Looking for some experience peoples advice..

[Snapshot]

Hello,

As you can see, This is my first post to this huge forum. I'm posting here because I'm a big believer in experience. I think that if you want to buy something then you should take advice from people with vast experience and knowledge.. What could be better than a furom dedicated to audiophile when I want to buy some speakers?

Anyhow, enough with me rumbling... I will get to my point- I want to buy myself some good speakers. Please advice me on which to get or what info to read to better understand the way I should take in order to achive my goal- Buy a very quality sound system,that will last for a very long time while still providing me with quality sound..

So, I'll try to explain what are my priorities from top to buttom:

1. Sound quality- I would like my speakers, which could be 4,6 or just 2, I don't mind, to have a very quality sound output.

2. Longevity- Because I think we should all aspire to own things for as long as possible so we won't contribute to the destructive phonomenome knowes as mass consumption. Therefore I want speakers that will last for as long as possible.

3. Price- I'm looking to spend around 150$

I mostly listen to music like- Radiohead, Sigur ros, Bjork, R.E.M, Air, Board of canada, Dj Shadow, etc..
Therefore a pair of quality bookshelf speakers will be great but if you beg to differ then I would love to hear your opinions.


In conclusion, I'm open to any ideas/suggestions in terms of what to buy and what kind of setup to keep. I will also mention that I have an Ipod and laptop which will be my music "outputters"...

thank you so much and please start bombarding me with remarks,notes,ideas and opinions..
I want to learn.

[Cal Weldon]

Hi Snapshot,

Welcome to the world of DIY. I hope this doesn't scare you off but...

You have an ipod for your source yet you want a really good speaker. Those don't necessarily go together.

You have $150 and you want really good quality. Sounds like you are asking a lot. The cabinets alone can cost that much. I am wondering if you are maybe in the market for a small kit speaker. That's a good place to start. There are others here that have more experience than me so perhaps they can lead you to a good source for kits.

[BHTX]

I agree. With $150, you're probably better off lowering your expectations and going to the full range forum. Or, if you're really interested in learning, you could try one of these, or something similar:

http://www.zaphaudio.com/ZBM4.html
http://www.zaphaudio.com/BAMTM.html
http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker18.html

Or, if you'd like even less of a "risk", I believe the good ole' Pioneer B20 is often a fairly successful start for people looking to begin DIY, and end up with something enjoyable that sounds fairly decent. Put it with a cheap tweeter, done properly, and it's supposedly not bad:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=290-045

[Snapshot]

Thank you for your notes guys, I really appreciate it.

As I said- I also have a laptop which I can use for sound output.
Furthermore, I would love to read a good guide about the basics of music systems/setups...


Thanks.

[sreten]

Hi,

sounds like you need :

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EVEALP5

or

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEM1ACTIVE520

Difficult to beat a wise buying choice on a budget.

/sreten.

[GM]

Really! At those prices it makes me wonder how many kids/slaves/criminal inmates labor were used in their manufacture.

[Snapshot]

Hi sreten,

Please bear in mind that I don't know anything about setting up a sound system with all the different gizmos and parts you pro audiophile ppl have.
I checked out the two speakers you had suggested and they look GREAT!
But, I want to be sure: If I buy one of them than what else do I need to produce sound from it by my laptop or ipod.
Also, I would be very happy if you could just tell me how to setup a nice system which will be easy for me to connect... Something like- "Buy two XXX speakers, Connect them to a XXX, Get a XXX and connect it also"
Did that just sounded crazy or what?

Thanks!

[Pano]

I agree with sreten. Get either pair of those powered monitors. All you will need to run them from your iPod or laptop is a 1/8" to 1/4" cable. You can get that at zzounds, too
http://www.zzounds.com/item--HOSCMP15

These little monitors are powered, so the amp is bulit in. You just hook up the iPod, plug the speakers into power and you're golden. Instant music. Use the iPod or laptop for volume control.

Since you're in Brooklyn, you can almost certainly find these speakers in a local music store. Drop by with your iPod and ask to Demo a pair. The store should be able to provide you with a cable. It will likely be the same Hosa cable as on the zzounds page.

[sreten]

Originally posted by Snapshot
Hi sreten,

Please bear in mind that I don't know anything about setting up a sound system with all the different gizmos and parts you pro audiophile ppl have.
I checked out the two speakers you had suggested and they look GREAT!
But, I want to be sure: If I buy one of them than what else do I need to produce sound from it by my laptop or ipod.
Also, I would be very happy if you could just tell me how to setup a nice system which will be easy for me to connect... Something like- "Buy two XXX speakers, Connect them to a XXX, Get a XXX and connect it also"
Did that just sounded crazy or what?

Thanks!

Hi,

Two active speakers can be connected to your i-pod / laptop by
leads but you have no input switching or overall volume control
which will lead to some noise problems if you simply use the
output level settings of your i-pod / laptop.

Allied to this the audio soundcard output of a laptop is generally
not too good due to noise and interference effects. It all boils
down to also the intrinsic quality of the source material, 128kbits
/sec MP3 is far from CD quality and does not need high resolution.

I used a high quality computer 2.1 system with my portable CD.
No input switching but it did have a volume control.

Using say the Alesis speakers the DIY part might be a small box
with some input switching / different sockets and a volume control.

/sreten.

[Sal Brisindi]

I would recommend a nice used pair of Dynaco A25 speakers, you can get them anywhere from $50.00 to $125.00 on ebay. For the price, it will be hard to find a set of speakers that sound as good. Another set of speakers are KLH model 6 speakers. They are large but sound awesome. There is a set selling in Brooklyn for $40.00. You will need a half way decent sounding amp to run them. You can get a 25 watt per channel amp at Radio Shack for $15.00 that sounds pretty good too.

Regards,
Sal Brisindi