First desktop bookshelf speaker setup (speaker noob)

My friend recently gifted me a pair of very old school Celestion 3 bookshelf speakers (first dropped in the late 80s!), I set them on the sides of my computer desk, tweeters at ear level, slightly toed in, in a "nearfield" setup(although i sit further back from my keyboard for listening sessions in a more "optimal" position), bought a very cheap Topping TP21 tripath power amp to drive them.

Running them in this order Modi>Valhalla 2 (preamp out)> Topping TP21> Speakers

I do not know whether its a "new toy syndrome" on my part, but i have been listening to them everyday for the past week. REAL soundstage, and the setup, though lacking bass, is surprisingly balanced and articulate, i really do not think these are less resolving than my modded HD650s.

i really cant go back to my HD650s anymore. To think i was gonna pull the trigger for a pair of HD800!

My questions are:

1) how can i improve my current chain? Anyone here heard Celestion 3s before? If so, how does it compare to modern entry level bookshelf speakers?

2) If using an active preamp with a volume knob (like Valhalla 2 in my case), how to you set the volume knobs of the preamp and power amp? Does it matter? I tried messing around with different configs, couldnt hear a clear difference (although max volume on power amp seems to give a clearer sound, but might be purely my imagination)

Thanks!

 

really nice first set you got. my first set was a craig receiver and pair of home made 2-way sears speakers lol.

celestion made great speakers. you got yourself a well respected pair. modern bookshelves will probably make zero difference cause speaker design been pretty much capped out and perfected in the 60's(but, of course all speakers can sound different through different design means and implemation). only thing your pair would benefit in is a recap. the caps are probably way out of spec which might make them thin sounding and of course the inside cab restuff will help too cause i bet it still has ancient decaying yellow fiberglass inside that long ago lost it's absorbing properties.

as for pre and power thing. usually the knobs(if any) on the power amp are considered input attenuators. they are not gain knobs of any sort. they just attenuate how much input signal is fed to the output stages of the power amp. usually people leave them wide open(maxed out clock wise) while some just put them half way and call it a day if dealing with multiple different sources..

just turning down the inputs might help with s/n sometimes but, will require more voltage from the preamp to deliver same given output. there is really no right or wrong really and how to operate. no matter which way somehow the amp will be able put full output out. if you have no noise issues with power amp wide open, then just leave it at that. no harm doing so.

you got yourself nice little setup. enjoy.

 

Thanks for the helpful feedback! Really enjoying the music for the past week.Going to speakers is such a revelation haha.

Gonna be read up on recapping!