Best near-field speakers for computer desk under $1000

[jeffxx]

Hello all. I am trying to get away from my constant headphone use and get into a nice set of monitors. These will be placed on my computer desk (http://i.imgur.com/OTRYHhK.jpg). I'm looking to spend around $1000 or less in order to get a decent pair. Any opinions? What I've considered so far are the emotiva airmotiv 5/6 and the adam a5x.

[Mick The Kraken]

How about a pair of these little guys?

 

The Hornlet: 19-inch Horn Speakers | Specimen Products

[Mick The Kraken]

I somehow read $2000, when you actually said $1000, so pardon my recommendation for these @ $1200... Although they are pretty darn neat-o. How they sound is another matter; and I have no experience with them.

[wisnon]

Check Vinatoo at Stereomojo.

 

Active monitors with good bass and bulit in DAC!

 

You can drive with an IPod.

[jeffxx]

Well I have a dac so that wouldn't really be necessary. Those horn speakers.. lol

[Mick The Kraken]

Well I have a dac so that wouldn't really be necessary. Those horn speakers.. lol

 

Pretty wicked, eh?

 

Well, how about these [also little] guys?

 

Tannoy - Residential - Summary

 

I don't know how much they are now-a-days, but they might fit the bill.

[Audio_ELF]

How about KEF X300a? Though I think ideally they are best connected via USB using their own DAC. KEF's LS50 would be an alternative if you already have an amplifier.

[Decodering]

I dont know if space on your desk is tight or not or if you're considering active monitors, but you might want to check out the Emotiva Airmotiv line. I have the Airmotiv5 model and think the sound is great. The Airmotiv4 are smaller and, presumably, the sound quality is comparable. The Airmotive5s are $449/pair.

 

Emotiva Professional, LLC

[Donnie]

I will recommend a pair of Turning Point Trapezium's. They sound real nice.

 

Decware's Desktop Speaker by Turning Point Audio

[wisnon]

Well I have a dac so that wouldn't really be necessary. Those horn speakers.. lol

 

Sell the Dac and pocket the cash!

[Blake]

How about KEF X300a? Though I think ideally they are best connected via USB using their own DAC. KEF's LS50 would be an alternative if you already have an amplifier.

 

+1 to both of these.

 

At $1,000 you are getting really close to some stellar monitors if you can bump the budget just a tad. KEF LS50, and Sonus Faber Venere 1.5 would be in my sights if I were in your shoes. I also noticed new Revel Performa3 M105's being sold on ebay over the last month for $1,000, but I am not sure how the seller is managing this, but they seem legit. Paypal offers some protection as well. $1,000 for the M105's would be an amazing buy.

 

On the downside, I am not sure if these 3 choices are too big for your desk and they will sound better on stands, but still.....

[mayhem13]

To the OP, do you have amplification of some type?

[Blake]

Looking at the pic of your computer desk, you do appear to have some room behind your desk to work with.

 

You could move the desk just a bit further from the wall, then you could put the monitors on stands and place them behind your desk, then cozy up the desk to the stands. That way you don't take up any room on your desk.

[mayhem13]

.....not so simple. You have to accept the desktop as a boundary as well as the walls, sometimes more so due to its size. If the system is designed with baffle step compensation, then what you suggest is a no-go, resulting in an over emphasis of the lower octaves and a muffles, sloppy midbass. That's why I asked the OP if he had amplification as most powered nearfield monitors will have selectable bass roll off to work with different placements and boundaries.

[Blake]

.....not so simple. You have to accept the desktop as a boundary as well as the walls, sometimes more so due to its size.

 

Wait. Monitors on speaker stands (hovering slightly above the desktop in terms of height, but set back), versus monitors placed on the actual desk.

 

Yes, in both cases the desktop will be a boundary.

 

But to your point, how is placing a speaker on a stand more problematic than placing it on a desk? How is this making the situation worse?

[wisnon]

Hello all. I am trying to get away from my constant headphone use and get into a nice set of monitors. These will be placed on my computer desk (http://i.imgur.com/OTRYHhK.jpg). I'm looking to spend around $1000 or less in order to get a decent pair. Any opinions? What I've considered so far are the emotiva airmotiv 5/6 and the adam a5x.

 

The Vanatoo Transparent One is at home in any discerning system."Connectivity" seems to be the word of the new millennium and the Vanatoos can be connected any way imaginable, from wireless to Bluetooth, USB, digital, analog, SPDIF...Got a device? These will make them sing beautifully. Their flexibility and all-in-one capability with very few flaws both sonically and operationally lend themselves to a second system, a high rez desktop system, a primary music system in an apartment, and even as studio monitors based on their neutral characteristic and resolving power. They are easy to use, and truly are what I would consider High Fidelity. Sure, they do not hit the bottom 1.5 octave, but then again, not many speakers do, including many floorstanders. So to that I say well done Vanatoo! I look forward to seeing more products in the future!

 

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$499 a pair.

 

 

Feature Overview

 

Four input options

Analog input (direct connection to your player´s headphone jack)

3 digital inputs: USB audio, TOSLINK® optical, and Coax

60 watts per channel D2Audio® Class D amplifier with integrated Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for superb sound, exceptional frequency response, and high efficiency

Smooth and extended frequency response - 49 to 20,000 Hz +/- 2 dB

Patented 5 ¼ inch XBL™ woofer for deep bass and clear midrange

1 inch silk dome tweeter for smooth, sweet highs

Custom long-excursion passive radiator for extended bass response

Volume, treble, and bass controls lets you adjust the sound to your liking

Left/Right switch lets you select the position of the active speaker for proper stereo imaging

Convenient auxiliary AC power out connector for your Apple Airport Express other powered device

Optional subwoofer output (and we mean optional!) with automatic subwoofer sensing and crossover switching

Automatic low power sleep mode consumes less than a standard nightlight

Real cherry wood veneer in black or hand rubbed natural stain

Compact size - 6 1/2" W x 10" H x 8 1/8" D

Thick, ¾ inch resonance-free MDF cabinet for better acoustical characteristics

Ships with the following cables:

AC power cord

3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable (plugs into headphone jack)

3.5 mm to RCA "Y" cable

Speaker wire


 

Vanatoo

[Blake]

The Audience "The One" speaker looks like an interesting option as well (this is the blue speaker in the last picture).

 

Las Vegas 2013: Audience AV | Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile

[wisnon]

How about KEF X300a? Though I think ideally they are best connected via USB using their own DAC. KEF's LS50 would be an alternative if you already have an amplifier.

 

The French are on the ball...They have tested this in the Feb. Issue of Haute Fidelity with the Teac DSD Dac and the accompanying stack.

[mayhem13]

Wait. Monitors on speaker stands (hovering slightly above the desktop in terms of height, but set back), versus monitors placed on the actual desk.

 

Yes, in both cases the desktop will be a boundary.

 

But to your point, how is placing a speaker on a stand more problematic than placing it on a desk? How is this making the situation worse?

 

If they're designed with a baffles step circuit, any boundary will be problematic as the native response is compensated for the lack thereof.....a few inches above and behind won't make a difference, and in case of behind the desk, close to the rear wall, the condition is likely to worsen.

 

Placing the speaker forward on the desktop using a riser stand would be the lesser of evils. Again all academic unless we fully understand the speaker under consideration.

[REShaman]

The French are on the ball...They have tested this in the Feb. Issue of Haute Fidelity with the Teac DSD Dac and the accompanying stack.

 

If they're designed with a baffles step circuit, any boundary will be problematic as the native response is compensated for the lack thereof.....a few inches above and behind won't make a difference, and in case of behind the desk, close to the rear wall, the condition is likely to worsen.

 

Placing the speaker forward on the desktop using a riser stand would be the lesser of evils. Again all academic unless we fully understand the speaker under consideration.

 

FYI: X300A arrive replete with plugs (smaller inside the larger) to be used if placement requires proximity to wall, boundary etc. If I have placed my X300A on Sound Anchor stands far enough into the room not to require these plugs. And the bass is more than adequate.

 

Best,

Richard

 

 

[mayhem13]

It's not the 50-100hz range that's the problem Rich. Baffle losses begin around 800hz and compensation tilt circuits usually flatten the response up to that point. The boundaries pictured in the OPs photo will result in everything from 100hz and upwards amplified, maybe by as much as 6db, depending on the level of baffle step. We would need to see the Anechoic response to make an accurate assesment. I would venture to say that in the case of your KEFs, the intented use was a desktop, and these would work just fine for the OP, other than he already has a DAC. Whether he has an amplifier or not remains to be discovered, and if so what that amplifier is capable of delivering and driving is the next logical step before determining what speaker systems are viable.

[Audio_ELF]

The KEF X300a have a switch to adjust frequency response if you place them on a desktop vs. in free space.

 

Eloise

[REShaman]

The KEF X300a have a switch to adjust frequency response if you place them on a desktop vs. in free space.

 

Eloise

 

Yes, that is correct. The setting in the user manual is referred to as the Sound Optimisation EQ setting.

 

From the user manual:

 

Best,

Richard

 

[REShaman]

It's not the 50-100hz range that's the problem Rich. Baffle losses begin around 800hz and compensation tilt circuits usually flatten the response up to that point. The boundaries pictured in the OPs photo will result in everything from 100hz and upwards amplified, maybe by as much as 6db, depending on the level of baffle step. We would need to see the Anechoic response to make an accurate assesment. I would venture to say that in the case of your KEFs, the intented use was a desktop, and these would work just fine for the OP, other than he already has a DAC. Whether he has an amplifier or not remains to be discovered, and if so what that amplifier is capable of delivering and driving is the next logical step before determining what speaker systems are viable.

 

mayhem13,

thank you for taking the time to clarify and deepen (mayhem from a different angle) my understanding of what the boundaries are of certain problems (pun unfortunately intended). There is so much I am ignorant of as my background strengths and experience lie elsewhere. All the more to have the benefit of other's expertise in areas where I can begin to be confused and still appreciate how much there is to know. Reading specifications are not the same thing. If supplying some manual illustrations help with the product I recently acquired so that others may have an understanding of what the whole package contains, the better.

Again, thank you.

Best,

Richard

[mayhem13]

You're in a perfect position to help others here Rich by trying them on a desktop with the eQ adjustment and the varying ports and plugs. I was excited to read the initial press released the KEFs as it fills a desktop void nicely with nothing else to buy....plug and play.

So if you get some time, try em out in different environments and post back in your original thread. I think these are a big step ahead of the Audioengine which has become a staple of desktop users and your opinions and musings might be just what a CA reader needs to help making an informed purchase. Heck, if I didn't already have so much money tied up in my desktop, I'd consider the KEFs myself.