[Exorcist]

 
hi guys,
 
i'm intending to use nearfield studio active speakers purely for stereo music listening. i'm not intending to do any recording. 
 
my nearfield distance is 50cm. any idea which speakers are capable for providing good details and clarity (without sounding harsh/bright/piercing) at low volumes at 50cm distance?
 
since it's 50cm, i can't turn up the volume much!
 
i have shortlisted a few brands... 
- Sonodyne
- Focal
 
i'm currently using Dynaudio BM5A MKII. with TC Electronic Level Pilot and Cambridge Audio DACmagic and Mac Mini. 
 
at low volumes, the DYNs don't give me the clarity i crave for. DYNs sound good at louder volumes but that's really pushing the limits of my eardrums!
 
what price range should i be looking at for the speakers and DAC (for my situation) before law of diminishing returns really starts to set in quick?
 
thanks!

 

[eugenius]

For low volume listening with clear defined bass get PMC TB2-SA II. Or Digidesign RM2 (PMC's with active corssovers, digital amps and digital inputs ... they're also easier to find deals on) and use a TC Electronic BMC2 as a digital level controller for the RM2's. The BMC2 also has a DAC, I wouldn't recommend it though, especially with PMC's.

 

[prestigetone]

I love my Neumann 120s. They go down to 50HZ and sound very flat. For the size and price I do not think they can be beat!

 

[raif]

Quote:

I love my Neumann 120s. They go down to 50HZ and sound very flat. For the size and price I do not think they can be beat!

Man, I ordered a pair of these from guitar center a few weeks back and they keep pushing the stock date.

 

[Currawong]

I've got a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 4s on the way. I don't need deep bass and listen quietly, so I was interested in the ribbon tweeters primarily. I'll post impressions at some point when they arrive.

 

[rgs9200m]

Quad 9Ls or 12Ls are nice. I have both. Nice imaging; very natural; no tone controls needed.

 

[eugenius]

I've got a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 4s on the way. I don't need deep bass and listen quietly, so I was interested in the ribbon tweeters primarily. I'll post impressions at some point when they arrive.

Get the second one from the bottom ... it's a good principle. But I'm interested in your opinion about the Airmotiv's, they're certainly cheap.

 

[Currawong]

I would have bought the 6's straight off the bat, but they have to fit on my desk. I might have bought the tiny Piegas (model number forgotten) as well, and got a subwoofer if I felt the need. They could have gone on stands behind my desk instead.

 

[germanium]

Quote:

I've got a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 4s on the way. I don't need deep bass and listen quietly, so I was interested in the ribbon tweeters primarily. I'll post impressions at some point when they arrive.

Looks like the tweeters on these speakers are what they call a folded ribbon tweeter. I believe these to be a modification of the famous Heil Air Motion transformer tweeter which also used a folded ribbon transducer. This transducer instead of pushing & pulling on the air in a straight back & forth movement used the folds in the ribbon to squeeze the air & expand to suck it back in. In so doing it could shoot the air out of the folds at higher velocity than a standard tweeter could.
 

 

[eugenius]

Currawong, I'm skeptical about these monitors (Airmotiv 4's), it's not easy for anyone to integrate a heil tweeter with a woofer, never mind for a startup company with a low price point and a bass reflex design that extends the bass as low as it can go.

I predict one note bass coupled with a fast and detailed tweeter that makes it a two speed speaker, so to speak. The price point makes me doubt the tweeter too, big possibility for bothersome distortion and crap vertical dispersion. But you know, I might be wrong.

 

[Roseval]

Adam is one combining the ART tweeter (Heil motion transformer) with a woofer for years.
They are said to be a bit forward in the treble.
Might be interesting for the OP as he wants clarity at low volumes.
Likewise any 2 way with a metal dome tweeter might do the job.

 

[eugenius]

Actually no, the most important thing for clarity at low volumes is clear defined bass. Yes, a brighter sound helps too, but if you have clouded bass you have to increase the volume to hear the melody in the bass, not just mush.

The PMC's havee both, transmission line bass and they are brighter than neutral in their default setting, it says so in the manual.