Making powered speakers wireless with Mini

[harkpabst]

Maybe because it was set to 100 before I was made aware that there is a mouse piano I can play with. With other words, the reason we got here was that it did not sound right when set to 100 - all this given my reconstruction of events past is accurate that is.
I think the next number would be 300. I don’t think it goes below 100. I’d have to check again though. I was tired when I did that.

Just make sure to switch back to 100pF once your ears and your brain are relaxed and refreshed and try again. You can also try 320pF, of course.

Just remember that neither Oftofon nor Pro-Ject can tell you exactly which value will sound best. And that's not because of the usual "everyone's hearing is different" talk but simply and technically because they don't know how much input capacitance your turntables cable will add.

As I said, 150-200pF of cable capacitance are typical values, but it could be noticeably less ... or more.

If the cable is detachable from that Technics I hope you kept I as short as possible! Too high capacitance values can lead to a massive peak somewhere in the treble region >= 5 kHz (which might sound like better detail at first), but followed by a steep and massive downwards slope right after the peak. You might loose all the really high treble.

Some pickups are more sensitive to capacitive loading than others. The internal inductance and interna resistance of your Oftofon are on the lowish side of normal, which is good. But still, usually lower input capacitance simply results in a more linear frequency response.

 

[poohbear]

I bought two Adam T5V's monitors to pair with my Wiim Pro and I'm very pleased with the results. Incredible sound for the outlay. £115 per speaker with a 50watt amp behind the 5" woofer/20watt amp behind each ribbon tweeter.

 

[Raphaz]

I bought two Adam T5V's monitors to pair with my Wiim Pro and I'm very pleased with the results. Incredible sound for the outlay. £115 per speaker with a 50watt amp behind the 5" woofer/20watt amp behind each ribbon

I did consider them at some point but had to narrow down my list. For their size they do have good specs on paper, and the price is fair. I guess I'm not super fond of the Dark Fader look, and for some reason I convinced myself that they're too much near field focused for what I needed – but those are rather superficial criteria, I know.
The M20s sound and look great. It's just the auto-standby function and the fact that they don't come back on by themselves that really bothers me for the way I use them. I hope to still find a way to make that work. If I can't, I may have to reconsider sometime in the future and look for something that suits the situation better. Maybe the T5V will be back on the list then.
But for now I need to focus on a pair of small powered speakers for the office loft (on-wall) next (the T5V are a bit too large for that) and then fine tune everything. And then I want to enjoy what I have for a bit. It's really not bad.

 

[Raphaz]

I'll fiddle a bit more with the phono pre.
Now it's about finding a work around to get the M20s to turn on automatically when they sense sound (even at lower volume) and to memorise their volume settings. According to Q Acoustics support there's no way to do that.
Bypassing the auto-off/standby would be one way though, so they'd always be on. But the speakers don't allow for that, unless I use their USB input (meant for connecting a computer), but the Wiiim doesn't have USB out, and I'm not sure if there's such a cable/adapter that bridges USB to optical, and if so if that would even work.

Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[Raphaz]

Once that's all figured out I'll need to find even smaller powered remote speakers for on the wall up in the office loft.

 

[Doublej]

Once that's all figured out I'll need to find even smaller powered remote speakers for on the wall up in the office loft.

How small do you need? The AudioEngine A2+ is pretty small. It uses a 2.75" woofer to give you a sense for size.

A2+ Home Music System w/ Bluetooth aptX — Audioengine

A2+ Wireless Speaker System | Audioengine | The A2+ premium powered speakers with high-fidelity stereo sound connects to your music in seconds from any app or device. The ultimate Bluetooth mini home music system that’s perfect for your desktop or smaller spaces.

audioengine.com

 

[Raphaz]

How small do you need? The AudioEngine A2+ is pretty small. It uses a 2.75" woofer to give you a sense for size.

A2+ Home Music System w/ Bluetooth aptX — Audioengine

A2+ Wireless Speaker System | Audioengine | The A2+ premium powered speakers with high-fidelity stereo sound connects to your music in seconds from any app or device. The ultimate Bluetooth mini home music system that’s perfect for your desktop or smaller spaces.

audioengine.com

I did not consider AE - I don't remember why I decided not to. But that’s a perfect size though, thank you, For a just slightly bigger size I’d get better resolution (not sure if relevant) with the HD3: 24-bit/48kHz vs 16-bit/48kHz.

Currently in consideration:

Kanto YU 3

SVS Prime Satellite

JBL 104-BT

Yamaha HS3

Micca RB42

Fluance ai41

Open to other suggestions

I think I can compromise a little bit with this third set of speakers. They really just need to add a bit more to what I already get up there from the mains (it’s a small mezzanine office space just up the stairs from the mains, and it’s open to the large main space, kind of like a balcony). I’m hoping for a budget friendly solution, a good deal, or maybe I get lucky again in the used market.
But then again, I work a lot up there…

 

[Raphaz]

It means 200 pF ideally, but don't exceed 600 pF. The cable further contributed to the input capacitance (in a very meaningful way, usually in the 150-200 pF range), so just set the Pro-Ject Phono Box to 100 pF and you're done.

As for gain, go with the advice already given. If 40 dB isn't load enough try 43 dB next.

However, the fact alone that there's a volume knob on that 4-way RCA switch tells me that it's crap. If anything it should be set to 100% at all times and even then it might introduce all kinds of unwanted effects. It makes absolutely no sense to increase the gain (and as such the noise) in the phono pre just to use a lousy and cheap pot to attenuate that signal again.

Ok. So now I come back here and I’d like to ask for suggestions for a better quality 4-way switch (without volume knob if that introduces issues). Since you were worried about that, harkpabst, and brought it up, can you recommend something? Thank you!