Noob: Desktop Speaker/Amp Advice Wanted

Hello everyone!

Firstly, Merry Christmas!

Secondly, I'm looking at upgrading my computer audio setup and could use some advice and recommendations.

My current situation is this.

I do some gaming (racing simulators) as well as watch/listen to all my music and media on my PC. I don't own a TV, so all of my music and films etc are played through the PC.

Playback is either via my headphones plugged into the MoBo, or via my 12yr old Sony Mini-HiFi system, which is on its deathbed.

I'm going to upgrade to a new soundcard, amp, cables and bookshelf speakers for music, films and occasional gaming.

I'm pretty much set on the Xonar Essence STX unless anyone can make a good case for something else in a similar price range.

My criteria for the amp and speakers is this:

Budget $1000 (incl soundcard)

Compact. I run triple 24" screens on a fairly small desk so I don't have a lot of space.

I live in a very small studio apartment, so volume will never need to be excessive. I'd rather sacrifice volume in favor of higher sound quality.

I'm not interested in having a sub taking up more space, so they must have a decent frequency range. Some of the music I listen to has alot of double bass, so they must go low enough for this.

SQ is high on my priority list. I generally game with a headset so I'm more concerned about SQ for flac & lossless music.

My music tastes are extremely varied. Right now I'm listening to a lot of psychobilly, rockabilly and blues. But I also listen to some metal, hip hop, classical, swing, punk, dance etc.

I might also add on a smaller note, that I'd prefer more traditional styling than some of the newer plastic looking units.

Although I have a bit of car audio experience, I'm extremely new to home/computer HiFi so I could use the help getting started. If you have any other thoughts or questions which could assist you in giving me more relevant advice, please let me know :-)

Anyways, thanks in advance for your advice and reccomendations.

 Cheers,

Occy.

Actually, I've been having a re-think about this.

As my MoBo has an optical output, maybe I should run an intergrated DAC/Amp instead of an upgraded soundcard and normal amp?

The money I save on the soundcard can be put towards a better DAC/Amp and speakers as my budget would still be $1000.

Thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by trog 

Compact and very good bass is kindda unrealistic and even more so since u u going w/o a sub so i suggest some decent floor standing speakers and a stereo/power amp/avr

Yeah I know what your saying, but given the relatively low listening volume, I didn't think it would be such an issue?

Unfortunately I dont have any room for floor standing speakers and they would be a huge overkill for the size of the room and the low listening volume I require.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eclipes 

look at the Swans T200B, its Swans speakers reference monitors. Incredible sound quality with the bass you want I would assume. 

I  think the best option will be to go with the Xonar Essense STX card and then run some decent active 5" speakers to get the range I'm after.

Spending $600-$800 on decent active speakers will surely give a better sound than splitting those funds between an amp and speakers. I can spend the change from my budget on decent cables etc.

I do like the look of the Swans, but it'd be nice to see a few more options in my price range if anyone else has some thoughts?

Thanks again for the responses too, I appreciate it :-)
 

Thanks for the advice on the STX PurpleAngel. Will look at op-amps also.

I'm planning on running my current headphones (I have a few different sets) directly from the STX as you mentioned and am not currently looking at new cans.

Ultimately now I'd like to find a decent set of active bookshelf speakers with a range of around 40-50Hz-20kHz

The DynAudio BM6A MkII look like they will fit the bill perfectly, but they're a little over my budget lol

I'm watching these too, but they're at the extreme upper end of my budget..

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dynaudio-BM5a-MK1-Pair-/150725456656?pt=AU_Pro_Audio&hash=item2317eff310&clk_rvr_id=301302338639#ht_500wt_1413

Yeah I love the look of the PSB's but along with the DynAudio's, they're way out of my price range. :-(

I've pretty much locked in the STX & active bookshelf option.

At the moment, this is my shortlist:

Well I bit the bullet yesterday and went to see Adrian at Turramurra music here in Sydney.

After reading as many reviews and taking into account the recommendations of you fine people, and some others over at stereo.net.au, I settled on the Yamaha HS80's.

Adrian did me a great deal of $779AuD with free cables for the last pair they had in stock.

These pretty much fit the bill perfectly. Within budget, freq range, size, value for money, traditional styling, and high SQ. All boxed ticked. 
Although they are a little larger than what I originally wanted, they still fit on my desk and I don't need stands etc, so I was happy to compromise a little.

I also picked up the Essence STX from MSY for $188Aud. So in all, I made it just under my $1000 budget (which is rare for me! lol) and spent a total of $967

Initial listening impressions... Fantastic!!
Firstly, I must say that my ears are a long way from audiophile standards! lol But... I have heard some very high SQ car, home and headphone setup's so I know roughly want I'm listening for.

The sound from these is great! Very crisp and clear right through the frequency range. They go just low enough to catch the bottom end of a double bass which is what I was after.
I'm only testing the speakers between 0-40% of their volume range (any louder is too loud for my apartment) but I'm finding that the louder they get, the fuller the sound gets. This is more the case in my car which has a fairly high-end SQ system in it. But the HS80's do improve slightly in the mid-lows (80-250hz range) to give a warmer fuller sound with more volume.
The soundstage width also gets a little wider with volume, but this could be fixed by placing the speakers further apart. They're only placed about 1m apart at the moment.
The imaging however, remains fantastic at below speaking levels. On some audiophile classical reference discs I have, I could easily pick the position and depth of most of the instruments and I really got a sense of the size of the studio.
As far as commercial music goes. Nora Jones' - Come Away With Me was fantastic. Great imaging, sound staging and it gave a nice warm sound, yet still very crisp and clear in the mids and high's.
Snoop Dogg's The Last Meal, and Massive Attack's Blue Lines were also super clear in mids and highs, but both were a touch boomy down the bottom end. A quick tweak in the STX EQ fixed this for both albums.
MJ's Thriller was spot on as far as imaging goes, although a touch flat for me. Again, fixed with the STX eq.
I'm listening to a vinyl rip of Otis Rush at the moment, and I've had to warm it up quite a bit in the 120Hz-1kHz range but this was probably more to do with the original mastering or the ripping process.

Overall, they're a fantastic reference monitor. Super clean and very linear and fantastic range. 

I think for everyday listening, they will want to be warmed up slightly via the STX's eq, but this is an easy process.

Anyways, for the time being, I'm stoked with them. I'll post up another report once I've had some more listening time with them.

Thanks again for you guys taking the time to help me out. I appreciate it!!