Recommends a product

I use the speaker to sound the multimedia PC in the living room, so music reproduction (MP3), movies, games, internet. Listening distance from 0,5 m to 5 m even very significantly off center of the setup. The PC is with an external sound card Asus Xonar U7 USB, from the card to the speakers currently via SPDIF, I tried also analogue RCA, USB and Bluetooth. I'll be comparing with a Cambridge Soundworks DTT2200 5.1 active speaker system, which has done me good service for over 20 years. The Ascada clearly has a cleaner, more detailed and complex sound, both close and distant listening, even without the sobwoofer that the previous setup had. From this point of view, I definitely do not regret the purchase. The wide connectivity options are also a definite plus, although I must admit that the Bluetooth connection let me down a bit with poor sound quality and distracting input connection/disconnection. Still, Bluetooth is a handy thing for, say, a short-term connection to a mobile phone or other portable audio source. Connecting via USB and the built-in DAC is a logical solution at first glance, it doesn't match the quality of the Xonar U7, I even found it a bit more balanced in the bass, however, I would be depriving myself of an easy microphone and headphone connection, so I tried further using my existing external sound card, firstly the analogue input via RCA, which I eventually swapped for a digital connection via SPDIF, not so much for the quality, which is very decent even via RCA, but because of a bad contact in one of the RCA input jacks and the right channel signal dropping out. Unfortunately, that's not the only processing flaw on my Ascada set. Also, one of the output connectors on the active speaker, which is used to connect the two-line to the other, passive speaker, is not well fitted and is stretching - particularly annoying when first loosening the cover cap, when I was one step away from re-packaging the speaker in the box and returning it to the dealer. The last minus I have to mention is the zero-signal buzzing, which occurs to the same extent with all kinds of input connections and did not disappear even after switching to a different socket. When listening normally from the seat, i.e. from about 3 m, it is imperceptible, but when listening close to the PC it is quite disturbing. So what clearly adorns these speakers is the top quality of reproduction and visual processing of the cabinets, for which I forgive them the above mentioned shortcomings. I don't regret switching from the original DTT2200 to this pair of show whites in the slightest.

Pluses.

Cons: No headphone output/microphone input Light hum Defects in workmanship on the purchased piece