Thinking of buying some cheap 2.0 computer speakers!

I've been out of the audio game for quite a long time and now I'm itching to purchase a pair of computer speakers that sounds better than the integrated sound in my imac.

I want to keep it under $100, 2.0 system, powered. 

Looked at AV30, heard quite a few good things about it, but I would like a warm sound and clean sound. 

Any recommendations from fellow headfi'ers?

thanks, the speakers doesn't have to be monitors because i dont need the sound to be so analytical

psiness, did you listen to the AV30 before and if so, how does it compare to the 40s?

I think the av40 is like 150$ CAD and thats essentially 50% more than the AV30. I'm using built-in speakers, so I just want something better while saving as much money as possible because sometimes the dialog of movies that im watching get washed out a bit.

Also, I don't think ill be cranking up the volume too high, so that's also why im thinking of the 30s instead of 40s

     Quote:

Originally Posted by trog 

Hmm seeing u in Canada: any hifi/audio forums where u could source out used Paradigm speakers? Get somewhat efficient ones and pair those with a cheapo TA2020 amp and it could offer monster SQ for little $$ hehe

The cheapest I've seen the paradigm (atoms) go for is like $150 for an old series (like v3 or something), but I don't think I have room for bookshelves. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtkversion 

Amazon has some reviews on them.

 

Lot of happy people with them but the unhappy reviews have mainly been because of defective units. Users saying the left speaker dies (possibly due to overheating) or volume lowers significantly more than the right.

 

Up to you if you want to take the chance you get a good set.

 

If your budget is set at $100 and you really want to maximize your returns something like a Dayton T amp + Dayton 6 1/2" bookshelves or something similar would be my recommendation.  You can probably find some higher quality used speakers on Craigslist if you're lucky.

 

I just wouldn't expect a lot of bass out of anything smaller than a 5-6" woofer .. speakers usually have to make tradeoffs to deliver 'bass' in a 2-3" woofer.

Thanks for recommendation, if I had more space, I'd splurge a bit more to grab some nicer bookshelves with an amp, but I'm really trying to go with a minimalistic setup due to space constraints.

I know that i wouldnt be expecting a lot of bass, but that's fine with me since when I watch movies, I want to hear the dialog more than anything else. and most of my music aren't bass heavy anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fancypantaloons 

You can go for the Creative Gigaworks T20.  They run for around $100 in Canada.

Thanks, I've read a few reviews and maybe I will go to an apple store or something to listen to it. Too bad I can't find a place to test the AV30s

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackbeardBen 

You don't have room for 7" squared on either side of your desktop?  That's all the smaller bookshelf speakers like the B652 need - not much more than the AV 30 at all.

 

If space is really tight but your budget flexible (with some saving up), perhaps consider the Audioengine A2.

I have space for 5" width, 8" length. If any bigger, the edges will hang off the table. That's why I am trying to keep the size down because even the AV30 will be a bit too big for the desk + my imac. 

As for budget, I am trying to keep it down while getting the best "budget" performance because audio isn't my biggest hobby anymore.