Powered/Active speakers for desktop

ONCB · 15 Jan 2016 at 14:13

Hey guys,

After a bit of advice on a new set of speakers for my desktop. Not a massive audiophile so I just want something that is known to give good quality sound, looks alright and doesn't cost more than about £250.

Either 2.1 or 2.0, no need for anything more. Only real feature I require is RCA in as well as 3.5mm.

Everytime I find some that appear to be well received, I stumble across a lot of bad press as well (as with most things) such as A2+'s etc.

All opinions welcome!

Marine-RX179 · 15 Jan 2016 at 14:42

Do you already have a decent soundcard or external DAC?

ONCB · 15 Jan 2016 at 17:09

Just the onboard sound from an MSI X99a Mpower Mobo.

Bazzards · 15 Jan 2016 at 17:30

I have just ordered a pair of Microlab Solo 9c's due for delivery tomorrow, will let you know how they sound.

Marine-RX179 · 15 Jan 2016 at 19:08

ONCB said:
Just the onboard sound from an MSI X99a Mpower Mobo.

In that case I would recommend getting the Topping VX1 (a decent USB DAC and 2x25W stereo amp 2 in 1) for around £70 and pair it with a Wharfedale Diamond 220 (or other alternative bookshelf speakers you might prefer) at around £175-£180.

Demon · 17 Jan 2016 at 00:27

Marine-RX179 said:
In that case I would recommend getting the Topping VX1 (a decent USB DAC and 2x25W stereo amp 2 in 1) for around £70 and pair it with a Wharfedale Diamond 220 (or other alternative bookshelf speakers you might prefer) at around £175-£180.

Since my SP2500's nearly died the other day and was contemplating what to replace them with, I was intrigued by this suggestion, so checked out the Topping VX1 (and came accross the SMSL Q5 pro as well!) and a few of the popular bookshelfs currently on offer..

I ended up buying:
- A Teac A-H01 DAC/AMP
- DALI Zensor Pico
£300

The Teac is just being sold off at the moment as it's discontinued for £150 which is a bargain IMO, it's a bit old, but top tier B&O Amp stage with a good DAC (32/192Khz)) and optical/coaxial/analog in as well as USB with a sub out probably gives you as much flexibilty as you'd every need on a desk! I compared it to the excellent Marantz PM6005, and even the sales guy was surprised that it held up perfectly to it, same exciting rendition, midrange control, bottom end etc.. We both expected it to be a bit weedier and thinner being class D, but the B&O AMP stage in it is quite well reviewed, so it's probably not that surprising!

The DALI's where just the right size and demoing against quite a few, it stood out as having noticeably a wider soundstage and upper-mid clarity whilst being really detailed and exciting to listen to. The Wharfedales sounded excellent too, just far too deep for my desk.

Marine-RX179 · 17 Jan 2016 at 06:43

Demon said:
Since my SP2500's nearly died the other day and was contemplating what to replace them with, I was intrigued by this suggestion, so checked out the Topping VX1 (and came accross the SMSL Q5 pro as well!) and a few of the popular bookshelfs currently on offer..

I ended up buying:
- A Teac A-H01 DAC/AMP
- DALI Zensor Pico
£300

The Teac is just being sold off at the moment as it's discontinued for £150 which is a bargain IMO, it's a bit old, but top tier B&O Amp stage with a good DAC (32/192Khz)) and optical/coaxial/analog in as well as USB with a sub out probably gives you as much flexibilty as you'd every need on a desk! I compared it to the excellent Marantz PM6005, and even the sales guy was surprised that it held up perfectly to it, same exciting rendition, midrange control, bottom end etc.. We both expected it to be a bit weedier and thinner being class D, but the B&O AMP stage in it is quite well reviewed, so it's probably not that surprising!

The DALI's where just the right size and demoing against quite a few, it stood out as having noticeably a wider soundstage and upper-mid clarity whilst being really detailed and exciting to listen to. The Wharfedales sounded excellent too, just far too deep for my desk.

Yea, I myself have looked at the information regarding the Teac A-H01 a lot recently as well due to the very temping price, and they do look like a very cracking piece of kit for the money at its current EOL price...if OP can stretch his budget to £300+, then it's definitely worth considering. I would have probably gotten one myself, if not due to the fact that I already bought a Monitor Audio A100 recently at £150 (it has more powerful amp but not as great DAC, and doesn't do USB input except or Apple device so connecting to PC has to be optical only. It does however has the feature of wireless via Airplay and DLNA for music).

At the moment I am using my A100 with my Monitor Audio BX2, together with the sub from my Corsair SP2500

But yea regarding the Teac A-H01, I think it could be a bit too big to be place flat on the desk, whereas the A100 can stand vertically. Also the A-H01 doesn't have line-out, so there wouldn't be an option to take advantage of its great DAC and hooking it up to a headphone amp.

Demon · 17 Jan 2016 at 09:37

The A100 was the other amp I was looking at! Definitely worth considering by the op. I also liked is orientation, and being honest I don't think I'd hear the difference between DACS. It reviewed really well and although difficult to get hold of for £150 there are a few left throughout the country.

I can't wait to get the speakers delivered, how does your setup compare against the sp2500 in terms of soundstage and separation / imaging? Those are part of why I really love the corsairs, and if the new setup can compete or improve I'll swap them over and use those for my main PC.

Cookeh · 17 Jan 2016 at 10:04

A100 is sublime as far as budget amps go, I wouldn't recommend anything else. Check out RicherSounds' sales and you should be able to get Diamond 121 or Monitor Auido MX2s for just over budget, but it will definitely be worth stretching to and both pair well with the A100.