WARNING!! Apparently the JBL's I showed are NOT shielded, even though it's listed THREE TIMES in the manual as being magnetically shielded (as I showed here)!!! While this is an embarrassing mistake, it proves the points I made in the video: Always buy from a place that accepts returns and even if the spec sheets, or someone (like me in this video😢) says they're shielded, they might not be. Here's some proof...and I'm sorry for the low video quality, but I just wanted to get this out there: twitter.com/RetroRGB/status/1513580157860200457
even the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 SE is not 100% shielded, I bought it after watching this video, and now im using it with a DELL P1130, when i stick it close to the monitor i get a pink hue on the side, maybe its a quality control thing? but it only affect one side of the monitor, not the top just the sides !
I install home theater systems professionally and I actually have an app on my phone that can detect magnetism. It's very handy when knowing what is shielded and what isn't, as many service manuals neglect to tell you the information or have been lost to time.
@@commodoreredrum7882 fairy tale app. Detect with what a microphone?!!!’ It would need an attachment. People will say anything to sound smart on here. Everyone is a music theory expert bc they know the blues scale. He installs DVD players in a classroom prob. Throw your watch at the back see if it stickd, Chuck screws Like darts. If you get 5 take a pic send it to him. I have an app that can detect the last time I changed my underwear gen z god help us!!!!! Move out at 40 move back at 41 bc life is really hard. Make up tech job based on your life of 24/7 gaming. Boomers will all be impressed. You type a number into your calculator ap tell them It’s magnetism. They are just excited gen z’s move out before they are seniors.
I had hours of fun as a kid waving the computer speakers around the screen and watching the pretty colours. Shame kids today will miss out on that experience 😆 Informative video as always Bob, this is why I have my speakers on wall brackets well away from everything but I appreciate not everyone has that luxury.
10:22 speaker placement and room acoustics make up almost the entirety of the sound! Over on Audioholics during a recent live stream an audio expert was talking about an experiment in which various high-end speakers were placed in an anechoic chamber and critical listeners were not able to distinguish between them. As soon as those speakers were placed in an actual room though the experts could correctly identify all of them. Speakers must interact with your room in order to sound correct.
This actually helps me a ton. I had this happen for about a week on one of my monitors and freaked out thinking it was permanent damage. Luckily Retro Tech was able to reassure me, but I was definitely considering the "just wrap it in foil' trick. It's especially helpful seeing that even some higher end products aren't shielded, while lower ones sometimes are. I think I use those exact Bose speakers you pulled out!
Wow my video game and hifi worlds just collided! Love Ascend Acoustic; owned CBM 170s and then upgraded to Sierra 1s and 2s. Soooo good and can be played LOUD without distorting.
Dude this is hilarious. I have never felt so connected to a video in my life. Just last week I was looking for shielded speakers for that exact pvm that u used for your thumbnail. Then, I always rock 2 of those Panasonic tv’s you showed but mine are 27”and yours looks like a 20”. I tried to research how to shield speakers and thought of putting some metal roof flashing in between the tv and the speaker and you tried it with the aluminum foil and I was cracking up. Bravo bravo thank you for the research and all the good info
Thanks for the recommendations, Bob. Speakers have been the lesser of my setup, but this is because I wanted to spend some time on reviewing options later down the road - which I never get to. Your video gives me a great head start.
It’s also interesting to think about choosing a listening experience that pairs with the visual experience. If going with a PVM for “reference quality” visuals, some shielded studio monitors would complement it nicely. Component stereo equipment would work nicely with a mid-tier YPbPr set. I personally had a shielded JBL sound bar with my Component FD Trinitron YPbPr setup. 😊 Great video, keep up the great content!
I have a pair of those old Logitech PC speakers you showed hooked up to my PVM. It's important to keep in mind that most retro game sounds were designed for playback on speakers built into the average consumer's CRT. So while those PC speakers can't compete with studio monitors in terms of frequency response, for the purpose of giving PVMs a relatively full-range stereo sound, they're perfect
Just returned a pair of JBL Control 1 Pro. Unfortunately they are not properly shielded. After watching your video, I ordered the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170. I couldn‘t be happier with the speakers. I paired them with a Yamaha A-S201 amp. Greetings 🍻
Fantastic video, I run a 5.1 Surround Sound system with my SD set up and one day when I was setting up my center channel speaker, which I was going have sitting on top of my set, I noticed discolouration and promptly pulled it away. I then went to my HD set up and swapped the center channel from there and discovered that it was indeed shielded. The rest of my speaker set up is not shielded but I keep them as far away from my 32" Trinitron as possible to ensure no funny business. As always thanks for the great insight and explanations, keep up the excellent work.
Very good Points! I have collected dozens of speakers from the thrift store ,for this reason... just trying to find something with the best retro audio. The thrift store is so cheap and I've actually found some really good quality speakers for less than 5$
Just found a pair of JBL Platinum Series speakers in mint condition for a bit over $5. They work well and sounded much louder than the speaker in my small CRT tv.
Thanks for doing this. I've been going crazy on Amazon trying to find something magnetically shielded for an upcoming PVM purchase. I actually did narrow it down to the JBL (and Klipsch) studio monitors but the options from Ascend have me thinking now that you've proven the JBLs are NOT shielded.
I've known about this when I was trying to find some good bookshelf speakers for my setup a few years ago and it was hard to find some good ones that where magnetically shielded. Thankfully I found a set of JBL N26 Bookshelf speakers from 1999 on craigslist and found out they where magnetically shielded and was able to buy them and can confirm those models of JBL speakers are magnetically shielded. Also I should give a warning about one pair of studio monitors that some people have recommended for crt use which is the Mackie CR3s When I asked Mackie themselves about it they told me they are not magnetically shielded for crt use and when I got them for things other then crt use I decided to test to see if they where right and I can confirm they are not magnetically shielded for crts.
Thank you so much Bob. I normally never comment on videos but after buying those exact Elac speakers this past black Friday and not knowing they weren't shielded I've had them sitting near my CRTs ever since. Immediately pulled them out of my setup and will be purchasing a new set of the speakers you recommended. You may have saved my Trinitron and JVC D series. I hope you get an interview with the ascend acoustics guy because I think that would be a very interesting listen and can't wait to hear what these new speakers sound like.
Thanks for taking the time to comment...I'm so glad I could help! Also, as the Ascend Speakers are "breaking in", I love them even more. I really think you'll be happy with them!
Most, if not all, of the PC speaker systems sold by Yamaha from 90s until 2008, at least, have everything shielded, including the subwoofer. Some popular ones are the YST-MS35 2.1 stereo and TSS-1 5.1 surround systems. As far as tales of misadventures, I bought a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX surround system, which is arguably the best "magnetically shielded" PC speaker system (although the monster 12 inch subwoofer is not shielded!). I decided since it was so highly praised, but the subwoofer so massive, I would shield it myself despite mixed comments online about it's effect on anything more than 24 inches away, since it seemed better to be on the safe side. Ugh, what a nightmare. For one thing, the speaker is not the only thing that is magnetic. The amplifier coil in the subwoofer box is probably as magnetic as a 3" subwoofer and generates enough heat you probably don't want to enclose it. Second, there is a large (4-6 inch diameter) plastic "horn" about an inch behind the 12 inch speaker magnet which pretty much prevents any access to the unseen half of the speaker magnet and it is glued on against the threat of nuclear Armageddon. With pliers and hammer I managed to eventually get the horn removed with moderate repairable damage. I then placed a 5 inch diameter 4 inch high steel stove pipe cap over the magnet and taped it in place with EMF shielding tape. All this seemed to have accomplished was to raise the "magnetism" to the top of the cap, as the heat sink on the box lid above the mess now seemed noticeably drawn towards the magnet whereas it wasn't really before. Also, a piece of steel was strongly attracted to the top of the metal cap, certainly more so than to the amplifier coil. Testing the magnetic field with an EMF meter app on my phone showed no difference between the before and after shielding added. Next, I tried just covering the back of the speaker with the magnetic tape (it came as a 10 inch by 5 foot roll, so this was easier than it sounds). Again, no measurable difference. My last check might be to actually place the 30 pound, 16 inch cube subwoofer next to a couple CRTs. I'm not sure if this will work any better as a sensitivity test than the EMF app on my phone. The app is on iphone and simply called "Electromagnetic Detector EMF" and background is about 0.1 microTesla, a PC will read about 1.0 microTesla and the peak EMF for the subwoofer in all cases was about 3.0 microTesla. So, my advice is to either settle for an inferior Yamaha PC system, build speakers so you can easily experiment and then hook up to a receiver, (again, likely inferior) or just buy the non-shielded subwoofer of a high quality product and hope it never accidently comes in close enough proximity to something sensitive that erases a valued VHS tape, floppy disk or HDD of your retro setup.
There's two things I care about in speakers, shielding and latency. Now, if it's a pure analog speaker latency shouldn't be an issue, but there's far too many modern speakers that have a digital interface these days, with a full suite of digitized features and anti-features such as automatically shutting off or just refusing to play sound below a certain "base volume". I have a pretty decent surround sound system save that it's analog interface introduces added latency which is rather apparent if you have a CRT in the mix. I'd like to shop around for a zero latency surround sound system that also supports the Gamecube's dolby digital mode.
Awesome video, Bob. Thanks for the Ascend Acoustics recommendation. I paired them with an IOTAVX SA3 for the extra line ins plus optical and coax digital inputs. Another great option, especially for anyone planning to use MiSTer's digital audio output, and not too much more expensive than the NAD.
I use speakers from early 70's with my CRT big ones and they use different kind of magnet which are very small and don't create magnetic field around the speaker even without shielding. I think those magnets are called alnico.
I just looked up the specs for the speakers I've been using next to my CRTs for the last eight years and found out they aren't shielded. However, I've never noticed any color distortion. I've never put them right next to my CRTs but pretty close in some cases. Is this still ok or should I be worried in any way?
Hey Bob I’ve been following your content for years now, and I would like to just give you one constructive criticism if you were to accept it! I don’t think you need to do that whole thing where: “maybe I’m just talking about of my ass and someone is going to call me a dumbass for saying this thing”. You really don’t need to even say that, if someone even says that, let them do it, but your information has always been solid and you already make the effort to point out that you don’t have the final say or authority over anything because it’s possible that someone out there is going to know something that you don’t know! Anyway, I just love your content so much and I know you’re trying to be humble! Keep up the great work as always!
I purchased the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE pair based on the recommendation of this video. Ascend sells B-stock on their site which is around 20% cheaper and may have a scratch or two. They have the same manufacturer warranty as the regular new ones. They sound excellent, almost as good as my Yamaha studio monitors (which are twice as expensive and not shielded). For retro gaming, they are basically perfect. For anyone looking for a great quality and affordable amp, I'd recommend the Audioengine N22. It's a tiny but powerful amp with a RCA stereo input and 3.5mm input. It can easily drive most bookshelf speakers, including the CBM-170SEs. If you need more simultaneous RCA inputs you could get a passive switch box. The N22 also has a connection for a sub. Anyway, thanks for the recommendation!
@@juntartful Hey, not sure what else to say that I didn't already in the original comment, but it's a really quality amp. It's 5.43 x 2.68 x 6.4 inches, weighs about 3.5 pounds. It very cleanly and accurately represents everything I've thrown at it so far with no distortion. Smooth and rich. It doesn't sound clinical or "cold" like Class D amps sometimes can. You can simultaneously run the audio signal going into it back out of it via stereo RCA if you want. What else... it has a blue light around the volume knob when its on? Lol. The volume knob is also how you turn it on or off, you turn it all the way down and there's a nice click. It feels really premium, sounds great, and can get extremely loud with these speakers. I don't think I've ever turned it up past 50% volume and that was around 95db, which is entering possible hearing damage range. They include a pair of nice speaker cables in the box. I would still highly recommend it if you are looking to hook up a single RCA or 3.5mm sources. If you want more stuff connected simultaneously you could connect it to a passive RCA switch box or something. Great amp.
@@RetroRGB so good! I took your advice and have a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 on the way to protect the BVM investment. And thank you for your research
On a lower price range, Visaton (a German brand i believe) has a whole series of magnetically shielded speakers of different sizes and ranges...I ordered them for my arcade cabinet. Still didn't test them, but it seems it's a decent brand, somewhat popular among DIY audio hobbyists.
Audio is also objective, thats the basis for Ascend acoustics research. JBL also objectivizes their speaker design. The bare minimum is a speaker that has a flat response or one that has a slight tilt in the response. Ascend recently bought a Klippel NFS to prove that the reason why their designs sound good is because they are designed with a flat response and now use it as as measurable basis for all their speakers
Thanks Bob. I’ve literally been struggling with this. I scavenged some old Bose model 100 speakers and a Sony str-d611 for an amp for free. Looks like the speakers you recommended are ideal for my setup.
This is also one place some older speakers from that era might come through. Shielding was needed on speakers during the CRT era. This of course isn't guaranteed but if the speakers are from a reputable brand that was popular there is probably info out there. I found some Boston Acoustics that are shielded that work pretty well. Though I wouldn't mind a smaller solution as the ones I have are 8" woofers.
Mate, that D24 and D-Series next to each other are amazing CRTs, as you well know, just those two alone would give you an almost perfect CRT setup, perfect 240p/480i 4:3 and perfect 16:9 SD & HD displays.
@@bojangles6444 JVC D-Series are a series of CRTs, they are fantastic for 240p and 480i content, and rival Sony Trinitrons for that resolution, Sony Trinis look better with higher fidelity 3D content though, I guess Sony's 90s curved CRTs are the best all-rounders, so if you only have space for one CRT a 90s Trini might be your best bet for retro content.
That's actually a D32 :) And I think it's funny that the BVM-D32E1WU and JVC AV-32D202, 36" D-Series (it literally says "D-Series" on the front" are both referred to as "D Series". Makes it confusing.
@@Wobble2007 I have like 6 pvms one is a 29 inch Mitsubishi in a case in the garage bc I have no more room lol. No JVC or Ikagami all sony- mostly 20 inch bvm. Haven’t got any in years. Too much $ now. I am not paying 3 grand for any crt
So far I've been pretty lucky in that I have my surround speakers pretty far away from my current consumer CRT in my setup. I haven't tested their shielding though. My PVM I think was less fortunate in a former life -- one of the corners has some color distortion that I suspect is from being stored next to an unshielded speaker. I'm able to coax it out using a magnet but it comes back after a time.
On my multi-console retro setup which has an OSSC to HDMI-VGA to off-white PC-CRT, I took two off-white Roland MA-8 speakers but two of the passive ones - they each have a 4" main driver and a 1.5" tweeter which are both magnetically shielded with the big cup shields around the magnets, and I lined the internal walls of the plastic enclosures with bitumen-based car sound deadening and then polyester wadding, to make them less peaky/echoey. I then blocked the bass ports with polystyrene tubes as I have them high-passed as I use them as satellites powered by a mini stereo amplifier (they're placed only about an inch either side of the monitor with no issues) and then I have two mini subwoofers (not magnetically shielded but down on the floor) powered by a plate amplifier I made a seperate enclosure for, and the system also has a 9-band equaliser (I use bigger and better audio equipment for music listening, which is not shared with my retro setup).
Great video Bob! I have that same pair of Edirol speakers for use with my PVMs and they are great. However, I have always kept them at least 1 foot away from my CRT's, out of worry that the vibration might cause some sort of issue/jarring that could damage my monitors in some way. Is that me just being neurotic? Again these Edirols are nothing crazy, they are less than 50 watts.
Hi can someone explain how I connect a speaker to my crt tv please? My speaker has rca connection would that work as I am not sure. I will also be getting an av reciever soon
great stuff. thanks bob. i have the edirols. i got them on ebay for like 50 bucks from a liquidator. they sound better than $300+ modern speakers. they're only cheap because they're not new but back in the day they were super pricey.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's an easy way to answer that. I think the only solid answer would be to use a magnetic field tester (cheap geiger counter?) to double check. I'll say this though: Even when I put my front speakers against the wall, it was too close...but the rear speakers in the back of the room seem totally fine and it's far enough away that I wouldn't worry. Just my opinion though.
I just found out the Floor speakers in my setup were causing all the “Noise” on my CRT screen. I got rid of them and I’m also selling the Marantz receiver I have. With a 36” Trinitron, it seems like the TVs speakers are good enough.
Big Sony trinitron always sound good! They always have subwoofers in them with really nice satellite speakers! Some had 2 subwoofers with 2 satellites units with tweeters and a center channel!
Thanks for the video. I'd still avoid placing them directly next to the CRT though. I have the Bose ones shown at 3:33 and used to have them placed next to my PVM. Now I have a colored spot in the corner 🥲 So if you can, at least move them a bit to be safe.
I think most shielded hi-fi speakers also usually say so on a sticker on the back. Manufacturers seemed more than happy to advertise this fact. Might help to check if you're buying used and don't have a CRT handy.
Maybe you could use your phone's magnetometer to test whether the speakers are shielded or not? There are definitely programs available that can graph what your phone's sensors are picking up. Maybe if you used that to measure how strong the magnetic field is around some shielded and unshielded speakers, you could figure out a range of values to test for. Once that data is available, people could just use their phones to check if the speakers in the shop are shielded or not.
WOW, I have a PVM with a built in speaker, not the greatest thing but, it does the job(been only playing NES on it with a NESRGB kit). I remember with my PC back in the Windows 95 days not being able to use some speakers because of the shielding.... This was a big topic back then, trying to find the right speaker, not just today. What is old is new again.... LOL It was even worse when I had a 32" Sony and had big home theater speakers next to it, or sub below it. This one of those been there done that things...LOL As for reverence audio. When I was in my mid 20's, I worked for a company called Tweeter, etc (Mass based mid to high end A/V,) one thing I learned and still use today, was how to listen. How to check for speaker quality and hear the difference. I did get listen to a $100K separate amp and pre-amp, $10K cables and $60K speakers. We changed wires from lamp cord to $10K cords, to hear a difference. Was a very interesting experience in my life, and wish I could do a modern version of it again, I could never afford a $100K setup but, it would be nice to hear them in a correct room.
Thanks Bob, I have also tried a few speakers and have been terribly disappointed. I am now of the opinion that consumer CRTs already have good speakers unlike flat panel displays and it is not really necessary to connect external speakers.
Lol the mono 14m4u speaker sounds like it was from a broken arcade cabinet and installed backwards. The Sony that pop out the side of a 2530 are really not bad at all. Adds to the retro score. Pretty loud too
I have a older 80s CRT that has ports to connect speakers directly to the rear of the tv with speaker wire, but the problem is it only says 8ohms on the back and Zion don’t know how much wattage I should be looking at when looking into speakers. I cannot find anything on the internet about the set.
The component jack for the left speaker of my 29" LG CRT is bad; I have to jam it so it works every time (probably a cold solder joint). Instead of tearing it down and trying to fix it or break it more, I though I might as well look for a pair of speakers or headphones. Had many ideas on how to hook them up, but since I use my PS2 and PS3 the most, I just bought a cheap toslink to RCA converter + P2 jack. It works wonders, with cables long enough so I don't have to worry about leaving the speakers too close to the TV, so no interference!
I’ll always recommend looking into late 80s to mid 90s hi-fi equipment. It’s pretty cheap and easy to find and is generally of very high quality. I’ve had several amp/speaker setups from this era over the years and found that they sound great and are super reliable. I’m not sure about them in terms of shielding though, as I never place the speakers right next to my monitor. Active studio monitors are also a great option. The large majority of them are shielded and they sound great. The down side is you don’t get much control over the volume unless you put a mixer or something in there.
I was looking at getting the JBL's, in Australia they are a much cheaper option than the Klipsch . Have you tested and had experience with the two JBL models listed in the description? Did they have poor magnetic shielding?
I have a pair of the 305p's coming tomorrow, which I'll test myself. That's the PDF I showed that list magnetically shielded three times for each speaker, so I'd really hope they are! ;/
So, how far is far enough away to place an UN-shielded speaker by your CRT tv? Given you said that the effects aren't noticeable sometimes, how do I know if I'm in the clear or not? If I don't notice any discoloration effects when placing it about 16 inches away from the CRT, would that be safe? Thanks and I appreciate the insightful video!
I buy sony speakers from thrift stores. Most of them are old speakers that where made to be around CRTs. My entire sound system was only $10 dollars with cables. Four sony speakers one yamaha receiver
Thanks for the video Bob! I have 2 very small and cheap speakers at like 9 inches away from my CRT, they're connected to my HD monitor, I tested them placing them as close as posible to the CRT screen and they make a little colour interference but nothing crazy. My question is at a distance of 9 or 10 inches from the CRT, are they dangerous like in the long run? I usually don't have the volume high (don't know if that matters or not) and they only seems to cause interference being placed really close and facing the screen, should I buy a pair of shielded ones?
As long as it causes ZERO interference on screen, it should be okay. I like to move mine as far as possible though just to be safe. And good question, but the volume shouldn't affect it too much.
It'll definitely affect unplugged CRT's. Maybe not as bad and maybe it'll take longer for permanent damage, but it's definitely not good. Great question though!
I had this phenomena occur by accident when I brought home a 14" JVC a couple days ago. I put the crt on my desktop and played some NES. A couple hours later I did the same, but this time I had my 5" JBL 305 active studio monitors on. The colors started to warp on the crt monitor and I was like wtf!?!? Oh, the speakers are on LOL.
I just ordered the set of JBL 305's I showed in the video that are listed as shielded. I'll test them when they arrive...but this is exactly why I kept repeating "check yourself, even if the spec sheet claims they're shielded". It's totally possible they USED to be shielded, then JBL started cutting cost. I really hope I don't have to return these ;/
FYI! I bought a pair of Klipsch R-51PM and they are not completely shielded I noticed I'm afraid. Had them right by my PVM and there was a bit of distortion in the corners. Moved them like 10 cm away and degaussed the PVM and the distortion was gone.
Any other options? I am really interested in the R 51 pm klipsch speakers but I'm wondering if there is something just slightly better that is shielded. They seem tiny but I bet they pack a punch
A former Bose employee provided a list of shielded and non-shielded speakers in the main post: www.retrorgb.com/kanto-ora-magnetically-shielded-speakers.html
Definitely looking to get those Ascend CM-170SE but that amp at $500 is just to much. I have a few stereo receivers laying around, if I kept that away from my PVMs would I be ok? Does it specifically have to be an 8ohm receiver? Thanks
You can use any receiver you'd like. And while audio is subjective, that amp is amazing for the price. Maybe start by testing the Ascend's with whatever you have lying around and go from there. Maybe one of your existing amps is already awesome? ...but if you connect both your amps and aren't satisfied with the sound, you'll know what to do next :)
@@RetroRGB thanks dude I'll give my Denon AVR1707 a go first. It also has 3 Component, 3 composite, and 3 s-video inputs that all output through component.. the only downside is it only supplies 75w @ 8 ohms per speaker.. I don't want to under power the Ascends do you know if 75w is enough to satisfy them?
75w should be fine. And analog-to-analog via the amp should be fine...but as a note, EVERY SINGLE amp that has analog inputs and HDMI outputs adds a TON of lag to the signal. You SHOULD be good, but it might be worth lag testing.
I’ve been waiting for information like this. Bob I have a Marshall Bluetooth Stansmore 2 on top of my 20 inch Ikegami monitor connected with stereo rca. I can’t find any info on them being shielded. Would you happen to know? Thanks
I have audiodngjne 5+. But I keep them far from my monitor. I thought I just needed bookshelf. Sounds great for Genesis model 1 the reference model. (Forgot the number)
I've bought a pair of JBL C2P speakers over a year ago thinking they were shielded (as stated in their documentation, so I've never doubted it). After watching this video, I've tested them and they slightly affect the CRT colors when sticking them directly on top. Not as much as some of the unshielded ones you showed however. Does this mean they're unshielded, or is there some amount of magnetism that can still "seep" though their shielding?
@@RetroRGB This sucks. It means I've potentially been slowly damaging my CRTs for over a year, and on top of that, it's too late to return those speakers. It's still better to learn about it now than never though. I really appreciate this video and your excellent work, so thank you! I'm already looking for another solution for my audio setup.
Well, the good news, is the magnetic field is directional...so if you didn't notice any interference it barely did and harm at all. Still sucks we both did our homework, checked the documentation and were lied to :(
@@RetroRGB Good to know. Thanks for the update on this! And yeah, after this, I trust no one anymore about claims of speakers being magnetically shielded. This JBL documention thing made me completely paranoid haha.
Are bluetooth speakers and PC CRT Monitors prone to this too? I have a small little portable Anker Soundbar I keep on top of my CRT. I don't think iv noticed any color issues while playing DOS stuff, but to be fair i haven't been looking for it. Got me a little worried I'm killing it.
Oh yeah, any CRT is vulnerable to any magnet. Although if you move it around like I showed and the screen doesn't change, it could already be shielded.
this is a huge problem i've seen overlooked. seen plenty of pics of peoples crt setup with big speakers right next to them. not good if not magnetically shielded.
I have an unshielded guitar amp/speaker that starts to distort the CRT once it's within ~3/4 ft. Would placing the amp in the same multi-tier shelf as the CRT be too risky even if the amp will be 2 ft below the CRT?
I saw that too - It's the shadow of my arm. LOL, that freaked me out too when I saw it in the video! I was like "Wait, DOES it make a difference??". I tested again a few times and it's good :)
My guess...and please understand this is only a GUESS...is twice the distance from when you stop seeing interference is safe. Take that advice at your own risk though, I really don't know for sure.
Probably already said, but there is no magnetic shielding. It's shunting 😂. Magnetic field finds the easiest path through iron and other highly permeable materials, like its pulled towards it like gravity
I ended up getting the svs packege. Just the basic one, i didn't even come with a proper center just another speaker. Prime Satellite 5.1 System. I put the speaker near the tv and it's fine. Doesn't do that distortion. IDK IDK maybe some sort of shield board thing i can put between the tv and speaker to make it to the safe side. SVS where reccemended to me. IDK they do sound alright. Sometimes i don't know what good sounds like. Hope i didn't get trolled. It was many years ago. Got the better one's to keep for a lifetime. Because i don't think speakers change much in futures. Meh they make them bluetooth now like i care for that. I was just going to get logitech computer speakers set. Do i need to upgrade them or am i fine. I don't think speakers change much. IDK i might be wrong. Why are receavers so big still. I get onkyo. reccemended. THey tend to act weird on me after a couple of years. Will i have better luck with denon. Should i invest into a amp. Sometimes i feel i should of just got book shelf speakers or stick with whats on the tv. because of space 5.1 does work when playing fps. I know where there coming from.
WARNING!! Apparently the JBL's I showed are NOT shielded, even though it's listed THREE TIMES in the manual as being magnetically shielded (as I showed here)!!! While this is an embarrassing mistake, it proves the points I made in the video: Always buy from a place that accepts returns and even if the spec sheets, or someone (like me in this video😢) says they're shielded, they might not be. Here's some proof...and I'm sorry for the low video quality, but I just wanted to get this out there: twitter.com/RetroRGB/status/1513580157860200457
Thanks for testing these mate. Love your work. You saved a lot of people the hassle.
That's too bad. The JBL LSR series are absolutely amazing for the price. Maybe just keep your speakers farther away?
My Klipsch RB-10s aren't shielded either despite saying it.
even the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 SE is not 100% shielded, I bought it after watching this video, and now im using it with a DELL P1130, when i stick it close to the monitor i get a pink hue on the side, maybe its a quality control thing? but it only affect one side of the monitor, not the top just the sides !
Thanks for the tips on this Bob. This is a topic often talked about by CRT aficionados.
I install home theater systems professionally and I actually have an app on my phone that can detect magnetism. It's very handy when knowing what is shielded and what isn't, as many service manuals neglect to tell you the information or have been lost to time.
What is the name of the app?
@@commodoreredrum7882 fairy tale app. Detect with what a microphone?!!!’ It would need an attachment. People will say anything to sound smart on here. Everyone is a music theory expert bc they know the blues scale. He installs DVD players in a classroom prob. Throw your watch at the back see if it stickd, Chuck screws Like darts. If you get 5 take a pic send it to him. I have an app that can detect the last time I changed my underwear gen z god help us!!!!! Move out at 40 move back at 41 bc life is really hard. Make up tech job based on your life of 24/7 gaming. Boomers will all be impressed. You type a number into your calculator ap tell them
It’s magnetism. They are just excited gen z’s move out before they are seniors.
@@bojangles6444 man writes a whole paragraph complaining about the kids these days because he doesn't believe an app works
@@commodoreredrum7882 The one I use is simply "Magnetic Field Sensor." I don't know if it's on iPhone, though.
@@kirbyofthestars2269 Tried it, seems to work... ads are bad and super aggressive...
I had hours of fun as a kid waving the computer speakers around the screen and watching the pretty colours. Shame kids today will miss out on that experience 😆
Informative video as always Bob, this is why I have my speakers on wall brackets well away from everything but I appreciate not everyone has that luxury.
10:22 speaker placement and room acoustics make up almost the entirety of the sound!
Over on Audioholics during a recent live stream an audio expert was talking about an experiment in which various high-end speakers were placed in an anechoic chamber and critical listeners were not able to distinguish between them. As soon as those speakers were placed in an actual room though the experts could correctly identify all of them.
Speakers must interact with your room in order to sound correct.
Actually unless speakers are very high end and got pretty much the same design in mind they will sound different.
This actually helps me a ton. I had this happen for about a week on one of my monitors and freaked out thinking it was permanent damage. Luckily Retro Tech was able to reassure me, but I was definitely considering the "just wrap it in foil' trick. It's especially helpful seeing that even some higher end products aren't shielded, while lower ones sometimes are. I think I use those exact Bose speakers you pulled out!
Wow my video game and hifi worlds just collided! Love Ascend Acoustic; owned CBM 170s and then upgraded to Sierra 1s and 2s. Soooo good and can be played LOUD without distorting.
Dude this is hilarious. I have never felt so connected to a video in my life. Just last week I was looking for shielded speakers for that exact pvm that u used for your thumbnail. Then, I always rock 2 of those Panasonic tv’s you showed but mine are 27”and yours looks like a 20”. I tried to research how to shield speakers and thought of putting some metal roof flashing in between the tv and the speaker and you tried it with the aluminum foil and I was cracking up. Bravo bravo thank you for the research and all the good info
I have those Bose speakers. Bose actually does a great job with big sound out of smaller speaker enclosures.
Thanks for the recommendations, Bob. Speakers have been the lesser of my setup, but this is because I wanted to spend some time on reviewing options later down the road - which I never get to. Your video gives me a great head start.
It’s also interesting to think about choosing a listening experience that pairs with the visual experience. If going with a PVM for “reference quality” visuals, some shielded studio monitors would complement it nicely. Component stereo equipment would work nicely with a mid-tier YPbPr set.
I personally had a shielded JBL sound bar with my Component FD Trinitron YPbPr setup. 😊
Great video, keep up the great content!
Cool and interesting video. Absolutely loved the slow scan over your CRT wall dude. So, so cool 👊😎
I have a pair of those old Logitech PC speakers you showed hooked up to my PVM. It's important to keep in mind that most retro game sounds were designed for playback on speakers built into the average consumer's CRT. So while those PC speakers can't compete with studio monitors in terms of frequency response, for the purpose of giving PVMs a relatively full-range stereo sound, they're perfect
Just returned a pair of JBL Control 1 Pro. Unfortunately they are not properly shielded. After watching your video, I ordered the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170. I couldn‘t be happier with the speakers. I paired them with a Yamaha A-S201 amp. Greetings 🍻
So glad they worked out for you. I still love mine!
Fantastic video, I run a 5.1 Surround Sound system with my SD set up and one day when I was setting up my center channel speaker, which I was going have sitting on top of my set, I noticed discolouration and promptly pulled it away. I then went to my HD set up and swapped the center channel from there and discovered that it was indeed shielded. The rest of my speaker set up is not shielded but I keep them as far away from my 32" Trinitron as possible to ensure no funny business.
As always thanks for the great insight and explanations, keep up the excellent work.
Very good Points! I have collected dozens of speakers from the thrift store ,for this reason... just trying to find something with the best retro audio. The thrift store is so cheap and I've actually found some really good quality speakers for less than 5$
Just found a pair of JBL Platinum Series speakers in mint condition for a bit over $5. They work well and sounded much louder than the speaker in my small CRT tv.
Thanks for doing this. I've been going crazy on Amazon trying to find something magnetically shielded for an upcoming PVM purchase. I actually did narrow it down to the JBL (and Klipsch) studio monitors but the options from Ascend have me thinking now that you've proven the JBLs are NOT shielded.
I've known about this when I was trying to find some good bookshelf speakers for my setup a few years ago and it was hard to find some good ones that where magnetically shielded. Thankfully I found a set of JBL N26 Bookshelf speakers from 1999 on craigslist and found out they where magnetically shielded and was able to buy them and can confirm those models of JBL speakers are magnetically shielded. Also I should give a warning about one pair of studio monitors that some people have recommended for crt use which is the Mackie CR3s When I asked Mackie themselves about it they told me they are not magnetically shielded for crt use and when I got them for things other then crt use I decided to test to see if they where right and I can confirm they are not magnetically shielded for crts.
Thank you so much Bob. I normally never comment on videos but after buying those exact Elac speakers this past black Friday and not knowing they weren't shielded I've had them sitting near my CRTs ever since. Immediately pulled them out of my setup and will be purchasing a new set of the speakers you recommended. You may have saved my Trinitron and JVC D series. I hope you get an interview with the ascend acoustics guy because I think that would be a very interesting listen and can't wait to hear what these new speakers sound like.
Thanks for taking the time to comment...I'm so glad I could help! Also, as the Ascend Speakers are "breaking in", I love them even more. I really think you'll be happy with them!
Most, if not all, of the PC speaker systems sold by Yamaha from 90s until 2008, at least, have everything shielded, including the subwoofer. Some popular ones are the YST-MS35 2.1 stereo and TSS-1 5.1 surround systems.
As far as tales of misadventures, I bought a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX surround system, which is arguably the best "magnetically shielded" PC speaker system (although the monster 12 inch subwoofer is not shielded!). I decided since it was so highly praised, but the subwoofer so massive, I would shield it myself despite mixed comments online about it's effect on anything more than 24 inches away, since it seemed better to be on the safe side. Ugh, what a nightmare. For one thing, the speaker is not the only thing that is magnetic. The amplifier coil in the subwoofer box is probably as magnetic as a 3" subwoofer and generates enough heat you probably don't want to enclose it. Second, there is a large (4-6 inch diameter) plastic "horn" about an inch behind the 12 inch speaker magnet which pretty much prevents any access to the unseen half of the speaker magnet and it is glued on against the threat of nuclear Armageddon. With pliers and hammer I managed to eventually get the horn removed with moderate repairable damage. I then placed a 5 inch diameter 4 inch high steel stove pipe cap over the magnet and taped it in place with EMF shielding tape. All this seemed to have accomplished was to raise the "magnetism" to the top of the cap, as the heat sink on the box lid above the mess now seemed noticeably drawn towards the magnet whereas it wasn't really before. Also, a piece of steel was strongly attracted to the top of the metal cap, certainly more so than to the amplifier coil. Testing the magnetic field with an EMF meter app on my phone showed no difference between the before and after shielding added.
Next, I tried just covering the back of the speaker with the magnetic tape (it came as a 10 inch by 5 foot roll, so this was easier than it sounds). Again, no measurable difference. My last check might be to actually place the 30 pound, 16 inch cube subwoofer next to a couple CRTs. I'm not sure if this will work any better as a sensitivity test than the EMF app on my phone. The app is on iphone and simply called "Electromagnetic Detector EMF" and background is about 0.1 microTesla, a PC will read about 1.0 microTesla and the peak EMF for the subwoofer in all cases was about 3.0 microTesla.
So, my advice is to either settle for an inferior Yamaha PC system, build speakers so you can easily experiment and then hook up to a receiver, (again, likely inferior) or just buy the non-shielded subwoofer of a high quality product and hope it never accidently comes in close enough proximity to something sensitive that erases a valued VHS tape, floppy disk or HDD of your retro setup.
There's two things I care about in speakers, shielding and latency. Now, if it's a pure analog speaker latency shouldn't be an issue, but there's far too many modern speakers that have a digital interface these days, with a full suite of digitized features and anti-features such as automatically shutting off or just refusing to play sound below a certain "base volume". I have a pretty decent surround sound system save that it's analog interface introduces added latency which is rather apparent if you have a CRT in the mix. I'd like to shop around for a zero latency surround sound system that also supports the Gamecube's dolby digital mode.
Awesome video, Bob. Thanks for the Ascend Acoustics recommendation. I paired them with an IOTAVX SA3 for the extra line ins plus optical and coax digital inputs. Another great option, especially for anyone planning to use MiSTer's digital audio output, and not too much more expensive than the NAD.
Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out!: www.iotaenterprises.co.uk/products/iotavx-audiophile-stereo-amplifier-sa3
I use speakers from early 70's with my CRT big ones and they use different kind of magnet which are very small and don't create magnetic field around the speaker even without shielding. I think those magnets are called alnico.
THANK YOU BOB!
Thanks for all your content, love retroRGB
I just looked up the specs for the speakers I've been using next to my CRTs for the last eight years and found out they aren't shielded. However, I've never noticed any color distortion. I've never put them right next to my CRTs but pretty close in some cases. Is this still ok or should I be worried in any way?
Hey Bob I’ve been following your content for years now, and I would like to just give you one constructive criticism if you were to accept it! I don’t think you need to do that whole thing where: “maybe I’m just talking about of my ass and someone is going to call me a dumbass for saying this thing”. You really don’t need to even say that, if someone even says that, let them do it, but your information has always been solid and you already make the effort to point out that you don’t have the final say or authority over anything because it’s possible that someone out there is going to know something that you don’t know! Anyway, I just love your content so much and I know you’re trying to be humble! Keep up the great work as always!
Me, slowly moving my CRT monitor further away from my speakers....
Perfect timing, need to find some speakers for a bvm I picked up
I purchased the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE pair based on the recommendation of this video. Ascend sells B-stock on their site which is around 20% cheaper and may have a scratch or two. They have the same manufacturer warranty as the regular new ones. They sound excellent, almost as good as my Yamaha studio monitors (which are twice as expensive and not shielded). For retro gaming, they are basically perfect. For anyone looking for a great quality and affordable amp, I'd recommend the Audioengine N22. It's a tiny but powerful amp with a RCA stereo input and 3.5mm input. It can easily drive most bookshelf speakers, including the CBM-170SEs. If you need more simultaneous RCA inputs you could get a passive switch box. The N22 also has a connection for a sub. Anyway, thanks for the recommendation!
So glad you had the same good experience I did with them! For money, these are amazing!
@@RetroRGB Absolutely! Now, got any suggestions for similar quality, priced, and shielded subwoofers? 😆
Yo would you mind telling me more about audioengine n22. It looks super tiny and I am not sure about it but please enlighten me
@@juntartful Hey, not sure what else to say that I didn't already in the original comment, but it's a really quality amp. It's 5.43 x 2.68 x 6.4 inches, weighs about 3.5 pounds. It very cleanly and accurately represents everything I've thrown at it so far with no distortion. Smooth and rich. It doesn't sound clinical or "cold" like Class D amps sometimes can. You can simultaneously run the audio signal going into it back out of it via stereo RCA if you want. What else... it has a blue light around the volume knob when its on? Lol. The volume knob is also how you turn it on or off, you turn it all the way down and there's a nice click. It feels really premium, sounds great, and can get extremely loud with these speakers. I don't think I've ever turned it up past 50% volume and that was around 95db, which is entering possible hearing damage range. They include a pair of nice speaker cables in the box. I would still highly recommend it if you are looking to hook up a single RCA or 3.5mm sources. If you want more stuff connected simultaneously you could connect it to a passive RCA switch box or something. Great amp.
Hilarious that you recognized this is worth talking about. I have been annoyed by this lately with my ELAC B6s! Thank you!
The Elac's are SO FREIGGIN GOOD though! At least you got a good speaker!
@@RetroRGB so good! I took your advice and have a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 on the way to protect the BVM investment. And thank you for your research
On a lower price range, Visaton (a German brand i believe) has a whole series of magnetically shielded speakers of different sizes and ranges...I ordered them for my arcade cabinet. Still didn't test them, but it seems it's a decent brand, somewhat popular among DIY audio hobbyists.
Audio is also objective, thats the basis for Ascend acoustics research. JBL also objectivizes their speaker design. The bare minimum is a speaker that has a flat response or one that has a slight tilt in the response. Ascend recently bought a Klippel NFS to prove that the reason why their designs sound good is because they are designed with a flat response and now use it as as measurable basis for all their speakers
Know what’s not objective? If a speaker is magically shielded or not.
🤣😂🤣😂
Thanks Bob. I’ve literally been struggling with this. I scavenged some old Bose model 100 speakers and a Sony str-d611 for an amp for free. Looks like the speakers you recommended are ideal for my setup.
I use my Taotronics PC Gaming soundbar in front my Toshiba 14AF44 CRT. Sounds good & no magnetic issues ^^
This is also one place some older speakers from that era might come through. Shielding was needed on speakers during the CRT era. This of course isn't guaranteed but if the speakers are from a reputable brand that was popular there is probably info out there. I found some Boston Acoustics that are shielded that work pretty well. Though I wouldn't mind a smaller solution as the ones I have are 8" woofers.
I use the Edirol / Roland MA15D speakers and they are fantastic for use with MiSTer and consoles. You can often pick them up on ebay.
Mate, that D24 and D-Series next to each other are amazing CRTs, as you well know, just those two alone would give you an almost perfect CRT setup, perfect 240p/480i 4:3 and perfect 16:9 SD & HD displays.
What’s the d series? Speaker?
@@bojangles6444 JVC D-Series are a series of CRTs, they are fantastic for 240p and 480i content, and rival Sony Trinitrons for that resolution, Sony Trinis look better with higher fidelity 3D content though, I guess Sony's 90s curved CRTs are the best all-rounders, so if you only have space for one CRT a 90s Trini might be your best bet for retro content.
That's actually a D32 :) And I think it's funny that the BVM-D32E1WU and JVC AV-32D202, 36" D-Series (it literally says "D-Series" on the front" are both referred to as "D Series". Makes it confusing.
@@Wobble2007 oh yeah those are good i thought it was a speaker lol
@@Wobble2007 I have like 6 pvms one is a 29 inch Mitsubishi in a case in the garage bc I have no more room lol. No JVC or Ikagami all sony- mostly 20 inch bvm. Haven’t got any in years. Too much $ now. I am not paying 3 grand for any crt
So far I've been pretty lucky in that I have my surround speakers pretty far away from my current consumer CRT in my setup. I haven't tested their shielding though. My PVM I think was less fortunate in a former life -- one of the corners has some color distortion that I suspect is from being stored next to an unshielded speaker. I'm able to coax it out using a magnet but it comes back after a time.
On my multi-console retro setup which has an OSSC to HDMI-VGA to off-white PC-CRT, I took two off-white Roland MA-8 speakers but two of the passive ones - they each have a 4" main driver and a 1.5" tweeter which are both magnetically shielded with the big cup shields around the magnets, and I lined the internal walls of the plastic enclosures with bitumen-based car sound deadening and then polyester wadding, to make them less peaky/echoey.
I then blocked the bass ports with polystyrene tubes as I have them high-passed as I use them as satellites powered by a mini stereo amplifier (they're placed only about an inch either side of the monitor with no issues) and then I have two mini subwoofers (not magnetically shielded but down on the floor) powered by a plate amplifier I made a seperate enclosure for, and the system also has a 9-band equaliser (I use bigger and better audio equipment for music listening, which is not shared with my retro setup).
My 1979 pioneer and 1989 mtx floor speakers are both NOT shielded. So old is also no guarantee of a magnetically shielded speaker.
ive always used CPU-Z on my phone to view the raw magnetometer sensor numbers to see how strong a magnetic field is
Great video Bob! I have that same pair of Edirol speakers for use with my PVMs and they are great. However, I have always kept them at least 1 foot away from my CRT's, out of worry that the vibration might cause some sort of issue/jarring that could damage my monitors in some way. Is that me just being neurotic? Again these Edirols are nothing crazy, they are less than 50 watts.
Hi can someone explain how I connect a speaker to my crt tv please? My speaker has rca connection would that work as I am not sure. I will also be getting an av reciever soon
I got a set of PreSonus Eris studio monitors. I like the sound. Very pure. Audiomentor reports they are magnetically shielded.
great stuff. thanks bob. i have the edirols. i got them on ebay for like 50 bucks from a liquidator. they sound better than $300+ modern speakers. they're only cheap because they're not new but back in the day they were super pricey.
Agreed, I liked those a lot!
That foil wrapped speaker just needs some RGB LEDs and you could sell it for $1000 😂
I have newer speakers but they are relatively far away from my 32 inch crt.
How far does the magnetic field reach from a speaker?
Unfortunately, I don't think there's an easy way to answer that. I think the only solid answer would be to use a magnetic field tester (cheap geiger counter?) to double check. I'll say this though: Even when I put my front speakers against the wall, it was too close...but the rear speakers in the back of the room seem totally fine and it's far enough away that I wouldn't worry. Just my opinion though.
I just found out the Floor speakers in my setup were causing all the “Noise” on my CRT screen.
I got rid of them and I’m also selling the Marantz receiver I have.
With a 36” Trinitron, it seems like the TVs speakers are good enough.
Big Sony trinitron always sound good! They always have subwoofers in them with really nice satellite speakers! Some had 2 subwoofers with 2 satellites units with tweeters and a center channel!
The Yamaha YST-FSW050 is an excellent shielded subwoofer option I personally use. It's discontinued, but there are plenty floating around on eBay etc.
Man, this was a nightmare for me for YEARS
Budget amp recommendation for passive speakers: Aiyima A07 (RCA in only, pair it with a DAC/Pre-Amp for digital inputs, like the Aiyima T8)
I love my bose companion 3 set, super tiny and sound fairly good.
Thanks for the video. I'd still avoid placing them directly next to the CRT though. I have the Bose ones shown at 3:33 and used to have them placed next to my PVM. Now I have a colored spot in the corner 🥲 So if you can, at least move them a bit to be safe.
Very interesting, never new this. Good info. to know.
This is a subject I've never considered before, cool video.
I think most shielded hi-fi speakers also usually say so on a sticker on the back. Manufacturers seemed more than happy to advertise this fact. Might help to check if you're buying used and don't have a CRT handy.
I've never seen that...but now I'm gonna check all my friend's speakers, just to see :)
@@RetroRGB I know Sony does. Checked a couple satellites at Goodwill, on the product label marked "Magnetically Shielded Type".
Maybe you could use your phone's magnetometer to test whether the speakers are shielded or not? There are definitely programs available that can graph what your phone's sensors are picking up. Maybe if you used that to measure how strong the magnetic field is around some shielded and unshielded speakers, you could figure out a range of values to test for. Once that data is available, people could just use their phones to check if the speakers in the shop are shielded or not.
i have jbls 308 and the are not shielded. I really checked it with my sony trinitron.
Dude you should do a video on magnetically shielded hi fi systems
WOW, I have a PVM with a built in speaker, not the greatest thing but, it does the job(been only playing NES on it with a NESRGB kit). I remember with my PC back in the Windows 95 days not being able to use some speakers because of the shielding.... This was a big topic back then, trying to find the right speaker, not just today. What is old is new again.... LOL
It was even worse when I had a 32" Sony and had big home theater speakers next to it, or sub below it.
This one of those been there done that things...LOL
As for reverence audio. When I was in my mid 20's, I worked for a company called Tweeter, etc (Mass based mid to high end A/V,) one thing I learned and still use today, was how to listen. How to check for speaker quality and hear the difference. I did get listen to a $100K separate amp and pre-amp, $10K cables and $60K speakers. We changed wires from lamp cord to $10K cords, to hear a difference. Was a very interesting experience in my life, and wish I could do a modern version of it again, I could never afford a $100K setup but, it would be nice to hear them in a correct room.
Thanks Bob,
I have also tried a few speakers and have been terribly disappointed.
I am now of the opinion that consumer CRTs already have good speakers unlike flat panel displays and it is not really necessary to connect external speakers.
I agree, most consumer CRT's have decent speakers. Certainly better than flat-panel! Not an option for most BVM and VGA monitor owners though.
Lol the mono 14m4u speaker sounds like it was from a broken arcade cabinet and installed backwards. The Sony that pop out the side of a 2530 are really not bad at all. Adds to the retro score. Pretty loud too
I have a older 80s CRT that has ports to connect speakers directly to the rear of the tv with speaker wire, but the problem is it only says 8ohms on the back and Zion don’t know how much wattage I should be looking at when looking into speakers. I cannot find anything on the internet about the set.
The component jack for the left speaker of my 29" LG CRT is bad; I have to jam it so it works every time (probably a cold solder joint). Instead of tearing it down and trying to fix it or break it more, I though I might as well look for a pair of speakers or headphones. Had many ideas on how to hook them up, but since I use my PS2 and PS3 the most, I just bought a cheap toslink to RCA converter + P2 jack. It works wonders, with cables long enough so I don't have to worry about leaving the speakers too close to the TV, so no interference!
What's the little silver CRT television you have in the background on the very top-left? I used to have one like that.
I run Polk T15 (shielded as required) with a Fosi amp. Great sound with my BVM and under $150 total.
they are factory shielded?
I’ll always recommend looking into late 80s to mid 90s hi-fi equipment. It’s pretty cheap and easy to find and is generally of very high quality. I’ve had several amp/speaker setups from this era over the years and found that they sound great and are super reliable. I’m not sure about them in terms of shielding though, as I never place the speakers right next to my monitor.
Active studio monitors are also a great option. The large majority of them are shielded and they sound great. The down side is you don’t get much control over the volume unless you put a mixer or something in there.
The JBLs despite being specced for shielding may as well not be. 100% do not recommend you use them with CRTs.
I was looking at getting the JBL's, in Australia they are a much cheaper option than the Klipsch . Have you tested and had experience with the two JBL models listed in the description? Did they have poor magnetic shielding?
I have a pair of the 305p's coming tomorrow, which I'll test myself. That's the PDF I showed that list magnetically shielded three times for each speaker, so I'd really hope they are! ;/
Thats awesome my dude. Looking forward to seeing how your testing goes!! 😀
So, do we know wow far is safe to have speakers next to CRT?
So, how far is far enough away to place an UN-shielded speaker by your CRT tv? Given you said that the effects aren't noticeable sometimes, how do I know if I'm in the clear or not? If I don't notice any discoloration effects when placing it about 16 inches away from the CRT, would that be safe? Thanks and I appreciate the insightful video!
I buy sony speakers from thrift stores. Most of them are old speakers that where made to be around CRTs. My entire sound system was only $10 dollars with cables. Four sony speakers one yamaha receiver
I keep them 5'' away from my PVM each speaker 👀
Thanks for the video Bob! I have 2 very small and cheap speakers at like 9 inches away from my CRT, they're connected to my HD monitor, I tested them placing them as close as posible to the CRT screen and they make a little colour interference but nothing crazy.
My question is at a distance of 9 or 10 inches from the CRT, are they dangerous like in the long run? I usually don't have the volume high (don't know if that matters or not) and they only seems to cause interference being placed really close and facing the screen, should I buy a pair of shielded ones?
As long as it causes ZERO interference on screen, it should be okay. I like to move mine as far as possible though just to be safe. And good question, but the volume shouldn't affect it too much.
I use a Bose sound bar under a monoprice glass stand which holds the CRT. No problems at all.
Will this affect a CRT that is unplugged or does it need to have the CRT's magnetic field acting in concert?
It'll definitely affect unplugged CRT's. Maybe not as bad and maybe it'll take longer for permanent damage, but it's definitely not good. Great question though!
What is the model number for those Edirols speakers?
I had this phenomena occur by accident when I brought home a 14" JVC a couple days ago. I put the crt on my desktop and played some NES. A couple hours later I did the same, but this time I had my 5" JBL 305 active studio monitors on. The colors started to warp on the crt monitor and I was like wtf!?!? Oh, the speakers are on LOL.
I just ordered the set of JBL 305's I showed in the video that are listed as shielded. I'll test them when they arrive...but this is exactly why I kept repeating "check yourself, even if the spec sheet claims they're shielded". It's totally possible they USED to be shielded, then JBL started cutting cost. I really hope I don't have to return these ;/
@@RetroRGB I think the ones I own are Mark I. They are discounted so you probably got the Mark II's. Maybe those are shielded.
Apparently, they're not. I'm pissed: twitter.com/RetroRGB/status/1513580157860200457
Haha was just thinking about this very subject a couple weeks ago
FYI!
I bought a pair of Klipsch R-51PM and they are not completely shielded I noticed I'm afraid. Had them right by my PVM and there was a bit of distortion in the corners. Moved them like 10 cm away and degaussed the PVM and the distortion was gone.
Just to be safe, maybe move them another 5-10 cm. They can still do damage, even if you can't quite notice it. Good job picking up on that though!!!
@@RetroRGB Thanks! Okay nice to know, I have now moved them a bit further just to be sure 🙏
I bought a Creative Labs soundbar that came with a subwoofer. It's a few cm in front of my CRT and I have no issues (subwoofer is on the floor).
Any other options? I am really interested in the R 51 pm klipsch speakers but I'm wondering if there is something just slightly better that is shielded. They seem tiny but I bet they pack a punch
I use yamaha yst m15 computer speakers. I put them on top of my Sony PVM 20M2U.
I think they're shielded
How does the internal speaker not affect the magnetic field in the TV?
If it's shielded, the second magnet cancels out the field. I thought there were some decent examples in this video.
Are the Bose Companion 2 series III speakers magnetically shielded?
A former Bose employee provided a list of shielded and non-shielded speakers in the main post: www.retrorgb.com/kanto-ora-magnetically-shielded-speakers.html
Definitely looking to get those Ascend CM-170SE but that amp at $500 is just to much. I have a few stereo receivers laying around, if I kept that away from my PVMs would I be ok? Does it specifically have to be an 8ohm receiver? Thanks
You can use any receiver you'd like. And while audio is subjective, that amp is amazing for the price. Maybe start by testing the Ascend's with whatever you have lying around and go from there. Maybe one of your existing amps is already awesome?
...but if you connect both your amps and aren't satisfied with the sound, you'll know what to do next :)
@@RetroRGB thanks dude I'll give my Denon AVR1707 a go first. It also has 3 Component, 3 composite, and 3 s-video inputs that all output through component.. the only downside is it only supplies 75w @ 8 ohms per speaker.. I don't want to under power the Ascends do you know if 75w is enough to satisfy them?
75w should be fine. And analog-to-analog via the amp should be fine...but as a note, EVERY SINGLE amp that has analog inputs and HDMI outputs adds a TON of lag to the signal. You SHOULD be good, but it might be worth lag testing.
I’ve been waiting for information like this. Bob I have a Marshall Bluetooth Stansmore 2 on top of my 20 inch Ikegami monitor connected with stereo rca. I can’t find any info on them being shielded. Would you happen to know? Thanks
I'm not sure, but maybe try waiving it in front like I did. If you see a change, it's unshielded and you should probably move it :)
I have audiodngjne 5+. But I keep them far from my monitor. I thought I just needed bookshelf. Sounds great for Genesis model 1 the reference model. (Forgot the number)
I've bought a pair of JBL C2P speakers over a year ago thinking they were shielded (as stated in their documentation, so I've never doubted it). After watching this video, I've tested them and they slightly affect the CRT colors when sticking them directly on top. Not as much as some of the unshielded ones you showed however. Does this mean they're unshielded, or is there some amount of magnetism that can still "seep" though their shielding?
Check the pinned tweet...we got duped :(
@@RetroRGB This sucks. It means I've potentially been slowly damaging my CRTs for over a year, and on top of that, it's too late to return those speakers.
It's still better to learn about it now than never though. I really appreciate this video and your excellent work, so thank you! I'm already looking for another solution for my audio setup.
Well, the good news, is the magnetic field is directional...so if you didn't notice any interference it barely did and harm at all. Still sucks we both did our homework, checked the documentation and were lied to :(
@@RetroRGB Good to know. Thanks for the update on this!
And yeah, after this, I trust no one anymore about claims of speakers being magnetically shielded. This JBL documention thing made me completely paranoid haha.
Are bluetooth speakers and PC CRT Monitors prone to this too? I have a small little portable Anker Soundbar I keep on top of my CRT. I don't think iv noticed any color issues while playing DOS stuff, but to be fair i haven't been looking for it. Got me a little worried I'm killing it.
Oh yeah, any CRT is vulnerable to any magnet. Although if you move it around like I showed and the screen doesn't change, it could already be shielded.
this is a huge problem i've seen overlooked. seen plenty of pics of peoples crt setup with big speakers right next to them. not good if not magnetically shielded.
If you have physical access to the speaker bring along a compass and if it deflects near the speaker you may have trouble with your CRT.
Daaaaam I just use a sound bar with my pvm. But it's not next to the screen so it should be ok?
I have an unshielded guitar amp/speaker that starts to distort the CRT once it's within ~3/4 ft. Would placing the amp in the same multi-tier shelf as the CRT be too risky even if the amp will be 2 ft below the CRT?
I'd always be extra careful. I mean, would you really want to risk it?
10:04 - Isn't the TV a little bit affected? The light blue seem to get a little purple when you pu them on top?
I saw that too - It's the shadow of my arm. LOL, that freaked me out too when I saw it in the video! I was like "Wait, DOES it make a difference??". I tested again a few times and it's good :)
In my personal case I simple keep them away from my CRT, on the wall.
FYI, I tried the DIY shielding tape from lessemf and it did absolutely nothing.
Yup. Would have the same results as what I showed. You'd need the shielding magnet.
good budget option: Creative Gigaworks T20 series II
They look good! Have you tested them?
What about safe distance between the tv and unshielded speakers? Can it be measured?
My guess...and please understand this is only a GUESS...is twice the distance from when you stop seeing interference is safe. Take that advice at your own risk though, I really don't know for sure.
Probably already said, but there is no magnetic shielding. It's shunting 😂. Magnetic field finds the easiest path through iron and other highly permeable materials, like its pulled towards it like gravity
I ended up getting the svs packege. Just the basic one, i didn't even come with a proper center just another speaker. Prime Satellite 5.1 System.
I put the speaker near the tv and it's fine. Doesn't do that distortion. IDK
IDK maybe some sort of shield board thing i can put between the tv and speaker to make it to the safe side.
SVS where reccemended to me. IDK they do sound alright. Sometimes i don't know what good sounds like. Hope i didn't get trolled. It was many years ago.
Got the better one's to keep for a lifetime. Because i don't think speakers change much in futures. Meh they make them bluetooth now like i care for that. I was just going to get logitech computer speakers set. Do i need to upgrade them or am i fine. I don't think speakers change much. IDK i might be wrong.
Why are receavers so big still. I get onkyo. reccemended. THey tend to act weird on me after a couple of years.
Will i have better luck with denon. Should i invest into a amp.
Sometimes i feel i should of just got book shelf speakers or stick with whats on the tv. because of space
5.1 does work when playing fps. I know where there coming from.