Have you consider a streamer instead of a separate DAC and AMP combo? So a WiiM Amp Pro for example, or something from Bluesound (POWERNODE)? 
Last edited:
Desk-Area Audio (+ Computer Monitor) Upgrade – A Detailed Overview – Apr 2025
- Thread starter artemis789
- Start date
Well this is pretty much the most useful reply I've ever received on these forums! Thank you VERY much for all the detail, it's fantastic!
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 2,199
- Location
- Cardiff
I have never liked bowers and Wilkins speakers for desktop usage. And I certainly don't like the newer range. They are closer to Kef soundwise these days now compared to the older stuff.
Not to mention they are a royal pain in the azz placement wise. I stopped using them years ago when I discovered more affordable brands like Q Acoustics. You can sit off axis and you can place them any old how and they will sound pretty good regardless.
Bowers place them one cm off or sit one cm off axis and the faeces hits the fan and goes though the roof.
Although I must admit when I had the PM-1 they sounded beautiful.
Not to mention they are a royal pain in the azz placement wise. I stopped using them years ago when I discovered more affordable brands like Q Acoustics. You can sit off axis and you can place them any old how and they will sound pretty good regardless.
Bowers place them one cm off or sit one cm off axis and the faeces hits the fan and goes though the roof.
Although I must admit when I had the PM-1 they sounded beautiful.
Last edited:
- Joined
- 29 Oct 2024
- Posts
- 46
- Location
- Glasgow
Have you consider a streamer instead of a separate DAC and AMP combo? So a WiiM Amp Pro for example, or something from Bluesound (POWERNODE)?
Interesting suggestion there Firegod, and many thanks for posting it.
I had not considered that!
I'll take a look into those options when I get some free time, for sure.
Last edited:
I use the Dali Oberon 1's for my desk setup. Lovely sized speaker and nicely finished. Seem very unfussy with placement and easy to drive. Sub recommended.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 2,199
- Location
- Cardiff
I have one of those streamer things even more bizarrely when I connect my GPU to it on the display it shows me what GPU I have
No worries - just throwing it out there. Might not be what you are after.
Yes you connect the active studio monitors directly from a DAC, either RCA or balanced XLR. Balanced XLR is better as it's cleaner signal especially over longer runs, if requiring a DAC I recommend getting one with XLR output. Active speakers have the amp built in.
That said some active monitors have DAC's built in now, so like those small Adam's I listed you can connect directly from a computer using USB cable.
However some higher-end latest studio monitors like Hedd Mk2, and latest Adam S series you have option to connect using an audio interface, this audio interface then connects into a computer, but this is getting into studio level gear it's expensive and well above what your trying to do.
Last edited:
While it does vary between the brands, Active speakers, rather than powered, can actually sound cleaner (for want of a better word) than equivalent passive + amp.
What I think of as active speakers generally have an amp per driver inside each speaker, whereas I think of powered as more like having a mini amp inside one speaker with an audio only cable to the unpowered one.
There isn't really a one is better than the other solution, it's more a case of what works for you both now and ideally in the future.
My own reasons for going passive 2.1 + avr were a mix of desk space, combined with flexibility and features for the price at the time I bought them. I had previously had a pair of Sonos speakers in my work room but after the horrendous big software release last year, I decided I also wanted some separation of function rather than partially usable bricks if the electronics failed or the manufacture messed up/abandoned the software. So a requirement was any built in streaming was a secondary function and wouldn't prevent the primary function of choosing sources and controlling volume even if the manufacturer abandoned it.
Initially I'd been looking at Active/powered speakers across both home market and studio monitor brands.
In terms of on desk space, I wanted a pair of speakers with a smaller footprint, which combined with a sub mean the limited low end of small speakers becomes a non-issue.
While I found some combinations I liked, Focal Shape 60, Genelec that was also pushing £1200+ without any source devices and the shape 60s aren't particularly small footprint. I considered Ruark MR1, Elac Connex, Edifier, Adams at the other end of the price range amongst others, but would still need a preamp of some sort to give more source inputs.
Luck of timing meant RS had been slashing prices on the out-going Fyne Audio ranges. The F300i LCRs I got were £50 each (£100 for the pair) instead of £199 each. I'd originally been thinking of using them as bedroom or surround speakers and already had some Fyne speakers from higher up the range so had an idea of build quality and sound expectation. When they arrived I also decided to try them on the desk. Looking for something to drive them, I already had a Tangent powerampster II so really only needed a preamp/dac but never came across anything I liked.
I am fortunate in that I'm not space limited to the desk space. My desk is a sit/stand desk and beside it are cupboards + shelving so I didn't need everything on my desk, just the L+R speakers. It then struck me that even the entry level 5.1 AVRs have everything I wanted and more for input/output connections and source switching with nice extras like room correction, streaming and internet radio. I already had a Yamaha A6A so knew what to expect when I found the RX-V4A for ~£400.
Attached to the F300i LCR + small Ruark Sub + monitor provided hdmi switching, audio switching, internet radio streaming needs, and added room correction, airplay and a music cast streamer which is a secondary function that doesn't affect the primary purpose or make the avr depend on a tablet/phone app for use. What started as an audio only solution, became far more flexible in both how I use it and features available.
If I had stuck to my original plan of audio only, I would still likely have gone passive 2.1 as the limited input options on actives/powered meant I'd still need to add a preamp of some sort anyway and need additional power sockets for everything in the same location, so the benefit of having everything self-contained in the speaker is already reduced for what I wanted.
Last edited:
Bingo, because each driver has it's own amp, plus an electronic cross over before each amp, they can be cleaner than passive speakers. The electronic crossover is more efficient compared to passive crossover.