£250 speaker setup.

Muel · 4 Jun 2010 at 20:32

Hey, I'm after a new speaker setup for around £250. I do really fancy a hifi amp based system as I'm fairly stuck for space at the moment.

I'd prefer a USB connection as I don't have space in my case for a proper sound card, so it's either that or use the on board. :/

I fancy something like this, but are there any alternatives?

I'd prefer a full kit that I can just buy, plug together and use, so including speakers and cables etc.

Dazza_Random · 4 Jun 2010 at 20:34

2.0, 2.1 or 5.1 (but i'd guess 2.0 or 2.1 as you said you're stuck for space)

Muel · 4 Jun 2010 at 20:41

It'll have to be 2.0, I hate having things under the desk because that's where my feet live.

ojrules · 5 Jun 2010 at 00:20

Teufel concept b usb ticks all those boxes.. £160-£180

hughythomas · 5 Jun 2010 at 15:48

I'd recommend going to a local audio store and hearing as many different speaker setups as possible - sound is so subjective that blindly buying a set of speakers based on an internet recommendation is well...not recommended!!!

However, I do personally think the Monitor Audio BR-2s are fantastic for the money but you would still need an amp to drive them.

Muel · 6 Jun 2010 at 12:48

ojrules said:
Teufel concept b usb ticks all those boxes.. £160-£180

Always been wary of them as I've read a couple of reviews that say the sound quality didn't match the price. :/

Are there any users of them on here? The do tick the boxes but just wary of the sound quality... It does have a number of other pluses though, it is small enough to sit in between my monitors, so the volume, bass and treble are right in front of me, it also provides a USB port and headphone socket on the front which would make life easier.

Definately reconsidering them now.

hughythomas said:
I'd recommend going to a local audio store and hearing as many different speaker setups as possible - sound is so subjective that blindly buying a set of speakers based on an internet recommendation is well...not recommended!!!

However, I do personally think the Monitor Audio BR-2s are fantastic for the money but you would still need an amp to drive them.

We don't have local stores as I live in the middle of no-where, and I'm self employed from home so rarely going into a bigger town, but I'll make an effort to find somewhere! Ideally somewhere that stocks these Teufels...

They're too big really, I was hoping for something smaller than what I have now, and they don't leave much in the budget for a decent amp, and I can't fit one in anywhere either, and I'd need to get an external sound card to go with them so to have a setup that does them justice I'd need around £400 I reckon.

EDIT: How about the M Audio AV40? Anyone got any experience with them? Very big though, actually I think they'd be too big...

ojrules · 6 Jun 2010 at 14:03

I've heard a handful of speakers and they're the best, however i dont have a lot of experience listening to top end hifi. - No where will stock the teufels as you have to order straight from the manufacturer. They do a free returns (including return delivery, within 2 weeks). This is what makes it quite difficult to make comparisons before you buy, and may well put you off, although obviosuly if you dont think they're worth the money you can send them back and get your money back... I know of one other user for deffinate on here, and if you just search teufel in the forums im sure you'l find his opinion. There are however many other models of speakers which you will find more reviews for, and maybe be able to test.. however unfortunately plug and play , and usb narrows the selection down considerably, and the teufels are the only ones that i know of that do this....

Muel · 6 Jun 2010 at 14:42

The Teufels seem to tick the most boxes, and they're small which is pretty important, especially if I'm going to be taking them to uni next year. (Planning on leaving my main rig behind and just taking my netbook, but it'd be nice to be able to have some USB solution that I can take with me easily in my luggage on the train, then just play stuff from the netbook).

I like the idea of just being able to send them back, although I don't think the sound quality will be a issue with me, I'm coming from a 20 year old JVC stereo that has cheap skinny little cables and a load of dodgy connections so the bass keeps shutting off when it feels like it...

ojrules · 6 Jun 2010 at 16:36

I'm planning on taking the my Tuefels with me to uni next year aswell, its a good idea to keep the packaging as they're nice and tightly packed, (if you do get them). If you plan on using them as party speakers then they'l be able to handle the volume.. (well moderate parties, no raves

).. (though i think they look too nice to risk damaging) they are however covered with a 2 year warranty for amp and 12 year for speakers.. but don't just take my advice, have a peek around at reviews etc, a lot more have come out since i bought mine, so maybe they give a different view to what i read previous to me buying.. and keep in mind the free returns thing...

also how comes you're not taking you main rig with you?- transport worries or?... im taking my pc (2.9 dual core + 4850) and a basic tablet thingy for making notes in lectures... -- edit just read you're going on the train... erm, i would make sure you can physically take the speakers with you... they are seizeable and come in a big box... also, for that matter taking all your uni stuff on the train will be a big ask... you going to uni after the summer, or next year? (next school year, or next year

)?

Muel · 6 Jun 2010 at 16:43

It's mainly that I have a massive setup here that probably won't fit in a Uni room, and I'll be home every weekend anyway to ride my motorbikes and that, and also I'd just rather it wasn't there tempting me to spend all my time fettling, tweaking and gaming. Much better just to leave it here all laid out, then when I'm at uni just use my Netbook for working on and spend more time being a student.

I stayed at home for my first year, which was a massive mistake, one which I'm very keen to avoid this year!

ojrules · 6 Jun 2010 at 16:54

ahh makes sense then... my only other thought would be to get a decent set of headphones, maybe round the £50-£80 mark.. just a thought....

Muel · 6 Jun 2010 at 17:30

That's on the list aswell! It's not such a big list any more though.

Speakers
Headphones
Possible second 5830
Possible SSD (Not for a year or so because decent ones are still £300+)

alex24 · 6 Jun 2010 at 17:39

I picked up a basic stereo amp (Cambridge Audio A1 mk3) and a pair of bookshelf speakers (Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom) for less than £200 and the setup is amazingly good for the money. You might want some stands too, I custom made mine, they're OK. Also, second hand there are some great bargains to be had.

Muel · 7 Jun 2010 at 07:06

It's a nice ides but it simply won't fit, I want smaller speakers than I have now and a amp that fits between two monitors that are touching.

Pretty sure I'll be getting the Tuefels now, they'll probably be more powerful than what I have now and they're small enough to travel with.

Muel · 7 Jun 2010 at 22:46

Ordered! Just took the plunge, can't wait for them to arrive!

airdrawn · 8 Jun 2010 at 09:50

They look great! let us know how you get on with them. I have some audio engine a5 (smallest audio engines) and fancy a change.

ojrules · 8 Jun 2010 at 10:58

Ahh good, i'l be interested to see your opinion on them.

^^ a5's you sure? the A2's are the smallest.... not sure the money would be worth the upgrade, unless you plan on using the audio engines elsewhere ( seems a bit of a waste of £120 if you're talking about the A2's ).... however never heard the A2's so just speculating..

Muel · 14 Jun 2010 at 17:52

They arrived, not had chance to give them any stick yet because my little step-brother has just been put to bed, I did briefly turn them up to about 30% with Flux Pavillion - Digital Controller playing, and I was impressed! That's as loud as I'll ever normally take them I reckon, apart from brief showing off sessions.

For your average person who listens to music, play games and watches films, I reckon they're perfect!

Obviously space was a big factor for me, and these speakers certainly offer really good power in a small package.

I wouldn't rate them as phenominal, but they're better than I expected! I've read a few bad reviews about them lacking in bass and stuff, well once I'd fiddled the most bass I could stand to use was about 20% above the centre mark.

Definately recommended.

Marsman · 14 Jun 2010 at 18:43

I find it quite funny that people complain about the lack of bass, it's as if people have no idea that to provide more bass the drivers need to be considerably larger. Maybe too many people are used to having over bloated bass provided by 2.1/5.1 PC speakers.

Muel · 14 Jun 2010 at 19:29

Over-bloated is exactly how I'd describe the sound of those setups, I am not a fan at all!

I like enough bass to make my music sound powerful, but not enough to reverberate the house...

One thing I've also noticed is how clear they are at very low volumes, perfect for when you have a small child living in the house! My old JVC hifi (not actually very rubbish) needed to be turned up before it sounded particularly clear, but these work very well and I can only just hear them over my keyboard at the moment, yet I can make out the music very clearly.

I hear they're also very clear at high volumes, which is something I intend to test fully tommorrow.