Looks interesting
- Thread starter Tman72
- Start date
Interesting... I've been seriously considering getting a good quality pair of active monitors for my computer, when I'm not using it in the main HT. This could work, though may really be a bit fancier than I need. Can they be purchased in the US?
Tman72
Member
Razz
Well-Known Member
I heard the Audioengine A5 at an audio show last year and that's a pretty decent speaker for the price. The A2 however fell apart when any volume was attempted, I looked at the rep and his response was..."well... it's a small speaker"
I would like to hear the Adam. Hope it holds together better than the A2
I would like to hear the Adam. Hope it holds together better than the A2
Adam Audio is in a completely different class than Audioengine and other computer speaker offerings.
Adam Audio
Rope
Adam Audio
Rope
Tman72
Member
I have the Audioengine A5's they are decent computer speakers for the $$ I paid ( $300). The Adams are $500 .
I believe the Paradigm Shifts are also around $500 have not heard the shifts yet.
http://www.paradigm.com/shift/powered/A2/index.php
I believe the Paradigm Shifts are also around $500 have not heard the shifts yet.
http://www.paradigm.com/shift/powered/A2/index.php
Supposedly they're already shipped and will be here tomorrow - we'll see!
FYI even my wife is now getting spoiled with decent speakers, as she made the comment to me a while ago that she wanted better sound from the computer (when not being used in the HT). That's part of my motivation for this purchase. Good for her.
FYI even my wife is now getting spoiled with decent speakers, as she made the comment to me a while ago that she wanted better sound from the computer (when not being used in the HT). That's part of my motivation for this purchase. Good for her.
Yup, they came today. Nice! I'm pretty happy with them so far. The sound is quite respectable for a fairly small speaker/driver, even the bass is decent. I mean, it's no subwoofer, but a bass guitar line is clearly audible. Noise floor in my system isn't too great, but that could partially be because I've got an el-cheapo 1/8" cable going to my computer's built-in stereo output, definitely not designed as hi-fi. So there's some hiss when you listen close, but hey, my computer room isn't all that quiet anyway with the noise of (currently) three computers and a ceiling fan that hums and children coming in and out...
They seem to be decent at near-field listening, I have them right next to my monitor but raised some so they're close to ear height and only 2-3' from me. Imaging is good, dynamics seem quite decent, and they're way more than powerful enough for my uses. I have their gain set at less than half so that I'm not blown out of the water when the computer's volume is at 100.
They're convenient because you can daisy-chain both the audio and the power cables - that is, you simply plug one speaker into the other, so you don't have to have two separate cords running to the outlet and the computer line out. There's a switch on the back that lets you tell it whether to play the left or right channel (or mono). Only weird thing so far was that I first tried to hook it up with the 1/8" stereo cable from the computer, to the right speaker, then a single RCA from right speaker to left. Wouldn't play the left. Not quite sure why... maybe you can't mix cable types. Manual - which is paltry - didn't say anything about it. Anyway I switched to a 1/8" cable from right to left speaker and all is just fine.
So, I'm pleased with the purchase. Not a critical listening system for me, but obviously a HUGE step above the crappy speakers built into my monitor.
They seem to be decent at near-field listening, I have them right next to my monitor but raised some so they're close to ear height and only 2-3' from me. Imaging is good, dynamics seem quite decent, and they're way more than powerful enough for my uses. I have their gain set at less than half so that I'm not blown out of the water when the computer's volume is at 100.
They're convenient because you can daisy-chain both the audio and the power cables - that is, you simply plug one speaker into the other, so you don't have to have two separate cords running to the outlet and the computer line out. There's a switch on the back that lets you tell it whether to play the left or right channel (or mono). Only weird thing so far was that I first tried to hook it up with the 1/8" stereo cable from the computer, to the right speaker, then a single RCA from right speaker to left. Wouldn't play the left. Not quite sure why... maybe you can't mix cable types. Manual - which is paltry - didn't say anything about it. Anyway I switched to a 1/8" cable from right to left speaker and all is just fine.
So, I'm pleased with the purchase. Not a critical listening system for me, but obviously a HUGE step above the crappy speakers built into my monitor.