[Benny-x]

 
So, I've been into headphone audio for a while, mostly because getting into it is cheaper, but since I graduated and got a job I have a little more money to throw at the hobby. Here's a little more info...

Throughout the process I picked up these things;
Components:
USB to SPDIF (JKenny Mk3 modded HiFace)
DAC (Lite - DAC 83; XLR and RCA output)
Amp (DNA - Sonett - Single-ended headphone-in jack)

Heaphones:
Audio Technica ATH-W1000x
JVC - DX1000
Sennheiser - HD 25 1-11
Sennheiser - IE8


So, now that I have a bit more money to put into it I was looking at getting some higher end headphones (Beyerdynamic T1s, Audeze LCD-2s, something else in the $8-900 range) and/or a new balanced amp (Little Dot MkVI+ for $700). But then I found that people said it's really not worth it to spend that much on headphones when they'll never give you what speakers can. So I had a look at some speaker set ups, decided I like ACTIVE ones, and landed on these; Emotiva Pro - Airmotiv 6. 

These speakers seem to work pretty similarly to the Adam a5x, but at $800 for a pair, plus the extra 1" in mid/low driver. I emailed Emotiva about pricing it along with one of their subs (I like bass) and they gave me some quotes. I live in Canada, so shipping gets thrown into the mix. 
So, I got these quotes including delivery, tax, and duty;
$1600 for them plus their RefX with DSP 10", 
$1900 for them plus their RefX with DSP 12", 
$1700 for them plus their Airmotiv matching 10" with DSP , and
$2000 for them plus their Airmotiv matching 12" with DSP.

And there in lies the problem, this will come out being more expensive then the headphone option, but I believe that the speakers are going to be better. I've read in quite a few places that Emotiva offers amazing bang-for-buck, so maybe the value of the 2.1 system is good, but it's still expensive. Am I good in spending ~$1600-2000 on those set ups, or is that craziness? 

I'm open to any advice on this because I don't know anything about this territory. I don't really want to get into amps though, so if you think there's another idea, I'd like it to still be active. 

Thanks a lot for reading through all that too, haha! Looks like whatever I get into ends up being more than I first thought...
 

 

[Benny-x]

 
Double post.
 
And I was looking to use them as a 2.1 system with my PC, DAC, and headphone-amp as a pre-amp. That's how my headphone system functions right now. So I'll use them to listen to music, both to enjoy and critically, and to watch movies and videos. I don't have any plans to use them for mixing, but it could happen some day. 

I'm not saying that I'm dead-set on these, however, so any other recommendation of an active 2.1 set is very welcome. If I can net some proven performers for a lower price, I'm more than happy. Speakers are new territory for me, so I don't know what to look for.

Would anyone be able to make some recommendations on a solid active 2.1 system in the $1400 all-in range? Used is fine, I'd just like to get some help with this purchase. 

Thanks!  

 

[headfinoob]

I'm probably not too much help, but generally Emotiva does offer a great value.  It is hard to beat the used market, but that involves some risk.
Do you plan on being near-field in the sweetspot most of the time?  I would try to find information regarding their imaging to make sure it suites your needs.
I found this thread to be interesting for some ideas.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592724/are-you-using-studio-monitors
 
Personally, I am looking at speakers from Ascend Acoustics since I'm okay with passive.
This Foobar plugin looks to pretty cool, although it probably isn't the route you'd want to take:
http://xover.sourceforge.net/
 
I would consult with somebody more experienced than me before using a headphone amp as a preamp.

 

[trog]

Since u stated used is fine i would suggest vintage 2chn/stereo amp that still sound awesome today and with half decent floor standers that go lower than any actives/passive bookshelfs, a 2.0 is all u need tbh

I have a feeling u are vastly more comfy with cans as opposed to speakers so drop down to AVS and consult the pros

 

[Mauricio]

Quote:

 
...
Would anyone be able to make some recommendations on a solid active 2.1 system in the $1400 all-in range? Used is fine, I'd just like to get some help with this purchase. 

Thanks!  

Focal CMS 40 + Focal CMS Subwoofer
 
 

 

[JRG1990]

How you thought about how your going to connect this up?, the subs have no pass thru and the speakers have no sub out how do you plan on connecting them up and crossing them over?. Also you can't use that headphone amp as a pre-amp it has no pre inputs or outputs it's purely a headphone amp.
 
The krk 10's is really good sounding sub, the bass is nice and clean not boomy or anything it also has pass thru so you don't need to worry about a external cross-over, it's also $1000 less.
 
Speaker wise the yammaha's are the best monitors i've heard the hs50 & hs80.

 

[Mauricio]

My primary listening set-up consists of the Yamaha HS50Ms and the subwoofer, connected to a stand-alone CD/SACD/DVD-Audio player with variable audio line output.  I can't think of a cleaner signal path.  For the cost ($800), you'd be hard pressed to find better sound and value in active monitors or in a separate amp/passive speaker system.  At that price point, look no further.

 

[Benny-x]

 
Wow, thanks a lot for all the info guys! It's good to hear what people are actually using and it also helped me to go look into the main differences between nearfield and midfield speakers.
 
I think overall the nearfields are gonna do me for a long time. I don't see my job really affording me a much bigger place for a while, but it can net me a few new toys. The vintage 2ch amp isn't a bad idea, but I don't want to add much more to that type of stuff. I'm happy with the amps I have and they already give me enough trouble over wanting to upgrade this and mod that. If I got another one it would just frustrate me, haha, with wanting to mod it.

Quote:

How you thought about how your going to connect this up?, the subs have no pass thru and the speakers have no sub out how do you plan on connecting them up and crossing them over?. Also you can't use that headphone amp as a pre-amp it has no pre inputs or outputs it's purely a headphone amp.
 
The krk 10's is really good sounding sub, the bass is nice and clean not boomy or anything it also has pass thru so you don't need to worry about a external cross-over, it's also $1000 less.
 
Speaker wise the yammaha's are the best monitors i've heard the hs50 & hs80.

As for how I'll connect them, well initially I had a dual 3pin-XLR DNA Sonett lined up, but that fell through, so I can hook them up that was anymore. What I will most likely do is make or buy a 1/4'' to dual RCAs interconnect and use that to hook up the speakers to the amp. This is actually the Airmotiv Sub comes in, I was told that it will have a pass through and be geared toward mating with the Airmotiv monitors with crossover and dip-switches. That's really why I even considered them, since they're a couple hundred bucks more. I can cut the amp out of the whole picture, which I may do in the end if it sounds better, and just feed the speakers directly from my DAC. The speakers have both XLR and RCA inputs, which my DAC has both for outputs, so I could run XLRs to the speakers and RCAs to the Sub, if I didn't get a sub with a crossover/pass through. I just thought the Sonett would be nice to add a little tube'iness to the picture. If I doesn't pan out, I'll just go direct from the DAC.
 
I'll have a look into all those speakers you guys mentioned. This really is new ground to me and I do feel MUCH better in my comfort zone of headphones. I'm on the road a lot with work right now, which will change in a month's time because I'm changing positions, so I wouldn't really be able to hit up an A//V store before that. It is a good idea though, and I definitely will go into one in a month and get those dudes to give me the run down. Thanks, although a really straight forward suggestion, it's honestly not one that crossed my mind :'-(
 

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

 
Wow, thanks a lot for all the info guys! It's good to hear what people are actually using and it also helped me to go look into the main differences between nearfield and midfield speakers.
 
I think overall the nearfields are gonna do me for a long time. I don't see my job really affording me a much bigger place for a while, but it can net me a few new toys. The vintage 2ch amp isn't a bad idea, but I don't want to add much more to that type of stuff. I'm happy with the amps I have and they already give me enough trouble over wanting to upgrade this and mod that. If I got another one it would just frustrate me, haha, with wanting to mod it.

As for how I'll connect them, well initially I had a dual 3pin-XLR DNA Sonett lined up, but that fell through, so I can hook them up that was anymore. What I will most likely do is make or buy a 1/4'' to dual RCAs interconnect and use that to hook up the speakers to the amp. This is actually the Airmotiv Sub comes in, I was told that it will have a pass through and be geared toward mating with the Airmotiv monitors with crossover and dip-switches. That's really why I even considered them, since they're a couple hundred bucks more. I can cut the amp out of the whole picture, which I may do in the end if it sounds better, and just feed the speakers directly from my DAC. The speakers have both XLR and RCA inputs, which my DAC has both for outputs, so I could run XLRs to the speakers and RCAs to the Sub, if I didn't get a sub with a crossover/pass through. I just thought the Sonett would be nice to add a little tube'iness to the picture. If I doesn't pan out, I'll just go direct from the DAC.
 
I'll have a look into all those speakers you guys mentioned. This really is new ground to me and I do feel MUCH better in my comfort zone of headphones. I'm on the road a lot with work right now, which will change in a month's time because I'm changing positions, so I wouldn't really be able to hit up an A//V store before that. It is a good idea though, and I definitely will go into one in a month and get those dudes to give me the run down. Thanks, although a really straight forward suggestion, it's honestly not one that crossed my mind :'-(
 

The emotiva airmotiv range is fabulous for the price. However, if you are considering spending about $2k on monitors, I would strongly urge you to consider forgoing the sub and getting something like the Focal Solo 6 BE. They will offer more detail, soundstage coherency and accuracy plus better bass/mid/treble intergration all in exchange for a sacrifice in bass impact. Depends on you though, all the best!
 

 

[Benny-x]

Yeah, dyl1dyl, those look pretty nice. They also seem to be favoured above the Adam a7x's, which I believe the Airmotivs must be based on. It does cut out the sub though, and I do like the impact one provides. But if I'm gonna be constrained to an apartment, it probably wouldn't make any difference until I could move to a house where the sub could really be used to haul it's weight. I'm kind of scared to enter into that price of a speaker range, these being my first foray into speakers of any real value. I'm not against it, I just want to make sure I'm gettign good value for my money. I suppose this is stepping the range of diminishing marginal returns, no?
 
Also, off topic, but I see you have a Little Dot MkVI+. You also happen to have a ton of other high end gear, so how does the Little Dot hold up with it all? That's really an amp that I've had my eyes on and I'm wondering if I should try to pick one up over the summer. Does it hold it's own, even with the likes of the LCD-2 and LCD-3? And the WA5 must be better, but does the Little Dot even stack up against it? And I specifically wondered if the balanced Little Dot could give the K701s the umph they need to really have fun with? I know that's all off topic, but since I've been wondering those very questions for a while and you had those things in your sig, you might be able to give me a hand? Thanks, if you can.
 
And as for those Yamaha HS50Ms, that's not a bad looking little set. Definitely a FAR cry cheaper than the other speakers that have been mentioned. I wonder if something like that might do it for me? Or will the .quality of sound that the others can put out keep itching at me? I'll have to do a bit more reading, but thanks for the advice.

 

[Mauricio]

Going up in price after the Yamaha HS50Ms, I'd look into their more professional cousins, the Yamaha MSP5 Studio.  Going even higher in price, I'd look to Focal.  At their particular price points, you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with any of these suggestions.

 

[MarioImpemba]

That is a rather large investment without auditioning equipment.
 
Get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-3490-Receiver/dp/B00198F89A/ref=pd_cp_e_0
 
It has everything you need:
- Integrated amp
- Digital inputs
- Sub-outs
 
 
Don't spend much on a subwoofer. A subwoofer reproduces 1/3 an octave of music; it's pretty hard to **** up if the driver is placed in a suitable enclosure.
 
Therefore I recommend something like: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-633
 
 
Speaker-wise: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20064619-47.html
 
This set-up gives you the flexibility to change speakers in the future.