Buying a sound system on Samui

[Airalee]

14 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Do you live on Samui mate? I might be interested in those Q Acoustics....

I’m in Bangkok, and you’d probably be better served buying new from Piyanas (with the membership discount) as they might include shipping (not sure) thereby saving yourself a trip to the city.

[Airalee]

14 minutes ago, Medicine Man said:

Does this mean you can buy Q-Acoustics over here in Thailand or did you bring them in from the UK? There seems to be serious lack of audiophile quality hardware in my part of Thailand...

Yeah...Q-Acoustics seem to be widely sold over here.  I bought mine from some place in Pantip Plaza (Bangkok) called Melody Gadget.  Kind of a hole in the wall place that sells a different assortment of this kind of powered speaker.

 

https://m.facebook.com/melodygadget1/

 

In Chiang Mai, the place to go is Snob@NEO which is located on Huay Kaew a little ways past Canal Rd on the right hand side in the Class One Complex.  They have a few different stores/showrooms on different levels of the complex so it’s not just limited to what you see in the street side showroom.  They have Q-acoustic speakers and enough high end stuff to really hurt your bank account.

 

http://neoentertainmentgallery.com/neoshop/

[Medicine Man]

3 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Yeah...Q-Acoustics seem to be widely sold over here.  I bought mine from some place in Pantip Plaza (Bangkok) called Melody Gadget.  Kind of a hole in the wall place that sells a different assortment of this kind of powered speaker.

 

https://m.facebook.com/melodygadget1/

 

In Chiang Mai, the place to go is Snob@NEO which is located on Huay Kaew a little ways past Canal Rd on the right hand side in the Class One Complex.  They have a few different stores/showrooms on different levels of the complex so it’s not just limited to what you see in the street side showroom.  They have Q-acoustic speakers and enough high end stuff to really hurt your bank account.

 

http://neoentertainmentgallery.com/neoshop/

Thanks for this, I think a visit is warranted...

[ronaldo0]

There is also a shop at the end of nathon main street on the left that you might find something in. Bought a k power 3800w amp for about 1800 bht and set of pioneer bookshelf speakers from lazada for around 6000 bht . What I use for my home CD mixer.

[HooHaa]

11 minutes ago, ronaldo0 said:

There is also a shop at the end of nathon main street on the left that you might find something in. Bought a k power 3800w amp for about 1800 bht and set of pioneer bookshelf speakers from lazada for around 6000 bht . What I use for my home CD mixer.

3800 watt amp means nothing. The 3800 watts cited mean maximum out put for mere milliseconds not sustained. 

 

A quality 100w rms actual amp will blow that away. 

[RickG16]

I'm in Samui tomorrow so going to have a look around the places suggested... at the moment though the Q Acoustics seem like my best option. The fact they are UK made means they will at least have a decent resale value... hopefully. 

[RickG16]

Anyone know.... does anywhere on Samui sell Q Acoustics.....

 

Can't see any on Power Buy website. 

[ronaldo0]

21 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

3800 watt amp means nothing. The 3800 watts cited mean maximum out put for mere milliseconds not sustained. 

 

A quality 100w rms actual amp will blow that away. 

Not concerned about the volume . Its in a house and no need to deafen the neighbours like the way the locals do . All I know is that on the lowest setting possible its pretty loud for a house.

[Airalee]

36 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

I'm in Samui tomorrow so going to have a look around the places suggested... at the moment though the Q Acoustics seem like my best option. The fact they are UK made means they will at least have a decent resale value... hopefully. 

Just looked at my box...they’re “designed and engineered in the UK” but made in P.R.C (China).  They are pretty solidly built though.  There’s a seller on Lazada out of Bangkok that offers free shipping and C.O.D. for ฿13,990

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/q-acoustics-bt3-bluetooth-stereo-speakers-i10907254-s13637898.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.1.7403577ahZTM2w&search=1

 

There is also some guy on YouTube who does demos and comparisons between different similar speakers such as Audioengine, Edifier, Q Acoustics and Bose.  I’ll see if I can find the channel.

[RickG16]

1 hour ago, ronaldo0 said:

There is also a shop at the end of nathon main street on the left that you might find something in. Bought a k power 3800w amp for about 1800 bht and set of pioneer bookshelf speakers from lazada for around 6000 bht . What I use for my home CD mixer.

Can you link to the Pioneer speakers on Lazada btw.... I can only see car speakers....

 

Cheers

[Airalee]

Here’s that YouTube channel I was talking about.  Doesn’t have the Q, but has the Audioengine and many others.  When I compared the Audioengine A2 and A5 to the Qs, the Qs were the clear winner.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/skubny

[ronaldo0]

53 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Can you link to the Pioneer speakers on Lazada btw.... I can only see car speakers....

 

Cheers

Yeah I just looked through it and seem to not have them. Type in home audio speakers into the lazada search bar and then click bookshelf on the left of the page. Then reduce it by how much you want to spend in the price filter. Have Yamaha, wharfdale and mission etc. I was going to get a set of mission ones but I had them before and kept blowing them up in UK so decided to choose something different . But they do have Q acoustics on lazada though .

[HooHaa]

6 hours ago, ronaldo0 said:

Not concerned about the volume . Its in a house and no need to deafen the neighbours like the way the locals do . All I know is that on the lowest setting possible its pretty loud for a house.

I meant quality-wise. 

 

Those are noisemakers, not audio equipment. 

[RickG16]

8 hours ago, Airalee said:

Here’s that YouTube channel I was talking about.  Doesn’t have the Q, but has the Audioengine and many others.  When I compared the Audioengine A2 and A5 to the Qs, the Qs were the clear winner.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/skubny

I'm on the verge of buying those Q Acoustics BT3..... can you just confirm that they can handle bass? I don't mean from normal club / commercial music, but for bass heavy electronic music.....

 

I think its just the 'Acoustics' name makes me associate them with being suitable for guitar music ^__^

[HooHaa]

11 hours ago, RickG16 said:

I'm on the verge of buying those Q Acoustics BT3..... can you just confirm that they can handle bass? I don't mean from normal club / commercial music, but for bass heavy electronic music.....

 

I think its just the 'Acoustics' name makes me associate them with being suitable for guitar music ^__^

They are all in all a bookshelf speaker with a 100mm, or 4 inch driver. 

 

They will be quite detailed, but you can't expect more than a mid frequency punch, the website doesn't provide frequency responses, but they can't be that low. 

 

I have a set of wharfedale 220s driven by a 60 watt per channel vintage Nad amp and after. A week I bought the matching sub because the seemed a bit flat, talk about a night and day difference. 

 

If you want bass response, I'd be looking at smaller powered cabinets, especially if you want to use them outdoors. 

 

These will however likely sound much better than a big c system in terms of clarity and detail. 

 

It also bears remembering that it is distortion and ear fatigue that makes a cheap or poorly balanced system seem loud, you can push higher volumes when the sound is more pure. 

 

Hoever these should function quite well as a set of in home DJ monitors, but fall short in a large room with a bunch of people in it. 

 

You can however. Play a bit with placement to maximize what bass they provide. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by HooHaa

[RickG16]

32 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

They are all in all a bookshelf speaker with a 100mm, or 4 inch driver. 

 

They will be quite detailed, but you can't expect more than a mid frequency punch, the website doesn't provide frequency responses, but they can't be that low. 

 

I have a set of wharfedale 220s driven by a 60 watt per channel vintage Nad amp and after. A week I bought the matching sub because the seemed a bit flat, talk about a night and day difference. 

 

If you want bass response, I'd be looking at smaller powered cabinets, especially if you want to use them outdoors. 

 

These will however likely sound much better than a big c system in terms of clarity and detail. 

 

It also bears remembering that it is distortion and ear fatigue that makes a cheap or poorly balanced system seem loud, you can push higher volumes when the sound is more pure. 

 

Hoever these should function quite well as a set of in home DJ monitors, but fall short in a large room with a bunch of people in it. 

 

You can however. Play a bit with placement to maximize what bass they provide. 

Thanks.... Yeah I think they should be fine for recording mixes etc 

[HooHaa]

53 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Thanks.... Yeah I think they should be fine for recording mixes etc 

I'd also look at the audio engine a5+ Apparently about 16k in Thailand and may be available on lazada. They seem to have a better amp section and a 5 inch driver. 

 

Your budget is limited, or I'd be suggesting individually amped speakers or studio monitors. 

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/audioengine/

 

Audio engine actually provides amplifier specs as well, including frequencies,. Distortion, and amp type. The audio engine is a class ab amp, generally considered more musical and distortion free than the d type amp in the q acoustics. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by HooHaa

[Airalee]

You’ll definitely want a sub with the Qs.  Without a sub, they still can play quite loud without fatigue but for bass heavy music you’re going to need a sub with just about any speakers you get, including “full range” floorstanding speakers at your price range. You’ll also need a much more powerful amp for floorstanders. If you try to go too “deep” with a 2 way speaker, you’ll probably get midrange suckout where you’ll be sacrificing some of the midrange frequencies in exchange for more low end extension.  I personally liked the Q speakers better than the Audioengine when I compared them side by side but you may feel differently.  They just seemed to have a cleaner sound to me.

[RickG16]

2 hours ago, Airalee said:

You’ll also need a much more powerful amp for floorstanders. 

Ok... But the active Q is powerful enough to connect a sub to it?

[Airalee]

3 hours ago, RickG16 said:

Ok... But the active Q is powerful enough to connect a sub to it?

The sub will be an active (powered) sub.  You will use the line out (rca out) to connect it.  The amplifier in the Qs will only power the Qs.

[HooHaa]

24 minutes ago, Airalee said:

The sub will be an active (powered) sub.  You will use the line out (rca out) to connect it.  The amplifier in the Qs will only power the Qs.

Correct. A ten inch active sub pushing around 150 watts, with a peak of around 300 makes a world of difference. A 4 inch cone simply can't reach the lower frequencies which. 

 

BTW a sub need not mean banging bass, it just fills in where the speakers roll off. 

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, Airalee said:

The sub will be an active (powered) sub.  You will use the line out (rca out) to connect it.  The amplifier in the Qs will only power the Qs.

Correction...it has a “sub out” which you will use a subwoofer cable for.  Placement (where you put it in the room...corner, etc) of the subwoofer will also make a difference.

[RickG16]

Thinking I might be able to pick up a sub fairly cheaply... Maybe even a car one which they have on the island. Just need to lend some weight to the sound rather than be crystal clear etc.

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, RickG16 said:

Thinking I might be able to pick up a sub fairly cheaply... Maybe even a car one which they have on the island. Just need to lend some weight to the sound rather than be crystal clear etc.

A car setup won’t work as you’ll need a separate amplifier which is set up to run off 12 volt.  When you start buying a driver, build a box, crossover etc....it’s more cost effective to find a used sub from someone’s home theater/audio setup.

[HooHaa]

14 hours ago, RickG16 said:

Thinking I might be able to pick up a sub fairly cheaply... Maybe even a car one which they have on the island. Just need to lend some weight to the sound rather than be crystal clear etc.

A bad or badly set up sub just sounds like farts. With a decent active sub you can adjust the crossover, phase and volume to blend properly with your speakers. 

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, HooHaa said:

A bad or badly set up sub just sounds like farts. With a decent active sub you can adjust the crossover, phase and volume to blend properly with your speakers. 

Very true...????

[RickG16]

Been impressed with the Q Acoustics, just looking to beef up the sound with a sub now.

 

What are my options on Samui for a sub (for home use not car).... I guess maybe just the shop opposite Big C? 

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, RickG16 said:

Been impressed with the Q Acoustics, just looking to beef up the sound with a sub now.

 

What are my options on Samui for a sub (for home use not car).... I guess maybe just the shop opposite Big C? 

Glad you’re enjoying the Qs.  For a sub, I’d recommend a 10” sub max. It will go low enough but still be somewhat punchy.  Anything larger would probable integrate better with full range speakers.  One of these days you’ll probably want to head to Piyanas and have them demo a few for you so you can hear how they sound together. (Just need to find the branch that has the BT3s in stock).

 

Make sure you get a sub that is on a similar level as the Qs as a “cheap” sub won’t make you happy.  I do see that Piyanas has decent deals on the Martin Logan subs.

[RickG16]

5 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Piyanas has decent deals on the Martin Logan subs.

But I'm not in Pattaya mate! 

[Airalee]

8 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

But I'm not in Pattaya mate! 

They’re in Bangkok.  They may ship to Samui but you’d have to check to be sure.  If I was going to buy one without demoing it first, I’d probably go with either a ML or this Paradigm... https://www.piyanas.com/product/887/PDR-100BLACK