milesmuso01
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2011
- Posts
- 3
- Likes
- 0
Hi All,
Joined this forum specifically for advice on this dilemma, so I hope you can help.
I am a musician working on cruise ships. I have a very small cabin which contains a 'multimedia' desk with my laptop and current 2.1 speakers, which are Altec Lansing ATP3s. The satellites sit above the laptop on a 'printer shelf' and the sub is in the corner of the cabin, underneath my practice keyboard. I feed these from a Focusrite Saffire LE audio interface which runs off my firewire port. This is a great unit, and covers all my various I/O needs as well as MIDI duties. It is not an amplifier, so I need an active speaker set-up. (The idea of a separate amp is appealing, but would take up too much space and there'd be too much 'electric string' running around. I need to be able to bundle everything up in a suitcase after a 3-month contract, then set it all up again a month later for the next 3-month contract (the furniture is still there, but I'm loathe to leave my speakers, etc to what could be a total stranger taking my position for the month that I'm away!) Unfortunately, the wiring to the left speaker has worked loose and, as it is a sealed unit, it is going to be hard to repair. So I've been researching various replacements. All was going well when I only had one or two choices, but each forum browse brings up another couple of models, and I really don't know which is 'best'.
SO here's what I've boiled it down to:
Swan HiVi M50 (from this very forum) http://swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=5&sid=0&pid=22&cmenu=spec
Corsair SP2500 http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=corsair+sp2500&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17620557797287435134&sa=X&ei=qKkwTqeHMoOohAfnve0l&ved=0CDoQ8wIwAQ
M_Audio Studiophile MV40 (probably not, as there's been reports of a buzz in one speaker, or even the amp burning out!) http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pc-speakers/198141/m-audio-studiophile-av-40
Edifier E3350 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-Style-E3350-Speaker-System/dp/B0018LO2JK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
AudioEngine A2B http://www.head-fi.org/products/audioengine-a2b-powered-multimedia-speaker-system-black-finish
Acoustic Energy AE26 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustic-Energy-AE26-06B-active-speaker/dp/B000MN96T6/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1311812358&sr=1-2
and finally the rather funky-looking Harman Kardon Soundsticks http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harman-Kardon-Soundsticks-Channel-Multimedia/dp/B003ZXDOMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1311812358&sr=1-1
As I mentioned I am a musician and I do a fair bit or recording (mainly using samples, as live recording can get interrupted by bumps, bells, klaxons, etc) and so a fairly flat 'uncloured' sound would be great; I also watch a lot of DVDs on my laptop, including BluRay, and I want the audio to sound as good as possible for films. Lastly, I of course listen to a lot of music (mainly mp3s at good bitrates) and would hope for a fair reproduction. I'm not a 'bass is everything' person, but I do want the bottom end to be punchy, hence the inclusion of a sub in all but the AudioEngine models.
If you've taken the time to read down this far then firstly THANKS! and secondly I would appreciate your experienced advice.
Cheers,
Miles
Joined this forum specifically for advice on this dilemma, so I hope you can help.
I am a musician working on cruise ships. I have a very small cabin which contains a 'multimedia' desk with my laptop and current 2.1 speakers, which are Altec Lansing ATP3s. The satellites sit above the laptop on a 'printer shelf' and the sub is in the corner of the cabin, underneath my practice keyboard. I feed these from a Focusrite Saffire LE audio interface which runs off my firewire port. This is a great unit, and covers all my various I/O needs as well as MIDI duties. It is not an amplifier, so I need an active speaker set-up. (The idea of a separate amp is appealing, but would take up too much space and there'd be too much 'electric string' running around. I need to be able to bundle everything up in a suitcase after a 3-month contract, then set it all up again a month later for the next 3-month contract (the furniture is still there, but I'm loathe to leave my speakers, etc to what could be a total stranger taking my position for the month that I'm away!) Unfortunately, the wiring to the left speaker has worked loose and, as it is a sealed unit, it is going to be hard to repair. So I've been researching various replacements. All was going well when I only had one or two choices, but each forum browse brings up another couple of models, and I really don't know which is 'best'.
SO here's what I've boiled it down to:
Swan HiVi M50 (from this very forum) http://swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=5&sid=0&pid=22&cmenu=spec
Corsair SP2500 http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=corsair+sp2500&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17620557797287435134&sa=X&ei=qKkwTqeHMoOohAfnve0l&ved=0CDoQ8wIwAQ
M_Audio Studiophile MV40 (probably not, as there's been reports of a buzz in one speaker, or even the amp burning out!) http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pc-speakers/198141/m-audio-studiophile-av-40
Edifier E3350 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-Style-E3350-Speaker-System/dp/B0018LO2JK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
AudioEngine A2B http://www.head-fi.org/products/audioengine-a2b-powered-multimedia-speaker-system-black-finish
Acoustic Energy AE26 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustic-Energy-AE26-06B-active-speaker/dp/B000MN96T6/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1311812358&sr=1-2
and finally the rather funky-looking Harman Kardon Soundsticks http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harman-Kardon-Soundsticks-Channel-Multimedia/dp/B003ZXDOMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1311812358&sr=1-1
As I mentioned I am a musician and I do a fair bit or recording (mainly using samples, as live recording can get interrupted by bumps, bells, klaxons, etc) and so a fairly flat 'uncloured' sound would be great; I also watch a lot of DVDs on my laptop, including BluRay, and I want the audio to sound as good as possible for films. Lastly, I of course listen to a lot of music (mainly mp3s at good bitrates) and would hope for a fair reproduction. I'm not a 'bass is everything' person, but I do want the bottom end to be punchy, hence the inclusion of a sub in all but the AudioEngine models.
If you've taken the time to read down this far then firstly THANKS! and secondly I would appreciate your experienced advice.
Cheers,
Miles