Should I bother upgrading after 25yrs?

cmcalvin · May 7, 2021

I have a mid-90s Altec Lansing 2.1 set that is very nice to disrupt the house while working from home and not on a conference call. I really do love the full sound these things put out and that's why I never replaced them. Well, I'm supposed to be a grown-up now, and these off-white-ish things really don't go with the rest of the office and new rig, and (ugh) they're kind of an eyesore. So, I'm considering moving them to the basement systems, but I would like something similar. I depleted my 30sec adhd click through recent posts and didn't quite find one that hit this topic.

I'm not opposed to spending a few bills to get something that is worth it, but I doubt that's necessary to blast metal occasionally. My son uses this system for gaming and streaming, but he usually has his headset on, so that doesn't really factor in either. I am looking for something I can use as speakers for conference audio, while using the current garbage boom mic (needs a major upgrade), but can quickly flip to nice full audio (room is about 12x15, open wall to entry/stairway) and maybe some occasional COD. When I work late or aren't on calls, I like my music, so that's priority 1.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for the awesome content I've learned from over the years.

doomsriker · May 7, 2021

5 minutes ago, cmcalvin said:

I have a mid-90s Altec Lansing 2.1 set that is very nice to disrupt the house while working from home and not on a conference call. I really do love the full sound these things put out and that's why I never replaced them. Well, I'm supposed to be a grown-up now, and these off-white-ish things really don't go with the rest of the office and new rig, and (ugh) they're kind of an eyesore. So, I'm considering moving them to the basement systems, but I would like something similar. I depleted my 30sec adhd click through recent posts and didn't quite find one that hit this topic.

I'm not opposed to spending a few bills to get something that is worth it, but I doubt that's necessary to blast metal occasionally. My son uses this system for gaming and streaming, but he usually has his headset on, so that doesn't really factor in either. I am looking for something I can use as speakers for conference audio, while using the current garbage boom mic (needs a major upgrade), but can quickly flip to nice full audio (room is about 12x15, open wall to entry/stairway) and maybe some occasional COD. When I work late or aren't on calls, I like my music, so that's priority 1.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for the awesome content I've learned from over the years.

What is your budget and are you specifically looking for powered speakers or would you be open to a pair of passive speakers and a mini amp. I found a pair of altec Lansing pc speakers next to a dumpster a while back, they had a tapered rounded of triangle design with mesh cloth grills; if these are the pair you have I do agree that they are pretty decent but the drivers are a bit small and the bass is a bit muddy sounding so you could do better.

dizmo · May 7, 2021

Mackie CR5s, or CR3s if you want something a little smaller. You can upgrade with a sub later on if you so desire.

doomsriker · May 7, 2021

Assuming you have the money and space I have heard great things about these

https://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-R-51PM-Powered-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B07FKCP7PZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=powered+speakers&qid=1620359025&sr=8-5

H713 · May 7, 2021

This depends heavily on the budget. The sky is the limit, and even in the $10,000+ range there are still very tangible differences. You can also get pretty good performance for a few hundred bucks, but the acoustics of your room will always be the dominant issue.

On the lower-end, there are some active speakers from Adam, a few speakers in the Elac Debut range and the JBL 305/306/308 series active monitors that are wildly popular. All of these will deliver good performance. If you're looking for something really cheap, I'd look at the ASR (Audio Science Review) listing. I don't always agree with Amir, but if you're looking for something less than $500 / pair, I consider his recommendations to be perfectly valid.

I've never liked the Klipsch offerings, especially their lower end stuff. It's the traditional "horn sound", and IMO not in a good way- they tend not to have a very flat frequency response, and they tend to be unpleasantly bright- the term "shouty" comes to mind.

Revel's current lineup is very good, and I think very worth considering if you can afford them, and they're quite attractive speakers as well. Their more expensive stuff (like the M105 and M106 and their even higher-end stuff) uses the excellent SB-Acoustics aluminum and ceramic cone woofers.

Now, if you want to go higher end than that, you're getting into the range where I strongly suggest demoing the equipment before purchase. I'll throw a few of my personal "likes" in that price range.

-Quested 2-ways, particularly the V2108, are fantastic. It's a flat baffle speaker, so be aware that it tends to be a little more sensitive to the room, but I find that characteristics of the Volt woofer they use to be fantastic- it handles dynamics amazingly well. I find that makes them really involving to listen to.

-The Elac speakers with JET tweeters are very nice, and I really like mine. Those AMT tweeters are fantastic, though in the wrong room (or with badly mixed recordings) they can be very fatiguing as well. I find that these speakers really do benefit from a beastly amplifier, at least on lows.

If you are willing to do some woodworking, there are some very good DIY options. Any of the John Krutke (Zaph Audio) designs would get my recommendation, as would the Jeff Bagby designs. If you really enjoy woodworking and have the tools, this is a good value.