a low-powered desk setup (speakers)

[TheAnomaly]

i've decided (more or less) that i'm going to get a speaker setup for my computer, which is where most of my listening takes place. the budget has a top end of $800 for speakers + amp (generally i'm looking for used speakers from Agon, Ebay, here, or craigslist).

it's narrowed down between a pair of mid-priced used monitors, or a speaker + amp setup. for the monitors, i'm looking at either the Dynaudio BM5As ($700-800), or the ADAM A7s ($650 recently on Agon). are there any other monitors in the 500-700 price range that would rival those?

i'm thinking i'll get the Nuforce Icon ($200) when it's back in stock on the 25th if i don't go with the monitors. the amp delivers 12 wpc, iirc, so i'd need a relatively high sensitivity speaker to make good use of it. i'm looking at mostly Klipsch, the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1s, and maybe the AV123 X-LS Encore or X-MTM speakers. my main concern is that the Icon would under power the speakers, potentially blowing a tweeter or something. is this something to be worried about? and would such a small amp be adequate for medium/high listening levels in a bedroom-sized room?

the Klipsch speakers were particularly attractive because of their very high sensitivity; i was mostly looking at the Heresy, Chorus, and Forte. perhaps one of their newer bookshelf models with the copper woofers...any recommendations on that front? or any other thoughts whatsoever?

[warpdriver]

I wouldn't go with a small amp as the Icon if you are using the system for anything but nearfield listening, I'd get something at least 20-30W per channel and then you can choose whatever speaker works best (choose the speaker first, and then get an amp to match)

Also consider the fact that most of those bookshelf speakers aren't designed for nearfield listening, their treble response may need to be shelved, or you may want to cut/boost the midrange due to the midrange peakiness depending on your placement. The pro monitors have rear EQ switches for that reason.

I started with a 10W/channel amp coupled to some small Epos ELS3 speakers and it was definitely not adequate. The Epos is a great little speaker used in a hifi system but it sounded woefully inadequate on my desk.

I switched to the Dynaudio, and thanks to the controls, I was able to successfully integrate a sub and I also dialed the rear treble switch to make the sound more palatable nearfield.

[TheAnomaly]

i was planning on pretty much exclusively near field use, basically sitting at a computer desk with the speakers 3 or 4 feet max away. this is not an ideal setup...and i had forgotten that most bookshelf speakers are not intended for nearfield listening. so perhaps only powered recording monitors would be a good choice...but at the same time, it has me wondering if the money would just be better spent on a new headphone amp or other things until i can get a better room. for the forseeable future i won't have anything larger than a bedroom for my exclusive use.

[warpdriver]

As I noted in my other thread about my Dynaudios, I had been using cheap computer speakers for ages, but decided to make the leap to good active monitors. I don't regret it one bit and find the act of speaker listening more involving and less constricted than wearing headphones most of the time.

With nearfield monitors, the room acoustics don't play as big of a role into the sound because the sound is more direct. But the trims on the pro monitors are still useful to find tune the sound for your application

[dyrmaker83]

I'm new here - this is my first post! - but I'm planning a similar system.

I want to use a tube pre/headphone-amp (Little Dot MKIII - $250) > SI T-amp ($50) > AV123 ELT525 monitors ($300).

I came here from the AV123 forum, so I've been planning to use their speakers the whole time. The downside is that the 525's are very inefficient, so the t-amp is only temporary. They're coming out with a two-channel x-amp (100 watts/channel @ $250) at some point, which will replace the t-amp. I will likely add a DAC later too, like the E-Mu 0404, and I've already ordered a sub.

In total, that system will run about $600 with t-amp and $800 with x-amp, not counting the DAC, sub, and sub speaker-level adapter. I am still considering the Nuforce since it is flexible, sharp looking, and much cheaper but the above setup should sound fantastic and allow the use of any speaker I want (considering the x-amp). Hope this gives you some ideas.

[TheAnomaly]

wasn't the x-amp a monoblock? although 100wpc is really really powerful for that price! i have considered AV123 as well. i convinced my friend to buy their old X-LS; he loves it, and i was about to purchase the X-LS encore myself, but decided against it.

the more i think about it, i would probably be better off with the Audioengine A5s if i were to get speakers now. wouldn't a good EQ be able to even out a bookshelf's freq response to make it more palatable as a nearfield?

[dyrmaker83]

Yeah it was originally just a monoblock, but they announced a two-channel version in a post on their forum. Actually, I hope it's still the same price as the monoblock ($200 introductory, $250 regular), but that hasn't been confirmed and it may be slightly more.

[infinitesymphony]

A used pair of Mackie HR624s.

Klipsch bookshelf and floorstanding speakers have sounded bright to me, while AV123 X-LS sounded a little on the darker/softer side of neutral. If you could fit a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers by your computer, I'd want to see a picture.