Sound System .. Active Speakers

[pumper]

for most of my life .. the past 30 years anyway .. I've had top end audio.

i am 90% ready to retire in Thailand .. jan 08 is my sell the house & move goal.

with the advent of MP3s, huge musical libraries / source material is easily transportable .. a room full of 33 rpm records / suite cases of cassettes will easily fit in a mp3 player.

& while on vacation in thailand I've been happy with 'disposable' 800 Thb active speakers from Phantip to plug into my MP3 player. I've purchased & given away 3 sets now.

some nice jams with coffee is essential & music to bop to after a night out is .. enjoyable.

& I actually packed a box of cassette to Chiang Mai in '98 w/ a boom box cassette .. hope Noot's dad still enjoys.

speakers designed for computers are mostly for gaming .. IMHO, anyway .. satellite 2" mid woofers do not cut it. My friend has a 6 speaker creative sub woofer set, great for his games .. heavy booming bass, but musically they suck.

I have never played a computer game & doubt I ever will.

so I started looking for alternatives ..

criteria: easy to pack, powered / active, musical & under US $400 / 16k THB.

musician's studio active monitors have surfaced.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category.p...rice&so=asc

these active monitors have amps from 25w up & look to be musically superior to 'computer speakers' in the same price range.

some very interesting options.

are such available in bangkok?

& a A/C power question: will an inexpensive 'power converter' (Thai 220 >> 110) be able to handle 1 or 2 amps / 100 watts?

[kayo]

sounds good, but why bother.

get a headphone converter cable thingie... 2.5 jack for headphone socket, and plug em into your (if you have) good stereo (aux input) / set the volume on your pc rreasonable, then control the sounds through your stereo... Instant remote control!!

[pumper]

I am preparing for the move to Phuket in 8 months

& will not be able to 'reasonably' transport my equipment

my computer sound is now rca out from my audigy sound card to my old sony 100x2 watt amp pushing 2 way boston acoustic speakers..

& that is my computer sound .. my main system would be considered perverse by most!

french focal & german mb quart speakers pushed by a 7 x 100w ...

but 'cannot/will not/do not want to' pack my amps & speakers trans pacific ..

I may take the focals with me.. I am emotionally attached to those speakers ..

& pick up an amp in Thailand .. but that will never be a portable system.

the mb quarts were deemed the flattest ever tested by a hi fi mag in the mid 90s .. but the focals are my lub .. i have a problem with selecting the highest quality women, also!

looking for a quality small traveling system .. those self powered speakers look portable w/ enough dB for a small apartment.

w/ my archos player (an ipod like HD player) I think I can have 90% my 'standard sound' in a small suit case.

just thinking & planning & ...

[paveet]

I wouldn't call myself a high end audiophile as such but I've always been interested in the 'above computer speakers' audio equipment. I've used a NAD integrated amp (c320bee) with b&w dm602s and a marantz receiver (sr7500) with klipsch rf-35 here in Bangkok.

Most audio equipment sold in the US or the UK can be found here in Bangkok, but at a slightly higher price (about 10-20% for most things, but some brands can be 40-50% more expensive).

My personal recommendation for computer speakers would be the Klipsch GMX-D5.1 system which can be grabbed in Pantip for slightly above 10k THB.

They're these: http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/pr...-gmx-d-5-1.aspx

These, in my opinion are far more superior to the Creative speakers you've listened to. They're also more superior to the JBL Soundsticks II and Creatures. If you want to cut it slightly more, I recommend having a look at Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 which can be grabbed in the US online for USD 300-400. I have yet to find these in Thailand. These arn't very easy to pack however.

I've never been a big fan of studio monitors used as home hi-fi or HT systems. And please, for the love of god: stay away from Bose.

Pavee

PS I've killed my dad's old Marantz integrated amp he carried from the US here in the 70s (no, he wasn't happy) using a radioshack 220V-->110V transformer. I wouldn't recommend doing so.

[pumper]

ah, marantz in the '70s.. that was top of the line equipment

remember sansui .. I had a sansui 4 channel HEAVY 35 watts x 4. it require 2 young men to move it around! ..

if I can pick up a low end 'amp/receiver' in Bkk thenm I may just pack my speakers with me.

where?

have you been to angelic audio sukhumvit at soi 30 .. 3 blocks down from the emporium.

a thai manufacturer of tube amps & HIGH end speakers... the speaker boxes are made from 3" / 8cm thick teak.

2 great / comfortable listening / audition rooms w/ some interesting esoteric cds / dvds..

japanese jazz & western jazz / soft rock / vocals for listening or purchase.

http://www.csmngt.com/angelic_tube_amplifiers.htm

(this may apply to me)

OLD FOGEYS will have spent up to £24,000 on music, stereo equipment and live gigs by the time they reach 50, says a UK radio station.

i've got 2 200 cd players 90% loaded .. this equipment presents a major problem / decision for me .. if I retire to LOS i will need to garage sale / give away this treasure.

Average CD ownership

1. Scotland - 140

2. South West – 130

3. North West - 123

4. South East – 117

5. Midlands – 109

6. London - 107

7. Wales – 102

8. North East – 73

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38613