Small, High Effeciency Speakers?

[Shaft0rz]

Hello,
So I'm setting up a home office, and I need some speakers (I've been using Grado SR-80s to listen to music while working, which sound fantastic). I'm thinking of experimenting with the Sonic T-Amp (15W class T amp) and some small high efficiency speakers, purely for s**** and giggles. Does anyone have a suggestion for a small, cheap (<$100/pair) set of high efficiency speakers to check out? The room is very small, and I will be listening from about 2-3 feet away, so I'm not worried too much about volume. I did see someone in the forum mention some old mid-90s klipsch speakers, but I only found 1 pair on ebay that looked kind of sketchy.

I'm also thinking of just getting a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system. I've heard that those things sound pretty decent.

Thanks for any suggestions.

(As an aside: anyone have any thoughts on using cheap powered near-field studio monitors for daily listening?)

 

[Joe Schmoe]

There is an unavoidable tradeoff between size, efficiency, and bass. Small, high-efficiency speakers will have almost no bass. (Of course, you could always add the Sonic MiniMaxx sub for $89.)
Really, though, you might not need high efficiency speakers for that amp at such a short listening distance.

 

[WmAx]

Hello,
So I'm setting up a home office, and I need some speakers (I've been using Grado SR-80s to listen to music while working, which sound fantastic). I'm thinking of experimenting with the Sonic T-Amp (15W class T amp) and some small high efficiency speakers, purely for s**** and giggles. Does anyone have a suggestion for a small, cheap (<$100/pair) set of high efficiency speakers to check out? The room is very small, and I will be listening from about 2-3 feet away, so I'm not worried too much about volume. I did see someone in the forum mention some old mid-90s klipsch speakers, but I only found 1 pair on ebay that looked kind of sketchy.

I'm also thinking of just getting a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system. I've heard that those things sound pretty decent.

Thanks for any suggestions.

(As an aside: anyone have any thoughts on using cheap powered near-field studio monitors for daily listening?)

I do not lightly make speaker suggestions. But in the realm of compact computer speakers, there is one clear champion in measured performance(resonances, linearity and driver energy decay) vs. price: AudioEngine 2. For about $200, you get a self-amplified, linear and low resonance monitor that is tiny. The downside is that it needs a subwoofer for <80Hz response. Grab a Dayton 10" home subwoofer for $105 and hide it under the desk.

I don't know of anything else to be considered a computer speaker, that could come remotely close to my above suggested combination.

Note: Ideally, your sound card should have bass management in order to apply a crossover to both the monitors and sub so they integrate optimally and allow high dynamic range with low distortion. If you don't already have a sound card with LFE management, you can get them cheaply(PCI card with such ability starts around $30 retail).

-Chris

 

[Shaft0rz]

Joe Schmoe: Good point. I love bass, but am willing to sacrifice in this case (especially since this is intended to be background music). The size of the room, and my listening proximity is what made me think of the T-Amp in the first place, since I've always been curious about it. You're probably right, I'm sure I can sacrifice on the efficiency part a bit -- 15W at 2-4 feet should be very reasonable with any normal speaker.

WmAx: thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't heard of those speakers before. The price is a little high, but when you factor in a separate T-Amp and shipping, it's not so bad.


I'm also adding the BIC Venturi DV62si to the list -- cheap, decent efficiency (90db), and supposedly good bass for the size.

Thanks

 

[cbraver]

I use M-Audio DX-4s for computer speakers. They sound really nice! If you want thumping bass you'll need a sub with them. But, in an office, these are perfect.

M-Audio DX-4
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/DX4-main.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836127002

Cost about 150 bucks.