<200$ (new or used) passive monitors

[lorafenik]

Hey,
I'm looking to buy a pair of passive near field speakers.
They are going to be used on top of the desk I'm usually sitting, about 1m away from me.
The room is small (like 12m2), so I guess every pair could drive a small party in it
They are going to be connected to Luxman L-230 (so 8Ohm upwards) or Denon PMA 880-R.

I'm going to listen to different kinds of music, mostly things named indie, trip-hop, instrumantal hip-hop, folk.

I want them to play music in rather "fun" than analitical way, with bass nice bass extension.

Both used and new suggestions are welcome, but please don't go over the price limit

The looks mater. For some view on subject I went on ebay-like site, selcted the brads I know for making quality speakers, than rejected ones with design I didn't like, than tried to find some reviews.
And found:
B&W DM-302
B&W 601 s2
Cambridge Audio S 30
Wharfedale Diamond 10.1
Monitor Audio Bronze BR2

What are your opinions?

pzdr

[lorafenik]

Anyone?
I'm not looking for hi-fi sound in speakers for this price, I just want to squeeze the most of this
I don't know very much in this matter, so pointing me to good web resources would be also appreaciated

[wushuliu]

There are so many possible options that maybe people just kind of shrug at the question. Here are two off-the-path possibilities:

Behringer Truth Monitors : these get consistently high marks on many forums, even the diy crowd. I don't know what the looks do for you, but if I hadn't built my own I would have these on the short list. And it's amazon so you can always return them. Musician's Friend is probably a good place to see reviews and feedback.

PE RS621 Kit: Yes you have to put it together, but everything is provided all you have to do is a little screwing (heh) and hammer in the binding posts, maybe use some hot glue. Why bother? Because the RS28A tweeter and the RS150 Woofer are two of the lowest-distortion drivers you can find for that price. You absolutely will not find that quality at that price for retail speakers. Period. Not for less than $1K new. And the cabinets are beautiful piano finish and 3/4" thick. Pure quality. It'll take you an hour to put together and if you catch the bug the PE forum has some of the most talented speaker designers around to help you modify the sound if you so choose.

good luck!

[lorafenik]

Thx, but before finding your post, I bought Tannoy M2, now I wait for them to be shipped

I'll need 2nd pair of speakers in some time, and I like the idea of making my own speaker, I will have to read more.

pzdr