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Audiophile quality PC speakers

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W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
kevm3 said:
What preamp did you end up with? I'm trying to figure out which component I want to upgrade next. It's most likely between Pre or DAC. For a DAC, I'd get an Audio GD Reference 1. Have no idea about what the good pres are though.
Click to expand...


I love my pre but it might be out of your price range. Try the Cambridge Audio 840E. Great sound, balanced ins and outs, flexible and a surprisingly good headphone stage.

For a DAC, I heartily recommend the Bryston BDA-1 DAC. Stupidly good for the money.
 
K

kevm3

Member
Witchfinder General said:
I love my pre but it might be out of your price range. Try the Cambridge Audio 840E. Great sound, balanced ins and outs, flexible and a surprisingly good headphone stage.

For a DAC, I heartily recommend the Bryston BDA-1 DAC. Stupidly good for the money.
Click to expand...

Definitely appreciate the recommendations. The $2000 price isn't bad. Is the separate power supply for the Cambridge worth it? I see that it doubles the cost.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
I got the Rotel RC1580, it was the best sounding I heard in the price range. I looked at the cambridge pre-amp but since Im not gonna use balanced outs i found the rotel was godo enough for my needs.

As for that bryston DAC that was mentioned, that really is a good one I think the only one that would compete with it in that price range is the ayre.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
kevm3 said:
Definitely appreciate the recommendations. The $2000 price isn't bad. Is the separate power supply for the Cambridge worth it? I see that it doubles the cost.
Click to expand...

I think thats the matching power amp, not a power supply.
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
kevm3 said:
Definitely appreciate the recommendations. The $2000 price isn't bad. Is the separate power supply for the Cambridge worth it? I see that it doubles the cost.
Click to expand...

That would be the 840W. Handy tip: the 840W can be bridged to turn them into monstrous mono-blocks and man do they sing in that configuration.
 
K

kevm3

Member
Very nice. Can't wait to get the funds to add a nice upgrade. Nothing quite like hearing realistic sound pumping from your speakers.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
any updates on getting that table, nitewulf?? I'm really debating if I should sell my Xpression III and get the Perspex. If i do that Im also wondering if my 2M Blue will be enough for that table or if i should go to the 2M bronze or black, or even a MC by dynavector.
 
R

Ravager61

Member
I was hoping to get some advice.

My current set of Klipsch 2.1 speakers are starting to die on me after about 5 years of use. Up until they started to break, I was pretty happy with this set and I was thinking of purchasing another set.

However, after reading this thread I found
Swan D1080MkII
and
Swan M10s

My current system has a nice, heavy subwoofer and since I listen to a lot of bass heavy music, I am worried the Swans wont be able to deliver the same punch.

I realize I am not an audiophile and I am not looking to spend more than about $150. Has anyone heard the Swan systems? Would I be better off with the Klipsch system or should I go with the swans?

Also, is it possible to add a subwoofer to the D1080MkIIs?

edit: If so, what sub would you recommend for under $100?
 
D

Darkatomz

Member
Ravager61 said:
I was hoping to get some advice.

My current set of Klipsch 2.1 speakers are starting to die on me after about 5 years of use. Up until they started to break, I was pretty happy with this set and I was thinking of purchasing another set.

However, after reading this thread I found
Swan D1080MkII
and
Swan M10s

My current system has a nice, heavy subwoofer and since I listen to a lot of bass heavy music, I am worried the Swans wont be able to deliver the same punch.

I realize I am not an audiophile and I am not looking to spend more than about $150. Has anyone heard the Swan systems? Would I be better off with the Klipsch system or should I go with the swans?

Also, is it possible to add a subwoofer to the D1080MkIIs?

edit: If so, what sub would you recommend for under $100?
Click to expand...
If you're going to compare speakers at the $150 range, then you should be comparing the Swan d1080mk2 and the M-AUDIO AV40. They're pretty similar, and pretty much on the same level. Thing is, the AV40s can go as low as $120, as they were a week ago on Amazon. It's about $150 now, so no price difference when you factor in shipping with Swans.

I personally, don't feel the need for a sub, as both of these systems put out adequate bass (IMO). If you really feel like you need one (get it after the speakers, if you were to), at $100, the Polk PSW10 is probably your best bet.


edit: fixed to M-Audio, NOT Audio Technica.
 
R

Ravager61

Member
Darkatomz said:
If you're going to compare speakers at the $150 range, then you should be comparing the Swan d1080mk2 and the Audio Technica AV40. They're pretty similar, and pretty much on the same level. Thing is, the AV40s can go as low as $120, as they were a week ago on Amazon. It's about $150 now, so no price difference when you factor in shipping with Swans.

I personally, don't feel the need for a sub, as both of these systems put out adequate bass (IMO). If you really feel like you need one (get it after the speakers, if you were to), at $100, the Polk PSW10 is probably your best bet.
Click to expand...

Those AV40s look great. I think I'm gonna go with those since it sounds like they have a bit more bass then the swans. Thanks for the advice.
 
G

Geneijin

Member
Ravager61 said:
My current system has a nice, heavy subwoofer and since I listen to a lot of bass heavy music, I am worried the Swans wont be able to deliver the same punch.

I realize I am not an audiophile and I am not looking to spend more than about $150. Has anyone heard the Swan systems? Would I be better off with the Klipsch system or should I go with the swans?
Click to expand...

I have the M10s but I wouldn't recommend them because of the type of music you listen to. I find the bass lacking even with the sub. I mainly listen to instrumental and trance btw. However, I'm not sure about the other Swans. I wasn't able to listen to them enough to have an opinion of them, but I heard from the owner the bass is pretty big since he lives in an apartment so he had to turn them far down.

Edit: Those Audio Techs do look sexy though. I think I'll suggest someone them.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
Its time to upgrade my source (the dac will be used for pc based music only). I need a new CD player as my current one has a very loud motor. It needs to be dead quiet and turn on and load discs very quickly, and most importantly sound great. Any suggestions?? Will be matched with Rotel electronics and B&W speakers. I was looking at the Marantz SA8003 since it will be able to play my SACDs. Any suggestions?
 
V

vertopci

Member
My current 2.1 speakers (L-3800) died :( and I'm looking for something equivalent or better. Preferably better :D

Any recommendations for 2.1 systems UNDER 200 bucks and preferably under 150 if possible? I would need it for gaming, movies and music.

I'm leaning towards the Swan M10s, but I have a question about it. I hear that the subwoofer isn't really a subwoofer, but a midwoofer. Is this to make up for the lack of that range on the speakers themselves? Basically would using my current subwoofer with the Swan M10s be a bad idea?
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
Winged Creature said:
Its time to upgrade my source (the dac will be used for pc based music only). I need a new CD player as my current one has a very loud motor. It needs to be dead quiet and turn on and load discs very quickly, and most importantly sound great. Any suggestions?? Will be matched with Rotel electronics and B&W speakers. I was looking at the Marantz SA8003 since it will be able to play my SACDs. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Well, what do you listen too? Marantz players are nice sounding but put me too sleep. Dull.

The Bryston BCD-1 is pretty good and clean, if a tad sterile. If it were me I'd go for Densen or Naim. Everything else sounds lifeless in comparison.

Classe used to be great but once they started ripping of Plinius' design and jacked up the price they're no longer viable.
 
N

nitewulf

Member
Winged Creature said:
any updates on getting that table, nitewulf?? I'm really debating if I should sell my Xpression III and get the Perspex. If i do that Im also wondering if my 2M Blue will be enough for that table or if i should go to the 2M bronze or black, or even a MC by dynavector.
Click to expand...
definitely, i was out of the country, i just got back. i'll talk to ken from needledoctors as soon as i get the chance. we will try to strike a good deal. i have decided on the Pro-Ject RM9.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
Witchfinder General said:
Well, what do you listen too? Marantz players are nice sounding but put me too sleep. Dull.

The Bryston BCD-1 is pretty good and clean, if a tad sterile. If it were me I'd go for Densen or Naim. Everything else sounds lifeless in comparison.

Classe used to be great but once they started ripping of Plinius' design and jacked up the price they're no longer viable.
Click to expand...

I listen to alot of jazz, smooth house, nu-jazz, soul and funk. Pretty much anything that is chillout and smooth grooves. The marantz would appeal to me cause of the SACD, and since its a warmer player it may match balance the upfront nature of my electronics. Im always open to suggestions, if it does SACD then that is a definite plus since i have a quite a few of those discs lying around.
 
N

nitewulf

Member
sorry i meant the Pro-Ject RM 9.1, not the 9. Winged, any other suggestions for tube phono amps? I'm gonna set up the analog source to be pretty much tube based, w/ the solid state power amplifier back.

Witchfinder, any suggestions for a tube phono stage below $1000?
 
W

Witchfinder General

punched Wheelchair Mike
Winged Creature said:
I listen to alot of jazz, smooth house, nu-jazz, soul and funk. Pretty much anything that is chillout and smooth grooves. The marantz would appeal to me cause of the SACD, and since its a warmer player it may match balance the upfront nature of my electronics. Im always open to suggestions, if it does SACD then that is a definite plus since i have a quite a few of those discs lying around.
Click to expand...

The Marantz may be perfect for you then although I haven't heard it. I would also suggest the Plinus CD-101 as a great, solid CD player but it has no digital display and may be rather costly in the US.


nitewulf said:
sorry i meant the Pro-Ject RM 9.1, not the 9. Winged, any other suggestions for tube phono amps? I'm gonna set up the analog source to be pretty much tube based, w/ the solid state power amplifier back.

Witchfinder, any suggestions for a tube phono stage below $1000?
Click to expand...


Ehhh, I would stay away from cheap to affordable tube products as to do them properly is rather costly. My favourite phonostage at your budget would have to be the Audiolab 8000PPA. It's a bit dry sounding but has amazing detail and imaging for the price, if a tad bass shy.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
I figure this goes hand in hand with this thread. Now I'm looking for a preamp since connecting the M10's to a turntable outputs a very low volume. I saw in headphones thread that someone recommended the iBasso D2+. If anyone knows of a preamp a bit less pricey (160) but about the same quality, feel free to share. :D
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
Alucrid said:
I figure this goes hand in hand with this thread. Now I'm looking for a preamp since connecting the M10's to a turntable outputs a very low volume. I saw in headphones thread that someone recommended the iBasso D2+. If anyone knows of a preamp a bit less pricey (160) but about the same quality, feel free to share. :D
Click to expand...

are you talking about a phono pre-amp? The ibasso is a headphone amp with a dac, not something you would use with a turntable.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Winged Creature said:
are you talking about a phono pre-amp? The ibasso is a headphone amp with a dac, not something you would use with a turntable.
Click to expand...

Well...I guess it's best to describe what I would need it for then since I'm not all that educated on the subject. :lol

I want a preamp for two set ups. One being [turntable]->[preamp]->[speakers] and the other for [pc]->[preamp]->[headphones]. I'm also assuming that the latter set up could also switch to [pc]->[preamp]->[speakers] with no problems, right? Does this mean I would need two preamps or are there ones out there that serve both purposes?
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Winged Creature said:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Bellari-VP130-Tube-Phono-Preamp?sc=2&category=401

this phono preamp has a headphone output. It can be used to connect your turntable to your speakers. This ia stictly analog solution, u wont be able to do any digital audio like a ibasso.
Click to expand...

Okay, that looks nice and seems to do what I want. Now what exactly would I be missing in terms of digital audio? Just added quality to the sound? Also, hooking that preamp to my computer would just need a male headphone -> male RCA?

Oh, I assume that getting a RCA F -> headphone jack and running that from the turntable to the ibasso to my speaker/headphones would be blasphemous, right? :lol
 
D

DancingJesus

Banned
What is GAF's opinion on Logitech's 5.1 systems?

My speakers are on it's last legs (the sound cuts out when you move a wire in a certain way).

So I'm looking to upgrade my speakers for my birthday. I use my speakers for my 360/PS3 and Computer/Music so it is a multipurpose set. I listen to tons of music while working in Photoshop so clarity is pretty important to me.

I noticed a lot of you are opting for higher quality 2.1 speakers, could someone please explain the advantage to having that over a 5.1 system? I'm no master of audio so that's why I am here for help. Thanks!
 
Q

quaere

Member
DancingJesus said:
I noticed a lot of you are opting for higher quality 2.1 speakers, could someone please explain the advantage to having that over a 5.1 system? I'm no master of audio so that's why I am here for help. Thanks!
Click to expand...
x budget / 2 speakers is a lot higher per speaker than x budget / 5 speakers.

What other reason would there be? It's not like music will magically degrade when you add more speakers :lol
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
DancingJesus said:
What is GAF's opinion on Logitech's 5.1 systems?

My speakers are on it's last legs (the sound cuts out when you move a wire in a certain way).

So I'm looking to upgrade my speakers for my birthday. I use my speakers for my 360/PS3 and Computer/Music so it is a multipurpose set. I listen to tons of music while working in Photoshop so clarity is pretty important to me.

I noticed a lot of you are opting for higher quality 2.1 speakers, could someone please explain the advantage to having that over a 5.1 system? I'm no master of audio so that's why I am here for help. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not really an expert on it, but a lot of people bought the entry 5.1 Logitechs (the ones that cost $80) and compared to my Swan M10s they sound like shit. The highs are dull, the lows are muddled, and it doesn't really help when they turn the volume all the way up and everything goes to shit. The M10s, even at a high 60-70% volume, are loud, with the highs clear and crips and the lows being nice and warm. Someone will probably come with a better explanation and analysis though. :lol

Also, is it okay to turn my M10s subwoofer on its side? I was thinking about doing so to save some space on my desk.
 
S

sharkmuncher

Member
Pretty much what aswedc said:
Less speaker = better sound for the money.
I would add that in my experience, the increase in sound quality in many 2.1 vs 5.1 systems is generally worth it. If surround sound is important for gaming (2.1 is almost always better for music) you can always add speakers to the right system.
 
D

DancingJesus

Banned
Alucrid said:
I'm not really an expert on it, but a lot of people bought the entry 5.1 Logitechs (the ones that cost $80) and compared to my Swan M10s they sound like shit. The highs are dull, the lows are muddled, and it doesn't really help when they turn the volume all the way up and everything goes to shit. The M10s, even at a high 60-70% volume, are loud, with the highs clear and crips and the lows being nice and warm. Someone will probably come with a better explanation and analysis though. :lol

Also, is it okay to turn my M10s subwoofer on its side? I was thinking about doing so to save some space on my desk.
Click to expand...

Thanks this was the kind of answer I was looking for.


sharkmuncher said:
Pretty much what aswedc said:
Less speaker = better sound for the money.
I would add that in my experience, the increase in sound quality in many 2.1 vs 5.1 systems is generally worth it. If surround sound is important for gaming (2.1 is almost always better for music) you can always add speakers to the right system.
Click to expand...

Good to know.


The only problem is the Swan speakers seem to be out of stock.
 
Q

quaere

Member
Unless you know your listening needs are bass heavy, I wouldn't discount going without a subwoofer until you've heard a quality 2.0 set. A lot of good choices there in the ~$150 area.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
aswedc said:
Unless you know your listening needs are bass heavy, I wouldn't discount going without a subwoofer until you've heard a quality 2.0 set. A lot of good choices there in the ~$150 area.
Click to expand...

I will say that, like others have, the M10's aren't the "blow the roof off" kinda subwoofer, it's more to reinforce the lows, but they still sound incredible anyhow. And yeah, looking at 2.0s are a good idea as well, I personally have my eye on the Swan M200MKIIs right now for my next upgrade or my permanent vinyl speakers.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
If u want to upgrade right, get a good amp and good pair of speakers, that will be a much bigger upgrade then then just getting powered monitors again.
 
S

SuicideUZI

Member
Could someone recommend me a decent pair of PC speakers or a mini shelf system that has optical input?

Right now my PC is hooked up to a really old JVC shelf system that is bigger than I want
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Winged Creature said:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Bellari-VP130-Tube-Phono-Preamp?sc=2&category=401

this phono preamp has a headphone output. It can be used to connect your turntable to your speakers. This ia stictly analog solution, u wont be able to do any digital audio like a ibasso.
Click to expand...

Okay, I'm still a bit confused. So the iBasso can take digital sources, i.e. computers, cd players, etc. and amplify/improve the sound quality. The VP130 does the same thing for analog sources, i.e. my turntable. Can either one do the same thing for both?
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
You need the phono stage to listen to records, since turntables dont have a proper line signal and need to boosted a regular line out level. Where as the dac will improve your digital audio. There is no device that does both that i know of.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Winged Creature said:
You need the phono stage to listen to records, since turntables dont have a proper line signal and need to boosted a regular line out level. Where as the dac will improve your digital audio. There is no device that does both that i know of.
Click to expand...

Crap. Okay, throw out all that ibasso stuff. I think I found what I want.

http://www.mavaudio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1/hardware/

Opinions? It won't work with the turntable though, so I'll still need the Bellari, but this looks beautiful.
 
W

Winged Creature

Member
this will work, u just need to plug the phono stage into the analog line in. Since this has a headphone amp built in you dont need to get the bellari. I reccomend the cambridge audio 640p I really like it and think its the best for the price range. I used to have the project phono box and the NAD PP, I found the Cambridge to be the best. You can find alot of rave reviews on this phono pre-amp.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CA640P
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
Winged Creature said:
this will work, u just need to plug the phono stage into the analog line in. Since this has a headphone amp built in you dont need to get the bellari. I reccomend the cambridge audio 640p I really like it and think its the best for the price range. I used to have the project phono box and the NAD PP, I found the Cambridge to be the best. You can find alot of rave reviews on this phono pre-amp.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CA640P
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the help. Looks like I'm set on those then. :D
 
S

Shawsie64

Banned
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
 
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