X-fi Prelude and Insignia Bookshelves?

H

haithamt

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
119
Getting an excellent deal on an X-fi prelude from a friend so I figured why the hell not. Currently running a mini TEAC shelf stereo from my onboard sound and it sounds decent, but am looking at getting some Insignia's and a T-amp. Does this sound like it would work well, or am I totally confused? Looking to spend about $150 (not including the prelude)
 
excellent. Are there any other speakers around $100 - $150 that offer similar or better sound to the Insignia's? A smaller profile would also be good.
 
Considering this setup myself. I listened to the Insignias the other day and they sound pretty good. I'm thinking of this to accompany them (it uses an AC adapter instead of batteries).
 
TAD 805SD?
Click to expand...

Wow are you serious? No crossover, and what look like the old Hi-Vi kevlar mids and piss-poor top-mount tweeter? I think you're getting what you pay for, there. I don't even want to know what's going to happen to the tweeter (if it even is real) when you put serious LF to it at decent wattage.

"1-1/4" Perforated Poly-Dome Top Tweeter with high-low selection switch - tweet plays 1/10th as lound as the main driver - there to give cymbals an edge, and precise imagery"
Click to expand...

*cough*White Van Speakers*cough*

I take that back, you're not even getting what you pay for. Get some Best Buy Insignias. At least then you're getting a real tweeter and the same el-cheapo cone for half the price.
 
wildfire99 said:
*cough*White Van Speakers*cough*

I take that back, you're not even getting what you pay for. Get some Best Buy Insignias. At least then you're getting a real tweeter and the same el-cheapo cone for half the price.
Click to expand...

Got hooked up by a "white van" speaker seller once, in the parking lot of a hardware store. I almost died in laughters, It was like been face to face with an internet legend. Man, I remember his face at the moment, It was priceless.

But yeah, haithamt, you are better with insigna.
 
wildfire99 said:
Wow are you serious? No crossover, and what look like the old Hi-Vi kevlar mids and piss-poor top-mount tweeter? I think you're getting what you pay for, there. I don't even want to know what's going to happen to the tweeter (if it even is real) when you put serious LF to it at decent wattage.
Click to expand...

...Yeah, man those Kevlar mids are awful. And who the hell puts a tweeter on the top?

Go and look at the B&W 8-series. Oh look, both of those features.

Edit: And that t-amp looks like it makes 10wpc @ 10% thd, that's horrific...
 
ok dumbasses, I have been there and done that already with the TAD speakers. Bottom line is that yes they look and sound good. Not OMG PWNSAUCE!!! good but are priced right for the sound and look way better than anything in their range.

make fun of the t-amp 2 some more. go ahead. do not spend the $$ and actually TRY SOMETHING BEFORE YOU DENOUNCE IT.

It's not like many high end audio reviewers have praised the T-amp and it's off-shoots to high heaven. please ignore that too.
 
Project_2501 said:
...Yeah, man those Kevlar mids are awful. And who the hell puts a tweeter on the top?

Go and look at the B&W 8-series. Oh look, both of those features.
Click to expand...

There's a huge difference in component quality between the two, I'm sure. I've actually had/used those HiVi components so I speak from experience. That's assuming that the TAD speakers even use those. The top-mount tweeter is referred to as a 'super tweeter' in the product literature, which is even worse (e.g., you can't hear it working, but I swear it's making everything sound more "sparkly," because everyone can hear 30khz harmonics).

And, you get a crossover in the B&W! That's at least $15 in cheap capacitors and inductors there. :)

You can get a perfectly serviceable 3/4" dome tweeter for $2, so at $180 you're either paying shipping costs in the product cost, or someone is cleaning up on selling yard-sale quality gear. That's IMO, because of course I don't have a set of the TAD speakers, but I know the typical "white van" story. Certainly the boxes look nice, probably seconds from some other speaker manufacturer in China.

Edit: And that t-amp looks like it makes 10wpc @ 10% thd, that's horrific...
Click to expand...

I've never tried a t-amp, mostly because when I went to buy one they were sold out everywhere, but I doubt most people need to push it to the full 10 watts. If you do, then you're not using it as intended. Granted, it's probably also not the amp of choice for dynamic movie soundtracks either.
 
the B&W is not even in this discussion lol. They are clearly in another category.

My whole point is that I have tried them and found them attractive and sounded fine. The tweeter is a bit useless but it really only plays to 14hz I think. If you value my opinion fine. I say they are worth $170 shipped and I sold mine for $100 shipped. They are, like the Insignia, a bargain. The bass is sufficient and detail is pretty good. They fall down a bit during complex passages and with a T-Amp 2 the bass is a bit light. However, for a budget nearfield setup they are hard to beat.

ALl my opinion. Based on what I have tried. Trust me or not. I undertstand if not. Big, bad world of gotcha out there.
 
So I guess I should go with the Insignia's and save a bit of money in the process. Are there any other speakers in this 100-200 range that are better than the insignia's? And whats wrong with the T-amp? Every review I see does seem to praise them.
 
Project_2501 said:
.Edit: And that t-amp looks like it makes 10wpc @ 10% thd, that's horrific...
Click to expand...
Your specs don't tell the whole story,

Specs: *Power output: 2 x 9 watts (4 ohms @ 0.04% THD + N), 2 x 15 watts (4 ohms @ 10% THD + N), 2 x 10 watts (8 ohms @ 10% THD+N) *Efficiency: Up to 88% *Signal to noise ratio: 102 dB *Dimensions: 1.18" H x 6" W x 5.5" D.
Click to expand...
And i'm sure that 2 x 7watts @ 8ohms would be closer to .1% thd or something like that. Not earth shattering but good enough for nearfield.
 
haithamt said:
So I guess I should go with the Insignia's and save a bit of money in the process. Are there any other speakers in this 100-200 range that are better than the insignia's? And whats wrong with the T-amp? Every review I see does seem to praise them.
Click to expand...
There's nothing wrong with the T-amp, as long as you don't crank the volume past 75 or 80% it'll work very well.

The insignia's are great for >$70ish, but in your pricerange there are tons of better speakers out there. Here's some alternative's, some of those alternatives are better, some may be rough equals...it can also depend on your personal listening preference. If you're willing to spend $150-$200 on a pair of bookshelfs then personally i say you hold off on the insignia's for now and have a look around.
 
SJetski71 said:
Your specs don't tell the whole story,


And i'm sure that 2 x 7watts @ 8ohms would be closer to .1% thd or something like that. Not earth shattering but good enough for nearfield.
Click to expand...

Your .04% THD is at 4ohms. I'm sure you'll notice that the insignias do not have a nominal impedance of 4ohms, they may drop as low as 5, but I highly doubt they dig down to 4.

And 7wpc? What kind of volume are you not looking to get? Granted wattage means much less compared to sensitivity, but there again I doubt the insignias are terribly good [and no, they're probably not as good as advertised (90db/m)].

For $150 you can get a base Onkyo 304 receiver, which will give you like 70wpc, low distortion at your 8ohms, and sound much better.

And wrt the B&W, obviously they're on a different level - I mentioned them because someone was bashing the technology; not this particular iteration of it.
 
Project_2501 said:
What kind of volume are you not looking to get?
Click to expand...

Most of the time you don't really need more than 90db to listen to music. A lawnmower is 90dBA. Do you need a lawnmower on your computer desk? Is that even comfortable to listen to? I'm sure 4 or 5 good watts is all you need to push most speakers to 90dB.

For $150 you can get a base Onkyo 304 receiver, which will give you like 70wpc, low distortion at your 8ohms, and sound much better.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that... the last $150 receiver I had sounded horrible. I don't even subscribe to the whole "amps sound different" theory but that particular sample was blatant and obvious (I think it was a base-level pioneer). But, even that aside, you're talking about triple the price for 6-10 more dB.

And wrt the B&W, obviously they're on a different level - I mentioned them because someone was bashing the technology; not this particular iteration of it.
Click to expand...

I don't mock kevlar. I don't particularly like it as a cone material, but it's alright. What I mocked was that particular implementation of it. Just because it's honeybee yellow and looks like space-age fabric doesn't mean it will sound good.
 
Project_2501 said:
Your .04% THD is at 4ohms. I'm sure you'll notice that the insignias do not have a nominal impedance of 4ohms, they may drop as low as 5, but I highly doubt they dig down to 4.

And 7wpc? What kind of volume are you not looking to get? Granted wattage means much less compared to sensitivity, but there again I doubt the insignias are terribly good [and no, they're probably not as good as advertised (90db/m)].

For $150 you can get a base Onkyo 304 receiver, which will give you like 70wpc, low distortion at your 8ohms, and sound much better.
Click to expand...
Point well taken, and true about the actual specs of the Insignia's. I have run the original T-amp with the insignia's and volume was more than enough for nearfield, though filling a mid or large sized room with music would have been stretching it.

Now that you mention it, you can purchase a recertified onkyo sr304 receiver for around $130ish shipped at accessories4less. It would offer more watts and connectivity options, though it will also eat up space and cash, which the OP could devote to an even better set of speakers.

Compromises can suck sometimes ey?
 
compromises indeed. I guess i wont be needing to blow the doors off anything seeing as I live in a dorm and my ipod could probably fill up the 120 sqft :D . I might just go with the Onkyo and Insignia's that way allowing me to hook up my PS3.

Thanks alot for your help
 
I just bought a pair of Insignias today after seeing them at BB. Got it for $39.87 after the employee discount (It's what friends are for).

The Insignias are a lot bigger than the Klipsch Promedia 4.1 satellites that I have and the build quality is exceptional for speakers that used to sell under $50. I also plan on purchasing the Sonic T-amp Gen. 2 to power these.
 
Pulled the trigger on the Insignias. Also bought the low-end Insignia reciever (NS-R2000) to power them instead of an independent amp (headphone jack, AM/FM is an added bonus). Sounds way better than previous 2.1's. The bass isn't thumping the walls, but damn its a nice lucid sound ;)

Also, no Monster cords were purchased :)
 
GPUCommando said:
Pulled the trigger on the Insignias. Also bought the low-end Insignia reciever (NS-R2000) to power them instead of an independent amp (headphone jack, AM/FM is an added bonus). Sounds way better than previous 2.1's. The bass isn't thumping the walls, but damn its a nice lucid sound : )
Click to expand...

Good choice. Glad you like it. Beats pc speakers huh?
 
spaceman said:
Good choice. Glad you like it. Beats pc speakers huh?
Click to expand...

I've been listening to my HD 280 Pros for so long now I've really grown used to the flat but clear honest sound they produce. The crossovers on 3 different speaker sets I've had just muddy the hell out of the sound IMO and I've grown tired of it. Don't get me wrong, the Klipsch 2.1 Promedia's are the best I've heard out of mainstream 2.1's (not Swans or some shit... more like Logitech etc.). The Insignias (especially at high volume) really deliver the goods. The price makes it a great buy too, I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top