What to choose: M-Audio AV30, AV40 or Behringer MS16?

Hello there!

I’m looking to upgrade my PC audio set-up and have as of now narrowed down my selection to the three models mentioned in the post’s title (see AV30, AV40 and MS16). I have an unspectacular if not downright terrible 2.0 speaker system which has been due to be retired for the past several years at least. However, I’m not just looking for a replacement but for some quality improvement too so as to breathe new life into music I like to listen to, movies I tend watch and games I sometimes play.

My budget hovers around $100-150 and it would be nice to save some of that. I’m not from North America, however, so the prices are different where I live. AV40s I’ve found go for $200 so I include them here mostly to see if I should better save some money to afford them. AV30s and MS16s are 150 and 100 USD respectively. I predominantly listen to rock and metal but I seldom turn it way up as I’m conscious of my neighbors. Things like Dead Can Dance, Portishead and Depeche Mode also crop up on my play lists pretty regularly. As stated above I do play games and I’m told that bass is valuable in that department. It also bears mentioning that I like a good deal of bass but am wary of setting up a woofer lest I breed some bad blood around the apartment block so bass is something I don’t exactly mind sacrificing although it would be nice to have at least a moderate semblance of it. The room where I intend to set up is rather small (something like 15 square meters) so I think it won’t be any trouble for any of the above mentioned speakers to saturate it with sound.

As of now I’m set on AV30s but would welcome feedback and advice from any of you who has experience with these systems. Ideas for alternative options are also very much welcome.

I’m also planning to hook these up to Realtek ALC892 integrated into my motherboard as people say it’s not that much of a waste in terms of quality especially if you are running speakers rather than headphones. But I have to ask if installing a sound card would have a real tangible impact on performance. If so, what card would you recommend under $50 and $100?

Thanks a bunch :-)

Thanks, trog :-)

Those are actually very nice ideas! I've found Edifier 1900TIIIs available from a couple of retailers near me. They charge 160 something for them which is a good deal more than they should cost I guess but I don't think I can find them for less. Still significantly cheaper than the AV40s I've found. Opinions about them do sound promising and they look good though to me they appear a tad biggish. Plus, the fact that all of the controls are on the back seems a little disconcerning. The reviews I've found say they have great sound with decent bass to boot although some complained of underpowered amp. I don't think this should be a big problem for me as I'm not very likely to go beyond 50-60% of their total capacity. I think you've really shifted me away from M-Audio. Will see what comes of it.

The amp + passives idea is also exciting given the deals you've pointed out but, alas, nothing like that is available near where I live. Maybe I should try and see how much Amazon.com will charge for this sort of delivery to my country. Although, from what I gather, the SS-B3000s don't look all that appealing. 

I'm still curious about the sound card issue and do welcome further ideas, options, suggestions and possible deals. Thank you.

Yeah, I've read about M10s. They do look and, probably, sound amazing. Reviewers are ecstatic. These are not available where I live, however, so I gave up on them. Thanks for mentioning Fiio E10, though. I'll sure read about this neat box thingy :-) 

Happy New Year!

Alright, let me try and restate my original query the following way: I now have the option of buying Edifier R1900TIII for roughly $160 or buying Edifier R1900TII for about $120 and a soundcard for another 40-50 bucks. Which way do I go?

I would also like to find out if either of the speakers mentioned above would benefit from using an external amp even though they are active? Should amps have priority over sound cards when it comes to purchasing new gear?

Quote:

Originally Posted by barleyguy 
powered speakers do not benefit from an external amp, and in fact there's nowhere to hook one to them

Oh... Thanks. I still confuse amps with DACs and probably half a dozen other things :-|

And thanks for your input on MS16s. Every bit helps although they cost basically as much as R1900TIIs and look nowhere near as nice. You say they sound good. Perhaps you can tell how they compare to the other speakers already mentioned in this thread?

@trog

Tried to look something up yesterday but, even though there are a few passive speakers offered for a price within the range of my budget, most of the brands are very old or obscure or both making finding any information on them rather difficult. I suppose some of them might be alright but I doubt that any would be (significantly) better than what I'm considering. Checking them out one by one would really be too much of a hustle for me although there's no arguing that this is the most reasonable way to find out if any sound system is actually any good as there're just too many subjectives involved to make an informed decision based on what you've read or been told. To top it all off no decent amps are available here for the money I'm willing to spend on them. No sweet deals like the Tripath you've mentioned. Just hulking old boxes full of switches and knobs I would hate to see clattering up my desk. All this puts the amp'n'passives combo out of competition for my wallet.

After some deliberation I've finally settled on Edifier R1900TII as you recommended earlier laying off R1900TIIIs for financial reasons. It will probably take me quite a while to actually have my hands on them due to the logistical nightmare that is online shopping in my parts but I'll likely write about how well they do in the end if anyone's interested.

So thanks for advising me. Further feedback is still welcome although far less likely to change things.