Speaker, Sub, and Amp Recommendations for Dorm Room

[Qam2424]

I am looking of a modest sound system for my dorm, which will mainly be used to listen to music. I listen to mostly rock, metal, some rap, techno. I have already bought a pair of Micca MB42 Bookshelf Speakers, and a topping tp 21 amp. However I am beginning to question the topping tp21 because the SMSL SA - 50 is around the same price, but it can deliver more power per channel. Now I am looking for a subwoofer for the system, in the range of 150 dollars. So far I am considering the Dayton Audio SUB-1200, and Pioneer SW-8MK2. Any help is appreciated.

 

[theJman]

Are your MB42's the 'x' version? If not they don't have a crossover, and that's not going to give you the best overall sound quality.

I evaluated the SUB-1200 and found it to be an awful lot of subwoofer for the money, so that would be a good choice.

 

[GIEGAR]

I think you're set for the sub. Jim's probably forgotten more about budget subs than many of us will ever know.


As far as the amp goes, that depends on your usage and expectations. Is the system for desktop listening or are you wanting to listen from the other side of the room? Do you like to crank it up or stick to more sedate levels? [Rock & metal... I think I know the answer. ]

So you know what the additional power will do for you...

The SA-50, based on the 50WPC spec will theoretically play each Mica (85dB/1W/1m sensitivity) to 92dBSPL @ 1m. Add the contribution of a second speaker and a sub all playing together and you're up to around 97dBSPL @ 1m. Quite loud.

The TP-21, with it's 25WPC spec will theoretically play the Mica's at 89dBSPL @ 1m. The 3dBSPL difference is readily distinguishable as being softer, but not by what you'd call a significant amount. Again, three coherent sources and you're looking at around 94dBSPL @ 1m.

Bottom line though... if you regularly like to crank it up it's hard not to favour a more powerful amp, especially for a similar price. GranteedEV seems impressed with his SA-50: Techtalk | SMSL SA-50 amp?, so that's good enough for me.

 

[Qam2424]

I plan on setting up the system on thursday. Do you guys have any tips for setup

 

[jcparks]

I wouldn't worry about your amp selection at all, in a community situation like a dorm room you probably wont be able to play you music at super high volume anyway. As for the sub, in the dorm you are going to be working with limited space, and again you probably wont get much opportunity to play loud, I would consider either saving some money and going with the 8 or 10 inch daytons for a smaller foot print, and odds are they will still play louder then you will want to. If you can stretch your budget a bit you may also check out this sub.
Pinnacle Speakers 300 Watt Subcompact 8 Powered Subwoofer NIB 043719555867 | eBay
My personal set up on my pc consists of a pair of Overnight sensations which are 2 way speakers with a 4" woofer and .75" tweet, connected to a 20wpc lepai stereo amp, and an old powered 8 inch energy subwoofer. If the sub were any bigger, it would over power my desk top speakers...