[MajorAvenger]

Recently I've been looking to get some new audio equipment. Currently I own IE 7's. Right now i'm thinking of buying two monitors and a subwoofer. My budget is around $500, but I can possibly stretch it to $600. I would like to keep the monitors reasonably small, as I'm in college and have limited space on my desk. The size of the subwoofer isn't as important. I mainly listen to drum and bass, so I need a subwoofer that can provide deep, clean, powerful bass. I wouldn't mind a sub that could overpower the monitors at times, but mellow down for rock and other genres. I'll be running the system from my macbook pro. I've been looking at speakers myself and I just can't seem to make any progress on deciding. I'm open to any suggestions. 

 

[kkennally]

[size=10pt]Audioengine A5's and Sub will run around $675.00 but you won't need an amp. If you have an amp or receiver then a good setup is the Cambridge Audio S30 monitors with the S90 sub ($219.00 for the speakers and $299.00 for the sub).[/size]
[size=10pt]Myself, I would go with the Cambridge setup.[/size]

 

[trog]

+1 for a passive + amp  +sub set up wee~

 

[alexsj]

It's tough to beat the NHT superzero monitors and super 8 sub for $500.  NHT has a 30 day money back guarantee: http://www.nhthifi.com/bookshelf-speakers-subwoofer-Super-Stereo?sc=12&category=3830  For $100, you can pick up this very capable refurbished Onkyo stereo receiver with a full manufacturer's warranty, http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTX8255/Onkyo-TX-8255-50-watts-2-channel-Stereo-Receiver/1.html 
 
Something seems to be wrong with the links I provided.  But check out the NHT website and the many, many online reviews you'll find of the NHT superzeros and super 8.  For the Onk refurbished tx 8255 , check out accessories4less; that's a competent stereo receiver (it's 4 ohm stable) for $100. 

 

[MajorAvenger]

Today I visited Guitar Center which had the M-Audio BX5a on sale for $150 a pair. These are active though and I'm assuming the general consensus is to go with passive monitors? The NHT monitors are looking like a better choice for me because of their size. I know this overblowing my budget by a lot, but what about Genelecs? I guess i'm having just as much of a hard time deciding my budget as I am a setup. 

 

[JRG1990]

Actives and passives both have there advantages and disadvantages, just go with whatever suits you. The NHT monitors look ok but are a sealed design which means you be dissappointed if you like to listen loud, the Genelecs are meant to be good monitors but i've never heard them.
I would recommend the behringers b2031p but I think they might be to big for you, they do a smaller version the b2030p but it lacks bass below 90hz they would be fine along side a sub though. Theres also the prodipe pro 5 and krk rokit 5 there good monitors for the money.

 

[MajorAvenger]

I've done some more shopping around but I still can't decide. I would really like to have monitors that are the size of an Audioengine A2. The Cambridge Audio monitors seem too big and I don't think I will like the NHT Superzeros because of the closed design. The Genelecs seem like the perfect size, but I can't justify spending $1000 on the subwoofer. Any more suggestions?

 

[alexsj]

Why is a closed design a problem?  It makes placement easy which is what you want for a nearfield set up.  The sub picks up the low end.  There is a reason why the NHT superzeros get such great reviews.   Google the speakers and read the reviews.
 
Edit: By the way, there are trade-offs in any speaker design.  If you are curious how loud speakers will play, take a look at a spl calculator like this http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html (note that the calculator takes into account a number of variables but not whether the speaker is sealed or ported).  The onkyo receiver that accessories4less sells for $100 (the TX 8255) will have no trouble driving the superzeros and the sub will pick up the low end.

 

[germanium]

A closed design can be  just as difficult to place as a ported design. A lot depends on the designed Q of the system. Most sealed systems have a total Q of .9 which gives a slight hump in the response at the resonant frequency of the drive system though some can have a Q as high as 1.1. The ones with a Q of 1.1 will sound quite boomy unless placed out away from the walls. The ones with a Q of .9 will be less boomy than those with a Q of 1.1 & can be placed closer to the walls. A Q of .707 is considered maximally flat & can be place  right against the wall & not sound overly boomy. Ones with a Q of .5 can easily be placed in a corner. These have the best extension of the bass but are also the least punchy sounding, in other words they don't sell that well in a show room compared with speakers of higher Q design. Most manufactures choose designs with a Q of .9 or higher as a result of lower Q systems not sounding as punchy. It's a trade off between punchy & more extended but weaker output in the bass.
 
The super zeros are small enough that they don't have a whole lot of extension anyway so it is not all that likely to cause problems with boominess as a larger system would unless place along the long wall of a small rectangular room

 

[alexsj]

Or get the Pioneer SP BS41 LR bookshelf speakers; they get great reviews as well and run $150.  Add the Onkyo TX 8255 refurbished for $100 (it's stable down to 4 ohms) and the BIC America F12 sub which is on sale on Amazon for $200.    That comfortably fits your budget since the three will run $450 and these are quality components.  Since you are running your system from a Macbook pro, you could add a decent dac (say the HRT music streamer II) for $150 and come in at $600.

 

[JRG1990]

Sealed enclosures are more netruel and will go lower than porteds, the problem with a sealed enclosure is if you like to listen loud it may dissapoint as a woofer in a sealed enclosure can't play as loud as a ported, the air movement in a sealed enclosure is restricted and the woofer becomes inefficient and difficult to drive at higher volumes as it has to be forced back against the air, in a ported enclosure the woofer actually becomes more efficient at higher volumes as the air actually helps the woofer move. If you want to play loud then you want ported, otherwise sealed is actually better.

 

[germanium]

Quote:

Sealed enclosures are more netruel and will go lower than porteds, the problem with a sealed enclosure is if you like to listen loud it may dissapoint as a woofer in a sealed enclosure can't play as loud as a ported, the air movement in a sealed enclosure is restricted and the woofer becomes inefficient and difficult to drive at higher volumes as it has to be forced back against the air, in a ported enclosure the woofer actually becomes more efficient at higher volumes as the air actually helps the woofer move. If you want to play loud then you want ported, otherwise sealed is actually better.

The part of lower efficiency is true but most sealed designs are actually intentionally not neutral. Ported designs anymore can be as extended & neutral. Most sealed designs are intentionally bass boosted near the resonant frequency to give them a punchy sound. Sealed speakers while they roll off slower than ported designs they roll off earlier i.e. higher frquency. the slow roll off is good if its a larger speaker that has strong output to 40Hz as you still have usable response at 30 hz & maybe even 25 Hz however a ported design can be made of similar size that would go down that low quite flat & sound more neutral. While the ported speaker can go quite flat down to 25 hz they may only provide usable response to 22Hz. Below that the sealed speaker will have more output however neither speaker will actually have usable response below that. All bets are off with a small speaker as the ported design will almost always win in the usable extension race. Note that almost all you studio monitors are ported & are designed to sound as neutral as possable. The boosted portion of the sealed speakers response will in many cases mask the response lower than the boosted portion unless the speaker is sufficiently large to begin with.
 
It is clear you really don't understand how ported speakers work as the port is not there to make the speaker easier to move. The port actually reduces the speaker movement at the port resonant frequency. The port resonant frequency determines the low frequency extension of the speakers to a very large degree. Response of the speaker falls sharply after that. At the port frequency the woofer hardly moves at all. Below that the woofer moves like crazy unless you have a subsonic filter but real output is durastically reduced as the port is no longer adding to the output of the woofer but actually it is cancelling the output of the woofer below the port resonant frequency. Without a subsonic filter the speaker will destroy itself if subjected to frequencies below the port resonant frequency where as this is not a consideration with sealed speakers as the woofer excursion goes down once the resonant frequency of the woofer is passed on the sealed speaker. In the case of strong ultra low frequencies the sealed speaker has the advantage as far as playing loud as it won't desroy itself so easily as a ported speaker under the same conditions hence in spite of the lower efficiency of the sealed speaker it may in some cases be able to play louder than a ported one. 
 
Ported speakers do not gain efficiency at high volumes but actually do lose some due to the ports relatively small diameter in most speakers. Only larger speakers with larger ports fare well here. Small ports tend to saturate beyond a certain loudness which will vary with the speaker design.
 

 

[germanium]

Note that there are exceptions to the statement that the woofer will be destroyed if subjected to large energy below the port resonant frequency. My speakers are ported & internally bi-amped. These are relatively low powered amps which can only send about 50 watts peak to the woofer. I modded these speakers by removing the subsonic filter as well as D.C. coupling the amps so there in absolutely no low frequency roll off in the amps themselves. It is safe to do this on these speakers because of the low power of the woofer amps & the very large high energy magnet on the back.
 
You guys say wait a minute those large magnets would drive those speakers hard. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. As the speaker goes below the port resonant frequency & the speaker becomes unloaded & starts to move more the large magnet starts to provide a relatively large back electromotive force which the amp has to overcome in order to drive the speaker to the point of bottoming which would destroy the driver so the backelectromotive force  along with the low powered amp becomes the excursion limiting factor making it safe at least with these speakers to remove the subsonic filter. All bets would be off though if the amp were any more powerfull than it is in my case. If I did not understand this relatively misunderstood property of speaker design I would not have performed this mod (removing the subsonic filter) on a ported speaker.
 
The reason I removed the subsonic flter is that it was cutting the output at a significantly higher frequency than the manufacturer claimed & was causing wierdness in the bass sounds where some would have adaquate energy but notes just slightly lower but still easily in the claimed response range of these speakers were practially nonexistant. Ridding these speakers of the subsonic filter irradicated this problem. They now work well with or without my subwoofer. The subwoofer is used just to give the sound a slight boost in the perceived weight & slight extension increase. I run the sub only below 50Hz which is just perfect for these speakers.
 
When I said relatively misunderstood I was refering to the audiophile not the professional designers of speakers. They typically understand it very well.

 

[MajorAvenger]

I am no longer really considering a budget. $1500 would be the max, and I would like to keep it around $1000. I don't feel like I need to spend that much and keeping the cost down is obviously good, but I'm willing to pay for quality. I'm going to be buying a TV to fit in my room and a receiver is looking like the best way to go now so that I can use it with the TV. The BIC America F12 sub looks nice but I'm worried about it being muddy. Preferably I'm looking for a sub that will be clean and tight such as the NHT Super 8 or Cambridge S90 while having the ability to shake the walls and be louder than you want. Even if the sub has more power than my little room can handle, it is nice to know that it can do more than I need. The NHT Superzeros don't seem like the way to go if I get the F12 sub. I checked out some KRK Rokits and they seemed a little big for me although I might just be able to make them fit. I won't be able to provide good positions for the monitors so ideally I would like a pair that work reasonably well in many placements. The Genelec 8020B seems really appealing to me because of its size. The matching 7050B sub was a deal breaker at $1100. After visiting numerous stores and doing research, nothing seems to be the perfect match yet. One more thing to consider is that I'm mostly against buying used. I know you can get great deals and I'm missing out, but it's something I just never do. 

 

[germanium]

The Rokit 5 speakers are actually quite small  but they are quite low powered. Only 45 total watts 30 of that goes to the woofer. They may work for you though. They do sell a 10 inch sub that should go well with them. There is also the VXT4 which is even smaller & gets good reviews.