[RonaldDumsfeld]

Lets see where we are with respect to the OP.
 
Nearfield Desktop Monitors are pretty much a universal yes.
 
USB Interface also seems to be generally approved by all.
 
It's the concept not the brand. There are many way to skin a cat. Preferences vary.
 
Which leaves some questions as yet unanswered.
 
What size drivers?  My proposition.
 
Nearfields general range from 4" to 7" cones. Anything larger starts to become too much, to close to the ear. It's then midfield.
 
So all else being equal you should go for the boxes with the largest drivers (up to 7")  that meet your quality expectations and budget.
 
Except if you definitely intend getting a sub. In which case you could save money by getting smaller main drivers and leaving everything below about 80hz to the sub.
 

Which one would you choose and why?

 
Out of the options you asked for advise on I'd go for the ADAMs. Simple choice really. I've never heard the Kefs but already own ADAMs and would buy them again tomorrow if the need arose. ymmv.
 
So if you can stretch to it financially the best option would be. Focusrite Scarlet 2i4, ADAM A3X and ADAM sub 7. Circa $1250 equivalent.
 
If you don't want to spend that much now get the Focusrite and A5X. Or perhaps F7 if you want depth at the expense of a little mid range clarity.
 
Other brands will offer similar or even better performance for the same or more money. Some possibly now for even less.
 
Then again. Why take a chance? You cannot go far wrong with a tried and trusted brand which has proved to be a sensation in the marketplace worldwide. 

 

 
M-Audio and Eve Audio monitors also. Are they comparable to KEF or Adam?

 
 
I had a pair of M-Audio AV40 prior to the ADAMs. They are a smiley face hi fi speaker and good value for the price. Mine broke down very quickly though. Hence the upgrade.
 
Don't know Eve at all. They look to be well specified on paper. They are significantly more expensive so ypymatyc. 

 

[cel4145]

M-Audio makes all kinds of electronics, but their speakers are more budget entry level. Good for their price, but don't expect them to perform higher than their price point compared to the most popular, more expensive powered monitors.

I hadn't seen Eve Audio before. Apparently they are a fairly new company, a startup founded by a guy who used to work for Adam (thus the "Eve Audio" in contrast to "Adam"). Might be a very good value for the money. Worth researching them and giving them a listen

Genelec is the other pro audio brand to look at. They compete directly with Adam in the pro audio market and even have much more expensive models.

For subs, look into SVS Audio. They are an Internet direct speaker company that specializes in subwoofers. Their SB-1000 is impossible to beat for the price here in the US for a sub to use with a desktop speaker setup. Where do you live? They have some global distributors, although the prices are a little higher.

 

[KrakenChaos]

Thanks guys. I'm getting the picture. I'll probably buy Adam AnX series or Genelec monitors. But one more question, how do you tell when a speaker need an amp or not?

 

[Tablix]

They should be listed as passive (requires amp) or active (amp in the speaker)

 

[cel4145]

Powered speakers will also have a wall plug coming out of them and various connections in the back. Passive speakers will only have one or two sets of speaker wire posts like this:

 

[jgf29]

Hi KrakenChaos.Which one did you get finally?

 

[KrakenChaos]

Sorry guys, been away too long. I was occupied with other stuffs.
 
I just bought a pair of 8030BPM and 7060B 2 weeks ago.
 
Now I need to decide which to buy between TC Electronic BMC-2 and CambridgeAudio Dacmagic Plus.

 

[dsymbol]

Hi @RonaldDumsfeld,
I'm also shopping for a pair of speakers for just music, genre is Trance.
Currently i'm using a pair of AudioEngine A2 & I'd like to upgrade to either KEF x300a or Adam Artist 3.
 
My main objective is to look for something "all-in-one" plug & play monitors/speakers.
They need to be compact enough for travel. so the size of KEF x300a or Adam Artist 3 is ok.
 
My mp3 players are Sansa Clip Zip & HTC M9 & they only have 3.5mm analog audio port. I read that these speakers have an analog 3.5mm input but will sound better when using a USB digital source at maximum bit rate and depth.
Is that correct?
 
If that is correct, Then that leaves me only 2 options:
1. Buy a new mp3 player that has usb digital output
2. Buy an 3.5mm-port-analog-to-usb-digital converter, which I have yet to locate.
 
I'll buy everything from the States, if that makes any difference.
 
So, which 1 would you recommend for trance music & the convenience of plug-n-play?
 
Thanks for any advice
 

  Lets see where we are with respect to the OP.
 
Nearfield Desktop Monitors are pretty much a universal yes.
 
USB Interface also seems to be generally approved by all.
 
It's the concept not the brand. There are many way to skin a cat. Preferences vary.
 
Which leaves some questions as yet unanswered.
 
What size drivers?  My proposition.
 
Nearfields general range from 4" to 7" cones. Anything larger starts to become too much, to close to the ear. It's then midfield.
 
So all else being equal you should go for the boxes with the largest drivers (up to 7")  that meet your quality expectations and budget.
 
Except if you definitely intend getting a sub. In which case you could save money by getting smaller main drivers and leaving everything below about 80hz to the sub.
 
 
Out of the options you asked for advise on I'd go for the ADAMs. Simple choice really. I've never heard the Kefs but already own ADAMs and would buy them again tomorrow if the need arose. ymmv.
 
So if you can stretch to it financially the best option would be. Focusrite Scarlet 2i4, ADAM A3X and ADAM sub 7. Circa $1250 equivalent.
 
If you don't want to spend that much now get the Focusrite and A5X. Or perhaps F7 if you want depth at the expense of a little mid range clarity.
 
Other brands will offer similar or even better performance for the same or more money. Some possibly now for even less.
 
Then again. Why take a chance? You cannot go far wrong with a tried and trusted brand which has proved to be a sensation in the marketplace worldwide. 

 
 
 
I had a pair of M-Audio AV40 prior to the ADAMs. They are a smiley face hi fi speaker and good value for the price. Mine broke down very quickly though. Hence the upgrade.
 
Don't know Eve at all. They look to be well specified on paper. They are significantly more expensive so ypymatyc. 

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

Currently my favourite brand of small nearfields for duplicating the sound of a great club or venue PA playing dance music loud is Eve Audio of Berlin, Germany.
 
Mrs Ron liked my Adam A3X so much so demanded a pair of her own and wouldn't be palmed off with the cheap stuff neither. So me being a gent she got my old pair. When I went back to my dealer for a replacement set of A3X (I didn't like A5X on the desktop as much) they were out of stock. So they suggested I take a pair of Eve SC204 and I could return them if I wanted when the A3X were available again. Ive still ot the SC204 - and now a TS107sub.

 
http://www.musictech.net/2014/03/eve-audio-sc204-ts107-review/
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar14/articles/eve-sc204-ts107.htm
http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/eve-audio-sc204-active-nearfield-monitors-562770
 
Some brands, for example KRK and M-Audio, make their speakers more appealing by slightly emphasising or 'hyping' the bass content. This is not only inaccurate but if you turn them up louder the bass can become a bit boomy and woolly sounding. Eve have taken a different approach. They leave what bass there is accurate, precise and elegant but make the midrange a little dry. This means the driving bass content retains that snap and crack of a really first rate, powerful system. That was the design objective in any case and to my ears it works. The best small speakers I have found for house and techno. Although you might find them a challenge if you like guitar bands....
 
I don't recommend you buy speakers with built in interface capability. Get yourself a separate audio interface to handle I/O, routing, mixing, volume control, DI channel strip etc etc.

 

[dsymbol]

  Currently my favourite brand of small nearfields for duplicating the sound of a great club or venue PA playing dance music loud is Eve Audio of Berlin, Germany.
 
Mrs Ron liked my Adam A3X so much so demanded a pair of her own and wouldn't be palmed off with the cheap stuff neither. So me being a gent she got my old pair. When I went back to my dealer for a replacement set of A3X (I didn't like A5X on the desktop as much) they were out of stock. So they suggested I take a pair of Eve SC204 and I could return them if I wanted when the A3X were available again. Ive still ot the SC204 - and now a TS107sub.
 
 
http://www.musictech.net/2014/03/eve-audio-sc204-ts107-review/
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar14/articles/eve-sc204-ts107.htm
http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/tech/eve-audio-sc204-active-nearfield-monitors-562770
 
Some brands, for example KRK and M-Audio, make their speakers more appealing by slightly emphasising or 'hyping' the bass content. This is not only inaccurate but if you turn them up louder the bass can become a bit boomy and woolly sounding. Eve have taken a different approach. They leave what bass there is accurate, precise and elegant but make the midrange a little dry. This means the driving bass content retains that snap and crack of a really first rate, powerful system. That was the design objective in any case and to my ears it works. The best small speakers I have found for house and techno. Although you might find them a challenge if you like guitar bands....
 
I don't recommend you buy speakers with built in interface capability. Get yourself a separate audio interface to handle I/O, routing, mixing, volume control, DI channel strip etc etc.

Hi @RonaldDumsfeld, 
I have to tell you that I know nothing about audio equipments, that's why I prefer to buy something plug-n-play.
However, after reading the links you post, I do the compact size of the Eve sc204. Whats included in the box of a set of Eve sc204?
In order words, what's extra do I have to buy?
 
By the way, i'll purchase everything from the States & the Eve sc204 on Amazon.com is MORE expensive than the Adam F5, A3X, & Artist 3.
 
Ohh, since you LOVE the A3X so much & the artist 3 has identical tech data as the A3X does, can I draw a conclusion that the Artist 3 sounds the same as the A3X.
& seems like everything I read so far hint that the Adam F5 sounds better than A3X & Artist.
Am I correct on this?
Thanks for time.

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

Well. As far as I can tell from here the ADAM Artist 3 or the  KEF x300a will set you back ~$800.
 
So ~$850 for the EVE SC204 is still pretty much in the ball park. Especially for the better quality and since it meets your specific requirements more closely (imo ymmv).
 
On the other hand you will need to add a separate volume control, stereo line in and BT receiver which would put you over budget by 20% or so.  ~$150 for the interface and ~$30 for the dongle and some adaptors.
 
http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i2/specifications
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KEDSUM-Bluetooth-Wireless-receiver-Adapter/dp/B011I95E34/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1437840849&sr=1-19&keywords=bluetooth+apt-x+receiver
 
See what I mean? Lets add the functionality (and more) built into the KEF, ADAM Artist, Eve SC203 and even the Focal XS Book as a separate unit(s) and therefore get a wider choice of active speakers. Does it make economic sense?
 
So $ wise Adam A3X + 2i2 + BT receiver = Adam Artist 3. More or less anyway. Plus you get a more capable, flexible and upgradeable system as part of the bargain.
 
 
 

 

[dsymbol]

  Well. As far as I can tell from here the ADAM Artist 3 or the  KEF x300a will set you back ~$800.
 
So ~$850 for the EVE SC204 is still pretty much in the ball park. Especially for the better quality and since it meets your specific requirements more closely (imo ymmv).
 
On the other hand you will need to add a separate volume control, stereo line in and BT receiver which would put you over budget by 20% or so.  ~$150 for the interface and ~$30 for the dongle and some adaptors.
 
http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i2/specifications
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KEDSUM-Bluetooth-Wireless-receiver-Adapter/dp/B011I95E34/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1437840849&sr=1-19&keywords=bluetooth+apt-x+receiver
 
See what I mean? Lets add the functionality (and more) built into the KEF, ADAM Artist, Eve SC203 and even the Focal XS Book as a separate unit(s) and therefore get a wider choice of active speakers. Does it make economic sense?
 
So $ wise Adam A3X + 2i2 + BT receiver = Adam Artist 3. More or less anyway. Plus you get a more capable, flexible and upgradeable system as part of the bargain.
 
 
 
 

yeah, i think i'm on the right track choosing Eve Audio SC204.
I'll be in Singapore in a week to audition the Eve sc204, sc205, & maybe Adam Artist 3 (i said maybe because my heart is set on the Eve sc204)
 
Having the AudioEngine A2 for awhile, I have to admit that I like them for the convenience of plug-n-play, the compact size, & they sound good enough to my ears. 
 
Comparing audioengine A2 to Eve audio Sc204 is apple to orange, but since it's an upgrade, please allow me to have a stupid question & dont slam me ok.
 
Even though the frequency response of A2 & sc204 is 65hz, I'm pretty sure Eve sc204's bass will sound better since the woofer is bigger. Am I correct?