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Serious Speaker Suggestions Needed

M

Michael73

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 27, 2007
1,082
41
I work at my desk and listen to my music non-stop all day. Since I work from home, I can crank my speakers way up and jam away :D

My current setup is a 12 year-old set of Monsoon 2.1 planar speakers. When the local CompUSA closed 4 years ago I practically stole a set of M-Audio StudioPro 3s which are connected to an AirPort Express and sit on the bookshelf behind me which act as a set of surround speakers. All-in-all the sound is great when I can level the volume of my front and rears.

The problem is that the Monsoon sub is rattling and I'm ready to replace it with another 2.1 system. Since I'm more flush than I was a dozen years ago, I can afford just about anything I want. The only restriction I have is that I have a 30" ACD which eats up a ton of desk space leaving only a little room on either side for the satellites. I've already begun investigating the Focal XS system which size-wise is great but I don't really need an iPod / iPhone dock.

So, give it your best shot. With deskspace at a premium and price virtually no object, what's your out-and-out best 2.1 speaker recommendation?
 
I've recently bought the Focal XS Book speakers and they do not have an iPhone dock.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/H7959ZM/A/focal-xs-book-speakers?fnode=MTY1NDA0MA&s=topSellers

But, since price is no object, I would get a pair of monoblock amps, a preamp and some decent speakers.

My exact choice would be the Burmester 077/911 MKIII. It consists of a pair of monobloc amps and a preamp and retails for about £53,000.

Focal is a great company, but why settle for the rubbish XS Books, when you can have the Focal-JMlab Grand Utopia. Sure, you will have put them on either side of the desk, but then you won't be eating up your desk space. It's a no brainer really. Yours for only about $80,000 so it's another £50,000 or so. Those are serious speakers.
 
Gav2k said:
http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/pc-speakers/
Click to expand...

Why does it seem that all the speakers are black and made of plastic or particleboard for their enclosures? :confused:

My experience has been that solid wood enclosures, paired with top quality drivers that utilize great magnets and have something better than 18 gauge wire are well worth the money.

Here's a possibility that I would consider...a 2.0 system paired with a great sub that could be connected via either bluetooth or with another AE.

----------
theSeb said:
I've recently bought the Focal XS Book speakers and they do not have an iPhone dock.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/H7959ZM/A/focal-xs-book-speakers?fnode=MTY1NDA0MA&s=topSellers

But, since price is no object, I would get a pair of monoblock amps, a preamp and some decent speakers.

My exact choice would be the Burmester 077/911 MKIII. It consists of a pair of monobloc amps and a preamp and retails for about £53,000.

Focal is a great company, but why settle for the rubbish XS Books, when you can have the Focal-JMlab Grand Utopia. Sure, you will have put them on either side of the desk, but then you won't be eating up your desk space. It's a no brainer really. Yours for only about $80,000 so it's another £50,000 or so. Those are serious speakers.
Click to expand...

The focal's I was referring to are these.

I appreciate the suggestion but I value my marriage and children more than the irreparable damage buying these would do to both. Although I could afford them and these are getting written off as a business expense I think the prudent thing is to keep the cost under $1,500.
 
Michael73 said:
Why does it seem that all the speakers are black and made of plastic or particleboard for their enclosures? :confused:

My experience has been that solid wood enclosures, paired with top quality drivers that utilize great magnets and have something better than 18 gauge wire are well worth the money.

Here's a possibility that I would consider...a 2.0 system paired with a great sub that could be connected via either bluetooth or with another AE.
Click to expand...

The Focal XS Books are actually really nicely made and quite hefty. I am quite pleased with them.

The focal's I was referring to are these.

I appreciate the suggestion but I value my marriage and children more than the irreparable damage buying these would do to both. Although I could afford them and these are getting written off as a business expense I think the prudent thing is to keep the cost under $1,500.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but can you imagine how happy you would be? :D

I can't offer any insight into that particular product, but I've never been disappointed with anything made by Focal.
 
theSeb said:
Fair enough, but can you imagine how happy you would be? :D
Click to expand...

With those speakers turned up, I might never the front door slamming as my wife leaves with the kids! :D

So besides the Focal speakers who has other suggestions?

My local high-end shop has also been showing off some stuff from Peachtree Audio which I'm really digging but the issue is that speakers are too hefty for my desktop. :(
 
J3ayy said:
I have Bose companions 5 with my desk top there pretty loud ;)
Click to expand...

I've tried Bose before and you're right, they are loud but at the expense of accurate sound reproduction. The mids are drowned out by overly heavy bass which seems thumpy rather than clear.

Destroysall said:
Go Audioengine USA. :)

You can grab the D1 along with the S8, P4, and N22. I recommend going for the Bamboo wooded versions as its wood not plastic (more natural sound).

Hope that helps!!:)
Click to expand...

I love Audioengine stuff and they'd be under consideration if I had the desk space or space on either side of my desk for speaker stands.

theSeb said:
Another good option is the B&W MM-1.
Click to expand...

B&W makes great stuff but these aren't worth half a grand IMHO. Being a 2.0 system they just don't have the bass oomph that comes when you add a good sub.

I like the fact that they connect via USB using a pure digital signal but that also means that all the processing is done inside the speakers themselves. Something tells me that you'd be better off spending money on a separate DAC if I went this route.
 
Why not just replace the sub? That is, if the speakers sound fine. Another recommendation would be to grab the Audioengine A2 with the S8 sub. Oh and don't forget the D1 and the Audioengine A2 stands. :)
 
Adam a3x nearfield monitors (6 x 7" footprint) and adam sub7 subwoofer.

I have a pair of the bigger and older a5 and the sub7. I use the sub by adjusting slowly the volume till the sub integrates with the higher frequencies. If adjusted right with your eyes closed, you think you were listening to far bigger speakers.

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/a3x/description

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/sub7/description

You are going to need a decent dac if you don't already have one. I use a Lavry da11, but have been considering downgrading to a Apogee Mini-dac or upgrading to a Bel Canto or Bryston dac.

I use balanced interconnects, but actually prefer the thinner sound of single ended RCAs. I much prefer the sound of coaxial input in the DAC to to optical as well.
 
Destroysall said:
Why not just replace the sub? That is, if the speakers sound fine. Another recommendation would be to grab the Audioengine A2 with the S8 sub. Oh and don't forget the D1 and the Audioengine A2 stands. :)
Click to expand...

Ugh, if only! The problem is that the sats have a non-standard plug so it's not as simple as upgrading the sub. Nice idea though!

----------

So, let me give you a visual of my set up which may help with the suggestions.

You can see here there isn't much room on either side of my 30" ACD. I appreciate the small monitor suggestions but space constraints dictate otherwise.

picture.php


In this next picture it's difficult to see but the small sub is tucked into the cabinet underneath the scanner and next to my UPS. You can also see the near speaker is nearly off the side of the desk.

picture.php
 
I would think the A2 would serve you well, along with the S8.

Have you considered selling the ACD for the new/old ACD (not the TD display but the one before). It's still a great monitor which will give you more room.
 
Well, I saved up and just got my mac connected wirelessly to an apple tv which is then connected via optical to a cambridge audio dacmagic plus which then splits off to a headphone amp and cambridge speaker amp powering a pair of monitor audio silver rx2 speakers. they won't fit on your desk but could happily be placed on stands on either side of your room. The sound is amazing and no wires in the computer or other apple devices to play music at full quality.

If you've got some cash to burn on some really good quality audio equipment, start with looking at a decent dac and work your way out from there. You may find some near field m-audio or krk monitors work perfectly for what you need.
 
jamswirl said:
Well, I saved up and just got my mac connected wirelessly to an apple tv which is then connected via optical to a cambridge audio dacmagic plus which then splits off to a headphone amp and cambridge speaker amp powering a pair of monitor audio silver rx2 speakers. they won't fit on your desk but could happily be placed on stands on either side of your room. The sound is amazing and no wires in the computer or other apple devices to play music at full quality.

If you've got some cash to burn on some really good quality audio equipment, start with looking at a decent dac and work your way out from there. You may find some near field m-audio or krk monitors work perfectly for what you need.
Click to expand...

Talk about a great idea! :)
 
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