Beginners Guide to Powered Speakers - What you Need to Know

0:00 Start
1:30 Inputs - Get the Ones you Need
4:34 Bass - You're Going to Want Some
6:14 Controls - The More the Better
9:05 Cost - May be More than You Think

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Subs

[zardoz]

Got the Edifier R1280DBs (about $150 after tax) for my desktop because of the inputs and the sub out. They work better than I imagined and am super happy.

[NeilBlanchard]

Randy - this is an outstanding video. Thank you for making so many of the important issues and challenges, of buying audio components - much more clear and understandable.

[robertkessler]

Thanks Randy. You’re my favorite HiFi reviewer on YouTube. Hands down.

Below is my journey over the last 3 weeks through the world of powered speakers. Apologies in advance as it turned into a review for The Fives by Klipsch. However, I hope this is helpful for anyone considering The Fives at their current very compelling price-point.

So I just went down the powered-speaker rabbit hole (but ultimately climbed back out). I was looking for a relatively compact HiFi system for my office (not for computer/near-field use). I picked up a pair of Klipsch The Fives off Amazon (for around $530). I was actually disappointed for MY use-case even at that ~$500 price point. But they could easily be an amazing integrated package for many. I’ll say that I think they’re awesome - but it’s complicated (well kind of - but not really as we’re talking about speakers here and not major life-choices).

They sounded fine, but there were niggles with my units that made them less than joyful to use in my setup. There were a couple things that might have been the units I was sent, and a couple with design in general. First, the input selector was VERY laggy (as in the indicator light would show the source change but the speakers wouldn’t actually start playing from the selected source for another 15 to 30 seconds). This might have just been my unit, and might have been fixed with the USB-drive-required update that I ultimately didn’t do. Also, being unable to see which input was active from my listening positions was a bit inconvenient - made even worse by the lag (again, very use-case dependent).

However, what really ended it for me was all the clutter hanging out the back of the primary speaker. I use and enjoy just about all audio formats. One of the main reasons I got this was all the connectivity (except HDMI, as I wasn’t planning to use it as a sound-bar replacement). For my particular small-office use case, I was looking for a clean package and excellent sound. It turned out to be a very cluttered package in that small room on my small speaker stands with “pretty-good” sound.

I ultimately sent them back this week in favor of the Cambridge Audio AXA35 amp plus Dali Spektor 2’s and I am a very, VERY happy man. The sound is much more to my taste in that room. The amp/other components are tucked neatly away and the speakers are floating out in the room right where I want them - like two red-woofered sonic pixies ready to grant my musical wishes. It was all a couple hundred bucks more moola, and technically not as compact - but WAY tidier in my home office. As a caveat, you would need to consider adding a DAC to the final cost for comparison - but I already had one.

Additional parting thoughts:
1. I agree 100% with all the reviews. Bass on The Fives are IMPRESSIVE. Almost boomy overkill if next to a wall/on a shelf. Out in the room, I was very pleased.

2. If you are planning on using them with Bluetooth only or with just 1 source input, I think the setup would still be quite clean. These are probably an excellent all-in-one turntable solution, but I ultimately didn’t hook up my TT to test the onboard phono pre-amp (though it’s reportedly pretty decent based on the research I did on these).

3. They sound pretty good. I’m not a neck-deep audiophile with crazy-expensive gear, so I can’t give you all the good descriptive word-play. But I have heard/owned a great deal of the audio gear that we normal folks can typically afford. All I can say, that in my room, there was “something missing”. I even hooked up a subwoofer to see if the speakers would “open up” (as Steve Guttenberg often says!) when the high and midrange drivers are given more resources from the onboard amp. They didn’t. The bass was a bit tighter, but there was still something missing. That said, this was my music (jazz, acoustic, vocal-midrange heavy stuff, along with a lot of classic rock) in my room (small home-office space) - so your mileage will probably vary widely.

4. If you opt for these speakers, definitely do the firmware update to get the app-enabled EQ controls. If these puppies are close to a wall, the bass really needs to be tamed as it can be downright sloppy. The update requires a USB drive (with firmware downloaded and flashed to it by you) to physically plug in the back of the unit to update. However, it only needs to be done once - then the rest of the updates will be via the app.

5. Speaking of bass - in a small room, if they are away from a wall (or if you do and are satisfied by the aforementioned update for app-enabled EQ controls) - no subwoofer required. HOWEVER, if they must be close to a wall and you don’t do the update (or are unsatisfied by the results) a connected sub will take away that rear-firing boominess and tighten things up a bit.

6. At $500, I think this is a heck of a package with tremendous versatility. If I didn’t have so many components to connect (which it WILL accept) and wasn’t an electronics neat-freak (I blame Apple! I didn’t ask to be this way!) - I would have kept them (presuming the input-switching lag issue was fixable). If you buy them for the $800 retail price and expect $800 speaker sound (or even $500-$600 speaker sound)- you’ll probably be disappointed. But taken as a package deal with an amp, DAC, AptX Bluetooth-connectivity (no good for me, thanks again Apple!), phono pre-amp, and decent speakers with impressive bass for $500 (oh AND HDMI ARC support) - you probably couldn’t do that with separates and get this level of quality for that price. Add a WiiM mini (I did!) and you have a very compelling $600 do-it-all streaming package - presuming you don’t mind a crows-nest of cables hanging from one speaker.

[plektosgaming]

If you are a student or similar and want to play your guitar/bass/keyboard through them, look for a 1/4 inch jack. It's an easy way to avoid having to buy a separate practice amp and save space!
Also, look for a power switch. This makes it much easier to adjust and plug things in and out it if does have one. The better speakers will have one as well as some sort of preamp level control knob.
As for the subwoofer out, absolutely if it's under 5-6 inches. If you have 8 inch bookshelf sized speakers, though, a sub isn't 100% required. But physics exists and no 4 inch speaker can give you actual bass, though some as he noted can approximate it well enough to be tolerable for something like a PC or keyboard.

[jimbo]

I wanted some blue tooth speakers for the den and got the Edifier 1700 's , I have a few systems but none were blue tooth, I've been enjoying these and once you play them in, they sound great

[muty]

This channel has been growing insanely fast. Happy for you man.

[stephenstevens]

Valuable info for beginners. Man! Great job!

[Felicianov]

Great video! I like how you break things down to the casual viewer.

[NickyByloo]

Thanks
cheapaudioman! I got my Swans D1090 powered speakers about a year ago and am happy with how easy an simple it is with active speakers.

[gee]

Valuable info...one thing if I could add...it may be difficult to repair some powered speakers when the internals fail. I had the Kanto YU6 powered speakers and loved them but after 3 years the power supply died and couldn't find parts here in Australia. I had to convert them to a passive speaker

[odwatchguy]

Great video Randy to help someone getting started not being frustrated with trying to enjoy the musical experience. You have so many good videos for beginners, if someone is researching I hope they go through some of your other videos to make a good informed decision,

[GoufinAround_]

I got the edifier r1700bt back in 2018 and they were plenty for me for years. I got the hivi-swans os-10's and after a year of use...I went back to my edifiers. I've always used them with the preamp rca connection on whatever headphone amp I have. I should upgrade to match the investments I've made in my amp/dac, IEM's and headphones though

[ShikataGaNai]

I use my PreSonus Eris 5s in the mini studio...excellent.

[ivanmelkner]

Love my ELAC Navis ARF-51. They are like passive speakers with power amp. It is all analog and you can connect any source you like. XLR or RCA input. So choice of DAC and preamp up to you.

[jupitermadcat]

I just got a pair of edifier RT1280 DB’s I love them I’m very impressed then again I’m not really an audiophile It sounds good to my ears and that’s what I go by. With my turntable with the built in preamp and I have a Blu-ray player that I’m using as a CD player I’m good to go.

[christopherviers]

Currently, I'm streaming Apple Music out of an iPod Touch 7, through an iFi Cobalt DAC into an XDuoo MT-602 pre-amp/headphone amp, then finally into an Edifier 360db Speakers/Subwoofer System... Couldn't be happier with the sound/imaging, etc... Agreed Mr. Cheapaudioman...!!! You don't have to break the bank to enjoy great Hi-Res quality music, these days...!!! Enjoy your work...

[kas]

Actually a lot of modern subwoofers have a pass through function where it’s got an rca in (as it takes the signal) and then rca out to be fed to your powered speaker. Otherwise you can use a splitter to split the line signal into both powered speakers and powered sub.

[diamondbracelette]

I've had good results with adding both an external dac (aiyima A2) and a preamp (fosi p1) to the Klipsch Fives. As it turns out, both have tone controls which add a lot, from either device. But both also improve the source signal beyond that. The Fives are great speakers.

[GreybeardMO]

On a desktop system, I'd suggest some sort of preamp. In my case, I use a Fulla Schiit 3. $109. Plug that into my mac via USB. That gives me a better dac than the Mac OR the Jamo powered monitors has, and a nice, big, physical volume knob, conveniently located on my desk. Plug in a pair of powered speakers, presto! Plus, you get a headphone amp, and a mic input. Perfect.

[mennotimpo]

So amazed by the soundquality of my small presonus eri 3.5 bluetooth, for desktop, tv, small room etc. The soundquality is so good; especially with kabeled hifi gear 😎
Also: a tip; you can buy a 3rd hand pre-amplifier, dirt cheap, and have all the convenience of tone control, big volume knob, phono trap, multiple inputs (and maybe remote control).
Enjoy your coffee! 🤠