[GoodRevrnd]

Anyone able to recommend some reasonably priced powered speakers that sound good at low volume? I'll probably use my Schiit Jotunheim to preamp them (overkill) just for sake of convenience. I'll have it near me anyway for headphones and can then place the speakers elsewhere and maintain easy volume control.

 

[RERobbins]

I have been very happy with the Genelec G One speakers for low volume listening in my office.

I also considered the AudioEngine A2 speakers.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Anyone able to recommend some reasonably priced powered speakers that sound good at low volume? I'll probably use my Schiit Jotunheim to preamp them (overkill) just for sake of convenience. I'll have it near me anyway for headphones and can then place the speakers elsewhere and maintain easy volume control.

If by "good at low volume" you mean you can hear the bass without cranking it up even if they're a little bit farther out from you, try the Rokit G10-3 or G8 and turn down the gain on the high pass amplifier.

 

[cowolter]

I've been using M-Audio speakers for a very long time. I used AV40 when I was in Korea but sold them when I left. After I saw that the AV-40 was discontinued I switched to the slightly smaller ones AV-32. Very happy with it. Plus I've seen this cheaper than Amazon at places like Guitar Center in the past 6 mo. so its very good bang for your buck IMO.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

If by "good at low volume" you mean you can hear the bass without cranking it up even if they're a little bit farther out from you, try the Rokit G10-3 or G8 and turn down the gain on the high pass amplifier.

That what be nice, but what I really mean by "good at low volume" is there's still some semblance of detail.

I've seen a lot of praise for those Genelc units, but pricey! That Rokit certainly looks like overkill, but it's nice it's front ported. Overkill might be what I need to actually get some low volume fidelity though. The way my office is laid out a single speaker might be best, although I'm not sure how many of these would down-mix stereo input.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

That what be nice, but what I really mean by "good at low volume" is there's still some semblance of detail.

Not sure what you mean here - the sound is detailed if you can hear the bass drum and all the other percussion, even if it's a fast double-pedal metal track and you easily hear each of the rapid fire thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!! followed by the THUD! THUD! PZZZZZT!!! right before everything slows down and the vocals come back on.

Detail isn't something exclusive to treble. That's just something that kind of became a norm with audiophiles because who tends to be audiophiles? People with money. Who tends to have more money and a lot of space for a dedicated audio system, at least before headphones were a thing? Old people with the kid away for college or moved out already. What do older people have? High frequency hearing loss, which is why you hear old ladies yelling at their husbands all the time but he can probably hear his male friends or his son well enough by comparison.

I've seen a lot of praise for those Genelc units, but pricey!

Think of it like getting an S1000RR over, say, a parallel twin Japanese bike with somewhat sporty suspension.

That Rokit certainly looks like overkill, but it's nice it's front ported. Overkill might be what I need to actually get some low volume fidelity though.

The larger drivers might kind of suck at the transition to the tweeters when using the same basic design but scaled up, normally the response rolls off earlier; you have to retune the crossover which forces the tweeter to work harder, but in the case of the 3-way Rokit 10 G3, you have a midrange to fill that gap, although it complicates the crossover and time alignment. The former is a problem the engineers likely addressed, the latter is just a problem if the speakers are too close to you that your head is not equidistant to each of the three drivers.

The way my office is laid out a single speaker might be best, although I'm not sure how many of these would down-mix stereo input.

You can just get a stereo output single chassis BT speaker like the B&W Zeppelin.