[fraseyboy]

 
I'm looking for very cheap (less than $200USD) bookshelf speakers for usage with an old Onkyo integrated stereo amplifier and my PC. They will be used for listening to music, a wide variety of genres but mostly indie rock sort of stuff. The furthest away they can be from my ears is around 1m so they must be able to be used in non-optimal positioning configurations and not sound crappy.
 
Alternatively I could get some powered speakers such as the M-Audio AV40 and forget about the amp but that probably wouldn't get me as much bang for buck amirite?
 
What are my options here?

 

[zoso947]

If you only have $200 to spend, I think you're looking at the powered Audioengine A2.  PSB makes some great speakers in the $300 range though.

 

[fraseyboy]

What about the Swan M10? They're cheaper and probably sound better. Reviews of the A2's appear to be pretty mixed.
 
On the passive front, I believe the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's are in my pricerange. How do they perform compared to the Swans or others?

 

[zoso947]

I don't know about the Swans, but generally I'm not big on 2.1 systems.  The M-Audios are OK, but sound like what they are: plastic boxes.  I haven't heard the Wharfedale Diamonds, but every other speaker I've heard from them is very good-if you like a more polite British sound.

 

[fraseyboy]

Hm. So would I get better value from spending $200 on powered monitors or $200 on passive?

 

[pwrusr]

Quote:

Hm. So would I get better value from spending $200 on powered monitors or $200 on passive?

Yep...
Since you already have a amp your best bet is to find a pair of near field passive studio monitors. 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Reveal601p/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Monitor1mkII/
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-TRUTH-B2030P-Monitor--Single--103144853-i1529407.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/KRK-ST6-2-Way-Passive-Studio-Monitor-102086071-C-i1603126.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis-Monitor-1-MKII-Passive-Monitors--Pair--103116893-i1153171.gc
 
Nearfield monitors were made to sound good up close. there are very few consumer grade speakers that come close to sounding good near field. I personally have a pair of Polk RT25i speakers that sound pretty bad up close but if I sit back 5-7 feet they sound GREAT. I've tried the same thing with another set of speakers and found the same results.
 
One thing that I found really makes the speakers sound great is these:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MoPAD
they isolate the speaker vibes from the surface that you're sitting them on.

 

[mark2410]

arent onkyo,s a bit on the bright side?  at a guess id say what about the new Tannoy Mercury V's.  really depends what available given your location, no point getting recommendations for stuff only to find out you cant get a hold of any of them

 

[fraseyboy]

This is true. Sadly because foreigners are all criminal scumbags, most USA websites (including sweetwater and guitar center) refuse to ship internationally, and a lot of the monitors which are <$200 in USA are >$600 here. The Alesis Monitor One MKII is $689 for example.
 
So basically my only option is the M-Audio AV40 for powered speakers. None of the passive near-field monitors linked are available here at reasonable prices which leaves me with non near-field speakers which probably wouldn't sound very good in this environment.
 
Alternatively I've been recommended these http://tweakcityaudio.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=21&category_id=7&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 which can be shipped internationally and apparently sound good in near-field setups as well. I think this is what I'll go with unless there are any other recommendations. 

 

[pwrusr]

Quote:

This is true. Sadly because foreigners are all criminal scumbags, most USA websites (including sweetwater and guitar center) refuse to ship internationally, and a lot of the monitors which are <$200 in USA are >$600 here. The Alesis Monitor One MKII is $689 for example.
 
So basically my only option is the M-Audio AV40 for powered speakers. None of the passive near-field monitors linked are available here at reasonable prices which leaves me with non near-field speakers which probably wouldn't sound very good in this environment.
 
Alternatively I've been recommended these http://tweakcityaudio.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=21&category_id=7&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 which can be shipped internationally and apparently sound good in near-field setups as well. I think this is what I'll go with unless there are any other recommendations. 

Goood night! that's nuts 

 
The M-Audio AV40's are a great set of speakers from what I hear.
 
Those little WAF's look nice too! 

 

[Albedo]

 
Quote:

This is true. Sadly because foreigners are all criminal scumbags, most USA websites (including sweetwater and guitar center) refuse to ship internationally, and a lot of the monitors which are <$200 in USA are >$600 here. The Alesis Monitor One MKII is $689 for example.
 
So basically my only option is...

...doing this -> http://www.buyusa.co.nz/

 

[spacemanspliff]

The WAF-1 is a solid product from some good people. Thumbs up to that.

 

[mark2410]

id suggest have a look at these
 
http://audioenz.co.nz/
 
http://www.purehifi.co.nz/
 
http://www.blastprosound.co.nz/
 
http://www.tophifi.co.nz/
 
i say since its saturday now down in anzacland go visit them and see what they have.  i know there is bugger all on their sites but lots of audio shops do that to force you in the door (or so they think anyway) that tophifi one has a good list of manufacturers they sell.

 

[mark2410]

actually what about this http://www.listeningpost.co.nz/Product.cfm?Product=1211
 
warm tannoy for the bright onkyo

 

[satkinsn]

Let me give a limited endorsement to these dirt cheap speakers:
 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652
 
They are not giant killers. They're not even ordinary size speaker killers. That said, I've listened to them by the hour for the last several months and they're decent - and by decent I mean, better than you can buy at most big boxen. Steve Guttenberg has a friend who likes them better than his PSB B25s, and though I wouldn't go that far, they don't shame themselves when compared to, say, Alphas or Atoms or small Infinitys.
 
And for $29?
 
Scott A.
Watertown NY
 
 

 

[fraseyboy]

 
Quote:

Let me give a limited endorsement to these dirt cheap speakers:
 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652
 
They are not giant killers. They're not even ordinary size speaker killers. That said, I've listened to them by the hour for the last several months and they're decent - and by decent I mean, better than you can buy at most big boxen. Steve Guttenberg has a friend who likes them better than his PSB B25s, and though I wouldn't go that far, they don't shame themselves when compared to, say, Alphas or Atoms or small Infinitys.
 
And for $29?
 
Scott A.
Watertown NY
 
 

 
Shipping those to New Zealand would cost around $200 so it's probably better to just get something here for $200. That buyusa service would probably also cost a lot for shipping.
 

Quote:

actually what about this http://www.listeningpost.co.nz/Product.cfm?Product=1211
 
warm tannoy for the bright onkyo

Yeah, I saw them on the website earlier. There doesn't seem to be any information about them on the internet though so I'm a bit wary. There are some higher-end Tannoys in the other room and they do sound pretty good. Could be an option.
 
I could go round all the Hi-Fi shops here but the salesmen are always excellent and manage to guilt me into buying something from them as opposed to shopping round for other products. So anyway, I've made a list.
 
 
M-Audio AV40 for $246+Shipping 
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 for $265+Shipping 
TWA WAF-1 for $230
Tannoy Mercury FR for $249
Mordaunt Short Carnival 1 for $249
Monitor Audio MA-8 for $200ish (online auction)
 
Learning towards the WAF-1 since they seem to have a very good reputation and look pretty nice too.