May also want to look into KRK monitors of  various sizes and of course the FOM speakers the JBL LSR's or even monitors from Focal.   There are dozens of active monitors available, and my advice would be to stick to pro-audio manufacturer's.  I personally own a few sets, each year I seem to...

If you really do have a ground loop issue after using balanced cables and and audio interface you can buy a really cheap little box to solve it :- https://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Signal-Processors/DI-Boxes/HD400/p/P0387   BTW I can tell you for sure that if you can afford in...

Thanks for the feedback, but what I actually did was order dunu Titan 1 3 and 5 from amazon, I have 3 days left to return the 2 I dont want, atm I am leaning towards keeping the titan 1.  I find its more of an all-rounder, whereas I find the titan 5 pretty bass heavy for my taste, and the titan...

My impressions of a couple you listed:   Focal Alpha 50 is a average monitor IMO, seemed to be well constructed and has a nice modern look.  Sound is a little "average" in terms of detail and extension, to me its just not up to scratch compared to other similar products in this price range...

OK some background, I spend lots of time listening to music, i make some of my own tracks at a very amateur level and I have tunes playing maybe 4-6hrs a day.  When I can I listen through monitor speakers at my desk, having ADAM a7x at my workstation and some KRK RP6s for more relaxed listening...

I would look into some front ported active monitor speakers such as KRK RP6's or perhaps something from presonus eve-audio or ADAM, you will want front ported as you are placing them close to a wall.  In my experience you get what you pay for, so spend as much as you can afford, IF you already...

Completely agree with the poster above, I love my rp6's and actually prefer them to my adam a7x for general listening.  You may even find you dont need a sub, I rarely turn mine on.

I personally recommend audio interfaces over dac's for the reasons you mentioned, I am a huge fan of focusrite interfaces at the budget end owning a 2i4 and a couple of others.  The reason for the price difference between dac's and interfaces is due to R&D and production scale and the fact the...

I would agree with the above poster, I normally recommend this exact model for people on a budget.  I have been using the 2i4 for years and its such a nice bit of kit for the money.

Have a look into audio interfaces on Thomann.de  may find something in your budget, I personally own several interfaces but none that I own come within your budget.  Also look into b-stock/refurbished interfaces, you may get some good deal.  The problem you may find is an interface like this may...

1) 192,441 2) 181,380 3) 164,222

I have used the steinberg in the past when recording and a nice bit of kit for the money, I would say its also a fair recommendation.  I only like to recommend kit I actually own or have owned in the past.  I find focusrite gear to be almost faultless in terms of value for money, I have...

re: headphones yes you can play both speakers and headphones at same time, or one or the other, mine has individual volume control for both.    I use midi to connect my mini keyboard, you should also be able to use a line in.   Its is a sound card, just connected via usb and set up in...

Your budget may be an issue but there are cheep audio interfaces that will do exactly what you require.  Entry level interfaces like the focusrite solo, Roland Duo-capture or the Native Instruments tractor-2 should do the job.

Must say at this price this is going to get lots of attention on the gaming scene, best of luck.   Good brand, nice features and a reasonable price point..... 

IMO the JBL's are way beyond any commercial "consumer" product but you wont get the the benefit without a dedicated dac/interface.    Bose products are style over substance, the JBLs are entry level studio gear. In head-fi terms its comparing beats to a set of HD600, they both play music but...

Here is my recommendation for blowing your budget, https://www.thomann.de/intl/basket.html ,all from a german supplier and with lovely wood finish.  I own these speakers in the classic black and dont use a sub, and to me they dont really need it unless you demand HUGE bass.  The 7"driver means...

Could try looking at something like this http://tascam.com/product/uh-7000/

They have NO bass at all, the specs "65Hz-22kHz +/-2.0dB"    I would call them multimedia speakers at best.   If you want something with some low end you are looking at a minimum of a 5" driver, unless you want a dedicated sub which was not part of the OP's requirements.

@zmoney yes the monitor control knob is the main way to change volume this way all your other sound levels on your pc can stay at 100%.  Should work just fine, I am using with 2 pr's of monitors, and headphones.

That is one great post and is much like my experiences in the past, I have adam a7x and krk rp6's and will never go back...

Have you installed the drivers?  Have you set it up as your primary audio device? 

a simple cable will connect your soundcard to your monitors, but you "may" get some sound issues, this is why people prefer an external USB interace or DAC.  If you have shielded onboard sound or a reasonable quality sound card, then you may be fine running cable straight from your pc.  This is...

I agree with everything said by the poster above, although there are more options outside the JBL 305's.  Buy some low end studio monitors with a 4-5" driver, and then if you wany more bass add a sub later.  You can also be cheeky and order something like a focusrite 2i2 interface from amazon...

They all do the DAC function, however they do ADC as well, hence the inputs.  You can do far more with an interface than a standard DAC, for example right now I have 2 sets of monitors hooked up, with option to have them all on or one pair or another, I also have my HP amp running off a line...