Recs for <$500 PC/Squeezebox-connected speakers?

[decrescendo]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a <$500 desktop system for my 11"x15" bedroom.

I've been using a 2.1 Gateway setup from back in the cow box days of the early 2000's. For as much music as I listen to, it's time for a substantial upgrade.

My first question is: in this price range, should I go with a dedicated subwoofer?

I'm hoping to end up with a speaker system that will play audio from a laptop, Squeezebox (or similar), and record player. All three of these pieces of hardware have not yet been purchased. I would imagine all three of these pieces would be of the standard headphone jack variety. Is this a good assumption?

If possible, I'd like to find a set of speakers that have at least 2 audio inputs so I don't have to keep shuffling the plugs for the 3 audio inputs for the laptop, Squeezebox (or similar), and record player. So far, I've noticed the Audioengine A5's have 2 inputs. Do a lot of other systems in this price range have a similar feature?

Also, in this price range, should I go with powered or un-powered speakers?

I'm not looking for ridiculous volume as much as I am clarity. I live in an apartment building, after all. I have a ton of FLAC and V0 mp3s on my computer. Most of them are rock, metal, hip-hop and jazz.

Any recommendations?

So far I've read good things about the Audioengine line-up. Other than that, I'm a little clueless.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[sholling]

I would run a subwoofer but that's me. There are at least two ways to approach this. 1) Powered speakers, or 2) buy an $50-75 used AVR and run passive speakers. The advantage of the first is you don't have to find room for the receiver, the advantage to the second is more flexibility and bass management within the receiver. Go optical from the PC to the receiver.

For inexpensive passive speakers Behringer B2030P (~$220/pr) sound very good on a desk or in a small room. As studio monitors they were designed to be used near-field (close to the listener). You can hear them at your local Guitar Center. The have an amplified bigger brother the B2031A that plays deeper but I haven't heard t and it's reputation for reliability isn't good.

 

[decrescendo]

I would run a subwoofer but that's me. There are at least two ways to approach this. 1) Powered speakers, or 2) buy an $50-75 used AVR and run passive speakers. The advantage of the first is you don't have to find room for the receiver, the advantage to the second is more flexibility and bass management within the receiver. Go optical from the PC to the receiver.

For inexpensive passive speakers Behringer B2030P (~$220/pr) sound very good on a desk or in a small room. As studio monitors they were designed to be used near-field (close to the listener). You can hear them at your local Guitar Center. The have an amplified bigger brother the B2031A that plays deeper but I haven't heard t and it's reputation for reliability isn't good.

I guess the reason why I ask the sub question is because, with my current setup, my sub is under my desk.

I feel like I hear more of the bass when I'm NOT sitting at my desk because my desk is between my ears and the sub when I'm sitting at the desk. The sound gets blocked a little.

Does anyone else find this to be an issue, or is it just my mediocre set of speakers?

 

[sholling]

Subwoofer placement makes a huge difference. Even just a couple of feet can make a huge difference. In my home office 2 feet to my left is dead, 2 feet to my right I get lots of bass. Watch the video and learn about crawling for bass. . My only difference with what he says is 80hz and below is non-directional.

 

[gpost3]

Sholling is definitely correct. Subwoofer placement makes a huge difference than the type of driver used. And the sub enclosure makes more difference than the driver as well.

I had the A2 from AudioEngine - they were lacking in mids and sounded very tiny. I think they are very over hyped across all the boards and the internet. I would skip on A5 as well because they are not worth the price IMHO.

I am personally going to be getting a Yorkville YSM2P-II speakers and naturally that's what I recommend for you too. They will be excellent for you for near field (and even mid field!). You should give them a serious listen. They have nice tight punchy bass to them and their drivers reach down to 72 Hz. Their tweeter is not bright at all. And you can always hook a sub and set the LPF to about 80 Hz to cover all the range.

 

[decrescendo]

Sholling is definitely correct. Subwoofer placement makes a huge difference than the type of driver used. And the sub enclosure makes more difference than the driver as well.

I had the A2 from AudioEngine - they were lacking in mids and sounded very tiny. I think they are very over hyped across all the boards and the internet. I would skip on A5 as well because they are not worth the price IMHO.

I am personally going to be getting a Yorkville YSM2P-II speakers and naturally that's what I recommend for you too. They will be excellent for you for near field (and even mid field!). You should give them a serious listen. They have nice tight punchy bass to them and their drivers reach down to 72 Hz. Their tweeter is not bright at all. And you can always hook a sub and set the LPF to about 80 Hz to cover all the range.

Yeah, I kept reading good things about the A2's but their size didn't really convince me I'd be satisfied.

And, yes, most of my listening will be near field since I'd be sitting at my desk right in front of them.

Thanks for the rec!

 

[decrescendo]

Also, out of curiosity, what technical statistic should I be looking for when determining how "low" a given speaker will reach down into the "bass" category.

Am I looking for the low end on the Hz range?

 

[gpost3]

Frequency response. The Yorkville have response of 70 Hz to 19 Khz +/- 3 db. Don't blindly trust the frequency range though because there is no set standard and other manufacturers take advantage of that. Take this test and test your hearing (generally 16 Khz is the tipping point - pass that for most people the sound is inaudible).

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html

I don't buy speakers that state anything pass 21 Khz response on upper end because you wont be able to hear it anyway.. Listen to the Yorkville and I am sure you will be impressed.

Generally speaking, the larger the surface area of the woofer, the deeper the frequency response BUT be careful in your judgement just based on technical specification. Just because a particular sub will go deeper in its frequency response doesn't mean you will like the sound it produces. I personally like my subwoofer to be 8 or 10 inch because I like the gradual rolloff in bass. But a 12 inch will generally go more deeper than say an 8 or a 10.

 

[decrescendo]

Frequency response. The Yorkville have response of 70 Hz to 19 Khz +/- 3 db. Don't blindly trust the frequency range though because there is no set standard and other manufacturers take advantage of that. Take this test and test your hearing (generally 16 Khz is the tipping point - pass that for most people the sound is inaudible).

I don't buy speakers that state anything pass 21 Khz response on upper end because you wont be able to hear it anyway.. Listen to the Yorkville and I am sure you will be impressed.

Generally speaking, the larger the surface area of the woofer, the deeper the frequency response BUT be careful in your judgement just based on technical specification. Just because a particular sub will go deeper in its frequency response doesn't mean you will like the sound it produces. I personally like my subwoofer to be 8 or 10 inch because I like the gradual rolloff in bass. But a 12 inch will generally go more deeper than say an 8 or a 10.

Thanks for the quick response. Much appreciated. I'll take a listen.

So where does one go to hear high-end speakers like the Yorkvilles? How prevalent are speaker shops that carry that type of equipment? I know damn well I'll never hear anything like that in a Best Buy.

 

[gpost3]

In Canada, Long and Mcquade carries them.

Check stores that sell musical instruments like guitar, drum and piano then call them up to see if they carry studio monitors. They might have yorkville.

 

[sholling]

Generally speaking, the larger the surface area of the woofer, the deeper the frequency response BUT be careful in your judgement just based on technical specification. Just because a particular sub will go deeper in its frequency response doesn't mean you will like the sound it produces.

This is a fact with cheap a "one-note wonder" 12-inch which generally perform better with movies than music but once you step up to a good quality subwoofer you'll never go back in quality or down in size. At least I couldn't.

A larger sub will generally play deeper and will fill a larger room. I actually prefer a 12" or better subwoofer that extends down below the level of human hearing (~20hz) before it begins to roll off. But you pay for that performance. The problem is that a $500 budget does not leave room for a $300 subwoofer and $200-400 worth of speakers or speakers and amp.

Probably the cheapest subwoofer that I know that really excels with music is Emotiva Ultra 10 which is a 10" sealed sealed subwoofer perfect for that size room but it did not fit the budget. It's very compact and produces very tight bass but starts rolling off around 30-33hz unless you have a spot in the room that will add some room gain. I have the larger Ultra 12 in my 13x13x10 home office and it's outstanding for what I paid for it.

 

[gpost3]

I actually prefer a 12" or better subwoofer that extends down below the level of human hearing (~20hz) before it begins to roll off.

That roll off is what I like which is why I prefer the 10s. Just my preference. The OP should experiment to see what he/she likes.

unless you have a spot in the room that will add some room gain.

which is why I hated the JL W7 12 inch in my civic's trunk. But then again, subs are not meant for music unless you listen to hip/hop all day which I dont - they are meant for movies/games. For my car though, I ended up with 5 1/2 infinity reference at the front and 6x9 infinity at the back.

 

[sholling]

which is why I hated the JL W7 12 inch in my civic's trunk. But then again, subs are not meant for music unless you listen to hip/hop all day which I dont - they are meant for movies/games. For my car though, I ended up with 5 1/2 infinity reference at the front and 6x9 infinity at the back.

A lot of people don't realize that there is little comparison between a teen's in-car bazillion watt sub and a good quality home sub. The teen's in-car sub is for "thump-a-bump-thump". The bass from a good quality home subwoofer is more subtle. All you hear is the bass that's supposed to be there and none of the thump-a-bump. In a small room that little emo will play you some bass details that you may never have noticed in a car, the subtle details of jazz great Marcus Miller's bass guitar. I know I was surprised by my Ultra 12. What they can't do as well (because of the 30hz roll-off) is action movie 20hz rattle your chair rumble. That's where a ported sub tuned to 20hz rocks.

 

[bikemig]

The Audioengine A-5s coupled with a SB Touch are a terrific combo; I have used that for some time and the SQ is excellent. There is nothing overpriced about the AE A-5s; there is a reason why there are so many positive reviews of these speakers on the web. They have two inputs and an RCA out if you want to add a sub later. They also have an aux AC outlet which is very useful for powering the SB touch or another device. They are perhaps a bit large for a desktop/nearfield set up. If you want something that fits on your desk, you may want to consider the Audioengine P-4 passive speakers with the N-22 amp. That's a great combo and the amp has 2 inputs (RCA and minijack), a variable line out if you want to add a sub, and a pretty good headphone amp. Another possibility in your price range are the Focal XS satellite speakers which are a 2.1 system.