PSB Alpha AM3

The powered speakers I would buy for $400 are the PSB Alpha AM3. They do have an auto-standby feature… but I bet if you do some googling you can find some lightweight system tray app that prevents this, like by sending the speakers a little inaudible high frequency pulse every several minutes.

I would take the PSB Alpha AM3 or the Vanatoo T1 Encore over the two models you listed. Also, if you end up buying speakers that include a phono preamp built in (like the PSB’s), and you own the *original* LP120 and not the LP120X, you should google the mod that’s needed to fully bypass the LP120’s phono preamp.

I have the PSB AM3 and they were so good that I’ve actually started using them in my living room. As for sound signatures, my favorite point-of-reference are the Sennheiser 58x (perhaps similar to your 38x?). And I find that the PSBs sound quite Sennheiser-y in that they are very mid-range focused and tonally balanced (other speakers may sound more detailed or spacious).