[Krackatus]

I have a nice headphone rig at the moment (HD650s + Audio-GD Compass) which im very pleased with. However my speakers are less than desireable (£60 logitech ones). I feel now its time that i got a nice speaker setup that can at least compare to my headphone rig.
Now i don't know much about speakers as i've always used phones. My questions are...

1) I'm using PC as source. I have a compass hooked up to it via USB. Would this be adequate as a DAC to go into an external amp for my speakers? Or even better, would the compass amp be enough to power some speakers?

2) Could you please recommend me some speakers and/or an amp to go with it? Budget for speakers would be roughly £300/$600. So im pretty sure i should be looking at bookshelf speakers. Budget for the amp would be about £300 also, but the less the better. The speakers would be used almost entirely for rock and metal as i will be using my headphones for more laid back music. Im not looking for an amazing audiophile setup as i know the speaker world is considerably more expensive than the headphone world. Im just looking for a nice pair of speakers that will blow away my ****ty logitechs without destroying my bank balance in the process.

I would very much appreciate any help or advice on this.

Cheers

 

[transient orca]

The Compass has preamp out. You can connect that to your speaker setup. You can either connect the Compass directly to a pair of self powered speaker like Audioengine 5, or to a speaker amp and then to the speakers. At your budget, self powered speakers seem to be the better option.

 

[J.Pocalypse]

The Swan M200MKII's are rather sexy, IMO..

 

[RicHSAD]

You could probably get some Energy RC-10 and an amp/receiver in that price range.

 

[mark2410]

he wont find swan or energy in the uk and will over pay for the audio engine

aego m series : acoustic energy they tend to got glowing reviews and arent over priced in the uk

 

[Roadsong]

Audioengine A5 gets outstanding reviews.........I've already placed it on my list of gear for the desktop system I will be building this autumn.

 

[Roadsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif he wont find swan or energy in the uk and will over pay for the audio engine aego m series : acoustic energy they tend to got glowing reviews and arent over priced in the uk

I didn't realize the cost in the UK would be more for the Audioengine..........I took a quick look at the Aego M; it looks very promising!

 

[rsaavedra]

If you've considering powered speakers, I'd suggest M-Audio Studiophile AV 40.

Or even better, the M-Audio Studiophile BX5a.

 

[ROBSCIX]

What about the AV123 ELT525m's? They have great sound for their price, you can add in a simple Class-D amplifer. The Class-D's give great price to performance and are found in various power ratings. To note Tweak city has a model that has a subwoofer output this would allow you to add a subwoofer down the road.
ELT 525m monitors
Seems like they are on sale also.

 

[Bmac]

He has a budget of $1200, why is everyone recommending <$300 speakers?

If considering AV123 realize that your money will be going to a guy who has recently been charged with defrauding charities of over $150,000 in money collected in various charities' names but never donated. Some people may not care, I'd personally rather my money not go to this type of character.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/ma...-000-a-475508/

Within the OP's budget, I would look at new or used Dynaudio BM5A's or Quad 12L-A's. Hooked up straight out of the Compass either would make for a killer setup for the price.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmac /img/forum/go_quote.gif He has a budget of $1200, why is everyone recommending <$300 speakers?

OOps good point, didn't check that in detail.

If non-powered Speakers I'd also recommend Quad's.

 

[dishkyun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmac /img/forum/go_quote.gif He has a budget of $1200, why is everyone recommending <$300 speakers?

AVI ADM9.1 active loudspeakers

 

[Bmac]

^ A good recommendation but tough to find within the OP's budget.

 

[rsaavedra]

The setup for a PC is very much like a Near Field Monitoring application, as in a professional studio. With the given budget, I'd be definitely looking at professional active/powered speakers like Genelec or Mackie. Not sure which brands might be more easily available in the UK though.

 

[dishkyun]

Here are a few to add to your shortlist.

ATC SCM 10 Active Speaker | ATC SPEAKERS.COM, USA

Quad Hifi - Performance Series - L-series (Active)

BM 5A MKII

SONODYNE SM100AK ACTIVE MONITORS - Studioxchange

Cheers.