I just received a set of these little speakers to rid myself of my awful PC monitor speakers for good - typically used headphones but wanted some for music and media. What can I say? I'm very impressed!
I was in the market for a set of Bose Companion 2, or Creative T40 but they're both upward of £75. Having stumbled on these and doing some research over on Headfi / AVforums I took the plunge at less than £50!
Amazon UK price is £88.29 for reference.
My speakers arrived in 2 days via tracked DPD (included).
Features:
-Auto power on/off, great if you planned to use them as TV speakers to get rid of the typically anemic sound. These will dtect the signal and power on immediately, they turn off 20 minutes after the signal has gone.
-Auto loudness, they feature a system whereby you set a reference volume on the speakers and using only your external source to alter the volume they manage the delivery of a balanced sound, regardless of volume. Some speakers suffer with bass at low volume (voltage).
-Well made, solid construction, metal woofer cover.
-They sound FANTASTIC for their size, superb wide stereo imaging, airy sound with ample bass and decent separation. Proof being I've just moved the Sonos Play 3 from my office as its now redundant in this room!
-Dual input, there's 2 inputs (unusually) on these which means you can play two sources simultaneously (they call it auto-mix?) if you're in to that sort of thing. Handy if you have others sources and don't want to mess with cables.
Unfortunately they only have the white on offer, but they don't look out of place on my desk as they're reasonably understated.
For those seeking better sound from mobile/laptop/PC, grab an AudioQuest Dragonfly Black amp/dac and connect the 3.5mm of either speakers to the DAC, plug the USB in to your PC or USB OTG cable for mobile and enjoy stunning sound quality - versus what you may be used to!
Istanbul_Kop
25 Oct 16#2
The auto on off is what sells these for me. Many speakers have an auto off, but not on.
The_Hoff to Istanbul_Kop
25 Oct 16#3
Yeah, great for TV usage.
ThunderBolt
26 Oct 161#4
Got some of these myself and agree whole heartedly about the quality. They're bulky wee fellas and you wouldn't want one on your toe.. I know!
dave111
26 Oct 16#5
worth pairing with a chromecast audio?
The_Hoff to dave111
26 Oct 16#6
From a pricing standpoint it would be a good solution, particularly as you have a secondary 3.5mm input to use for an additional source.
You could for example have the Chromecast and a TV plugged simultaneously..
dheydl
26 Oct 16#7
I wasn't blown away by the Dragonfly. It will be an improvement on the sound from most mobile devices but less so with desktops. I think most desktops have caught up with it unless you have a bargain basement computer. It was a wow back in the day when it came out but the market seems a little crowded now with similar me-too devices. Out of these, the Encore mDSD looks interesting and is in the same budget price bracket as the cheaper Dragonfly 1.5.
The_Hoff
26 Oct 161#8
Sound is always subjective and a topic of debate - probably not one for here or now - but to answer your comment. The mDSD uses the same DAC, so sonically will be very much in line with the DF Black (not the Red), but there's some significant (for my use case) differences:
1. mDSD features an S/Pdif which for me is useless.
2. Dragonfly is significantly smaller and looks better, important for mobility.
3. mDSD current draw has been measured at over 100mA (in some cases much more), the DF uses no more than 50mA, as a result the DF runs cooler and importantly doesn't destroy your phone battery!
4. Amazon are selling the mDSD for £98, the DF is £89.
5. Warranty, there's no UK distributor I can see for the mDSD.
On the broader topic of desktops catching up with dedicated DAC devices? Sorry chap, do not agree, at all. Yes there are quality SC's out there from the likes of Creative, but onboard sound? I've heard nothing on devices I use (I work in IT) that would allow me to leave my DAC at home and still enjoy the same quality - sound is almost always junk, its routine cost cutting.
Anyone tried these with a dot? The auto on/off function could result in missing some of Alexa's response?
The_Hoff to leehardacre
26 Oct 16#10
Yeah, interesting question that I might be able to test with my phone and an "Ok Google" command. To be clear the speakers remain powered and go in to standby (13w power draw to <0.5w) and appear to wake up immediately on my PC at least.
Will see if I can replicate later if I have time.
bilbob to leehardacre
26 Oct 161#11
You can set the dot to emit a sound after you've spoken, so that, I presume, would be enough to wake these speakers up...
Neostar
26 Oct 16#12
How do these compare to the Creative T20?
The_Hoff to Neostar
26 Oct 161#13
Hard to give you an objective comparison mate, I'd say an audition of both is the only way of assessing what sounds right to your ears. They're as good as the Bose Companions according to many which are broadly equivalent to the T40, so I'd suggest they'd be in the same ballpark, features and aesthetic is down to you.
These youtube videos of people recording the sound over a POS phone microphone with YT compression is utterly pointless, as it largely anybody's single opinion on the topic.
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Opening post
I was in the market for a set of Bose Companion 2, or Creative T40 but they're both upward of £75. Having stumbled on these and doing some research over on Headfi / AVforums I took the plunge at less than £50!
Amazon UK price is £88.29 for reference.
My speakers arrived in 2 days via tracked DPD (included).
Features:
-Auto power on/off, great if you planned to use them as TV speakers to get rid of the typically anemic sound. These will dtect the signal and power on immediately, they turn off 20 minutes after the signal has gone.
-Auto loudness, they feature a system whereby you set a reference volume on the speakers and using only your external source to alter the volume they manage the delivery of a balanced sound, regardless of volume. Some speakers suffer with bass at low volume (voltage).
-Well made, solid construction, metal woofer cover.
-They sound FANTASTIC for their size, superb wide stereo imaging, airy sound with ample bass and decent separation. Proof being I've just moved the Sonos Play 3 from my office as its now redundant in this room!
-Dual input, there's 2 inputs (unusually) on these which means you can play two sources simultaneously (they call it auto-mix?) if you're in to that sort of thing. Handy if you have others sources and don't want to mess with cables.
Unfortunately they only have the white on offer, but they don't look out of place on my desk as they're reasonably understated.
Official spec:
http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/yamaha-nx-50-desktop-speakers
Warranty:
2 years
All comments (26)
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/yamaha-nx-b55-active-desktop-speakers-with-bluetooth-great-for-tv-pc-laptop-amazon-2534406
For those seeking better sound from mobile/laptop/PC, grab an AudioQuest Dragonfly Black amp/dac and connect the 3.5mm of either speakers to the DAC, plug the USB in to your PC or USB OTG cable for mobile and enjoy stunning sound quality - versus what you may be used to!
You could for example have the Chromecast and a TV plugged simultaneously..
1. mDSD features an S/Pdif which for me is useless.
2. Dragonfly is significantly smaller and looks better, important for mobility.
3. mDSD current draw has been measured at over 100mA (in some cases much more), the DF uses no more than 50mA, as a result the DF runs cooler and importantly doesn't destroy your phone battery!
4. Amazon are selling the mDSD for £98, the DF is £89.
5. Warranty, there's no UK distributor I can see for the mDSD.
On the broader topic of desktops catching up with dedicated DAC devices? Sorry chap, do not agree, at all. Yes there are quality SC's out there from the likes of Creative, but onboard sound? I've heard nothing on devices I use (I work in IT) that would allow me to leave my DAC at home and still enjoy the same quality - sound is almost always junk, its routine cost cutting.
Some chatter RE voltage:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/797668/review-encore-mdsd-dac-amp-a-new-pocket-rocket-to-make-you-hum/75
Will see if I can replicate later if I have time.
These youtube videos of people recording the sound over a POS phone microphone with YT compression is utterly pointless, as it largely anybody's single opinion on the topic.