New office bookshelf recco in 2.1 config

[nball]

Hi everyone! First off thanks for helping me build up my main 3.1 system. It's wonderful: Ascend Sierra towers + matching Sierra-1 NrT, Outlaw LFM1-EX, Onkyo NR709. I may upgrade to 5.1 in the future, but that's another post...

My new, permanent office needs a system.The speakers will rest on isolation pads on my sit/stand desktop, at <3' to each ear. The sub will be adjacent to my desk. The room is 15x14x10 with windows behind the desk/speakers and on the right. The entire room is wooden bookshelves. Many will be full of books but many won't be. Could be sonically challenged until the books repopulate...

My budget is <$2k, the lower the better, within reason. Probably want a sub unless the monitors are so great I can hold off on the sub for a year or two. I'm an Audyssey convert for sure and love the effect on bass management. MultiEQ preferred if its in budget, thus the refurb Onkyo.

I listen to music all day long, every day, and often late into the night. I alternate from speakers to headphones several times per day. Volumes vary from quite high to low. Music tends to be jazz, electronic, classical, opera, and hip hop. My music catalog is 8k tracks (none pirated, just saying) and I stream Spotify/Pandora/Grooveshark at max settings a lot. Also audiobooks, movies, video games, etc. Due to this I am sensitive to fatigue. Precise playback is nice and all but I really like a laid back sound with "bright enough" highs. I'm familiar with studio monitors of many price ranges due to music producer friends and not looking for that necessarily.

My hit list as a result of lurking here for years is as follows:

AVR
onkyo tx-nr525 $240 from ac4less

Speakers
emptek e41 $300
hsu hb-1 mk2 $320
ascend cbm-170 se $348
nht abso zero $440

Sub
hsu vtf-1 mk2 $420
svs pb-1000 $500
hsu VTF-2 MK4 $560

If you were in my boots, what say ye? Go nuts and skip sub for sierra's? Get a better sub and go with e41's? Something else entirely?

 

[shadyJ]

Given that you like electronic music and hip hop, I would not skip the sub. Hsu does not include shipping in their sub prices by the way, so they are a bit more expensive than that. From those I would go for the VTF2, that will be the most powerful and probably the cleanest.

As for the speakers, I think any of them will do well. I know the Ascend CBM and NHT speakers have a very flat response. The Hsu is a little bit laid back in the highs. I dunno about the EMP but I no way would I go for a speaker with a 4" woofer, especially since you say you like the occasional loudness. One thing to think about is you will get a response peak, probably in upper bass, if you place any of these speakers on a desk like you plan to do. In such setups, acoustic reflection from the desktop will end up giving you a peak. Instead of relying on equalization to smooth it out, I would raise the speaker off the desk. If you just can't do that, I would look at near-field monitors which have a response made for such reflections. One that sounds very nice is the Tannoy monitors, I would really consider something like this over regular bookshelf speakers. A lot of good things have been said about the Behringers Truth 3031 with the ribbons, I haven't heard one myself, but it has a lot of customisability with the bass to help tame near reflections. A lot of those type of speakers are nice, I would also look at Mackies, Emotivas, and JBL LSRs too. That Onkyo receiver has pre-outs, thankfully, so it would be a cinch to do active speakers.

 

[bikemig]

I have two office systems, one at work and one at home. If I were setting up a new one, I'd probably pick up the NHT super zero monitors and super 8 sub; NHT is having a sale so you can pick this up for $450. To drive it, I'd get the NAD D3020 integrated amp. Plus I'd pick up a good pair of headphones, probably the AKG 550s. One plus for the NHTs in a 2.1 system is that if you use the speaker level input, the output has a high pass output that is designed to integrate nicely with the super zero monitors. Also I find that smaller monitors do well in a near field set up that you are describing.

Also I wouldn't go to crazy with a sub if you are sitting right next to one as you describe. It can be difficult to blend a sub with your monitors and I find that sitting right next to one and it can easily overpower your monitors. If I had a burning need to spend $2k on a desktop system, I'd seriously consider the mini maggie 2.1 system, http://www.magnepan.com/model_mini_maggie. You'll need a pretty decent amp to drive these.


I like both my current systems but probably prefer the emotiva airmotiv 4s over the audioengine P-4s and energy ESW M-8 sub combo. The airmotivs image nicely and the sound quality is first rate. I'm using the audioengine D1 dac as a headphone amp/preamp/dac with that system and the entire system runs less than $500.

Edit: setting up a nearfield system for listening to all day (which I do as well) is a little different than setting up a 2.0 or 2.1 music system in a room. Smaller speakers that image well are really important; it can be tough, at least in my experience, to get good stereo separation with larger bookshelf speakers. YMMV.

 

[nball]

In terms of the desktop requirement I have a sit/stand arrangement where I move the workstation up and down during the day. I was planning to mitigate the muddiness with some IsoAcoustics doodads.

I will swing by Guitarcenter and demo some nearfields I can actually afford. The ones my buddies use are lightyears out of my price range.

The NHT mini's + sub is a very interesting idea too...

 

[Plexmulti9]

Hi everyone! First off thanks for helping me build up my main 3.1 system. It's wonderful: Ascend Sierra towers + matching Sierra-1 NrT, Outlaw LFM1-EX, Onkyo NR709. I may upgrade to 5.1 in the future, but that's another post...

My new, permanent office needs a system.The speakers will rest on isolation pads on my sit/stand desktop, at <3' to each ear. The sub will be adjacent to my desk. The room is 15x14x10 with windows behind the desk/speakers and on the right. The entire room is wooden bookshelves. Many will be full of books but many won't be. Could be sonically challenged until the books repopulate...

My budget is <$2k, the lower the better, within reason. Probably want a sub unless the monitors are so great I can hold off on the sub for a year or two. I'm an Audyssey convert for sure and love the effect on bass management. MultiEQ preferred if its in budget, thus the refurb Onkyo.

I listen to music all day long, every day, and often late into the night. I alternate from speakers to headphones several times per day. Volumes vary from quite high to low. Music tends to be jazz, electronic, classical, opera, and hip hop. My music catalog is 8k tracks (none pirated, just saying) and I stream Spotify/Pandora/Grooveshark at max settings a lot. Also audiobooks, movies, video games, etc. Due to this I am sensitive to fatigue. Precise playback is nice and all but I really like a laid back sound with "bright enough" highs. I'm familiar with studio monitors of many price ranges due to music producer friends and not looking for that necessarily.

My hit list as a result of lurking here for years is as follows:

AVR
onkyo tx-nr525 $240 from ac4less

Speakers
emptek e41 $300
hsu hb-1 mk2 $320
ascend cbm-170 se $348
nht abso zero $440

Sub
hsu vtf-1 mk2 $420
svs pb-1000 $500
hsu VTF-2 MK4 $560

If you were in my boots, what say ye? Go nuts and skip sub for sierra's? Get a better sub and go with e41's? Something else entirely?

These would be killer: Digital Hi-Fi Speakers - X Series - X300A
But no sub output if you need extreme bass. I think they are down around $600 a pair right now on special from KEF down from $800? They sound spectacular and are a derivative model of the LS50. Amplification is built in so you just need USB or a mini-jack.

These are also special speakers with a few more features, but a higher cost: Multimedia Products | ADAM Audio GmbH

For the money, I think the KEF system is going to be tough to beat, especially with the amplification built into them.

 

[Hookedonc4]

Checkout this desktop setup. You will have to click on picture.
James Loudspeaker - Product - Electronics - Amplifiers - A2.1 - A2.1 Amp

 

[nball]

Now I'm digging into the true differences between monitors (near field, powered) vs. "hifi" bookshelf speakers. For my purposes accuracy is less important than ease of listening and decent off axis response. I'm not mixing down multichannel tracks here, I just really love music at almost every volume level. I'm parked at the sweet spot for most of the day (as long as it goes up and down with the desk!) yet I want them to sound decent enough for jazz and scotch at the fireplace.

I'm also fine with getting a sub later. The key here is to get the bones right so I can go up from there as needed.

Thanks for the advice as always everyone. Audioholics rule.

 

[nball]

Checkout this desktop setup. You will have to click on picture.
James Loudspeaker - Product - Electronics - Amplifiers - A2.1 - A2.1 Amp

I did not see a desktop set up but that amp looks great. How does one price James gear? It's a "trade" retailer no?

 

[nball]

X300A's are such a great idea, why did they skip the sub?

 

[bikemig]

TEAC H01.3-B Digital Streaming Micro System Black | Accessories4less

or

FOCAL XS 2.1 Desktop Multimedia System Sound System & iPod Dock | Accessories4less

 

[psbfan9]

My new, permanent office needs a system.The speakers will rest on isolation pads on my sit/stand desktop, at <3' to each ear. The sub will be adjacent to my desk. The room is 15x14x10 with windows behind the desk/speakers and on the right. The entire room is wooden bookshelves. Many will be full of books but many won't be. Could be sonically challenged until the books repopulate...

I'm a bit confused by this . Are the speakers going to be placed on stands, or in the 'cubbys' of the bookshelf? If you are going to place the speakers in a bookshelf 'cubby' you are going to want front ported or horn type speakers.

With your musical tastes and budget I have a suggestion that would work well.

Nate's Audio T5, $895 a pair;

Nate's Audio

 

[zieglj01]

With your musical tastes and budget I have a suggestion that would work well.

Nate's Audio T5, $895 a pair;
Nate's Audio

The looks good - and they use SB Acoustics drivers.

OP, I would check that one out

 

[nball]

I'm a bit confused by this . Are the speakers going to be placed on stands, or in the 'cubbys' of the bookshelf? If you are going to place the speakers in a bookshelf 'cubby' you are going to want front ported or horn type speakers.

Haha sorry I was mixing my messages. The speakers will rest upon Auralex pads or Iso stands upon a large desktop surface, flanking a 30" monitor. The surrounding walls are all built in wooden bookshelves.

 

[bikemig]

So I just picked up a refurbished idecco directly from peachtree; it's a good looking integrated amp/dac/headphone amp for a small desktop system. It even has variable outs for a sub and an analog input as well as 3 digital inputs and a digital ipod dock:

iDecco - Refurbished | Peachtree Audio

 

[nball]

I just sent an email to Philharmonic about their el cheapo monitors and the Philharmonitors. I realize I'm all over the place here, bear with me:

• Speakers rest on desktop, preferably <25# each.
• Sub likely Hsu STF-2 to make room in budget for better speakers.
• Budget is lower in short term. I don't want to save money just to spend it later, preferring foundation components over "get it done"
• Low-to-mid end AVR or stereo receiver as power unless going active, then basic DAC good enough

Targets are now "el cheapos" to compete with any of the following:
• CBM-170SE
• NHT Absolute Zero
• Sierra-1 (non NrT)
• Philharmonitor

 

[Hookedonc4]

I did not see a desktop set up but that amp looks great. How does one price James gear? It's a "trade" retailer no?

Click on link and desktop picture on right. Look under amp picture there is more pics...

 

[zieglj01]

I just sent an email to Philharmonic about their el cheapo monitors.

Targets are now "el cheapos" to compete with any of the following:
• CBM-170SE
• NHT Absolute Zero
• Sierra-1 (non NrT)
• Philharmonitor

The el-cheapo AAL Monitors are cheap in price only - you can listen to them day and night,
they have nice detail and definition - and will not slap your ears - and can play your type
of various music - they have nice bass, and can/will easily cross over to something like the
HSU STF-2 subwoofer. They do favor an NHT type sound signature.

You have some nice options on your list

 

[nball]

Click on link and desktop picture on right. Look under amp picture there is more pics...

Jeebus. When people ask me how I make websites for a living, this is why. If they want a real website I can barter for their badass wares... a wink is as good as a nudge to a blind bat, right?

 

[nball]

I missed the boat on Phil's monitors. Dayam. Sub will be PB-1000.

Updated hit list:

Wavecrest HVL-1
Airmotiv 4Adam A3X
JBL LSR305
PSB Image B5

 

[bikemig]

I just changed my 2.1 office system which is in my sig line. I've been really happy the PSB imagine minis. They don't eat up too much desk space and the image really nicely in a near field set up. Also for small speakers they go down enough so that I can cross them over at 80 hz. They're nicely detailed. I like how you can hear the individual instruments and how they decay. Plus they look beautiful. I like the refurb peachtree idecco I picked up. Plenty of power esp. for a nearfield set up. It does a nice job of isolating any computer noise. It also can be configured in a variety of ways since it has a RCA input, 3 digital inputs, and both fixed and variable outputs. The headphone amp is no slouch either.

How small can a high-end speaker be? - CNET

iDecco - Refurbished | Peachtree Audio