PC Speakers

[G-rig]

The new ones are much better but for music still not as good as a good model Marantz or CA I suppose. I'm guessing none of them would be as good sound as a dedicated 2CH or headphone amp.

[Marcus]

Oh I don't care about the headphone stage in it, but yeah my Cambridge 640R sounds better than my Integra, and the Integra cost nearly twice as much. Plus... RELAYS CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK

[G-rig]

Agree these days you are probably paying for features more than for outright sound quality. Also as you know one amp isn't the best at everything so maybe you would still need to use a pre-amp for music.

[mrfloopy]

Cool, was wondering if it would be enough extra power if i got the M-Audio 24/96 card which isn't amped at all then run some headphones through the headphone jack on the speakers.

Just in case you were still thinking about this approach (headphone out of Edirol MA-15D or the Behringer "homages" to the Edirols), I've got Behringer MS20s and the headphone out is utterly utterly horrible.

[Marcus]

Agree these days you are probably paying for features more than for outright sound quality. Also as you know one amp isn't the best at everything so maybe you would still need to use a pre-amp for music.

Yeah but in a receiver I don't just want the biggest list of features and numbers. I want one that sounds good, is easy to use and has features that I need or genuinely make a difference. My Cambridge sounded great and was easy to use, but doesn't have HDMI inputs (and some other stuff I need that I can't remember right now) and I think it developed a fault, which is why I got the Integra, but now it seems the Cambridge didn't have a fault after all, or it's intermittent... argh troubleshooting and furthermore despite the Integra having some really nice features, it just doesn't sound as good and isn't as nice to use (did I mention the CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK ?).

You know the thing is I really hate researching hifi gear now. It's what I do all day with headphones and I know the proper answer is to go out and listen to them until I find one I like, but ehhh, then I have to find parking and limp my way around between hifi stores, which we're running out of here in Perth (JB hifi etc doesn't count) but they're still far enough apart for it to be a drag.

Ok I'm rambling. Long story short : it's hard for me to get around, I'm not going to buy magazines, and I don't like reading online reviews for this kind of stuff, so I've put it low in my priority list

The speakers were easy. I walked in, said "show me your powered monitor speakers" they did, I picked the ones I liked (after being assured I could bring them back to exchange them if I wasn't happy) and that was that, really. I had a budget of "eeh, I don't want to spend $2k if I can get away with it, but that depends on how good something is for however more". I couldn't be happier with them - a very nice feeling when it comes to hifi equipment!

[G-rig]

I know what you mean Marcus, researching anything is a chore luckily it's fairly easy on this site and all the recommendations are spot on so can't really go wrong. I'm not usually interested in all the latest features but sold my old Sony receiver as it also didn't have HDMI or any delay control and I had an audio sync problem (HDMI to the TV and Optical to the receiver). The Yammy also has quite good network streaming and Digital radio features, better than the Denon 3311 which i was also researching (was troublesome). 140W x 7 is still good too, but I am still skeptical as I listened to the RX-A2000 but don't think it was set up properly (one front speaker wasn't even plugged in for a start). I am thinking, sure it's loud but that is a small part of it and though my own speakers sounded a lot better (not sure what they had but i wasn't blown away or even impressed).

Edit: I also haven't heard a bad thing about the new Avantage amps from Yamaha, but that's if you believe internet reviews/forums.

[G-rig]

I love my Yamaha HS80Ms, really I do

Too bad my PC room won't have enough space for rear ported speakers =(

I don't think my desk is big enough for HS80M either, but the 5" version could be ok (HS50M). However I assume you'd need the HS10W sub to go with them.

Just in case you were still thinking about this approach (headphone out of Edirol MA-15D or the Behringer "homages" to the Edirols), I've got Behringer MS20s and the headphone out is utterly utterly horrible.

Thanks for the heads up.

The AudioEngine A2's seem like a good size for my room, just wanted to check that they aren't too bass heavy, as they do have a midrange bass hump to make up for the smaller drivers. They still seem like a good choice for $200. Also wondering if they are good enough to notice the difference when using with a DAC.

See post here http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/359601/audioengine-a2-or-a5/15#post_4722851

[flognuts]

the swan MKiii are imo the best desktop speakers under $1000 and you can get them for around $400

They are like the MSPros of desktop speakers, they are really quite ridiculous.

http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=401

[Marcus]

Yeah those Swann speakers have been around quite a while and always talked about with praise. You couldn't get them here easily 5 years ago.

[G-rig]

I was keen on the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's for $299 but as soon as you start researching bookshelf speakers it starts going up from there to $1000+. Apparently they would be a bit harsh/fatiguing.

[G-rig]

I love my Yamaha HS80Ms, really I do

Too bad my PC room won't have enough space for rear ported speakers =(

I had a look at these in Allan's music, they are way too big for my desk but sound pretty good, much clearer than smaller models of various brands. Could always move the desk out from the wall and get stands for them but they are not on the top of my list. 15% off though.

[Riverback]

This has been bothering me for a while so I thought I'd ask here.

Is there a science between front ported and rear ported speakers?
Like how rear ported speakers should have 2-3 feet of clearance against a wall in order to get better sound?

[G-rig]

Yeah I don't think you can have rear ported speakers up against the wall, you'd want 6-12 inches from what I gather, but could be a small sacrifice if they are going into a bigger room later.

[Riverback]

Yeah I don't think you can have rear ported speakers up against the wall, you'd want 6-12 inches from what I gather, but could be a small sacrifice if they are going into a bigger room later.

Well that crosses the Swan D1080MKII08 and the M-Audio BX5a's from my speaker choices.

I guess I'll have to go with the Audioengine A2's unless LSK Aaron decides to come back from being missing.

Goddamnit Aaron.

[G-rig]

They had some KRK monitors there that are front ported. They were a bit more muffled but probably not bad, it's just the Yamaha HS80Ms sounded a fair bit better.