sound and better sound. I can't push them to their max, but even with my existing amp they sound way better than I expected.

I might eventually get a larger AMP and maybe even a MiniDSP to play around with, but right now it is more than good enough for my needs.

Thank you to everyone that commented
Happy Holidays
-Chris
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I got the JBL 530's and wow they sound amazing, just more sound and better sound. I can't push them to their max, but even with my existing amp they sound way better than I expected.

I might eventually get a larger AMP and maybe even a MiniDSP to play around with, but right now it is more than good enough for my needs.

Thank you to everyone that commented
Happy Holidays
-Chris
Congrats! The 5 series JBL speakers are nice. Glad you like them!
 
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