Which of these speakers/monitors should I buy?

[macsander]

Hello,
I need some help.
I would like to buy good speakers to go with my Imac. First of all to be clear, I don't do any recording mixing or anything like that, they are for personal home desk use to listen to my music library with all kind of genres.
This means the speakers should sound rich, warm and easy to listen and must NOT be fatiguing, harsh or aggressive to listen to.
I also like a good amount of bass in my speakers! (5'' woofer is the size which fits the best on my desk so I'll stick to that)

I did some research and and from the good ones I found I made a selection of which fit my budget and also fit the looks I want since they are on my desk next to my Imac:

-Alesis M1 Active 520
-Event ALP5
-Yamaha HS50M
-M-Audio BX5a Deluxe
-AudioEngine A5

I know the output of the Imac is not good so I will buy a usb device like an IMic so don't worry about that.

It would be great if you guys could tell me which are the best for the criteria I mentioned above. Personal experiences would be great if you heard a couple of these so can compare them would be the best!

Thanks a lot guys for helping me out!

 

[Killyp]

Okay I see how much the looks mean to you now.

Maybe you could take a picture of your desk or whatever, and give some more info as to where they're gonna go. I could suggest some slightly alternative speakers which wouldn't normally be suggested.

 

[Alloye]

Again, the only speaker on your list that I've actually heard is the A5. I'll just restate my recommendation for that system and wish you good luck.

 

[surferfromuk]

Personally I rate Event's. I have a pair of TR8's and they are downright amazing so I'd recommend a pair of TR6's...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TR6/

The TR6's certainly won't ever be lacking in power or bass or clarity...but with a good pure sonic sound that is still pleasurable. Last for years as well...

Since your intent on buying studio monitor's I'd STRONGLY recommend an Mbox rather than an iMic so you have a proper balanced output from your iMac via USB to the Mbox and to the monitor's via a pair of balanced XLR's. You'd be most upset if you bought a pair of expensive monitors and found they were humming because of a groundloop.

PS : TR6's are HEAVY so make sure you have a strong desk!

 

[macsander]

Okay I see how much the looks mean to you now.

Maybe you could take a picture of your desk or whatever, and give some more info as to where they're gonna go. I could suggest some slightly alternative speakers which wouldn't normally be suggested.

My stupid pc will be replaced by a 24'' Imac in a few days. So I want new speakers as well. Here is my desk, the Imac will come in the desk and the speakers where ever is the best(wide/close) next to it.

 

[macsander]

Okay I see how much the looks mean to you now.

Maybe you could take a picture of your desk or whatever, and give some more info as to where they're gonna go. I could suggest some slightly alternative speakers which wouldn't normally be suggested.

@Alloye

How is the bass on the A5's? Is it better then let's say the HarmanKardon soundsticks with a subwoofer, or is it lacking a bit?

 

[Killyp]

Oh the bass will definitely be better than Soundsticks - in fact most speakers I've heard show better bass than the Soundsticks. The Soundsticks produce horribly lumpy bass, which has absolutely no control whatsoever. The subwoofer isn't really a subwoofer either, not only is there no woofer 'above' it (to make it a subwoofer), but it doesn't go anywhere near as deep as a proper subwoofer.

Whether they'll produce the same amount of bass as the Soundsticks - impossible to tell without a shootout.

The Events or KRKs I mentioned to you definitely will though. I haven't really listened to the Events extensively but they're good speakers.

 

[macsander]

Okay I see how much the looks mean to you now.

Maybe you could take a picture of your desk or whatever, and give some more info as to where they're gonna go. I could suggest some slightly alternative speakers which wouldn't normally be suggested.

Have you looked into any other speakers?

 

[Alloye]

How is the bass on the A5's? Is it better then let's say the HarmanKardon soundsticks with a subwoofer, or is it lacking a bit?

I used to own the SoundSticks and can honestly say the A5s produce much better bass. Just keep 'em about a foot from the back wall so the rear-facing ports have room to breathe.

 

[nomad01]

Not sure what the general opinion of these is but they seem to get good reviews and a good price at the minute from this online store in the UK:

Audica MPS-1