HELP - Which Desktop Speakers/Monitors ?

Super-Spy

Super-Spy

Super-Spy

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Hi all,

I am in a bit of a dilemma as the more I read, the more confused I get !

I am looking to get some decent sounding speakers to connect to my laptop for playing music.

The music will be a mix of genres from soul, funk and jazz to pop and rock. File fomats/quality will be a mix of lossless CD rips in FLAC down to Deezer streaming.

The room is not large, approx. 5m x 3m and the speakers will be placed on my desk with their backs facing out into the room i.e. not against a wall.

So, here is the dilemma, ideally I would like to go as small as possible without compromising sound quality. Not too worried about deep bass and don't want to introduce a sub. As long as the bass is tight and controlled I will be happy.

At some point, I may add a cheap-ish DAC between the laptop and the speakers so not worried about on-board USB audio DAC (usually not hi-res any way)

I have been looking at powered speakers and active monitors up to approx. £300. I don't want the clinical sound of truly flat monitors as I will only be using them for listening so more coloured monitors are on my list.

I would welcome feedback and opinions on my list below:

Ruark MR1 - Absolutely perfect size wise but am I compromising on sound quality ?
Epoz Aktimate Mini Plus - Seem to get great reviews and apparently blow the Audioengines out of the water. Are they better than the Ruark though ?
KRK Rokit RP5 G3 - Seem to be popular with a more coloured sound that is more suited to listening
Mackie MR5 mk3 - Again, seem to be a popular choice
Adam A3X - Another popular monitor but is it really suitable for recreational listening?
M-Audio BX5 D2 - Not sure about these. Great value, plain looking but how close are they to the rest in quality given they are half the price ?
Studiospares SN4a - Budget option here but also smaller than the rest (apart from the Ruark of course). Apparently decent sound when paired with a DAC

The above may seem an eclectic mix but they are what fall into my range of price and acceptable size.

At the end of the day, if the Ruark sound quality can match the Aktimates or say the Rokits, I would prefer the Ruarks due to their looks and especially their size.

I welcome any thoughts and feedback from others who have been in a similar dilemma or auditioned these.
 
Would you be interested in something like the Q Acoustics 2010i and an amp? They're small and meant to be great, granted it's more hassle. Just a thought.
 
Thanks Mason.

Funny you mention that as I originally started looking at the Q2010i passive speakers for hooking up to a spare Sonos ZP100 I have but decided that powered/active speakers would be more flexible as I can hook them up to my laptop on my desk as opposed to positioning them elsewhere in the room which I would have to do if I used an amp/Sonos
 
I have no experience with powered speakers except for Creative T20s which were 'ok' and Microlab Solo6Cs which were great but they're pretty big so not something you would particularly want.

Sorry I can't help anymore.
 
Well you can knock any rear ported speakers off the list as they won't be very effective with the back facing out into the room. So that leaves you with a front port or sealed cabinet.

Out of your list the KRKs stand out to me as they have a slightly emphasised bass which would be ideal for you as it would eliminate the need for a subwoofer or bigger and better speakers.

To get an idea of what to go for, you'll probably have to listen to a few at least then make a comparison/evaluation and decide which ones will be best suited for you.

Might be worth checking out the Fluid Audio F5 as well, yes I know more options! There's too many :p
 
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I have the Adam A7X and they are excellent and use them for everything. Do not forget to get some decent stands to isolate the speakers from your desk.
 
OK, now I have a bit of time I thought I would let everyone know where I have got to.

I am finding it quite hard to audition speakers as many places I have tried don't have any available for listening to or only have one or two from my list.

*** No competitor talk ***

I have listened to the following speakers:
  • Ruark MR1
  • KRK Rokit RP5 G3
  • Studiospares SN4a
  • M Audio BX5 D2
  • Eve Audio SC204
  • Eve Audio SC205
  • Focal CMS40
  • Yamaha HS5

I have tried a variety of music to test the speakers out at different qualities ranging from 128 Kbs MP3 to lossles FLAC files. Tracks included songs from artists such as Queen, Daft Punk, Goldfrapp, Dire Straits, Joss Stone, Michael Jackson as well as others.

Having listened and seen the speakers it has definitely helped me firm up my needs and requirements and has resulted in some speakers that were originally on my list to be ruled out whilst new ones have entered the mix.

As you can see, following some travelling and auditioning, the list has changed somewhat so one of the key learnings, as many others will tell you, everyone's tastes and requirements are different, always audition.

A quick note first though, trying to audition speakers is quite time consuming as not every retailer has models available for auditioning, even if they stock them. This means having to visit different retailers to hear different speakers which is not ideal as you are not able to quite A/B test and have to do some of it from memory.

Although I had heard some of the speakers on my list in isolation at various retailers, I finally managed to get to the DV 247 store which had by far the widest variety of speakers set up in their audition room which allowed me to A/B test the following:
  • Adam A3X
  • Adam A5X
  • Eve SC204
  • Yamaha HS5
  • Focal CMS40
  • Rokit RP5

I can't stress the importance of true A/B testing as listening to some speakers by themselves, they sounded great but completely different when switching between them and others on the same track.

So, here are my thoughts on the speakers I have managed to track down and audition:

Ruark MR1
Fantastic little speaker for its size but too compromised in terms of sound quality. Poor stereo imaging and separation of instruments combined with the inevitable lack of bass. To be honest, I can't see why WHF would award it an annual Best Buy. Yes, it is cute, it is small, it is portable but I think I would have gone for a slightly larger speaker with better sound quality.
These are out for me.

Studiospares SN4a
Lovely little speaker particularly when you consider the price. Unfortunately it just isn't up to the standard of the mainstream manufacturers in the same size category. Better sound than the MR1 though at a third of the price.

KRK Rokit RP5 G3
Really liked the sound of these when I first heard them in isolation. Great stereo separation and decent bass response considering it is only a 5" driver. The sweet spot is a little small but get it right and there is almost a 3D quality to the music. The problem for me was that they are a little larger than my preferred size (and a little plasticky). I then heard them in a direct test against the others and they sounded very muffled and not as open compared to their competitors. These are now ruled out.

M-Audio BX5 D2
Great value speakers that can go quite loud. Decent sound quality but don't have the finesse of the Rokits when it comes to stereo imaging. Also, I am not sure about them as the music was going thrugh about £1k of pro audio equipment before it got to the speakers and it still didn't sound as good as the KRKs which didn't have all that kit in the middle.

Yamaha HS5
These were quite impressive. They produced more bass than any of the others but didn't have the sweetness in the highs. They are a little too revealing and not flattering of poorer quality music. Probably great for recording/production work but not completely convinced yet that they will make the best speaker for pure listening enjoyment

Eve Audio SC204
These were surprising. They were not on my list but KMR and DV 247 had a demo set available so I set about auditioning them. I was really impressed with their performance given their small size. Very good stereo imaging, decent 3D staging of the instruments (maybe not as good as the KRK) and can go fairly loud (for a small room). The front mounted controls with adaptability for different room types was also a bonus. The main con of these speakers is their price. These would be on the top of my list if it were not for their price.

Eve Audio SC205
These were also available to audition and I was able to compare them directly to the SC204, switching mid track between the two. Exactly the same performance as their smaller brother except the larger driver made the tracks feel a little more airy with a slightly lower reach on the bottom end. To be honest, given the increase in size and cost, I felt that the SC204 was a more than an acceptable compromise.

Adam A3X
This a nice little speaker that for me is about the perfect size and would look good on my desk. They had similar performance to the Eve SC204, good mid and high notes, crystal clear sound but slightly lacking in low end. The low frequencies it did reproduce though were tight with a good attack. Given their price advantage over the the Eve, these are on my final short list.

Adam A5X
These speakers were fantastic and to my ears, the best all rounder. Decent bass, good mids and fantastic highs. They encompassed the best of the smaller A3X, Eve and Focal but with a more airy element to the sound stage, probably due to the larger driver. Shame about the price

Focal CM40
Out of all the small (4" or less) speakers I have listened to so far, these performed the best. They had a good all round sound and felt a little more fuller. I am not sure if it is because they are digging a little deeper on the lower notes. The highs were not as crystal clear as on the ribbon tweeter from the Adam and Eve but more than satisfactory. Again though, they are priced quite high and out of my budget.

Following the last audition I have also taken an objective step back from the excitement of purchasing a new set of speakers and decided that my heart was running away with my budget and I should let my head step in and put some boundaries around budget. As a result, I am going to constrain myself to a £200 to £300 budget.

I am erring towards a smaller speaker with a 4" driver as the size is just right for my desk and I don't believe I am losing too much by going for a 1" smaller driver than the 5" I was previously targeting.

Following this decision and also re-visiting what is available for my budget, I have short-listed the following speakers which also now includes a new contender which I was not previously aware of but seems to be receiving some excellent reviews and more importantly is within my budget.

  • Adam A3X
  • Yamaha HS5
  • Tannoy 402 (or 502)

I plan to audition the three above and make a purchase.

As an aside, I am looking at pairing the speakers with a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 music interface and some angled isolation pads.
 
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