A music system for my office

[grantg55]

Hello,

I have on hand but not in use:
Pioneer Elite VSX-82TXS receiver
B&W HTM62 center speaker
JBL Venue 10" Sub

I listen to music all day in my office out of small desktop speakers, and I'd love to add a great system. My computer has an optical port which I plan to use for higher quality. My budget is $600.

Any recommendations?

-Grant

 

[JerryLove]

I've got a set of B&W LM1's which sound terrific. Paired with a small Dayton Amp and I think you'll have a lot for a little (if you want to add a sub, the suggestion changes a bit).

Go listen to small $100-$400 bookshelves. Pioneer, Infinity, B&W, Hsu.

My office I run a pair of PSB 400i ($400 a decade ago, got for $60 on craigslist) and a B&W 12" sub ($120 on craigs) off an old Sony 5.1 AVR.

 

[zieglj01]

Look at Focal 705V, and it is $100 off here
Dedicated Audio - Focal Chorus 705V Loudspeaker -- Amati

They are really nice with music

 

[ImcLoud]

Sell all that stuff except the sub {that center will sell on ebay for around $300}

audioengine d1 dac
emotiva mini x on sale rite now
pair of ascend acoustics 200se's
and use the sub you have

 

[macddmac]

How large is the office in cubic feet?
stereo or 5.1?
You may be able to use the sub and pioneer adding a new pair of mains to them.
Not much info out there on the jbl.. Looks like it will do the job for the time being as long as the room is not too large
Cheers, Mac

 

[grantg55]

How large is the office in cubic feet?
stereo or 5.1?
You may be able to use the sub and pioneer adding a new pair of mains to them.

About 2000 cubic feet. It's just for music, so I'm thinking stereo???

audioengine d1 dac
emotiva mini x on sale rite now
pair of ascend acoustics 200se's
and use the sub you have

What about just getting the 200se's and running them off the pioneer and using my existing sub?

 

[zieglj01]

If your going to sell anything - then put the sub first on the list to go.
It is an entry level machine, with a performace character better suited
for home theater than music.

 

[bikemig]

Grant, like you I listen to music all day in my office as well. You'll have fun setting up a great music system for your office.

Personally I'd go with a pair of powered speakers in an office set up because they take up less real estate. The fewer boxes the better in an office the better. But you may want to build a system around your AV receiver. That way, you don't need to buy a dac and you can put all your money into a pair of speakers. I'm a big fan of PSB speakers and I'd probably go with the PSB B-4s for an office set-up. Those only run around $330 and you'd have plenty of money left over for a great pair of headphones.

Assuming you want to go with powered speakers, I'd recommend the audioengine D-1 dac and A5+ speakers. That will run you around $600. I'm currently using the A5+ speakers in my office. They sound great and they're pretty forgiving in terms of placement. The D-1 dac has a headphone amp which is useful.

If, however, you were thinking of going with a nearfield set up, then the A5+ would not be your best bet. They don't image all that well when you are sitting too close to them. If you want a nearfield set up, I'd go with the airmotiv 4 speakers and D-1 dac.

 

[grantg55]

I'd go with a pair of powered speakers in an office set up because they take up less real estate.

Honestly, I don't mind how much space they take up. I'd even do towers.

Also, I was thinking of building around the Pioneer Elite to, like you said, put all my money in speakers.

If, however, you were thinking of going with a nearfield set up

And this is why I came to the beginner section! Have not taken this into account! I sit about 4' away from my speakers - does that constitute "nearfield"?

Thanks for all the help!

The list so far:
Focal Chorus 705/6v
Ascend HTM-200 SE
A5+
airmotiv 4

 

[ImcLoud]

About 2000 cubic feet. It's just for music, so I'm thinking stereo???



What about just getting the 200se's and running them off the pioneer and using my existing sub?

Thats a good sized office, {like 15x17x8?}, I was picturing home office at 10x10x8 which is less than half that size... so.

I would get rid of that sub and get something sealed and decent quality {minimum 150w 10"}... Wharfedale Powercube PC 12DX Subwoofer Powered Sub in Light Maple | eBay
Next would be bookshelfs this is all on what you like, tons of choices...

and an amp, I wouldnt use your avr the mini x is on sale and will do a much better job with out getting to confusing and taking up a ton of room.. another good option is the apa150 from dayton for $128 also on sale rite now...

as far as a dac goes, the d1 is innexpensive simple to setup and sounds awesome...

 

[bikemig]

Honestly, I don't mind how much space they take up. I'd even do towers.

Also, I was thinking of building around the Pioneer Elite to, like you said, put all my money in speakers.



And this is why I came to the beginner section! Have not taken this into account! I sit about 4' away from my speakers - does that constitute "nearfield"?

Thanks for all the help!

The list so far:
Focal Chorus 705/6v
Ascend HTM-200 SE
A5+
airmotiv 4

Well if you are going to use your AV receiver, you can take the powered speakers (the A5+ and the airmoviv 4) off your list. Also you can take the dac off your list.

You then have 2 basic design choices that you need to think about. The first is how are you going to connect your computer to your AV receiver. One option is to connect the computer directly to the AV receiver (assuming you're room configuration will allow this) via a digital input and rely on the dacs in the AV receiver. I have set up music systems in 2 offices (one at home, the other at work) and I've relied on a direct connection in both. That may be a bit of a problem for you because that AV receiver is pretty big and it you may not want it too close to your computer. So you could go for wireless connection but you probably want to start a separate thread on that.

The second design choice is whether you go for a nearfield set-up (where the speakers are set up on either side of your computer and so the sweet spot is where you sit and work) or not (you could just set up the speakers so there is good sound throughout the whole room). One advantage of a nearfield set up is that it is dead easy and removes many of the variables of room acoustics. I am using the audioengine P-4 speakers in a nearfield set up and I can recommend them. The do better near a boundary and since they are front ported, they are forgiving in terms of placement.

Personally with a room that size and your budget, I would just get a first rate set of bookshelf speakers and find a good place to set them up. They will not be as forgiving, though, in terms of room placement. I'm a PSB fan and I would take a hard look at the PSB Image B6 bookshelf speakers that run close to your $600 budget. You may find that you don't need or want a sub for music with a good pair of bookshelf speakers. My dedicated 2 channel system uses bookshelf speakers without a sub and I'm pretty darn happy with the results.

 

[grantg55]

The second design choice is whether you go for a nearfield set-up (where the speakers are set up on either side of your computer and so the sweet spot is where you sit and work) or not (you could just set up the speakers so there is good sound throughout the whole room).

I would rather have good sound throughout the room. I broke out the tape measure and it's:
13X11X10.5=1500 ft^3

So, I'm at three possible setups:

1) Pioneer elite (connected to my computer's optical port) and some speakers (HTM 200 SE's, Focal Chorus 705/6v's, or PSB Image B6)

2)ImcLoud's setup - D1 DAC, Mini X, and HTM 200 SE's, 705/6v's, or PSB Image B6

I'd use my existing sub and look to upgrade in the future.

Thanks for the input so far! I'm new to this and I really want to do the best with what I have.

 

[zieglj01]

I would rather have good sound throughout the room. I broke out the tape measure and it's:
13X11X10.5=1500 ft^3

So, I'm at three possible setups:

1) Pioneer elite (connected to my computer's optical port) and some speakers (HTM 200 SE's, Focal Chorus 705/6v's, or PSB Image B6)

2)ImcLoud's setup - D1 DAC, Mini X, and HTM 200 SE's, 705/6v's, or PSB Image B6

I'd use my existing sub and look to upgrade in the future.

Thanks for the input so far! I'm new to this and I really want to do the best with what I have.

The set-up or speaker choice is up to you - however, something like
the Focal 706V can do well by itself, till you settle on a sub or not.

The Pioneer receiver is a good option to use.

 

[j_garcia]

If you have room to keep the pioneer, I'd keep it just because you have it already, so the funds can be put toward the speakers. I agree, just keep that sub for now, upgrade it later. You could still do the DAC and put the rest toward the speakers. For a room that size plus the sub, you won't need something crazy speaker wise, so go with a solid bookshelf.

I haven't heard the new HTM200s, but I've heard the CMB170SE and like them a lot, and Ascends are a good choice in my book.

 

[bikemig]

I wouldn't get a separate dac if you are using the AV receiver; you can save yourself some money and let the receiver do the D to A work.

Depending on your room configuration, you might want to consider streaming your music wirelessly. It's not that hard to do and this allows you to untether your music system from your computer.

 

[grantg55]

I wouldn't get a separate dac if you are using the AV receiver; you can save yourself some money and let the receiver do the D to A work.

Depending on your room configuration, you might want to consider streaming your music wirelessly. It's not that hard to do and this allows you to untether your music system from your computer.

I'll start with wired, but cool suggestion!

I have a question. I can't help but love the look of these CMT-340's. I measured and they would be the same height of my screens. They'd flank my dual 23" monitors perfectly. I figure that instead of trying to get speakers that don't take up too much room and hide on my desk, why not outright feature them? How would they do for my setup?

Thanks,
Grant

 

[j_garcia]

The 340s are very good speakers. I didn't recommend them due to size for a desktop, but if you don't care about size, I say probably. I only say probably because they are large and may not be ideal for near-field listening. You could probably get away with the CBM-170SEs just as easily in a near-field setup.

I only suggested still getting the D1 DAC simply because it is known to be a quality DAC, but it isn't 100% necessary.

 

[fuzz092888]

My computer setup is in the living room (since there are no other rooms besides the bedroom kitchen and bathroom) so my computer setup is in about the same size space as your room. For nearfield listening powered monitors may be a good way to go to save space and hassle if nothing else. You can even plug a headphone jack to RCA direct from the computer into a pair of powered speakers like the emotiva airmotivs for example.

If you choose to go the way of an amp, I'd highly recommend SMSL on ebay. They ship direct from china and you'll pay a heck of a lot less for a lot more amp than the small daytons.

For passive speakers, my preference is the Emp Tek E41Bs. The E41B's are sold out, but emp still sells the E41's which should sound very similar. They're cheap, but the stack up against much more expensive bookshelves IMO. They're great for nearfield and come with port plugs specifically for near field listening.

There are a ton of good speakers out there for desktop so odds are you'll end up loving what you get.

I'll also mention, that while the size of the room is important for bass, you don't need a rated large or whatever sized sub. You're listening near field, odds are the sub will be extremely close to you and you're not trying to pressurize the whole room with room shaking bass. Unless you like dub step, rap, or techno music at head rattling volumes while you work don't over spend on the sub. Get something capable, small, and don't break the bank.

Cheers.

 

[macddmac]

My computer setup is in the living room (since there are no other rooms besides the bedroom kitchen and bathroom) so my computer setup is in about the same size space as your room. For nearfield listening powered monitors may be a good way to go to save space and hassle if nothing else. You can even plug a headphone jack to RCA direct from the computer into a pair of powered speakers like the emotiva airmotivs for example.

If you choose to go the way of an amp, I'd highly recommend SMSL on ebay. They ship direct from china and you'll pay a heck of a lot less for a lot more amp than the small daytons.

For passive speakers, my preference is the Emp Tek E41Bs. The E41B's are sold out, but emp still sells the E41's which should sound very similar. They're cheap, but the stack up against much more expensive bookshelves IMO. They're great for nearfield and come with port plugs specifically for near field listening.

There are a ton of good speakers out there for desktop so odds are you'll end up loving what you get.

I'll also mention, that while the size of the room is important for bass, you don't need a rated large or whatever sized sub. You're listening near field, odds are the sub will be extremely close to you and you're not trying to pressurize the whole room with room shaking bass. Unless you like dub step, rap, or techno music at head rattling volumes while you work don't over spend on the sub. Get something capable, small, and don't break the bank.

Cheers.

I'm with Fuzz on the E 41's . I too have them with a 10 inch sub in my slightly smaller than your office.. And I'm running that setup off a 20 wpc amp now.
Plug the ports if you're near the wall or let'em breathe on stands..outstanding little monitor!!

 

[JerryEdison001]

That sounds good