Speaker nerdery again

[KiwiDave]

Friends, you were all very helpful while trying to put together a hi-fi system from my Dad's gear, so asking for your thoughts again.

At my desk in my (home) office I have been running a Logitech Z906 (that's the Dolby THX certified one) setup without the rear speakers, so what's that 3.1? Left, right, centre and sub. That's running straight out of the PC. The control unit has just shit itself and the system won't power up.

I also have a Focusrite 2i2 with a mic and a set of Scarlett studio monitor headphones but that's only used for when I'm doing voiceovers and training content for work.

Do I replace the Logitech's with another set vaguely similar? Or do I make use of the second, not used at all Denon amp that came with Dad's audio gear and connect a set of bookshelf speakers? I'm wavering slightly because Dad's amp cannot power a sub and sometimes when I'm working it's nice to have music on and actually feel it, but that same amp and the Q Acoustics 3050i's you suggested are sat downstairs giving plenty of oomph.

If I buy decent (bookshelf) speakers - what do we recommend? Bonus points for not being silly money, especially as I assume I'm going to have to buy some stands of some form too.

[mik]

I'm not familiar with your dead Logitech setup, but a quick google suggests that it's pretty punchy in terms of power handling, with a lower frequency response around 35Hz (not sure if that is a -3dB or -6dB assessment?).

So (like a large number of x.1 systems available) the sub isn't truly a sub (which you'd expect to be able to produce tones down close to (or beyond) 20Hz) - more of a focussed bass driver.

In saying that - IMHO you're going to struggle to get near to that with a pair of bookshelf speakers. You may well get better sound quality across the majority of the frequency range, but even really expensive bookshelf speakers won't deliver anything below (very much broad-brush-statement) 45Hz. The vast majority won't get anywhere near that. Hence - I think you could feel that a setup utilising your old Denon Amp + bookshelves is a bit of a downgrade in terms of "casual listening that still has some depth to it".

I've not had any reason to look in that space to provide any specific product suggestions, but that's probably where I'd be researching.


edit: mumble mumble. Q-Accoustic 330i appear to offer decent bass extension (for a bookshelf), and are obviously very closely related to your larger ones. Similarly the Polk Audio ES20.

2nd edit: and handily, someone has already done a head-to-head comparison between those two options.

[KiwiDave]

Thanks Mik.

I think the overall clarity of the Logitechs that have popped is good but not great and sometimes the bass has been overbearing (though obviously there's a volume knob for that) so an increase in clarity versus a bit of a drop in bass isn't a bad thing. Seems to me looking at a lot of the reviews, very few people are using an amp and speakers for sound from a computer, rather they're using 'audiophile spec' active speakers, which I think is just another way of saying 'fancy computer speakers.' From my Googling and look around, most of these seem to be bookshelf speakers anyway, rather than with a sub so I reckon the comparison is maybe more apples to apples anyway. I assume on this basis, the difference in the quality of the amp is just as important as the speakers...

Annoyingly, it seems like Q Acoustics are suffering poor representation here currently, the place where I got the floorstanders from only has a couple of ex demo examples left and no new stock coming in. I found one company selling the 3030i's in black but at a higher price. Those Polk Audio ones look good but better suited to larger spaces.

Passive contenders currently:
1) Q Acoustics 3030i's: https://addictedtoaudio.co.nz/products/ ... f-speakers
2) KEF Q150s: https://soundrevolution.co.nz/product/kef-q150b/
3) ELAC Debut B5.2's: https://listeningpost.co.nz/shop/speake ... ers-black/
4) DALI Kupid's: https://addictedtoaudio.co.nz/products/ ... -speakers?

Active route:
1) https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SPKAUE ... --Solid-Ba - note can't get these in the colour I'd like (black) currently

Also on my mind is that none of the sellers for the passive speakers are people I've ever heard of before, so I need to do some due diligence before buying from any of them.

[scotta]

Ive got the bookshelf Q Acoustic's 3030i as my rear surround. I e ran them on the main channel to see what they sound like. You wont be disappointed.

[Jimexpl]

Look for an active subwoofer that also has high-level/spealer level inputs.
Increasingly rare these days as most people are using AVRs with dedicated sub-out, but brands like KEF still offer them on some models and quite a few manufacturers have in the past if your looking at used kit.
Some have a speaker in/out. Other just 'in' - assuming your amp has A/B speaker outputs you can wire it to the second set.

[KiwiDave]

Ive got the bookshelf Q Acoustic's 3030i as my rear surround. I ran them on the main channel to see what they sound like. You wont be disappointed.

You weren't wrong...

[mik]

Ive got the bookshelf Q Acoustic's 3030i as my rear surround. I ran them on the main channel to see what they sound like. You wont be disappointed.

You weren't wrong...

[scotta]

Ive got the bookshelf Q Acoustic's 3030i as my rear surround. I ran them on the main channel to see what they sound like. You wont be disappointed.

You weren't wrong...

Also

[unzippy]

used for when I'm doing voiceovers

Also, does that mean you're i̶n̶famous now?

[KiwiDave]

Also, does that mean you're i̶n̶famous now?

It means my dulcet, mongrel accent tones can be found in dark corners of the internet doing product tutorials... YT channel for the drums may appear at some point.

[KiwiDave]

Also

The main thing I'm pondering now is whether they ought to go on stands or not. It would be a very tight fit to get them on stands and point them towards me outside of the width of my desk, so I'm contemplating more desk mount stands and looking at stuff like the link below which are designed for studio monitors.

Clicky clacky

Obviously they're not designed for the speakers themselves so I'm sure audio nerds would turn their nose up at them. It's also crossed my mind as Q Acoustics seem to be slowly phased out of NZ (I had to get the 3030i's from Australia) that I should get the proper stands for these while they're available - can't quite make my mind up if that's insanity.

[scotta]

Ive got them on the Q Acoustics stands. They are great quality units. They come with isolation spikes.

[unzippy]

Also, does that mean you're i̶n̶famous now?

It means my dulcet, mongrel accent tones can be found in dark corners of the internet doing product tutorials... YT channel for the drums may appear at some point.

Choice

[mik]

Ive got them on the Q Acoustics stands. They are great quality units. They come with isolation spikes.

This makes sense to me when they are part of an X.1 surround system, but - on their own - bookshelf speakers always look a bit "lost" on stands to me I always feel their installation should be a bit more "casual". Like, y'know, sitting on a bookshelf or something.....

Or just wall-mount them