AT-SP3X Active compact speakers

Was using Klipsch "The Sevens" powered speakers, which have good sound but are unreliable. First pair were DOA, second pair failed within two years. Got these Audio-Technica AT-SP3X to fill the gap until the Klipsch can be repaired / replaced. With cheap bookshelf speakers, the question always is: will they turn out to be just thin, tinny computer speakers? VERY FAR FROM IT! Immediately I got them fired up, just - wow!! I mainly listen to jazz and classical and they're perfectly loud enough with the volume knob not even half way around its travel. At full volume, they're WAY too loud for general listening. They have a subtle, spacious, transparent, captivating sound - simply a pleasure to listen to. Complete shock! So great to have beautiful music again! I'm running them on heavy, floor-spiked speaker stands in a 2.5 meter equilateral triangle from the listening position, about 40 cm from the side walls (bookshelves), 2.5 meters from the back wall. The sound stage is more spacious with the speakers toed outwards slightly, i.e. with the triangle apex just behind the listener's head. Sources are via Bluetooth from a laptop, wired phono input from a CD player. Just click the ON/OFF button to toggle the inputs through Bluetooth (two sources) and wired. (Holding the button down for 3 secs puts the speakers into standby.) A little LED on the button changes from blue for Bluetooth input (with a little boop-boop sound confirming connection), green for wired and red for standby. Bluetooth pairing is fuss-free. They have the speaker pair's serial number on the back of each unit and the manufacturing date on the bottom, i.e. they're likely matched pairs. The only downsides I can see are: 1. Lack of a remote control, meaning you have to walk over to the primary speaker to adjust volume or change input. 2. Primary (right) speaker, with controls and inputs, can't be switched from R to L. 3. Bluetooth running only the most basic SBC codec (although sounding absolutely fine). At this price, Audio-Technica have pared them down to the essentials and made the right choices. Bluetooth latency tests on youtube indicate about a 160 millisecond audio delay. The AT-SP3X specs give frequency response as 55-20,000 Hz but, playing youtube speaker test tracks, 40 Hz is clearly audible. Response then gently falls away through 30 Hz (just audible) to 20 Hz, where the woofer cones are still vibrating but inaudible. The listening reality, after they're fully burned in (several weeks), is that there's absolutely NO lack of bass from these speakers, despite their ludicrously small size. Search youtube for Thomas Ospital A l'ombre des Halles for a brutal speaker workout. Starts mysterious, atmospheric... The madness begins around the 8 minute mark! These speakers reveal poor recordings mercilessly but, with quality recordings, they shine - natural presentation, big sound, great staging. Their tiny size truly is deceptive. The supplied inter-speaker connecting cable is only 2 meters long so I'm using an old 6.5 meters long Atlas Hyper 2.0 speaker cable to reach down to the floor and between the speaker stands. A bit long but works fine - no loss of volume or power. (Banana plugs don't fit the AT-SP3X's cable clamps. An effective adaptation from banana plug to cable clamp: 1.75 mm Ø solid copper house wire wound around the banana plug prong a few times and then bent parallel, the wire and prong shrouded with heat shrink tubing to prevent the plugs shorting together and the free wire end flattened down to about 1 mm thickness to maximise contact area when pushed into the AT-SP3X's cable clamps.) My mind is blown by these speakers. Totally recommended. Edit (nine weeks later): Their size is so unassuming and doesn't dominate the room like larger speakers. Their minuscule size, as near-point sources, must be contributing to their excellent sound stage. If you want to wow your friends with gigantic, expensive speakers, these aren't for you! A reasonable measure of a sound system's quality is how much music you actually find yourself listening to on it. The AT-SP3X's sheer musicality just keeps drawing me in. Waste of time going back to the Klipsch speakers now. These do it for me. Life is too short.

These sound great for small bookshelf speakers. Really impressive sound quality and plenty of bass response. I bought them for my wife to match her record player she wanted for Christmas. I had to set it all up for her and both Bluetooth and the rca connection work well. Definitely glad I went with the matching speakers and not a different brand. They came with a few international plug adapters if anyone travels or is outside the USA you should be able to use these anywhere you are.

Très bien

Splendidi diffusori da scaffale! Audio-Technica è una sicurezza e anche in questo articolo garantisce grande qualità in una fascia di prezzo medio bassa. Audio definito, si lascia apprezzare sia sulle frequenze basse che sulle alte. Soluzione perfetta per godersi un ascolto più che soddisfacente in ambiente domestico con la praticità wireless di una connessione bluetooth. Articolo consegnato in meno di 24 ore dall'acquisto.

Alles super