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Mikeadunne

Mikeadunne

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Hey Guys,

Calling upon the knowledge of the members here who are into audio stuff. I am so so far from being one of you guys so please don’t judge lol. My lady just got us a simple turntable. I’m excited to get back into owning physical copies of music etc. More here for vibes rather than hear the intricacies of each instrument, or owning rare unheard cuts.

With that being said I was wondering if anyone has a good rec for Bluetooth (I’m thinking bookshelf style) speakers. I want something decent but I’m not trying to break the bank and we live in a small apartment. Any thoughts? Good brands? Don’t have a strict budget but I would probably not want to spend more than $500 but ideally a little less. Thanks for any help!
 
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Ya, I get that the better option is wired - but that will have to come later down the road. For ease of use with and aesthetic purposes (read girlfriend) bluetooth is my main focus right now.

Although a second option would just be to get a soundbar for the tv and use that for the record player for a while until I can get a better turntable and wired speakers etc - but that could be years away. Was sort of hoping to not get a soundbar cause that just doesn't seem nearly as fun as a set of speakers.
 
The Ruark MR1 mk2's are amazing. Can do bluetooth wired and TOS. Gives you options. Great for a small-medium room.
 
I abandoned the whole audiophile thing a while back and just went full Sonos. The ease of use and extensibility are really nice, but the price is on the higher end. Get one or two small bookshelf speakers now and you can do both bluetooth and wifi streaming from pandora/spotify/etc (which will be higher quality than bluetooth and won’t lock you in to staying in the same room).

Later if you want to turn it into a home theater, use your bookshelf speakers as surrounds and pick up a soundbar.

Personally I’d characterize Sonos sound profile as good but not great. Highs are a bit muted, but then I’ve noticed that with all the mass-market speakers I’ve heard in that price range. But I’m definitely permanently biased since I used to have electrostats. But it’s more than fine for casual listening and tv/movies.
 
Boynutman said:
I upgraded on a budget buying ~5yr old 2nd hand stuff that was at the time recommended by whathifi.
Served me well. Wasn't sure if I would hear the difference but yes I could. Worth looking around, the world is full of upgraders.
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that is a great strategy! Keep in mind that you're buying assembled goods worth approx 1/10th of list retail price when buying new audio gear so depreciation is HIGH and great deals can be had since there is a huge population suffering from upgraditis.
 
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one piece of advice, where mine otherwise is pretty useless as I have no clue what is out there in the 'consumer market', there is no substitute for surface area, so buy the largest size speaker surface area you can put up with, and with the highest efficiency (dB/W/m).
 
MarcelNL said:
one piece of advice, where mine otherwise is pretty useless as I have no clue what is out there in the 'consumer market', there is no substitute for surface area, so buy the largest size speaker surface area you can put up with, and with the highest efficiency (dB/W/m).
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This is good to know - I need idiot proof suggestions lol
 
jedy617 said:
Could do a nice set of wireds with a bluetooth adapter possibly? I love my JBL LSR305. Very popular choice, great sound for the price.

Edit: think they are discontinued and a new version called the 305p took their place
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I agree with both parts of this. Using a bluetooth adapter instead of a bluetooth speaker widens your speaker options by a lot and also increases the practical longevity of your speakers. Speakers last a long time - electronics and wireless standards don't last as long.

JBL is good at cramming extended bass response into compact speakers without the bass being overly boomy or pronounced. I've owned a pair of JBL LSR30X (Massdrop exclusive back in the day) and a pair of JBL 705p, and both were great.
 
Delat said:
But I’m definitely permanently biased since I used to have electrostats. But it’s more than fine for casual listening and tv/movies.
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The only way to roll in my opinion.

PXL_20240131_232135727.jpg
 
mengwong said:
Did you end up making a decision yet? I was going to ask what outputs your turntable produces. BT?
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I have not done anything yet. Honestly I have no idea what a Bluetooth adapter is etc. I should have said explain this to me like I am 8 years old. Bc that’s all I care to understand.

I do get that wireless speakers defeat the purpose of vinyl - as I mentioned earlier - except for that owning physical copies of music is fun and I will always have the option down the road when I have space and money to upgrade my speakers and get the full experience from my records.

I may use one of the suggestions from this thread. At this time I’m not feeling as flush as cash as I did during the holidays and so also dropping a few hundred dollars on speakers while I literally own 6 lps isn’t a pressing matter.
 
There is quite a few good deals to be had in the used market as upgraditis is still a pandemic, you better buy great used stuff than mediocre new IMHO.

Speakers, as long as you can visually assess the cones and surrounds for ageing/wear/damage live long....I'm using chassis built in the 70-ies, I know a good nr of folks using speakers made in the 20-ies , as in 1920.

The newer speaker chassis having a foam surround are at risk, anything else can be auditioned (scratchy noises, rattles, cones moving properly and freely etc)
 
Probably not an audiophile recommendation, but we are very happy with Klipsch ‘the fives’. These are active speakers meant to replace a soundbar but you can hook up a turntable to them without pre-amp AND also stream bluetooth audio to them. Also small, good base and high WAF. They are 800 euro new, second hand should be affordable.
 
PineWood said:
Probably not an audiophile recommendation, but we are very happy with Klipsch ‘the fives’. These are active speakers meant to replace a soundbar but you can hook up a turntable to them without pre-amp AND also stream bluetooth audio to them. Also small, good base and high WAF. They are 800 euro new, second hand should be affordable.
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this sounds like a solid option for anyone
 
The edifier S1000Ws are $400. For $300, you can buy the previous gen S1000MkIIs (which I own) which look and sound identical but don't have multiroom capability (which isn't a big loss imho) for $300.
Buy them.
My main system includes six-foot tall Dunlavy IIIs, a VAC 80/80 tube amp, an Audible Illusions 3 pre amp, and a Linn turntable with a Koetsu Rosewood cartridge.
The Edifiers aren't quite as good, but they cost less than a set of tubes for the VAC.

https://www.turntablelab.com/produc...pv6g47f4C0T_ALYZq3Q0aBd8stYz8zkcaAg-oEALw_wcB
 
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