$300-$600 to upgrade my computer speakers...help please!

S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Good choice on the monitors, but those mopads are just overpriced pieces of foam. Get any block of polyurethane foam and cut it to the right size, it'll do the same thing or better. In my opinion neither is likely to be useful unless your desktop is really flimsy and is prone to rattling. I would consider this bundle a better value for the same price, it has cables and stands. The sub I would get if I only had $200 is either one of these or two of these. The BIC would probably have deeper bass, but the Daytons will give you less localized bass depending on where you place them, and better room coverage. Neither option is going to get you really deep bass or a flat frequency response, but I don't think anything your price range will.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
The monitors will have to be around 6"W x 8"D.
The KRK you linked are 9" wide. They are 11.5" deep and you will need 2-3" more for power and signal cables.
 
B

bikemig

Audioholic Chief
Or you could always go for a deal. You can pick up the audioengine p-4 speakers in white from Vanns open box for $156: Audioengine AP4 2-way passive bookshelf speakers | Vanns.com.

They're the right size and they're front ported. Plus they sound pretty good. I've had mine for over a year and they are good speakers.

You will need an amp and you said you wanted a dac.

So you could pick this nuforce icon-2 refurbished for $226 which is an amp (it does 30 watts into 4 ohms and 18 into 8 which is plenty for those speakers in a nearfield set up), dac, and headphone amp: NuForce Icon-2 [Refurbished] - Nuforce Outlet Store Store

That gives you an amp, a dac, and a headphone amp for $400 and it will eat up very little space on your desk.
 
T

Trace79

Enthusiast
I just got back from guitar center and what a fun trip. I was able to test out Yamaha, the KRK Rokit - both the 5's and 6's, Mackie, and Tannoy, and like one or two more. The Tannoy's stole the show. You guys were right, wattage isn't accurate in determining how loud a speaker can play. For some reason the the Rokit 6's sounded terrible compared to the Yamaha, Mackie, and Tannoy. I made sure the volume levels and all the speakers were set at 50% to not be mislead. Yamaha sounded great but hardly any low-end. Mackies were okay, but like I said the Tannoy was night and day better. So, I picked up a pair of Tannoy Reveal 501A at $179 a piece and a Audiobox usb external soundcard.

I just unboxed them, installed the audiobox and am rocking out right now. They're perfect size for my desk on opposite ends of my monitor and sound incredible. I'm already hearing new sounds i've never heard before in my music. And man are the LOUD! Way louder than my old Z-5500 but not as much on the bass for obvious reasons. But even with out a sub, these things deliver some nice bass on their own. I'll still be picking up a sub later so I can bring these walls down :).

@ShadyJ - That sub you linked is just too big for my small space. I'd have to put it under my desk where my chair goes since it wont fit under my bed and I won't have any leg room left lol.

Since you said I won't get much out of a sub below $200 then I'll just wait a bit and get a $300 one later on...any suggestions?

By the way, thanks again to all for the help. You guys are awesome!!:D
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Tannoy and Event make some nice speakers in the active
and the passive, studio monitor area. Enjoy.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
So, I picked up a pair of Tannoy Reveal 501A at $179 a piece
Congrats! Nothing like getting home a new toy :D. They have all positive reviews.

Fyi, Amazon has them for $153 shipped. See if you can go back and get a price match refund or a store credit for the difference.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
@ShadyJ - That sub you linked is just too big for my small space. I'd have to put it under my desk where my chair goes since it wont fit under my bed and I won't have any leg room left lol.

Since you said I won't get much out of a sub below $200 then I'll just wait a bit and get a $300 one later on...any suggestions?

By the way, thanks again to all for the help. You guys are awesome!!:D
Glad to hear you got the best speakers for you. As for the sub, can you handle this sized sub: the Hsu STF1. It won't quite have the output of the others, but I would expect it to have a flatter frequency response and better distortion profile. Hsu is a highly regarded subwoofer manufacturer. There is also this Outlaw M8.
 
T

Trace79

Enthusiast
The KRK you linked are 9" wide. They are 11.5" deep and you will need 2-3" more for power and signal cables.
True. But I also had two 24" monitors side by side and one just took a dive last week. I was going to replace it but decided to keep only one and make room for larger studio monitors...glad I did too! Music is soooo much more important than my laziness in minimizing windows lol!:rolleyes:

Glad to hear you got the best speakers for you. As for the sub, can you handle this sized sub: the Hsu STF1. It won't quite have the output of the others, but I would expect it to have a flatter frequency response and better distortion profile. Hsu is a highly regarded subwoofer manufacturer. There is also this Outlaw M8.
Yes, I can handle the size of both of those. The M8 has only an 8" driver so I was actually curious of how a good 8" can perform vs say a lesser quality 10-12" driver. Please inform me if a solid 8" can deliver.

After listening to these Tannoy's for a few hours - they are so amazing - I wouldn't dream of pairing them with a lesser sub with crappy bass...so disrespectful to the music :mad:. I'm not rich at all but I spend where it counts and I can tell the ONLY thing these 501a's need is a solid sub to go with them. They have bass on their own, but like someone said earlier, a 5" driver just can't deliver deep accurate bass...physics.

I think I will try and bring my budget for a subwoofer up to $400 max. I already spent almost $600 today with the Tannoy's, the Audiobox usb, tax, and $50 in Guitar Center's awesome 2-year warranty. So a $400 sub will take me $400/66% over my original budget lol...oh well. Sound is amazing and well worth every penny...I can only imagine the eargasms the rich can afford :eek:

So, after everyone's help, I feel I should try and give back what I can in my review of the Tannoy 501a.

First of they are LOUD!!! Now, when I say loud, I mean deafening levels of volume!! 20W to each tweeter and 40W to each driver doesn't sound like much but omg! I've already noticed my hearing is lessened by these things. I have each speaker's volume level set at 75% and on my mixer's interface the volume only has to hit 50% for me to NEED to cover my ears sitting in front of them, during certain piercing highs like in Benny Benassi's "Inside of me," on YouTube...I've never had to do that before in my life!!! When I turn the interface volume to 60-65% i need to step back and to the side of the speakers...seriously! [Btw, just so you have an idea of my tolerance to noise - I'm 33 y/o, in the military and am well accustomed to big bang's, gun shots, and airplane engines screaming in your ears as you jump out into the wind with a parachute on your back...I've already been documented with slight hearing loss...these Tannoy's aren't helping lol :D

The highs are super clear, mids are great...as expected of both. Bass is there to an extent - or as best as a 5" driver can produce I imagine - but would benefit from a sub like I've said before. One thing I've noticed with baritone voices at high volumes (75% volume on speakers/50% on interface,) combined with heavy bass output, is that the voice can flutter at times (if that is the appropriate word,) vibrating in and out with the bass. To me it's the physics of the mid and low-end coming from the same 5" driver; and when that driver is fluttering back and forth a million miles an hour it is understandable that the mids will get distorted. However, at those volumes, they are so loud that it is not a flaw in my eyes. Btw, it's AWESOME, to watch these things perform! Those drivers go in and out so fast and so far I can't believe how such amazing sound is produced with all that commotion.

Unlike many other studio monitors, the Tannoy 501a only have a high-end control on the back; from +1.5 db, 0db, -1.5db. There is no fluctuation of the mid/low end on this speaker. I wish there was because when I get a bad-*** sub, I'll want to short the low-end on these so they can focus on the mid range.
***Side note: If anyone can help me do this when I get a sub it will be much appreciated. I'm sure there will be an expensive piece of equipment needed though.

Placement: I have them in-between my 24" monitor like I stated earlier. They are approximately 27" apart and even at that close proximity have noticeable left to right fluctuation in studio recordings. At my desk, I'm sitting about 24" from both...too close I know and have thought of a solution to gain some spacing; I'm going to buy a 2"x8" piece of plywood about 60" long to sit on my desk and expand my listening space.

I love these damn things period! They are by far the BEST speakers I've ever owned in sound quality, as well as, volume output. I kind of wish the Tannoy 601a were available at Guitar Center today for me to test out...I'm sure I would have picked them up instead; and not because I need the volume, just out of the possibility of opening up the low-end a bit...oh well, that is what subs are for!:cool:. I'm also pondering what a second set of these 501a's would do sitting side by side lol. Two lefts and two rights of 501a's lol...I'm starting to fall in dreamland here :).

I wish Guitar Center had the Behringers, Audioengine a5+, and Emotiva's Airmotiv5's for me to listen to and compare...:(

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend these speakers...They're sick! Wan't to lose your hearing and blame the military and get paid disability...they'll do the job!:p. Want to hear new strokes of the guitar, hidden vocals and instruments, these will help pick them up. The 60,000 songs on my hard drive just became worth listening to all over again!

The only thing I love about Logitech right now is their return policy because those Z-5500's got me two years of use totally free with their 100% return policy :)...they died literally two weeks before the warranty expired lol!!!:D
 
Last edited:
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I wouldn't be pressing those Tannoy's too hard, they do have a limit and they can break. Loud is fine but I wouldn't take them to their maximum volume.

An 8" can get loud -kind of- but it can not get deep. These subs won't be doing much below the low 30 hz range. Their woofer size also means they have to work hard to get to the same loudness as a larger cone. At $400, you have a few more options. The Hsu STF2 is widely recommended at that price range, its a good sub, I used to have one myself, but it isn't an output monster. It is also a bit larger than what you might be able to handle. Right now the EMP Tek ES1010i is on sale for 300, that is a great discount, its kind of a big sub, but it is tall, not wide, so maybe it can fit for you. I can't think of any other sub in that price range that will fit or have good bass. One deal that is running right now which is excellent is the Outlaw LFM-1 Plus, it is way waaay too large, it is well over your budget, but it will get loud, deep, and stay clean. Figure out a way to fit it in your room somewhere, and make the stretch over your budget, because this is probably the kind of bass you are hoping for.
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top