What computer speakers to get?

[nuraman00]

I have a single SVS SB-1000 & love it. Great sound for little $$. I would have gladly gotten an SB-2000 instead, but no room for that. My fantasy is to get a 2nd SB-1000 and somehow carve out space for it in my crowded home office (which already holds a shtt-ton of audio gear).

But one word of caution about the SB-1000. When I first installed it in place of an old 8" NHT sub (excellent), I did what I had done w/the NHT: ran the RCA output pair from the preamp to the input of the sub; and then a 2nd RCA output pair connecting the sub's output (low-pass filtered to remove frequencies below 80Hz @a slope of 12 dB/octave). That worked extremely well--clearly the little passive crossover was very transparent. But when I tried the same thing w/the SB-1000, the sound via the speakers was unsatisfactory.

Finally I inserted a quality external cross-over in the system (Marchand XM66); this divides the input signal into high- and low-pass filtered outputs (80H @24dB/octave). The resulting sound is quite transparent. But I never would've gone in that direction if the SB-1000's crossover had done the trick.

Thanks. So you think you need a cross-over equalizer, with the SB-1000, to get good sound? What was the exact problem with the sound without the equalizer?

 

[Donut]

Also, from your earlier post, did you mean you have a Schitt DAC? How do you like it?

Yeah, I had one. I had it connected to an old surge protector that apparently no longer worked because a storm blew it & I never replaced it. I was really happy with it at the time, though it was my first time using a separate amp & DAC with headphones.

I have a single SVS SB-1000 & love it. Great sound for little $$. I would have gladly gotten an SB-2000 instead, but no room for that. My fantasy is to get a 2nd SB-1000 and somehow carve out space for it in my crowded home office (which already holds a shtt-ton of audio gear).

But one word of caution about the SB-1000. When I first installed it in place of an old 8" NHT sub (excellent), I did what I had done w/the NHT: ran the RCA output pair from the preamp to the input of the sub; and then a 2nd RCA output pair connecting the sub's output (low-pass filtered to remove frequencies below 80Hz @a slope of 12 dB/octave). That worked extremely well--clearly the little passive crossover was very transparent. But when I tried the same thing w/the SB-1000, the sound via the speakers was unsatisfactory.

Finally I inserted a quality external cross-over in the system (Marchand XM66); this divides the input signal into high- and low-pass filtered outputs (80H @24dB/octave). The resulting sound is quite transparent. But I never would've gone in that direction if the SB-1000's crossover had done the trick.

This is an interesting note. I'm not entirely positive I have the space for the SB-2000, so I might stick to the 1000. I've never messed with anything like external crossovers, though; it sounded like that was a necessity to get the sound lined up correctly. The crossover in the sub didn't work out?

 

[Pharmaboy]

The crossover in the SB-1000 certainly works as advertised. But I was already very familiar with the sound coming from my monitors (ATC SCM 12 Pro) and class D amplifier--and that's not the sound I got from the output of the SB-1000's crossover. It sounded grainy, rough, degraded to some extent. When I put the electronic crossover in line (not using the output of the sub), the sound snapped back into focus: all there, just what I expected.

Matching a sub (or subs) to speakers/monitors is a pretty deep topic, not appropriate for this thread. Let's just say that I had lucked out for years w/the very good-sounding crossover on the old NHT/8" sub; then the luck stopped w/the SB-1000. Other than the crossover sound, the SB-1000 walks all over the NHT, which was awfully good for an 8", but not in the same league.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Thanks. So you think you need a cross-over equalizer, with the SB-1000, to get good sound? What was the exact problem with the sound without the equalizer?

Pls see my reply to @Donut below. I should also say that I'm a long-time audiophile w/much experience w/large, high-quality 2-channel systems. For lifestyle reasons, all that went away in the early '90s, and by the late '90s, I had my home office set up and cooking w/the 1st 2.1 computer audio system. I steadily improved that system over the years, and IMO it has reached a very good balance between high resolution (the ATC monitors are quite resolving) and musicality (the ATCs + NOS DAC, powerful/good class D amp, and Violectric V281 as preamp).

All to say I could really hear the fact that the RCA output of the SB-1000 didn't sound nearly as good, as faithful to the real sound of my system, as had the output of a 10 year old 8" NHT sub. No idea why. These are passive crossovers, built at a price point and included for user convenience. I seriously doubt the mfr's "voice" these crossovers w/the care they voice the sub itself.

In actuality, very few reasonably priced subs have filtered outputs at all. That leaves most users to run the speakers/monitors full range along side the sub/subs. I've tried that, but to make it work, you need 2 full signal RCA outputs from the preamp (the sub has it's own variable high-pass filter that lops off frequencies above the crossover point). And using a simple 1 RCA pair in/2 RCA pairs out splitter is not an ideal way to do that...

As I said, crossovers & subs are a deep topic.

 

[nuraman00]

Yeah, I had one. I had it connected to an old surge protector that apparently no longer worked because a storm blew it & I never replaced it. I was really happy with it at the time, though it was my first time using a separate amp & DAC with headphones.

This is an interesting note. I'm not entirely positive I have the space for the SB-2000, so I might stick to the 1000. I've never messed with anything like external crossovers, though; it sounded like that was a necessity to get the sound lined up correctly. The crossover in the sub didn't work out?

What model Schitt DAC did you have?

What is the space difference between a SB-1000 vs. 2000? The dimensions look similar, only 1" bigger on each of LxWxH.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._piano_gloss_12_sealed_box_powered.html/specs

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sealed_box_powered_subwoofer_500w.html/specs

 

[Donut]

What model Schitt DAC did you have?

What is the space difference between a SB-1000 vs. 2000? The dimensions look similar, only 1" bigger on each of LxWxH.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._piano_gloss_12_sealed_box_powered.html/specs

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._sealed_box_powered_subwoofer_500w.html/specs

Modi. I had paired the Magni amp with the Modi DAC & created a little stack. It was fun. Kinda want to do it again, but I'm considering other options this time around [Liquid Spark looks like an interesting amp]. Again, keep in mind that it was my first experience with a standalone headphone amp & DAC.

The dimensions are similar, and the 2000 is 8 pounds heavier, but the grille on the 2000 juts out some and the space under my desk is kind of limited so every inch matters. If I'm being honest, I'm inclined to say "screw it" and get the 2000s. Depending on the speakers I wind up with, though, I might hold off a bit on the sub. Either way, the headphone dac/amp probably has to come first.

 

[Slogra]

I am also looking for one and my short listed are the Edifier R1850DB, R2000DB or S350DB.

Personally i find the high frequencies of the Edifier R1850DB lacking. Even if you open up the treble, there are hardly any high frequencies coming from the tweeters. I like clear and detailed sound, so there are not the ones for me.
The S350DB on the other hand has a clear sound with really fantastic highs. If you can place the sub on the floor then you gain a lot of space on your desk as the satellites are not that big at all. The bass is a bit hard to control though, sometimes too loud, sometimes a bit lacking. Also the sub and sats including tweeters do not have a protection cover, so be careful with them. And the cable are a bit short which will be a problem if you want to put the sub on the left side.
I have not heard the R2000DB. If it has better highs than R1850DB, then it might be a good option.

I have also heard the S1000DB. They have a interesting bassy but detailed sound. The sound is a bit restrained though, and seems to be coming from the behind the speakers. I would not call it a clear sound, although it is much better than the R1850DB.

IMHO . Just go listen to the speakers and judge for yourself.

 

[aisalen]

Personally i find the high frequencies of the Edifier R1850DB lacking. Even if you open up the treble, there are hardly any high frequencies coming from the tweeters. I like clear and detailed sound, so there are not the ones for me.
The S350DB on the other hand has a clear sound with really fantastic highs. If you can place the sub on the floor then you gain a lot of space on your desk as the satellites are not that big at all. The bass is a bit hard to control though, sometimes too loud, sometimes a bit lacking. Also the sub and sats including tweeters do not have a protection cover, so be careful with them. And the cable are a bit short which will be a problem if you want to put the sub on the left side.
I have not heard the R2000DB. If it has better highs than R1850DB, then it might be a good option.

I have also heard the S1000DB. They have a interesting bassy but detailed sound. The sound is a bit restrained though, and seems to be coming from the behind the speakers. I would not call it a clear sound, although it is much better than the R1850DB.

IMHO . Just go listen to the speakers and judge for yourself.

Thanks for the tip. Yes, I think the issue with S350DB is that there is no cover for protection though many of the review are positive on those.

 

[Slogra]

Actually, the tweeters do have protection. I've fixed that in my previous post.

 

[mariopepper]

Soundtouch is Bose and I don't believe those soundbars work well with PCs for audio compared to the other speakers mentioned in this thread.

Probably you are right because I have not used all of mentioned speakers.. only few of them. But I was pleased with soundtouch anyway. What exactly you decided to take?

 

[mwhals]

Probably you are right because I have not used all of mentioned speakers.. only few of them. But I was pleased with soundtouch anyway. What exactly you decided to take?

I haven’t bought anything yet since I have not been listening at the computer. I have been listening to my portable DAP on the couch.

 

[mariopepper]

I haven’t bought anything yet since I have not been listening at the computer. I have been listening to my portable DAP on the couch.

portable DAP is even better

 

[drparton21]

My speaker rig on my PC is an SMSL AD18 outputting two Elac F6.

I've been super happy with it. It also works decently as a headphone amp, though I prefer my Modi mutlibit -> JDS Atom chain.

 

[radosuaf]

Does anybody have any experience with Tascam VL-S3?
https://tascam.com/us/product/vl-s3/spec

 

[Shane D]

I am updating my last post from February. I love my Vanatoo T Zeroes, but as time went on, they were not impressing me. That is probably related to my binging on headphone gear in 2019. It was basically just from motherboard (bult-in sound card) to my DAC/AMP/speakers. It wasn't as clear as I was getting used to out in the living room.

So I bought a Topping D30 DAC and dedicated one of my headphone amps for the office. My wife had been complaining about no longer having a headphone option in the office since I dumped our 2.1 system and put in the Vanatoo's.

Anyway, WOW, does this sound great! It sounds like a real stereo now. Computer to D30 DAC to Burson Fun-Classic amp to Vanatoo T Zeroes. It is full and clear with any kind of music, Rock, pop, blues or horn jazz. Nothing is too bassy or too high. Working on the desktop or hunting for music is so much more fun now.

Shane D

PS: I need the sun to come out to get a decent pic: