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Audiophile quality PC speakers

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S

Sanjuro

Member
Figured I would ask in this thread. I had some Bose compainion speakers given to me as a gift and the lack of a shield and some of the pitches would make awkward sounds I decided to sell it and get another pair.

I'm dealing with a close to $50 budget so my options are thin. I picked up some of these at Best Buy. The audio quality is...pretty poor I have to admit. I'm not a huge audiophile but looking for something decent for a pair of 2.0 speakers. I'm more of a b&m guy so not sure what else there is.

Thanks.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I'm getting MkIIIs this month if the shipment comes in as they say.
 
G

giga

Member
Unless you find some miracle at a garage sale, you're not gonna get anything worthwhile to be honest. Basically just logitech pc speakers.

$100 you at least have a few choices.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Sanjuro Tsubaki said:
...the price tag on that is $250.

I mean I could go a "little" higher than $50. Not $200 dollars more.
Click to expand...

On the same site check out the D1080MkII, they're $125. If you're willing to forfeit a 2.0 system for a 2.1 they have the Swan M10 or M12, both are good for the ~$100 spent on them. You really don't need much else with these either since they're desktop speakers...plug right into an audio jack.
 
Q

quaere

Member
Sanjuro Tsubaki said:
Little meaning maybe $10-15 dollars. I have no audio equipment.
Click to expand...
Best bet is probably eBay. Keep an eye out for the $100 MSRP sets, you should be able to snag one used for $50. I'm going to be putting up my Maudio AV30s in the next week or so, and that seems to be the ending range.
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
giga said:
Unless you find some miracle at a garage sale, you're not gonna get anything worthwhile to be honest. Basically just logitech pc speakers.

$100 you at least have a few choices.
Click to expand...
Well let's say I can gather $100, what am I looking at? Are any b&m?
 
L

Luthair

Member
I just wanted to say I got the Sawns M200MKII's and I love these things to death. They sound amazing. I keep digging up my CD's to hear how they sound on it ^_^
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
Shawsie64 said:
Picking up a pair of Krix Equinox tomorrow off a mate, should be good

http://www.krix.com.au/Product/Detail.aspx?p=44&id=6

Krix_Equinox_jarrah_L.jpg
Click to expand...


I love the Equinox. My favourite Krix speakers.

nitewulf said:
well, system updated, finally!

Turntable:







Vacuum Tube Phono Pre-amplifier:





My first set of vinyl:

Click to expand...


Very nice. The record player is so familiar, yet I can't put a name to it. It seems to be using a Rega RB250 arm that's been rewired.
 
N

nitewulf

Member
kevm3 said:
Nice equipment there. How does it all sound? I was thinking about getting some tube eq down the line.
Click to expand...
yeah, tube is the way to go. i'll make my analog completely tube down the line. right now my Mac is driving the load, but i'll get a Mac tube amp to power the analog chain in the future.

without using buzzwords and crap, the music is rich and just full. no other way to describe it. there is noise, the pops and cracks...from the used disks. but from the new disks there's barely any noise. the music is just a lot more involving, dare i say "musical". excellent channel separation and resolution. it's live basically.

Witchfinder General said:
Very nice. The record player is so familiar, yet I can't put a name to it. It seems to be using a Rega RB250 arm that's been rewired.
Click to expand...
you know your stuff. the record player is an Origin Live! Aurora, MK2. and yep, that's a modified Rega RB250, which Origin Live calls OL1, it's structurally upgraded with a metal stub, counterweight and internal and external silver wiring. basically they give you an excellent quality interconnect included with the price of the tonearm.

the pre-amplifier is an Eastern Electric Minimax, which comes highly regarded from pretty much everyone familiar with it. it was going to be either this or the EAR 834P. the cartridge is a Shure 97xe (only $70!) which i'll upgrade down the line.
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
nitewulf said:
yeah, tube is the way to go. i'll make my analog completely tube down the line. right now my Mac is driving the load, but i'll get a Mac tube amp to power the analog chain in the future.

without using buzzwords and crap, the music is rich and just full. no other way to describe it. there is noise, the pops and cracks...from the used disks. but from the new disks there's barely any noise. the music is just a lot more involving, dare i say "musical". excellent channel separation and resolution. it's live basically.


you know your stuff. the record player is an Origin Live! Aurora, MK2. and yep, that's a modified Rega RB250, which Origin Live calls OL1, it's structurally upgraded with a metal stub, counterweight and internal and external silver wiring. basically they give you an excellent quality interconnect included with the price of the tonearm.

the pre-amplifier is an Eastern Electric Minimax, which comes highly regarded from pretty much everyone familiar with it. it was going to be either this or the EAR 834P. the cartridge is a Shure 97xe (only $70!) which i'll upgrade down the line.
Click to expand...


Sweet, it must sound lovely. Once you go tube you don't go back.
 
N

nitewulf

Member
Winged Creature said:
Great setup, how do u find the shure? I didnt like the shure at all in my experience but it may work well with your table.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I don't have a reference point. And I doubt it broke in yet, I must be playing my turntable for about 10 hours, but I can't stop listening to records. Whenever I have some free time I'm putting something on. The cartridge sounds really good to me, it's not the last word on revealing, but it sure is lively.

What did you find wrong with it?
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
nitewulf, when you upgrade your cartridge I'd suggest going for either an Ortofon or a Lyra MC cartridge. Either something like the Ortofon Kontrapunkt A or a Lyra Dorian.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
nitewulf said:
Honestly, I don't have a reference point. And I doubt it broke in yet, I must be playing my turntable for about 10 hours, but I can't stop listening to records. Whenever I have some free time I'm putting something on. The cartridge sounds really good to me, it's not the last word on revealing, but it sure is lively.

What did you find wrong with it?
Click to expand...


too boring, compared to alot of other cartridges ive heard. It just didnt work for me. Btw i thought you were gonna go with the pro-ject RPM 9.1, why the sudden change?
 
N

nitewulf

Member
Winged Creature said:
Btw i thought you were gonna go with the pro-ject RPM 9.1, why the sudden change?
Click to expand...
Well it was not very easy to audition turntables, and I was curious about Origin Live tables as from reviews, they seemed to be the type of sound I was looking for. So I called one of the few dealers here and I got a really good deal from him. Plus he was just all around very knowledgeable and cool to talk to. ie, he spent a whole lot of his time just explaining a lot of stuff when he heard this was going to be my first analog setup. He also recommended the pre-amplifiers, mostly telling me to look for the stuff second hand as new ones are just too pricey. Basically he wasn't trying to push any products on me, he was totally non-obnoxious like the usual hi-fi sales people, and he took a long time to go over the synergies of various setups. I had a good feeling from the conversations we had and went for the Origin Live setup he recommended, and bought the cartridge and the phono stage else where.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Just ordered a pair of Swan M200MkIII... Oh gracious I'm not sure I'm ready for such quality...

Also, broke for a month confirmed. :lol
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I don't know how to properly describe the quality. It's like there aren't even speakers there. The sound just exists.
 
X

Xun

Member
Dice said:
I don't know how to properly describe the quality. It's like there aren't even speakers there. The sound just exists.
Click to expand...
I felt the same way with my Grado SR60i's.

I really must get some Audiophile speakers sometime.
 
B

Blackheim

Member
Dice said:
Just ordered a pair of Swan M200MkIII...l
Click to expand...

Just did this, hopefully they won't take too long to get here via FedEx. There aren't many reviews out there on these, but those that are make them sound pretty great and so I decided to give them a shot. That $400 is still exceedingly painful though :/
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Blackheim said:
Just did this, hopefully they won't take too long to get here via FedEx. There aren't many reviews out there on these, but those that are make them sound pretty great and so I decided to give them a shot. That $400 is still exceedingly painful though :/
Click to expand...
For me it's like this: Money comes and goes. If I didn't spend it here, where would it have gone? Food? Games? Clothes? If I'm spending it, that means I could. Maybe I sacrificed on some other unnecessary expense (for me, buying any "stuff" at all or going out to eat for a month), but I still could. So 4 months down the road I won't be missing that money because it'd be gone anyway, but I'll be jammin out to sweet speakers. It was the same way when I got my Canada Goose coat, and I wasn't ever cold all winter. I don't recommend going into debt for anything, but sacrificing some comforts to save up? Sure, if you want it and it's something totally sweet.

Oh and FedEx was right on with their scheduled delivery date for me.
 
B

Blackheim

Member
Oh yea, I know. My disposable income generally goes to music CDs anyway and I make sure to budget well enough. I certainly won't go into debt by ordering these so I'm not stressed about that. It's just ... $400 all at once, ouch hah.

I've had some not-so-awesome Bose speakers I was given for x-mas a few years back and, ugh. I was tired of them. The MKIIIs should be a slight improvement :p

Thanks for letting me know about the FedEx date :)
 
K

kevm3

Member
I would say speakers are more well than worth the price even at $400. I spent over a grand for mine, which I'm still paying off :(. Ouchhh... But I don't regret buying a good pair of speakers one bit and I don't think you will either. Nothing like listening to sweet, sweeet music in high quality.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I'm listening to Beach House now, it's very nice. Had to rearrange the room a bit so I could have the speakers at the right height and distance apart with something solid underneath them, but now that it's right it is sooo good.
 
B

Blackheim

Member
kevm3 said:
I would say speakers are more well than worth the price even at $400. I spent over a grand for mine, which I'm still paying off :(. Ouchhh... But I don't regret buying a good pair of speakers one bit and I don't think you will either. Nothing like listening to sweet, sweeet music in high quality.
Click to expand...

Man, there's no way I could spend $1k on speakers with my crappy job. If I could afford something like that, I would certainly do it. I wouldn't go completely overboard though like some seem to do though. I imagine that once I get them hooked up and listen to them, I'll feel a lot better about my purchase :)


I listen to a lot of different music from Death Metal, classic rock, oldies, 80's to Jpop and stuff in between. It will be interesting to hear how these speakers will handle all of it. I hope they will represent everything pretty good. Well, I can't imagine that these Bose will handle any of that music better than the MKIIIs.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Blackheim I recommend getting Ladyhawke's self-titled debut album to listen to on them.

Alucrid I wish I had heard M10s before to know if you shouldn't be wiggin out so much.
 
B

Blackheim

Member
Dice said:
Blackheim I recommend getting Ladyhawke's self-titled debut album to listen to on them.

Alucrid I wish I had heard M10s before to know if you shouldn't be wiggin out so much.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I found them on YT and will give them a shot.

The M10/M12's are 2.1 so at the least they more than likely have better bass response/range/sound.
 
G

Geneijin

Member
Alucrid said:
Damn. If I ever wake up and have a spare $400 lying around, they're mine. MINE! My M10s aren't even a year old though so I doubt that'll happen soon.
Click to expand...

I loved my M10s but when someone asked me if I would part with them, I ended up upgrading to the Swan D1080MkII (I got a great deal on them). I hear the Swan M200MkII is even better than my speakers and much worth the money. Not sure about the MkIIIs.
 
T

Timbuktu

Member
Any word on the Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Speakers?

They are as what the thread title describes, at least that's how they're being marketed. but haven't heard anything about them since the announcement last year.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Dice said:
Blackheim I recommend getting Ladyhawke's self-titled debut album to listen to on them.

Alucrid I wish I had heard M10s before to know if you shouldn't be wiggin out so much.
Click to expand...

I have the album on vinyl, it's great. Also, I'm just a crazy semi-audiophile. :lol I should be getting them withing 1~2 weeks or so though.

Geneijin said:
I loved my M10s but when someone asked me if I would part with them, I ended up upgrading to the Swan D1080MkII (I got a great deal on them). I hear the Swan M200MkII is even better than my speakers and much worth the money. Not sure about the MkIIIs.
Click to expand...

M200MKIIIs are just a step up from the M200MKIIs.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
New features in order of importance:

-Nearly double the power for DAT BOOM with clarity
-Biamplification for clean separation of ranges
-New woofer to better handle the new power and clarity of the bass (it works like woah)
-Active equalization = Whipped cream
-Wood paneling = Cherry on top
 
G

Geneijin

Member
Alucrid said:
M200MKIIIs are just a step up from the M200MKIIs.
Click to expand...

If it's the same difference between the two D1080MkII models, then good luck saving up if you're considering the M200MkIII.

I don't see myself spending $400 on speakers (yet), but if it weren't for my budget and deals I've gotten, I would have gotten the M200MkII easily.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
Timbuktu said:
Any word on the Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Speakers?

They are as what the thread title describes, at least that's how they're being marketed. but haven't heard anything about them since the announcement last year.
Click to expand...

there not gonna be like the hi-fi speakers that B&W makes
 
T

Timbuktu

Member
Winged Creature said:
there not gonna be like the hi-fi speakers that B&W makes
Click to expand...

did some searching and found them on Apple store link

I don't really expect them to sound like the 600s in the living room, but I do expect them to be the best for their class and size. At £399, I guess it will sound the same as the Zeppelin... but they're small enough to fit in the study.
 
D

dr3upmushroom

Banned
I'm looking at getting a pair of m200mkiii's to use with my PC and PS3 and I'm not sure how exactly people connect them to stuff. Since they're self-powered, so you still need an amp? Can you get away with just getting a cheap one since you don't need it to power the speakers? My PC only has a VGA and a DVI connection, so what I'd like to do is connect the PC and PS3 to a receiver through HDMI and then send the video to my monitor with an HDMI/ DVI adapter. If I understand correctly there shouldn't be any drop in image quality since it's a digital signal.

The problem is I can't find a stereo receiver that has HDMI in or out. I could get a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver but I hate to pay for something I'm not going to use, especcially when it seems like I don't need an amp in the first place since the speakers are self-powered. How do people usually connect stuff to the Swans? Is there some kind of pre-amp or something I could use that would just process the video and send the sound to the speakers? I guess I don't really need video processing, I could just get video to the monitor through VGA for the PC and an HDMI/ DVI adapter for the PS3 like I'm doing now and send sound to a receiver through optical out of the PS3 and sound card, but I'd like to have a digital signal for everything.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
The speakers have one pair of standard L/R analog inputs. If you want to connect multiple things to them, you'll need something that will take several inputs and then send one output to the speakers. DVI will not transmit sound by itself or with a DVI to HDMI adapter, it has to be HDMI all the way through.

Right now I have DVI from my PC and HDMI from my PS3 plugged into my monitor, which has a headphone jack out. If I want sound from my PC I plug the speakers into my PC out, and if I want it from my PS3 I plug them into my monitor out. However, I'm building a studio here so I'm getting an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra to be able to take all sorts of sound in and then have outs to my speakers as well as my Senns (which will probably later be Grados)

For just a simple setup like yours, I'm not sure what I'd go for. You would need some sort of receiver to properly join two input channels into a single out without screwing them up, but most options I know would be somewhat irritatingly expensive for someone who doesn't want to do anything more than that.
 
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