Getting new speakers, newb

[byteninja2]

So, I need new speakers.I am a newb at speakers, but I have done some research. I am rocking some Altec Lansing Cheapos, so nearly anything will be a upgrade.$600 budget including subwoofer, speakers (of course), and a reciver for my PC.I am not a audiophile, but I love listening to music, and cranking the bass up, but I dont need it to shake the house. I listen to a lot of stuff, but no heavy rock, rap, metal, dubstep, etc. I was looking at the Swan M200MkIII, but I would need to hold out on the sub, and I think they are overkill for a non-audiophile.I was also looking at the Axiom Audiobyte's, which include everything, but the bass only really kicks in at high volumes, so I say no on those.

 

[FirstReflection]

Hey there

What's your setup here?

Are you looking for just 2 speakers plus a subwoofer, or are you looking for a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup?

How close will you be sitting to your speakers? Are these going on a computer desk right in front of you? Or are you sitting farther back and using this as more of a home theater system?

And how many different sources do you want to be able to use with this sound system? Is it only your PC? Or do you also want to connect a game console, television DVR, Blu-ray player, Roku, etc?

Once we have a better idea of what you're looking to purchase, we'll be better able to recommend some products to you

 

[byteninja2]

They will be on my desk, around a yard away, or less.Only my computer will be connected to them.I want a 2.1 setup, but a 2.0 setup from a brand, then a Sub.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If you do have place for receiver go with Ac4l's refub Denon 1712 and Get these speakers:
CBM-170 SE High Performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker

or for a bit less:
HTM-200 SE Home Theater Monitor

 

[byteninja2]

Those are $300+ though, so unless their is a good $100 sub, I dont think I want those. So may choices!

 

[zieglj01]

I would look at the Definitive Tech SM-350 > the clearance
price is hard to over-look. They do sound nice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882325059

This sub goes on sale a lot > and may be on sale again this week-end.
It tends to go on sale for under $200
Energy S10.3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269026

If you want to go with-out a sub for a while, then look at the
Definitive SM-450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882325060

If you want a slim profile receiver - then check out Marantz
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARNR1402/MARANTZ-NR1402-Slimline-5.1ch-AV-Receiver-w/HDMI-3D-ready/1.html

However the Denon 1612 and 1712, will give you more power

 

[FirstReflection]

We need to sort out your signal path before you decide on speakers and a subwoofer.

What type of connection will you be using to get the audio out of your computer?

If you are just using the analogue line out, all you need are a pair of self-powered speakers and a self-powered subwoofer. Of course, if you are using an analogue line out connection from your computer, you are at the mercy of your computer's soundcard or integrated audio. Lots of those are pretty noisy and have pretty low quality DACs and analogue outputs. So I suspect, since you were asking about getting a receiver, that you plan to use a different type of connection to get the audio signal out of your computer.

Will you be using an optical digital audio output? If so, that makes things pretty easy. You'll just get a clean digital audio signal coming out of your computer. You can then use either an external DAC and self-powered speakers and a self-powered subwoofer, or you could use a regular audio receiver, which will have a DAC, audio processing, and amplifiers to power passive speakers. It may or may not also have a dedicated subwoofer output.

You might want to use a USB output though. That would require that you get a USB DAC and then use that to connect to some self-powers speakers and a self-power subwoofer.

So it's very important that we know what connection you will be using to get the audio out of your computer first!

 

[FirstReflection]

Assuming you have an optical digital audio output from your computer, here's the setup I would recommend:

Behringer Truth 2030P passive studio monitors - $189/pair

It's important to get speakers that are meant for nearfield listening, given your computer desk setup and short (less than one yard) listening distance. These Behringer studio monitors are meant for exactly your type of setup, and they're easily my favorite inexpensive nearfield monitors. Very accurate, very linear. You'll really be able to hear the details in your music and other audio content, and you'll also be able to learn how to listen critically with these, and get used to what accurate sound actually sounds like!

HSU STF-1 Subwoofer - $299

Never ever skimp on your subwoofer. You said you want strong, clean, tight, powerful bass? This is how you get it. And the top end of this sub matches up really nicely with the bottom end of the Behringer 2030P speakers, so it's easy to get a seamless, perfect blend from speakers to subwoofer, which is vital for creating the illusion that you're just listening to two really good, really large, full range speakers, rather than a pair of desktop monitors plus a subwoofer. Great combo, this HSU sub and the Behringer speakers.

Now you just need something to take the optical digital audio output from your computer, run it through a high quality DAC (digital to analogue converter), apply any processing that you might want to the signal (boost the treble, boost the bass, apply a cross-over between the subwoofer and speakers, etc.), route the bass to the subwoofer via a dedicated subwoofer output, and power the passive speakers with some good quality amplification.

Tough to do for $100, but thankfully, there's accessories4less.com

This Onkyo HT-RC330 5.1 AV Receiver for $99 will do the job nicely, and actually provide you with a ton of expansion options if you ever want to add other sources or additional speakers to your setup. For now, you'd just want to run an optical digital audio cable from your computer to the HT-RC330. But in the future, you have the option to add HDMI sources, videogame systems, a DVR, pretty much anything. You can plug an iPod directly into the front USB port, so you don't even have to turn on your computer if you just want to quickly play something from your iPod through your Behringer and HSU speaker setup. And it has a built in AM/FM radio tuner if you just want to put the radio on in the background The darn thing can even handle Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats via HDMI, so if you ever want to add Blu-ray to your system in the future, this AV Receiver is ready for that too!

That's a GREAT desktop, nearfield 2.1 setup for $600. But it does all hinge on you having a digital audio output from your computer. So long as you have an optical TOSLink output on your computer, all you need is an optical cable to send the audio from your computer to the HT-RC330 AV Receiver, which will then power the speakers and send the bass to the subwoofer. You CAN use an analogue stereo output from your computer to the HT-RC330. All you would need is a stereo 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA cable . But again, if you use the analogue audio output from your computer (or even worse, the headphone jack), you're at the mercy of your computer's analogue output, which is very often noisy and low quality. So stick with the digital optical output if you can.

If you don't have an optical output though, first, there's an outside chance that you have an S/PDIF digital audio output - although those are kinda rare these days. More likely, if you don't have any kind of digital audio output from your computer, we'll need to rethink things a little bit. You could always get an inexpensive soundcard for your computer that does have an optical output. That's an easy solution. Or we'll have to look into getting you a USB DAC and then go from there

 

[byteninja2]

Assuming you have an optical digital audio output from your computer, here's the setup I would recommend:

Behringer Truth 2030P passive studio monitors - $189/pair

It's important to get speakers that are meant for nearfield listening, given your computer desk setup and short (less than one yard) listening distance. These Behringer studio monitors are meant for exactly your type of setup, and they're easily my favorite inexpensive nearfield monitors. Very accurate, very linear. You'll really be able to hear the details in your music and other audio content, and you'll also be able to learn how to listen critically with these, and get used to what accurate sound actually sounds like!

HSU STF-1 Subwoofer - $299

Never ever skimp on your subwoofer. You said you want strong, clean, tight, powerful bass? This is how you get it. And the top end of this sub matches up really nicely with the bottom end of the Behringer 2030P speakers, so it's easy to get a seamless, perfect blend from speakers to subwoofer, which is vital for creating the illusion that you're just listening to two really good, really large, full range speakers, rather than a pair of desktop monitors plus a subwoofer. Great combo, this HSU sub and the Behringer speakers.

Now you just need something to take the optical digital audio output from your computer, run it through a high quality DAC (digital to analogue converter), apply any processing that you might want to the signal (boost the treble, boost the bass, apply a cross-over between the subwoofer and speakers, etc.), route the bass to the subwoofer via a dedicated subwoofer output, and power the passive speakers with some good quality amplification.

Tough to do for $100, but thankfully, there's accessories4less.com

This Onkyo HT-RC330 5.1 AV Receiver for $99 will do the job nicely, and actually provide you with a ton of expansion options if you ever want to add other sources or additional speakers to your setup. For now, you'd just want to run an optical digital audio cable from your computer to the HT-RC330. But in the future, you have the option to add HDMI sources, videogame systems, a DVR, pretty much anything. You can plug an iPod directly into the front USB port, so you don't even have to turn on your computer if you just want to quickly play something from your iPod through your Behringer and HSU speaker setup. And it has a built in AM/FM radio tuner if you just want to put the radio on in the background The darn thing can even handle Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats via HDMI, so if you ever want to add Blu-ray to your system in the future, this AV Receiver is ready for that too!

That's a GREAT desktop, nearfield 2.1 setup for $600. But it does all hinge on you having a digital audio output from your computer. So long as you have an optical TOSLink output on your computer, all you need is an optical cable to send the audio from your computer to the HT-RC330 AV Receiver, which will then power the speakers and send the bass to the subwoofer. You CAN use an analogue stereo output from your computer to the HT-RC330. All you would need is a stereo 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA cable . But again, if you use the analogue audio output from your computer (or even worse, the headphone jack), you're at the mercy of your computer's analogue output, which is very often noisy and low quality. So stick with the digital optical output if you can.

If you don't have an optical output though, first, there's an outside chance that you have an S/PDIF digital audio output - although those are kinda rare these days. More likely, if you don't have any kind of digital audio output from your computer, we'll need to rethink things a little bit. You could always get an inexpensive soundcard for your computer that does have an optical output. That's an easy solution. Or we'll have to look into getting you a USB DAC and then go from there

Thanks. Now, I dont know how all the audio inputs names are, but my P8P67 does have a S/PDIF, but, I think that a sound card would give better quality, being that I already bought a nice one, the Sound Blaster X Fi Audio Xtreme PCI. Here are the ports:

I can still return it, and buy the one with S/PDIF.
And, Behringer Truth 2030P vs Swan 1080 IV?

 

[shadyJ]

Unless you want your speakers to play from sources other than your computer, there is no reason not to get self-powered studio monitors. $600 can get you some pretty good monitors with bass extension good enough that you might just skip the subwoofer. Check this JBL LSR2328P, I am willing to bet the sound quality from those will be much higher than anything mentioned thus far. JBL pro stuff is extremely highly regarded for their engineering and soudn quality. With 8" woofers and a 37 hz frequency extension, I don't think you will miss the sub! The thing is, those are big and somewhat heavy speakers, make sure your desk can accommodate them. It's also slightly over your budget. What's nice about this as opposed to your idea about getting a receiver and sub is more money will be spent on the quality of the speakers instead on a bunch of superfluous stuff that you won't ever use. That is the pure sound quality route.

If you want to keep it under budget, check out some KRK Rokit 8's. The KRK Rokits are widely used and highly regarded, and the 8" woofers will give you some nice bass. Again, these are kind of large and heavy speakers, but they will sound very nice and will bring you in $100 under budget as opposed to the JBLs which are $100 over. That bundle also comes with some cables and some stands, although you will need some adapters to use those cables with your computer's output jacks.

Another good choice is the Behringer 2031A monitors, I have the passive version of these, they would be a great choice also, and they are $200 under your budget. They have terrific bass, as with the others they have large woofers, and consequently they are large and heavy. They have excellent sound quality, and are a terrific bang-for-the-buck.

My first choice would be the JBLs, but I think you would be pleased with any of them. I am a bass junkie, and ordinarily I would be aghast at the idea of skipping the sub, but these speakers have such good bass extension that whatever sub you could afford in your budget simply wouldn't be able to contribute very much. The JBLs and Rokits will play down to 40 hz, and the Behringers will play down to 50. To the Behringers you could add a Energy S10.3 sub, that supposedly has a decent frequency response down to 30 hz, and both the Behringer speakers and Energy sub combo would only be $35 over your budget. That would be a good package. I swear to god those JBLs would rock you so hard though!

 

[byteninja2]

Nah, I really want a sub, and like I said, I am not even close to a audiophile, so that would be way overkill.I can bet that a $300 sub will beat $600 speakers.Plus, if I blow the sub (which i wont any time soon), the speakers will still be in good condition.I have found no reviews on the Behringer Truth 2030P, should I really go with them over the Swans, or something else?And I also almost need a speaker grill, so unless those beast any thing else under $200, I dont think so.

 

[Matt34]

Nah, I really want a sub, and like I said, I am not even close to a audiophile, so that would be way overkill.I can bet that a $300 sub will beat $600 speakers.Plus, if I blow the sub (which i wont any time soon), the speakers will still be in good condition.I have found no reviews on the Behringer Truth 2030P, should I really go with them over the Swans, or something else?And I also almost need a speaker grill, so unless those beast any thing else under $200, I dont think so.

The speaker grill requirement takes away most studio monitor options.

First Reflections package but replace the Behringers with the Def Tech SM350 would probably be the best way to go.

 

[byteninja2]

I couldnt find anywere to buy the STF 1, so, yeah.I was looking at thie Bic PL 200.

 

[ImcLoud]

I couldnt find anywere to buy the STF 1, so, yeah.I was looking at thie Bic PL 200.

STF-1 Subwoofer I think you have to buy direct... but there is one on ebay for $20 less.. shipped....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HSU-Research-STF-1-Passive-Subwoofer-Brand-New-in-Box-/140819704678?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item20c9822b66

If I were you I would take First Reflections advice, this guy is a BeAsT!!!! I looked at reviews and articles for 2 weeks, and he nailed down an awesome system for me in one post... He talked me into the HSU sub, and I was talking about it to one of my neighbors, and he just happened to also have one {stf2} so I went in his house and took a listen, WOW, I was amazed... I knew he had a nice theater set up, but I was blown away by the sound of the sub... My neighbor has Klipsch speakers with it {not sure what ones, but they are gold} and it sounded awesome...

 

[zieglj01]

I couldnt find anywere to buy the STF 1, so, yeah.I was looking at thie Bic PL 200.

Have you decided against the Energy S10.3 > which was measured
to go down to 25hz at 104db, in a 7,500 cubic-foot room.
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/energy-take-series-home-theater-speaker-system?page=0,2

 

[byteninja2]

Okay, I guess I will go with the Energy S10.3 if their good.I didnt say First Reflections advice was bad or nothing, but I need a grill (kids ).

 

[FirstReflection]

Um, you should definitely return that Sound Blaster card. Your Asus P8P67 motherboard has better onboard audio than that card! You're truly getting no value at all out of that Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card. Good thing you can return it and get your money back!

So yeah, your P8P67 motherboard definitely has an optical digital audio output. And frankly, it's got pretty darn good built-in analogue audio support as well. So you can go either way with your speaker setup and feel good about just using the audio that's included with that motherboard

So yes, as mentioned before, if you truly only care about using your computer as your only source, you can just get a powered subwoofer and a pair of powered speakers. Use the analogue outputs from your P8P67 motherboard, and you're all set! No external DAC or AV Receiver needed.

If you think there's ANY chance of ever wanting to add another source though - such as a game console, DVR, Roku box...anything - then having an AV Receiver like the $99 Onkyo HT-RC330 will come in very handy And you can use the optical digital audio output from your P8P67 motherboard. No muss, no fuss. Easy

It's rare to find nearfield monitors - self-powered or passive - that come with speaker grills. So if having speaker grills is important to you, it's probably easiest if you go with using the optical digital output on your P8P67 motherboard, run an optical cable to the $99 Onkyo HT-RC330, and connect that Onkyo AV Receiver to a subwoofer and a regular pair of speakers.

I'll be perfectly honest, the only reason I didn't recommend the Energy S10.3 subwoofer that is less expensive than the HSU STF-1 is because I haven't tested it for myself But I trust the other helpful folks here, and the reviews and measurements do look good! So I've zero problem with that Energy subwoofer as a slightly less expensive alternative to the HSU STF-1 that I recommended. I just like to stick to recommending products that I know I can vouch for because I've heard them in person. But I haven't heard everything! So yeah, that Energy S10.3 looks like a great alternative that can save you a bit of money vs. the STF-1, and give you a little extra room in the budget for speakers!

Speaking of which, you've got roughly $250 in the budget for a good pair of speakers if you go with the Onkyo HT-RC330 AV Receiver and Energy S10.3 subwoofer. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a huge fan of the Ascend HTM-200 SE speakers, but they'd be a good $50 over your budget.

One of the main reasons I like both the Ascend HTM-200 SE and the Behringer 2030P so much is because they both blend really well with a subwoofer, even in a small, nearfield setup. That's a lot tougher to accomplish than you might imagine. When you're listening nearfield, it starts to get really easy to hear the subwoofer as being a separate speaker from your main pair if you're forced to cross the speakers over to the subwoofer at a higher frequency than 80 or 90Hz.

Ideally, you should never really notice the subwoofer as being its own, separate speaker. It should just seamlessly blend with the main pair so that it seems as though you just have big, full range speakers sitting on your desk! It's a great illusion when it works, but it sticks out like a sore thumb when it doesn't. So I do not take that blend between the subwoofer and the speakers lightly! It's probably the toughest and most important thing to get right in a nearfield setup.

So, to give you an option that will keep you well within your budget, I'm going to do that thing I hate doing and recommend some speakers I haven't actually heard for myself yet. But I'm putting my faith in the designer of these speakers and basing my recommendation on the previous line of speakers that he designed for Pioneer.

The Pioneer SP-BS22-LR - $130/pair

I must say, I'm really not a fan of using rear ported speakers for a computer desk setup. So I hope you're somehow able to position either your desk or these speakers so that they have a good amount of distance - at least 1.5 feet, and hopefully more like 3 feet or greater - from the back of the speakers to the wall. But if you're not able to do that, you can maybe use a couple of absorption panel bass traps on the wall behind the speakers to mitigate any strong reflections or noise coming from the rear port. With the low price of these Pioneer speakers, you can afford a couple of 24" x 24" x 4" bass traps, or even less expensive would be a single 48" length bass trap hung horizontally on the wall behind the speakers Acoustimac's bass traps are inexpensive and work well, and they even come in suede or printed patterns if you like! I'm always a fan of getting some acoustic treatments into any room, so this might actually be the most "complete" solution all around.

So yeah, that's pretty darn good looking to me!

Return the Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card

Use the optical output on your Asus P8P67 motherboard.

Connect an optical digital audio cable to...

Onkyo HT-RC330 AV Receiver

Energy S10.3 subwoofer

Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers

with one or more 4" thick...

Acoustimac bass trap(s) in plain fabric, suede or printed pattern on the wall behind the speakers.

That's pretty fabulous actually! And all within your $600 budget!

 

[zieglj01]

I own the new Pioneer speaker, and it is good.

 

[FirstReflection]

I own the new Pioneer speaker, and it is good.

I believe you.



How's the low end response on the new BS22? It's got that little 4" driver, but a relatively large cabinet and that rear port. Spec sheet doesn't list the +/-dB range with the claimed frequency response. I'm guessing that 55Hz spec is a little optimistic. But I'm guessing maybe the -3dB point on the low end is around 70Hz or so with that design? Should be able to blend well with a capable subwoofer, methinks

 

[zieglj01]

I believe you.



How's the low end response on the new BS22? It's got that little 4" driver, but a relatively large cabinet and that rear port. Spec sheet doesn't list the +/-dB range with the claimed frequency response. I'm guessing that 55Hz spec is a little optimistic. But I'm guessing maybe the -3dB point on the low end is around 70Hz or so with that design? Should be able to blend well with a capable subwoofer, methinks

55hz is optimistic on their part > 75-80hz seems about right, and have no measurements
at this time. The bass is tight and controlled, and they do need about 12 inches from the
back wall.

The Cambridge Audio S30 goes lower/deeper, and do hit around 60hz -3db. The sensitivity
will be a little lower > the rear port also needs at least 12 inches from the back wall.

The Cambridge is still my favorite budget friendly speaker, However for one on a real tight
budget, then the new Pioneer BS-22 is my next reccomendation.