[canali]

Hi guys....my bud so wants me to get back into 2.1 for the living room
(he once had a $70k system)...i've now got him into cans/hp tube amp .
 
anyone else spending post $1k on speakers for a nice desktop rig?
I'm also listening to music on my headphone amp and cans/iems at my desk much of the time
(incoming Sony Z1R).
 
 i find i increasingly that I love listening to music at my desktop while i can surf, do things etc.
(also use my cans there, too).
i'm not one of those critical listeners who'd sit still in the middle of a couch listening to music
(my friend is, however) so am unsure if i'll go the 2.1 living room...
for that might just get a naim muso or some Sonos setup..who knows.
 
so I'm now considering investing more $$$ with my desktop rig with even better sounding speakers
(on stands, of course).
currently have Focal Alpha 50s  (i had the audioengine A5+ with a Pioneer 8mk2 sub...these Alpha 50 babies are just SO much
bigger and vibrant sounding)
https://www.cnet.com/news/leave-it-to-the-french-to-kick-the-sound-of-desktopcomputer-speakers-up-a-notch/

Leave it to the French to kick the sound of desktop/computer speakers up a notch.

however going forward I am undecided to stay with active, or go with a passive speaker system.
 
one chap on an AVS forum suggested to be careful in the setup and speakers chosen:
 
''I'd recommend trying out some speakers with coaxial drivers for a nearfield listening position,
I've found that my Elac Uni-Fi UB5s offer a much better soundstage and enhanced imaging compared
to a traditional set of 2-way woofer/tweeter powered monitors I was using before.

Fluid Audio makes some powered coaxial monitors (including a neat one with an AMT tweeter mounted inside of a cone woofer) though I haven't heard them.

If you go passive the Elac Uni-Fis and Kef Q and R series bookshelves are also worth a look.''
 
my rig: laptop as NAS.(ripped cds, Tidal hifi)..microrendu and ultracaps
....DACS - mojo, ifi micro, dragonly red (looking into hugo2 perhaps)
will be trialing the new Roon 1.3 in next few days

 

[PleasantSounds]

I also spend most of my listening time in front of the PC screen. This way I can spend much more time listening to music. 
 
It doesn't have to be an experience inferior in any way even to a dedicated listening room. Near field setup has it's advantages as the room reflections play less significant role. If it rocks your boat, don't be afraid to go after a better gear. I have done that and am extremely happy with the results.
 
My preference is with active speakers, and there's many reasons for that:
- somehow prefer the crossover designs for line level signals than several hundred watts (or you could go for monitors with DSP that go even further)
- amps can be better matched to the drivers (including avoiding costly mistakes with total mismatches)
- active studio monitors are usually a better value for money than audiophile speakers and amps (less exotic materials, more electronics)
- one box less on my desk (and that's usually a rather large one)
 
Some coaxial speakers are indeed very good, but this arrangement has it's own problems too and it's not really the universal recipe for perfect stereo imaging. There's more to it, for example phase response.
 
Agree with you on subs, although in a desktop arrangement their placement is always a compromise and the end result is often less than ideal. Try finding main speakers that go as deep as you need and the result will be better.

 

[sterling1]

​It does seem I too am more often digesting computer audio than from CD player, etc. I think eventually I'll just get an OPPO Sonica DAC and stream to my home theatre. Such an arrangement will allow media access and mobility that I only have to a limited degree using Airport Express for wireless from the computer to HT.

 

[canali]

 
​It does seem I too am more often digesting computer audio than from CD player, etc. I think eventually I'll just get an OPPO Sonica DAC and stream to my home theatre. Such an arrangement will allow media access and mobility that I only have to a limited degree using Airport Express for wireless from the computer to HT.

good idea..
 
and thanks to both of you for your imput..hopefully we'll see more people post here.
 
i've now included a Poll, too.
 
update:
 
have also been offered a naim muso for a sweet deal.
 
i'm considering strongly, however, to instead upgrade to the larger Focal Alpha 65s (on stands) for desktop...just went on sale at local pro audio
store for US$670 taxes in.
 
you know how it is with audio: once you get the taste for quality music it's hard to go backwards to 'less than'.
 
now it's the DAC i want to upgrade: the new HUGO 2 sure looks sweet: small enough to take around with me as well as use as a premap/DAC in a system, too....like it as it's so portable, yet at $3k presumably great sounding ..we'll see as the reviews come out.
 
also considering the yiggy or benchmark dac3, however...but they lack the portability factor...we'll see.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Canali,

Nice thread...

Have some recommendations if you're interested :

USB Interface : Lexicon Alpha &/Or Presonus Audiobox 44VSL

Head Amp : Presonus HP 4 &/or RNHP

Monitor Controller : Drawmer MC 2.1

Speakers : Genelec 8010 A

Subwoofer : Sunfire SDS 8

Hope this helps.

 

[canali]

thanks for that.
 
my system:
laptop as nas with tidal hifi, ripped cds, some 24/192
hooking up microrendu, ultracaps and trialing the new Roon labs 1.3v
...using iFI micro iDSD right now
keeping Focal Alpha 50s...tried larger 65s...too boomy for my untreated room.
and smaller 50s just look nicer, footprint wise....fab punchy end sound.
 
issue:
when setting up MR yesterday it said to put volume as full.
so i did, and when i turned on the ifi Dac to the speakers they blasted FULL on.
even just turning the ifi micro idsd on...1% volume.
anyone else also have this issue?

 

[stuck limo]

Almost all of my time listening is with a computer rig - be it hooked up to speakers or headphones. 
 
I just actually got a pair of monitors that I've been breaking in the past 2 days. Here's the pic:
 

 
Here's the review:
 
So I was looking for some desktop speakers instead of having to be exclusively tied to headphones in the bedroom. I was considering some either monitors or regular speakers. After digging around online, I found these offered by Rockville (who I guess does car audio). They claimed great price, manufacturer direct buy, great component and quality control with a 90 day return warranty. Figured for the price, I couldn't really go wrong. $156 altogether with the pads. They have other options (including stands) for more expensive but I'll hold off on stands for now.

I had a choice between the 5" or the 6" models --- the 6" model was only $30 more. I asked my friend who's huge into speakers and he said I may as well go big or go home for $30. I COULD have got the 8" model but I felt that may have been overkill for my purposes. Plus I kind of wanted to keep these on the desktop.

Initial impressions: cymbals and guitars on these are amazing. They have a real presence and weight to them. Cymbals sound jaw dropping. They sound thiiiiick. The decay is amazing. Obviously, it depends on how well it was recorded, but if you're listening to the Eagles, it sounds incredibly realistic, like they're right inside your speaker 2 foot away. Guitars have a shimmering quality to them. Really solid and weighty. They're really nice sounding.

Vocals are very good - they sound really nice and natural. However, depending on the mix, vocals can be pushed a bit back for my liking. I actually EQ'd my music a bit to bring the vocals up in MusicBee. It's not that they're buried, but they're not as out front as I feel they should be. They're more in line with the instruments. Ex: Rush. But then you listen to something else like Drake/Ariana Grande and the vocals are fine. It's weird and it's very mix dependent and I honestly wish I could have a little more consistency. (probably should have gone for regular hi-fi speakers in that case?) These are not artificially tuned forward. These will display the music mix itself before the vocals (if the engineer seemed to have mixed it that way). It's actually slightly annoying, as I like my vocals forward sounding.

Bass is deep and tight. LOTS of it. I actually turned the bass down to the -4db setting (not a huge bass head) and it still sounds plentiful for my purposes.

I'm a little unclear on how I feel on the drums on these. I'm not sure if the drums I'm listening to just were recorded like ass [Moby Dick by Zeppelin], or if it's the speakers themselves. I've heard certain drums on certain songs sound really good on other equipment, but maybe that equipment was accentuating the drums. I don't know --- on some things, the drums sound amazing. On some they sound like cardboard. It seems to vary wildly by recording. I wish it was a bit more consistent. I'm still playing with it and breaking in the speakers, so that may change. I'm probably going to be experimenting with my other set in the living room [Wharfedale/Monitor Audio] to see if there's a difference. My guess is these speakers present exactly what's on the recording as it is, and don't massage it. (technically they're not supposed to, but coming from regular hi-fi speakers, slightly annoying)

Modern pop sounds really good on these. Clean, clear, detailed, punchy. Older recordings are a mixed bag. Electronic sounds glorious (Mitch Murder).

These have a very "hi-fi"-ish sound to me. These sound pretty rich with body. You may or may not like that in your studio monitors. I do.

Detail: TONS of detail. You can hear (and I'm not exaggerating) every single thing in the mixes. The clarity is stunning. You can hear front to back, straight through. The transparency is ear/eye watering. I was hearing some questionable mastering/recording choices on these that I wasn't even really hearing on headphones. (could have just been me paying attention though this time) These were keeping up and even out performing the detail level on my Senn 600s in some spots. They're champs.

Build quality: solid. Like really solid. They look really sharp too.I'm used to hearing Wharfedale, Monitor Audio, JBL, Mackie, Tannoy, Audio Engine, Bowers and Wilkins, Martin Logan, Klipsch, etc. These are really good for the price you're paying. Like, really really really good. My friend came over tonight and spent about 2 hours listening to different music, and he was speechless.

For anyone interested in the specs and information on how they build these and their hype page, you can visit it here: https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/apm6b/

As soon as I get my cables, I'll be running these in balanced mode from my Geek Out 2A Infinity DAC/Amp. (right now they're running single ended)

 

[sterling1]

​I'm just running iTunes on laptop; and, Airport Express gives me the ability to use Airport Wireless to listen to my music from home theatre system's speakers.