matthewb.eth on Warpcast

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* hi-fi and jigsaw puzzles I love giving hi-fi reccos but it is inherently difficult because we all hear differently and have different definitions of what sounds "right." as a result, there is a not insignificant amount of work that you need to do—listening to many, many speakers—before investing serious money. at some point I'll write a much longer post about what you need to understand about yourself, your listening habits, your listening space, and your sonic preferences before investing in speakers. the decision process is quite personal: it's a jigsaw puzzle that nobody can solve on your behalf. [1/5]

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* active vs. passive that said, if you have a budget < $5k, you should probably buy active speakers. active speakers have an amplifier and preamplifier (volume control) built into the speaker itself. even better, many active speakers also have streaming capabilities as well. in other words, plug them in and you're good to go. conversely, passive speakers require a dedicated amplifier, preamplifier, and source in order to make music. this means 1-3 dedicated boxes along with cables to connect everything together. passive systems are more traditional, more complex, and in some cases more rewarding.

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* bang for your buck if your main goal is to maximize the quality of your system per dollar spent, active speakers are the way to go. if your budget is $5k, a passive system might look something like this: $2k speakers, $2k integrated, $1k source. each component will be decent, but none will be exceptional. from an engineering POV, active speakers allow the designers to closely match the internal amplifier, preamp, and streamer to the drivers and enclosure of the speaker. everything is optimized to work together. passive systems, on the other hand, are all about component matching. you need to find the right [component] that matches everything else in the system. an amplifier might sound strident and bright in one system, dark and mellow in another. that type of system matching and finessing is much more difficult with a limited budget. just a different game to play.

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* affordable (ish) active speakers for real spaces coming back to our $5k budget, I would recommend something like the JBL 4329P (https://www.jbl.com/bookshelf/4329P.html). there's also the 4305P (https://www.jbl.com/bookshelf-speakers/4305P-.html) which is smaller. they have a cool vintage hi-fi vibe with walnut enclosures and streaming built-in so you're good to go. is this an endgame set-up? not really, but it's probably better than anything you've heard before. another option, especially for more contemporary decors, is the KEF LS50 Wireless II (https://us.kef.com/products/ls50-wireless-2) or LSX II (https://us.kef.com/products/lsx-2). the only caveat with these is that unlike the 4329P, they are more shy in the bass so it wouldn't hurt to add a subwoofer (ideally, two) like the KC62 (https://us.kef.com/products/kc62-subwoofer) or KC92 (https://us.kef.com/products/kc92-subwoofer).

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in both cases, you'll have a system that can make music right out of the box without too much fuss. from there, you can make the decision to add complexity and cost. before pressing the green button, I'd highly recommend going to a store in-person to listen rather than blind buying. you may or may not vibe with them, and you might even find something entirely else that you prefer. deciding what you'll like from reading reviews and looking at specs online is nearly impossible. listen and let your experience guide you. image below by DHH, who also wrote this great blog post about hifi and the LSX II: https://world.hey.com/dhh/what-is-hifi-dddab2ae

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