Spec me some good speakers please?

Craterloads

Craterloads

Craterloads

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Looking to buy some new speakers as have switched monitor to a Dell U2311H, from a Samsung T240, which doesn't have inbuilt speakers.

I was almost set on the B&W MM-1's but at £400, there a large pill to swallow!!

I'm after something discrete, attractive looking with decent sound quality. After reading around seems like monitor speakers are highly recommended, something like the KRK Rokit 6/8 series. Problem with these would be id need an expensive sound card whilst the the B&W have an inbuilt DAC (i dont know what that is) but seems like it bypasses the on board sound so sound card not required? Also there massive and would prefer something with a smaller foot print.

I dont know nothing regarding speakers, sound quality etc so some help would be welcome.

Budget £400, more than willing to buy used.

Usage would be for games and a little music.

Must be small, good sound quality & attractive - Either 2.0 or 2.1
 
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For £400, you'd be looking at:
KRK - various models
Dynaudio BM5As - maybe too big for your desk?
Adam A3X - very good small speakers
Genelec 6010As - also v. good small speakers

Stuff like that. Ultimately you should try and listen to some of them before you buy, different sound signatures and all that.
 
Defunkt said:
You won't find a bad review on these.. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=sp-003-cs&groupid=702&catid=22&subcat=
well worth considering. a good soundcard is needed with them. £300 should cover it and be hard to beat by spending £400.

worth a watch.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym5a3nfj160
Click to expand...

i have seen bad reviews of the sp2500 on youtube and tomshardware.com and would avoid those speakers. on tomshardware it didn't do very well when compared to other cheaper 2.1 systems in frequency tests. it has dips in certain frequencies while the other speakers in the test didn't have these dips. see for yourself :

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/pc-speaker-2.1-channel-subwoofer,review-32093-8.html
 
Hello. I use a pair of Rokit 6's, for me they're perfect, clarity is perfect (depending on the position and the structure of your room of course). You'll hear everything you need to hear at its best for the price they cost (I think a pairs less than £350 now). I use mine with an Emu-0202 external sound card.
 
Focal XS. This speaker has a built-in high quality soundcard. Most reviews say the sound is stunning. Cost £380.
 
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I would go down the separates route on this budget a nice set of bookshelfs and an av amp in the long run will be well worth it.
 
Craterloads said:
Looking to buy some new speakers as have switched monitor to a Dell U2311H, from a Samsung T240, which doesn't have inbuilt speakers.

I was almost set on the B&W MM-1's but at £400, there a large pill to swallow!!

I'm after something discrete, attractive looking with decent sound quality. After reading around seems like monitor speakers are highly recommended, something like the KRK Rokit 6/8 series. Problem with these would be id need an expensive sound card whilst the the B&W have an inbuilt DAC (i dont know what that is) but seems like it bypasses the on board sound so sound card not required? Also there massive and would prefer something with a smaller foot print.

I dont know nothing regarding speakers, sound quality etc so some help would be welcome.

Budget £400, more than willing to buy used.

Usage would be for games and a little music.

Must be small, good sound quality & attractive - Either 2.0 or 2.1
Click to expand...

I pondered a similar dilemma to you recently.

I went for the audioengine a2's at £125. They get great reviews, and i opted for them primarily because the won't take up too much space and they look nice. Mine haven't arrived yet, i will post a mini review when they do.

I did consider studio monitors. I went down to westend dj in London to have a look at a few. The rokit 5's and rokit 6's sound great, but I was struck by how bloody massive they are. I decided that I couldn't justify having them on my desk.
The audioengine a5's are a bit smaller than the rokits, but they are rear ported which means that they can't be backed up to close to the wall without ruining the sound.
M-audio make some cheap monitors. I decided against them because I have heard a lot of bad things about their build quality. If you go on their own forums you will see a lot of people with problems. In westend Dj, they said that they get returned a lot, and wouldn't reccomend them to anyone.
 
dz1 said:
I have seen bad reviews of the SP2500 on youtube and tomshardware.com and would avoid those speakers. On tomshardware it didn't do very well when compared to other cheaper 2.1 systems in frequency tests. It has dips in certain frequencies while the other speakers in the test didn't have these dips. See for yourself :

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/pc-speaker-2.1-channel-subwoofer,review-32093-8.html
Click to expand...

If you read all of that review you would know the conclusion is that it's not an issue what you have pointed out.

The good news is that the EQ settings can be used to mitigate this issue,
Click to expand...

There is nothing from that review that makes it a "bad review" of them. In fact it's the opposite. just try reading the conclusion. So I stand by my point and still say you won't find a bad review of them. If you split hairs you will never find a perfect product.
 
Things like the Adam A3X, Focal CMS 40 and so on aren't particularly large. My choices were mainly for music playback, so I think you'd probably want to go for 2.1 if most of your use is for gaming, in which case the Focal XS are worth a shout, as are the cheaper Blue Sky Media 2.1s, the EXOs I think. Either will be a level above your typical 2.1 PC speakers.
 
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I just had my A2's delivered and I am giving them a quick go - first impressions are that they are awesome! Very impressive bass from such small speakers, I can fell a pleasant current of cold air being blasted across my desk.
 
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