One of my best friends sadly passed worked for a company called Wembley Loudspeakers in London who did PA speakers and repairs , he had a mint pair of AE1’s that he’d restored which were fabulous. I think the current Active version is only about £200ish more than the Passive . Worth a listen.
Dec. hi-fi+ is an awards issue and their is a mention of a linn 3 series powered speaker. Might be something to look into.
Mu-so 2 . You can still use your Bartok via analogue. It’s small, it looks good, the price is not extravagant, it sounds better than you might expect. And, when you finally move you can re-purpose the Mu-so 2 into another room. And as a bonus you get the streaming capabilities of the Mu-so.
The active AE1 sounds a superb speaker and at the sort of price that ticks the box as well. As I say this is a temporary thing so I don’t really want to throw a shed load of money at the problem but then I want something half decent. Size is also a big issue and 12x7x10 inches is bang on.
well if temporary you may want to consider resale price - and pro equipment such as the ATCs tend to hold their value better - just a thought
Yes… I see where you’re coming from. The AE1 seem to be about £1100, though one site has a black pair for £870! Two years old flog off on ebay say half the value… call it a £600 loss. tbh the loss on some ATCs would be a lot more than £600. Yes percentage wise the ATCs will hold their value better but pound notes in the pocket it’s probably a different matter.
However nothing is fixed yet. I’m going to wait until we’re in the new place and then see what we have for space, style (this is a key point with SWMBO) and perhaps then see about borrowing a few suggestions.
They look great Steve . Slight curveball though … As you like ATC , why not keep one of your P1 amps for now and get some SCM 7 or 11 ? You’d be lowering your box count to keep everyone happy and keeping the ATC sound you like . Either pair wouldn’t be shamed by your Bartok either , just a thought.
The P1 amp is huge… tbh I’m going to struggle with the Bartok on it’s own!
This house is REALLY small 
Ok 
. The AE1’s look great for £1k , whatever you do don’t sell the Bartok …!!
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I’ve used AE1A’s for 2 1/2 years now are they are truly excellent. AE1A’s outperform any passive AE1’s.
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Thanks for all the suggestions… the AE1A’s certainly seem to tick all the boxes.
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I am curious about the AE1A… … how would you compare/contrast them with the ATC19A for example… or even passives… the price of the AE1A is less than the price of a NAP250 upgrade to DR…
Other comments elsewhere seem very favourable assuming you don’t need to push very hard…
You may wish to investigate Totem Kin Play. Small, affordable and great pedigree.
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No answer from @Musicraft, has anyone else compared and contrasted the AE1 active with other speakers frequently discussed on this forum?
I’ve only heard the old AE1 Simon some years now ago but they were very enjoyable at the time and I did take note when they were rereleased , especially the Active version which has been well received. It would be nice to hear them but I don’t think anyone near me stocks them . They look like the basis of a really neat relatively inexpensive system .
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I’ve always thought that “studio monitors” are designed not for home listening, but for music creation. Is it really good idea to use “studio monitor” PRO range speakers for music listening?
There are a lot of articles about differences between PRO and HOME speakers. And some of them are related to different sound reproduction. As I understand PRO sound is less enjoyable, with zero coloration. Maybe I’m wrong…
From all recommendations I found that only Dynaudio XEO is NOT pro range “Studio monitor”.
I am not sure… I have owned ‘pro’ and consumer ATCs… they both sound really enjoyable, but yes low on colouration, and more about letting the music performance through that was actually created within the recording rather than the speaker adding it’s own ‘interpretation’… but yes they need good electronics as they won’t colour over lesser performance
In my experience studio monitor type speakers, or a deliberately domesticated version - typically prettied up and sometimes with smaller variants offered - sound better than most other speakers I’ve heard. But the I like my music clean and full range, which not everyone does with hifi.
Passive AE1 needed a monsteramp and some distance to backwall
Impressive hifi soundstage, not my taste tbh if actives are similar
Why not get a decent s/h UQ with Neat Iota, can’t be smaller but much better than any Muso (and many other setups)
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An alternative approach would be to obtain some compact wall mounted passive speakers (e.g. ATC HTS 7 or 9) and site a monoblock class D amp (e.g. Hypex based) tucked out of site near each speaker.
For my second, ‘compact’ system I use B&W FPM 5 speakers, (originally for AV [can be wall mounted or standmounted] and now cheap on the Bay) with a legacy DAC/pre and a stereo power amp tucked into a corner in the kitchen. Sources are hard-wired from main system Chord DAC and from a Chromecast Audio.
I recently heard a Bartok at Audiobarn with the £10k Magico A1 compact standmount speakers, and a Constellation integrated amp; A very good sounding combination. That is a proven higher-end and higher cost alternative.