[Hard of Hearing]

Hey everyone! I have what might read as a strange request, I work at my Mac all day and I like to listen to records from the 60s in iTunes while I do my stuff. I need some speakers with a Jack Port for my headphones, preferably a volume button and they should not be wider than 8cm, that's a little over 3 inches for Americans. Now this is where things get complicated: I would like speakers that do -not- have strong bass as I am hard of hearing and lots of bass makes me dizzy. I would also like to find something durable and well built with removable cables if possible as this increases product life if I damage a cable and simply switch it out.

Any recommendations? My budget is no more than 100 euros preferably, that's 140 dollars tax included.

Thanks a lot for your help!



PS: Not sure whether it matters but I listen mostly to old opera records, mostly Caruso, Callas and Roberta Peters, then also Buddy Holly and a couple of other 50s 60s singers and Electronica. I also frequently communicate with clients over skype and need t hear them clearly.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

At that size you'd be hardpressed to find one with any bass anyway - I can think of a pair that's a little bit larger but the box is tuned to dish out a lot of bass in quantity, and nearly no consideration for quality. In any case, for that price range I've hardly listened to anything at that size, but I did get to try a friend's Razer Ferox. Decent output, some semblance of soundstage, however if set on the desk the diffusor on top of the drivers spreads the sound around but at the cost of height. If you don't mind the soundstage/image at roughly the height of your keyboard, it's not a bad deal now that the price is lower on Amazon. Creative T20 is also good for the size and price, but a little over your budget; the T12 is around $40 but I haven't heard it.
 
My real favorite at that price range and size is the Swans S3W, but they're kind of hard to find online. I got to hear them at a local store here and they were loud enough even in that noisy environment, and putting my head closer I can tell the midrange was promising. However, I still couldn't make a good estimate of whether it can be loud enough over a heavy downpour on my tin roof, so I went for the more powerful (and much larger) D1080MkII 08.

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

How's about this Antec SP1?  ~$80
 
http://store.antec.com/Product/audio/SP-1-BLU/0-761345-73014-3.aspx
 
Ticks all your boxes. Headphones port, ruggedised construction, volume button, not much bass, very clean and clear.removeable cables, skype compatable..
 
Even has Bluetooth as a n extra.
 
You'd need to stand one on end to get < 8cm (6cm). 

 

[Kamots]

Creative T20 are a pretty good choice.
Some of my colleagues at the office have these on their desks. I think they're quite fitting in a work environment, small fottprint and pretty decent sound.

 

[Roseval]

A lot of speakers are bass heavy today.
The market ask for it so you get it.
Small ones are often booming.
 
If it is a ported design, simply stuff the port as this port acts as an acoustic amplifier boosting the bass.
Another simple one is to use the EQ of your media player to lower the bass.