[GerGa]

Hey all,
                   New to the forum.  I own 50 dollar 2.1 logitech speakers which are long overdue for replacement and upgrade.  Lately Ive been at friend's parties where some cheap-o $75 2.1 computer speakers are used that just dont cut it..this is what has compelled me to upgrade my own speakers. 
When Im on the computer (not too often), I typically listen to the likes of Daft Punk - Alive 2007(a favorite), Barstool Blackout Remix, some Deadmau5, other edm.  I like me some classic rock too.
I would like to bring my new speakers to these parties for a real party experience.  These are small house parties with anywhere from 10-30 people.  Playing music listed above with a dance floor.  Parties might only a few times a year. 
That said, only decent speakers that Ive used at a party are some $150 logitech z2300's which show a boomy undetailed subwoofer and satellites that are tinny when turned up.
Research for my new speakers proves tricky. 
Not sure on what to spend but Edifier S730's spark my interest at $500.  For $500 I feel like there should be many options.  Other speakers Ive seen are from Audio Engine or KRK Rokits, but Im not sure if I'll still need a Subwoofer with those. 
 
Any Suggestions?
 
Thanks
 
PS. Anyone here from CT.  Where is Connecticut can I check out speakers besides Best Buy since they don't have much in-store.

 

[Shaunyboy]

I wouldnt bother with a sub if its only that many poeple and just few times a year I think most speakers with a 5" woofer and up will have enough bass pound. At 500 you have many good options check out active monitors. I have krk v6 and they sound really great. Ive read good reviews about the Jbl 2325p and Fostex pm0.5.

 

[seekadds]

I second active monitors (I personally love them), but if you want to use these as party speakers, most near-fields monitors are not designed for this. You really need to be in the sweet spot in an ideal room to hear their full potential. That said, they might still be serviceable. You really are probably better off getting a proper stereo with passive speakers if parties are your main objective. 
 
Swan M200mkII, AudioEngine A5, Emotiva Airmotiv (4/5) are the usual suspects in this category and price range for active "computer speakers." I personally have never heard them, but I'd probably be happy with any one of the three. I'm going to guess that out of these three the AudioEngines or the Swans would best suit room-filling party needs and have the most wow factor. I have previously had M-Audio bx5a Deluxe monitors that were just fine, but I felt I needed a sub with them and they were not ideal for parties. I recommend you get the main L/R channels first, then decide if you need a sub afterwards. 

 

[project86]

The airmotiv5 is exceptional, and can get very loud while remaining clean. Transporting them would not be fun, but that's the case with most decent speakers.

 

[buson160man]

Quote:

Hey all,
                   New to the forum.  I own 50 dollar 2.1 logitech speakers which are long overdue for replacement and upgrade.  Lately Ive been at friend's parties where some cheap-o $75 2.1 computer speakers are used that just dont cut it..this is what has compelled me to upgrade my own speakers. 
When Im on the computer (not too often), I typically listen to the likes of Daft Punk - Alive 2007(a favorite), Barstool Blackout Remix, some Deadmau5, other edm.  I like me some classic rock too.
I would like to bring my new speakers to these parties for a real party experience.  These are small house parties with anywhere from 10-30 people.  Playing music listed above with a dance floor.  Parties might only a few times a year. 
That said, only decent speakers that Ive used at a party are some $150 logitech z2300's which show a boomy undetailed subwoofer and satellites that are tinny when turned up.
Research for my new speakers proves tricky. 
Not sure on what to spend but Edifier S730's spark my interest at $500.  For $500 I feel like there should be many options.  Other speakers Ive seen are from Audio Engine or KRK Rokits, but Im not sure if I'll still need a Subwoofer with those. 
 
Any Suggestions?
 
Thanks
 
PS. Anyone here from CT.  Where is Connecticut can I check out speakers besides Best Buy since they don't have much in-store.

 I have emotiva airmotiv 5s and have had them for about a couple of months now and I am very satisfied with their performance so far.It took a while for them to loosen up but they seem to have settled in now and they can play pretty loudly with in reason.You do need a decent preamp to get them to sing.I am using a peachtree decco 2 as a preamp which  I  bought a little over a month ago and it seems to work pretty well with the emotivas.I have had to do some tweaking with fuses and aftermarket power cords to get where I am now.I think I may have had a hard time matching the sound quality that this combination is capable of for anywhere near what I payed for them.The emotiva will eventually be my computer desk top speaker along with the decco 2 which is a refurbished unit I bought off the peachtee website with a full manufacturers warranty.It is a good place to get peachtree products for a good discount.
  The peachtree has responded to my tweaking and is working pretty well as a preamp for the emotiva actives.The emotivas are a steal at the regular price but i bought mine at a ten percent discount sale that emotiva ran for a couple of weeks when I bought mine.The speakers produce a fairly accurate portrayal of whatever you put through them.They are pretty dynamic as well.I am using 24 inch sound anchor stands and the overall sound I am getting for what I paid for them IMHO would be hard to match at the 400 us dollars I paid for them.
    In fact I believe I may be getting the larger airmotiv 6s for my living room system and a suitable preamp dac to source them.The new benchmark dac 2 looks to be promising with its ess 9018 sabre reference dac and all the other goodies that benchmark is adding to their top model.I really like the flexibilty with two rca analog line outputs and one balanced output which  I could use to go to the active monitors.
The benchmark also has a balanced input for those who have a balanced output on their players or media players.Of course the price is a bit more thn even the hdr one model they make.
  But the real purpose of this reply is to champion the emotiva active speakers ability as a desktop monitor.I believe you can not go wrong with the emotivas active monitors whatever model you get.
  But  I imagine the airmotiv 6s will play more loudly given there larger size and more powerful onboard amplification(210 watts rms between the woofer (110) and tweeter (100) ). Those would probably fill a larger room with good quality sound at pretty loud levels.They are a bit more at 700 but it may be worth the stretch.But these are definitely too large for a desk top set up.The 5s would probably be the largest you could fit on most desk tops and from what I have heard in my set up I can not imagine anyone would be anything less than ecstatic with its performance in a desk top computer sound system.
   Plus you have a thirty day trial to audition them before you make up your mind about them.You can not go wrong with these IMHO.
Give them a try sometime.
  News flash emotiva has lowered the price on the airmtiv 6 from 699 us to 579 us dollars. Wow now that has to be  one hell of a deal I know they are most assuredly too large for a desk top speaker but if you want a speaker to rock at parties this is the one I would go for at 579.

 

[cel4145]

EDM definitely does benefit from a sub, but of course that will eat into your budget substantially. If you want a sub good enough to be used at parties, minimally you'll have to spend $200 for a budget 12".

 

[yeemanz]

I have the Audioengine A5+ and they've been the best $400 I've spent on speakers so far.
 
Very good value for what you get. I can only compare to the Audioengine A2s which my GF has though. But the A5+ are have a lot more clarity and the sound is generally much richer.
 
Plus with the A5+ you'll have a lot of input options. 
 
Just my 2c

 

[trog]

For speakers head down to the speaker subforums of AVS for more suggestions ^^
http://www.avsforum.com/f/89/speakers

 

[Kawai_man]

Studio Speakers give you great sound for the moey,  thhere was reviews that comared he audioengine a5 s to mackie mr5 and the mackies  were consiered superior .

 

[GerGa]

 I have emotiva airmotiv 5s and have had them for about a couple of months now and I am very satisfied with their performance so far.It took a while for them to loosen up but they seem to have settled in now and they can play pretty loudly with in reason.You do need a decent preamp to get them to sing.

by preamp do you mean soundcard?
"need decent preamp to get them to sing" ___ isnt this the case with all speakers in this general pricerange to get their full potential? Built in motherboard sound vs quality external soundcard equals better sound?

 

[GerGa]

Where can I get decent Studio Monitor speakers with speaker grills?  I notice that I have not seen any grills or protective covers.  It would be nice if I could get some with grills, but willing to go without.
 
PS for now I will focus on buying 2 speakers and external soundcard for around 500 give or take.  I will worry about the subwoofer later, but should keep in mind this when choosing Monitors.
 

 

[buson160man]

Quote:

by preamp do you mean soundcard?
"need decent preamp to get them to sing" ___ isnt this the case with all speakers in this general pricerange to get their full potential? Built in motherboard sound vs quality external soundcard equals better sound?

Your soundcard would work ok but the quality of a decent preamp will sound a lot better.The speakers do have a volume control on the front of the speaker.I have not used the volume control directly with a source (cd player, dac, etc.) so I can not say how it works when directly hooked up to a line source.But I must say that after I tweaked the decco 2 with an aftermarket power cord though hardly cheap I already had one I was not using and the hifi tuning supreme fuse that I pirated from my burson ha-160 amp (the fuse is the same size and rating) the sound improved noticeably it definitely elevated the emotiva activ5s presentation greatly.