[T.F.O.A]

Hi guys, i'm thinking of upgrading my computer speakers,and been thinking about m-audio av40 or audioengine a5, or probably the new swans m200mkiii
any ideas which one i should go to? my budget is 300$ max. i'll be using it straight from my macbook pro ,thanks

 

[daouda]

Subscribing to this thread, athough i have pretty much already settled my mind on the a5 since swans seem to be unavailable in europe
EDIT
Nobody's posting yet but if that can be of any help i have already researched extensively on that matter and pretty much everybody agrees that if you can afford the a5 it spanks the AV40 on EVERY level (and A5 doesnt really need a sbuwoofer as opposed to AV40 that would benefit from one) , only reason you should get the latter would be because of size and budget restrictions.

EDIT2
Did some more searching, AV40 should definitely be the worst sounding of the 3 by a wide margin, it should be between the swans and the audioengine, sound aside the swans look soooo much better though (at least mkII) , unfortunately are wuch less widely available than audioengines

 

[T.F.O.A]

Hi daouda,thanks for the help.since i'm in beijing china,it's actually easier for me to get the swans than the a5,and a5 is the more expensive one,but just still curious about the comparison of the swans and the a5, come on guys, i need some help here

 

[LUCIDD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by T.F.O.A /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi guys, i'm thinking of upgrading my computer speakers,and been thinking about m-audio av40 or audioengine a5, or probably the new swans m200mkiii any ideas which one i should go to? my budget is 300$ max. i'll be using it straight from my macbook pro ,thanks

Hi there...
I'd like to ask what you'd be using the speakers for - music% or movie% and type of music you listen to.

Also, the size of your room - large, medium, small...
And what speakers you've listened to before and what you like about them most of all [bass/mids/treble/soundstage...etc]

This will help with answering your questions.

And as far as your under $300 budget, You'd be lucky if you can find a set USED of A5's for that price including s/h.
All of the speakers [although I've never heard the Swans yet] - are good choices. The A5's are awesome speakers but are little on the large side and definitely more than your budget.

I have the AudioEngine A2's and absolutely love them [I'm definitely not a basshead---I prefer accurate punchy bass-and can't stand boomyness]... but if you like low end bass and you want room-filling sound, then you'd be dissapointed. The A2's are good secondary speakers [sorta like a second car].

If the swans are very available, I'd say they are the most reasonable choice.

 

[Armaegis]

I've been repeating in all these threads that all these speakers around this $150-500 range are what you call "you get what you pay for". The AV40s are the cheapest and they sound good for their price. The A2s are better, but you pay more. The Swans sound better, but you pay more, etc etc.

Considering your location, the Swans are probably your best choice.

 

[T.F.O.A]

Hi,LUCIDD i'll be using it to listen to music and watching movies, and my music collection varies from punk,rock,pop,r&b so i'd say one that can handle all music in general.
My room size i'd say small-medium more to the small size. the speaker that i'm using so far is edifier m3200 it sounds pretty good but i'm kinda wanting for an upgrade because the bass get kinda distorted but it has nice treble and high,so for the next one i'd say generally good and a bit more oomph in the bass

And 2.0 speakers,do they need extra subwoofer or not? i'm not that keen on 2.1 anymore because too much cables,so i'm thinking of 2.0 but i also want to have a nice bass,especially for watching movies

thanks guys

 

[shabta]

Go with audioengine. I have heard the A2 but not the A5. The A2s are great, they are extremely musical, audiophile (for the price) quality. Especially if you are mostly listening to music in frontof your computer. I liked them so much I bought some. You definitely do not need subs. I have never heard small speaklers that sounded better for anywhere near the price. I have a room that is about the same size as yours. I bet the A5s are good too, but i didn't want bigger speakers and the A2s sounded so good. Mostly I listen to music through headphones anyway. Stay away from the M-Audio. Lots of people have had quality issues.

You might consider getting the A2s and spending the savings on an inexpensive DAC. That will make the music sound even better.

 

[LUCIDD]

Well- seems like you do have some demanding audio needs

especially when you have an already decent system.

My buddy has the edifier s-something and it does sound pretty good- and yes, the highs are good, and the bass is strong... Mids are ok... Overall loud and clear. I didn't notice any bass distortion, but it is a little strong for my taste- cuz it started to drown out the satellites.

The point is: IMO: strong base will drown out mids/highs/sound quality, unless one is a basshead.

Theory would tell me that you would be happiest with the a5- they have the biggest woofers and deepest (lowest) freq response. They go down to 50hz-which is pretty darn good for a 2.0 system. But take heed: your subwoofer probably goes all the way down to 35hz or so. So don't expect that they will have stronger bass than your edifiers. -but the will definitely have punchier bass than most 2.1 systems in the $300 price range.

As far as your room size being medium-small ... any of these speakers will be sufficient to fill the room with sound.
I believe that they'd be CLOSE FIELD [in front of computer at desk] - so IMO stong-low bass really isn't as important as the other SQ aspects. I've learned and become acustomed to the importance of SQ -over boomboom bass [I use to love strong overpowering bass LOL].

Anyways, I'm perfectly happy with the AudioEngine A2's for closefield listening.
For Movies and times that I want room filling sound, I have a Reciever and Klipsch Reference speakers for that.

Hope this helps

and not further confuse things.

 

[T.F.O.A]

Hi guys,thanks for the help so far,but i got another question, i do like strong bass,but i also want some quality,does that mean it would be better for me to get a speaker that i can adjust the bass and treble? thanks again guys

 

[ROBSCIX]

Are you talking about the Edifier S-550? I think that is about the closet you can get to a HT system meant for the PC. Two way wooden satellites, huge sub...etc
I usually don;t recommend "PC" branded speaker but Edifier makes decent speakers keeping their price point in mind. Have a look here: Edifier S-550

 

[noinimod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by T.F.O.A /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi guys,thanks for the help so far,but i got another question, i do like strong bass,but i also want some quality,does that mean it would be better for me to get a speaker that i can adjust the bass and treble? thanks again guys

audioengine a5. A2s won't give you enough low end

 

[LUCIDD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you talking about the Edifier S-550? I think that is about the closet you can get to a HT system meant for the PC. Two way wooden satellites, huge sub...etc I usually don;t recommend "PC" branded speaker but Edifier makes decent speakers keeping their price point in mind. Have a look here: Edifier S-550

Oh... Not the s550, it was a 2.1 set with smaller sats. Yah, they ate decent speakers for the price

 

[T.F.O.A]

Ok,so most likely audio a5 is the choice,though i haven't seen any in beijing so far,what do you guys think of the swans m200mkiii? is that good or not? and do i need to get a DAC (was thinking of ibasso d10)

 

[evu325]

I've been able to compare the Swans M200MKII, Audioengine A5, and Swan T200B (Swans' highest end powered speakers) and of the three the T200B impressed me most. Another user on this forum purchased the M200MKIII and he said he is very happy with them, and Swans said they are actually closer to the T200 than the MKII in sound quality. The A5s are excellent speakers and I liked those better than my MKIIs, although I'm not familiar with the prices in China. If the MKIII or T200s are close to the A5 in price I would go with either of the Swans, although I don't think you could go wrong with the A5's either.

 

[T.F.O.A]

Hi,i can find the t200b and the m200mk3 in beijing it's just the price different,the m200mk3 varied from 260-290 US $,while the the t200b is from 260-300...now i'm in a dilemma.How good is the t200b compared to m200mk3?