Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $25/year with no ads, private forums, and more!

Looking for a nice stereo system

B

Blackened Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 15, 2012
116
0
Hey everyone,

I'm in the market for a replacement to my current speakers. I'll be using it mainly with my MBA and iPod for music playback.

I'm no audiophile, but I am a music lover with a 500+ CD collection, which I am in the process of ripping to ALAC for archival and listening while at home (I'll convert them to AACs for listening on the iPod and MBA while I'm on the go). In terms of genres, I listen to pretty much everything: Jazz, Rock, Metal, Classical, Electronic, etc.

I'm looking for active speakers, powered through a wall adapter, not USB.

Both 2.1 and 2.0 systems would be alright, as long as they have good sound quality with some nice and tight bass.

A remote controller for volume and power (and eventually subwoofer volume) would be nice, but not essential.

My budget is around 200€ for the system. I await your suggestions ;)

Cheers
 
H

herpaderp

macrumors newbie
Jun 30, 2012
12
0
Headphones

On that budget it might be best to get a good pair of headphones. With a good pair of headphones, you can get the sound quality of a speaker system costing thousands for just a few hundred. Something from the Grado range would be a good place to start. I started with a pair of SR80s and I've never looked back. You'll be amazed at the sound quality: it's unbelievable just how much detail and atmosphere they reveal.
 
Comment
B

Blackened Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 15, 2012
116
0
herpaderp said:
On that budget it might be best to get a good pair of headphones. With a good pair of headphones, you can get the sound quality of a speaker system costing thousands for just a few hundred. Something from the Grado range would be a good place to start. I started with a pair of SR80s and I've never looked back. You'll be amazed at the sound quality: it's unbelievable just how much detail and atmosphere they reveal.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, nothing beats a nice pair of headphones for listening to detail in music, but they are no match for speakers when it comes to just feeling the raw intensity of sound waves flowing through the room ;)

I already have a pair of "good-enough" headphones, the Sennheiser HD212 Pro. I love the Grado range, I've been enamorated with them for quite some time ;) I may get a pair later this year. But right now I'm looking for speakers.
 
Comment
C

cbb77

macrumors member
Jul 17, 2012
34
0
rocanlover163 said:
I'm actually looking to buy some speaker as well. I'm still deciding between the following. Not sure if this meets your needs though.

http://www.harmankardon.com/en-us/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?pid=soundsticks3am
http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=373
http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-2

I'm leaning more towards the sound sticks or M10's.
Click to expand...


I'll put in another plug for the Audioengine 2. I was truly surprised how great these sound for the size. Company offers 30 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with them. Alternatively you can order them here http://www.crutchfield.com/p_772A2W/Audioengine-A2-White.html?tp=252&kw=&org=pla&nw=g&crv=6655388305#overview-tab which is what I did. Here they offer a 60 day money back guarantee. Also these units come with 3 yr warranty. I bought these to replace M-Audio AV30, which I was happy with sound but died just after 1 year of use. Thus looked for something with longer warranty period.
 
Comment
nunes013

nunes013

macrumors 65816
May 24, 2010
1,282
185
Connecticut
i have a klipsch pro media 2.1 i got it for $100 on a black friday at best buy. they sound amazing for that price and im always getting compliments. they cost $150 but go on sale sometimes. ive had a great experience with klipsch as well. nothing but good products.
 
Comment
O

oxfordguy

macrumors 6502a
Feb 27, 2008
503
4
Oxford, England
The Blue Sky Exo2 2.1 system is hard to beat for the price, a professional-quality studio monitor system with fantastic sound quality and a small desktop foot print, even the sub is relatively small in size (but not sound): http://abluesky.com/products/exo2-new/
 
Comment
S

supernick90

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2008
5
0
The Audioengine A2 are great, and I think they pack an unexpected punch.

It all depends on how good you want your setup to be. If you're ripping your music to ALAC, then I think you'd want something a little bigger than the A2s. I'm not putting them down, they are great, but there's only so much they can do for the size.

I recommend increasing your budget to accommodate the A5+, which I have (after previously owning the A2s), and they are definitely worth it imo. The bamboo finish is not to everyone's taste, but it goes well with my furniture. Got mine from my local hi-fi shop. I wasn't going to buy them, but they do a 30 day money back deal, so I thought i'd just try them and then decided my A2s had to go :(. You could probably pick up some of the old A5s on eBay for cheaper, just depends if you want to buy new or take advantage of the money back deal.

I think you'd benefit from upping your budget personally, especially if you're already spending 200 euro. Otherwise, the A2 are great as a multimedia speaker, but I just think you'll get closer to an audiophile/hifi sound with the A5.

Btw, i don't work for audioengine :D, just think that they have kind of cornered the active market for decent looking and sounding speakers! The Aktimates are also good I hear, though haven't ever owned any myself
 
Comment
W

walkie

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2010
331
3
rocanlover163 said:
I'm actually looking to buy some speaker as well. I'm still deciding between the following. Not sure if this meets your needs though.

http://www.harmankardon.com/en-us/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?pid=soundsticks3am
http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=373
http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-2

I'm leaning more towards the sound sticks or M10's.
Click to expand...


The harman kardon soundsticks sound great, but lacks midrange detail, if you are not an audiophile You won't notice this, so I recommend these ones.
 
Comment
B

Blackened Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 15, 2012
116
0
Thank you all very much for the suggestions, I'll research them all and then make my decision ;)

Other suggestions are still welcome, though ;)
 
Comment
D

Destroysall

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2012
1,290
77
United States
Check out the HiVi Swans. The Audio Insider distributes them and the one I'd recommend would be either the Swan M200MkII or the M50W. Another good one is the Swan M10. Pair the M10 with a great DAC like the HRT Music Streamer II and you'd be good to go! You wouldn't be able to use the DAC with your iPod, but you can always grab an LOD if you want to use your iPod with the speakers.
 
Last edited:
Comment
J

joudbren

macrumors regular
Apr 13, 2007
244
1
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Check out the Corsair SP2500's. Absolutely amazing sound for a 2.1 setup with very tight sounding and powerful sub. Nothing but exceptional reviews on the net. You can run these flat out all day long without issue.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...dphones/speakers/corsair-sp2500-921279/review

I've had mine about a year and love them. Recommended them to friends of mine and they couldn't be happier. Cheers!

James
 
Comment
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom