Studio Monitor / bookshelf speakers - ideas?

Paul. W

Paul. W

Paul. W

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Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
522
Hi all,

Im getting rid of my Creative 7.1 system. I hardly use it for gaming anymore, and I have a seperate surround system for my TV/DVD system.

So im in the process of flogging them (which is harder than I thought) And will be wanting to replace them with some smallish stuido monitor or bookshelf speakers.

Budget of around £150. I know I wont get amazing quality for that sort of money, but im just after something that gives off a nice all round sound, and doesnt go cheap on the bass. Active speakers are preferred, but I could source an amp if needed.

Main uses will be for music on the PC. Thats it. I currently have an Creative X-Fi platinum music sound card.
 
For your budget I would say a pair of the M-Audio Studiophile BX5As.

They are active and very accurate.

Ditch the X-Fi if you are serious about music though mate. I've said this before but even a low end semi-pro audio card will have much nicer converters than any of the gaming cards. The E-MU 0404 PCI for example is a steal at the price it retails for. Having said this, if you do buy the M-Audio monitors they have balanced inputs and as such, you might be better off grabbing a semi pro card with balanced outputs to minimize noise.

Also look at some speaker stands or Auralex MoPads. Where you position your speakers and on what surface will make more of a difference to the sound than the product you choose above ~£100. Likewise, if you go the route of speaker stands be sure to pick up some of the Atacama Atabites medium density stand filler as this will also tighten up your bass frequencies giving you an improved stereo field and more cohesive low-end.

Hope this helps!

Tom
 
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Glad to be of service mate!

Also, when you make the move to the sort of hardware that was previously mentioned simple things like checking your sample rates are synced in Windows to your soundcard (a problem since Vista onwards) and using lossless audio over compressed will further increase sonic quality.

Don't forget to budget for decent speaker stands though...I always used to underestimate them untill I started studying acoustics at college and heard first hand what a huge difference they can make. If you do not have the space for them however, Auralex Mopads can do a pretty decent job of decoupling the speakers from any surface they might be sitting on. Remember, we want the sound to come purely from the speakers...not propagated through the IKEA desk we have them sat on!

Let us know how you get on with your upgrade!
 
Understandably the speaker stands may have to come a month after the speakers, my budget may not stretch to both in the same month, and my saving skills for 'gadgets' are simply appaling!

Point taken though, I doubt the Ikea Mikael will enhance any sort of sound :D

Will keep you informed, thanks again for your advice.
 
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