Building 1st setup, complete noob looking for help and advice <3

[Cash Cas]

Heya!
Huge techno lover here, I am listening music nearly 24/7 so I want to invest into my first setup!
I love music and I'm somewhat young, so I think it's nice to start the journey :)
My current setup is some general PC subwoofer + 2 minispeakers for around 80 euro.
Having watched some other posts on this forum it's probably really hard for the budget I have so maybe I will have to settle for a headphone setup, I do listen like 6-8 hours a day though and the comfort of a headphone isn't made for that time span, so I want to avoid it pretty much at all costs.

Some more details:
Room is 18 m^2, so studio monitor makes the most sense I guess?
Budget 700-800 can be higher if it's really needed. Really trying to stay below 1k though.
I play digital audio only from my pc, got my FLAC collection :P
Big bass lover, mostly techno or EDM subgenres, sometimes metal too.

So based on this I was thinking about 2 speakers, 1 amp and a sub if money allows it. I have no clue how good the bass is on a decent pair of speakers, cause I have no experience at all.
I have no clue about amps, preamps and DAC's, so please help me out here :P
Maybe I need a DAC since my pc doesn't have an extra soundcard, but I don't know xS

Current thoughts:
Eve Audio SC207 x2 + amp?
Dynaudio BM5 MKIII x2 + amp?
I have no clue, I would think these speakers don't require a sub cause they seem really neato.

KRK Rokit RP5 G4 x2 + sub + amp.
Adam T5V x 2 + sub + amp.
Either one of these I guess is good? This allows for a bit of  a higher budget, but I have no clue which sub would be good.

https://www.jobst-audioshop.de/lautsprecherbausaetze/pa-bausaetze/l-serie/jl-sub218---subwoofer-bausatz
I saw this building kit on some reddit post, I am pretty handy so will probably enjoy building it. All I can think of how nice these big bois must sound. I don't know what I need on top of this, an amp I guess and something else?

Please help me out here, any advice is highly appreciated! :)
Thanks for reading <3

[GregWormald]

At up to 1000 Euro it is possible to get a nice system. As prices vary country by country it is almost impossible to say what would be best for you. Usually local manufacturers provide a good deal as import duties don't apply. DIY can provide great value although it does make prior listening (see below) difficult.

 

I don't find headphones for extensive listening very useful, I prefer speakers. However, bass is expensive. Deep bass is really expensive, but for most music it is more satisfying to have clean bass rather than more bass that is boomy or distorted—as well as good overall sound of course.

 

Personally I like the AudioEngine balance and they have a variety of options that may suit. Since power supplies are also expensive combining amp and speakers can save money, although you do lose out on flexibility and it makes upgrading (it's a disease!) later more difficult. 

 

The quality of the sound starts at the source and moves down the line to the speakers and the room. Once it's lost it can't be regained. The character of the sound is primarily determined by the speakers. This complexity makes balancing a system within your budget vital.

 

It is therefore important that you listen to a variety of systems at shops or at others' places—and in your listening room if at all possible (some dealers will oblige). There is no substitute for choosing what you like.

 

Good luck, and have fun.

[jcbenten]

Well at least two of the speakers you chose, Adam and Dynaudio, are Active...no amp required because the amps are built into the speaker.  And at your budget that is the route I would go...Active speakers, and a sub if you want, with as many connections as possible; both wired and wireless.

 

I have a pair of Edifier Actives with Bluetooth, Optical, Analog RCA, and 3.5mm connections.  Takes 5 seconds to connect via BT to my phone and I can stream from NAS via DLNA or stream from internet radio stations from my phone.  The technology is tremendous.

 

So determine what connections you need (want) and search for active speakers...Personally I would look at Air Pulse, Edifier, Dynaudio, and Adam...maybe JBL but their connections are usually lacking.  @DuckToller just reviewed a couple here on AS: 

 

[Cash Cas]

@GregWormald@jcbenten
Thanks for the information, now it's even harder haha
I do like the idea of having more upgradeable equipment, however with my current budget, I think following JC's advice is best for me and I will get more buck for my money by chosing active speakers.
Just getting a 1st experience, I can probably make a more sensible upgrade when I get more experience.

So about what connection I want, I do think I want to avoid using Bluetooth.
I dislike the idea of my wifi having to work 24/7 for me to be able to listen to my songs, but my internet is really solid so not ruling this out. Also I just like cables, idk, maybe I am weird lol, but I wanna see them and not hide them, pretending they don't exist.

Based my decision on bluetooth, on what Vincent posted in this topic https://www.audio “science” review/forum/index.php?threads/bluetooth-receiver-does-quality-matter-if-using-digital-out-to-dac.6407/
Bluetooth SBC = 328 kbs
AptX=384 kbs
AptX HD= 576 kbs
All of them requires lossy compression
Sony LDAP can go up to 990kbp, still “not” sufficient but this is in the realm of lossless compression FLAC style
At the present only Sony headphones support this protocol.

If you want lossless, WiFi is the way to go.
DLNA is a wide supported protocol for streaming audio.

And yes, Greg, I would love to listen to setups at other people's but there is noone I know that is invested into this :(
I did found some brand stores in my area that have setups, I might check those out, but these are really crazy expensive, defo won't buy from them, but could ask them for advice and be like okay thanks, bye, ima buy my stuff elsewhere xD
Also in our country we don't make like anything ourselves, everything is 100% import.

Also Greg, could you explain more what you mean with DIY can make prior listen more difficult? Cause I am not buying a full setup, it's not matched perfectly, or how do you mean it?
 

[DuckToller]

Salut,
(thank you JC, for mentioning my review !)

just wanted to mention, there are at least  two schools for affordable active monitors:
1) Class A/B powered monitors, sometimes with active analog elements that were developed on the basis of DSP sound patterns.
2) Class D powered monitors using DSP in the digital domain. This is actually more common today, as it allows you to route many different signals (BT/WIFI/TOSLINK/SPDIF/USB/ANALOGUE) into amplification.

If you prefer 1) you may want to look at the Audio Energy AE1, as the more simplicistic approach allows you to diffentiate and upgrade as you like for DAC - STREAMER - PREAMP. You could start with a RPI / DAC hat and upgrade with the speed and investment that suits your personal audio journey. The RPI4 as a streaming companion for less than 100 bucks might last a while, as long as you wouldn't like to at least invest several times the money to upgrade.
Dacs are plenty between 99$ and 500$ and you should look at your personal needs for equipment (HP amp, SPDIF, COAX, Balanced outputs etc).
Notes: Most DACS performe far better than we can hear, they work on labratory levels far beyound our hearing treshold. SCHIIT DACs are well accepted in the community due to their quality, price and CS.
Another note: The AE1 may outlast a lot of upstream gear you will throw at them during the first years of your journey ...

If you prefer 2) the Airpulse range of speakers may be interesting, I personally enjoy the A100 a lot and they work very well with a subwoofer, however - they have a more recent model with the A80 at the markets that goes at 699$ in the US edifier website. Difference to A100:  slightly smaller woofer and cabinet,  but BT5.0, beyond that the same technolgy base as the A100.

Nonetheless, I'd like to advise you to get your active speakers of any brand with a 30 day test period to ensure that you are comfortable with their "house sound" if you can't listen to them at a dealer.

[bluesman]

2 hours ago, DuckToller said:

Nonetheless, I'd like to advise you to get your active speakers of any brand with a 30 day test period to ensure that you are comfortable with their "house sound" if you can't listen to them at a dealer.

Great advice!  I’m also a happy Edifier owner who thinks highly of their products and their approach to customer relations.    JBL also offers multiple models spanning a broad range of size & price.  JBL now sells direct with a 30 day return, but I’ve only bought their speakers from authorized dealers- so I don’t know how their customer support compares.  Fortunately, I’ve bought multiple items over the years and never needed to find out. Right now, I have 4 of their LSR305s set up as MC (with a Yamaha sub) and can recommend them highly too.

[GregWormald]

18 hours ago, Cash Cas said:

<snips>

And yes, Greg, I would love to listen to setups at other people's but there is noone I know that is invested into this :(
I did found some brand stores in my area that have setups, I might check those out, but these are really crazy expensive, defo won't buy from them, but could ask them for advice and be like okay thanks, bye, ima buy my stuff elsewhere xD
Also in our country we don't make like anything ourselves, everything is 100% import.

Also Greg, could you explain more what you mean with DIY can make prior listen more difficult? Cause I am not buying a full setup, it's not matched perfectly, or how do you mean?

Even if there is no-one you know yet, try the internet or your shops for local groups. There will be some hi-fi nuts somewhere close and most are more than happy to let you have a listen.

 

Most shops will only advise about what they sell and some will denigrate what they don't sell. Avoid the latter—just walk out! They are not there to help you, only themselves.

 

Local manufacturers: try this https://hifi-products.com/hifi-audio-manufacturers-netherlands.html

 

The trouble with DIY is that you probably can't listen until you've built it. I know listening before buying (or as DuckToller says—get a test period) can be hard but buying something you end up not liking is also hard—and expensive.

 

Definitely think seriously about powered speakers. They have an amplifier built in each cabinet and use a standard crossover. Active speakers have the crossover first and then use separate amplifiers for each section of the speaker box. These are generally quite expensive. The difference between active and powered is often ignored, but it is significant.

 

I don't like any compression and I use wires, lots of wires. BTW, when starting, cheap wires are fine.

 

[bluesman]

8 hours ago, GregWormald said:

Definitely think seriously about powered speakers. They have an amplifier built in each cabinet and use a standard crossover. Active speakers have the crossover first and then use separate amplifiers for each section of the speaker box. These are generally quite expensive.

Actually, some of the greatest values in audio are found in inexpensive powered speakers.  My JBL 305s list for under $200 (USD) and I got both pairs on sale for under $100 each.  The same series with bigger woofers (more bass) are only a little bit more.  My Edifiers cost $130 for the pair.  Many excellent brands have even better speakers for well under $500 USD per pair.  All of these have enough clean power to play well and loud.

 

Sure, you can pay ten+ times this amount. But for the system sought by the OP, actives are the way to go for sound and value.

[Cash Cas]

Little update:
I got the A5x and focusrite 2i2.

Didn't went for a sub, these active near field monitors pack quite some punch already.
I really like the adam sound, did also enjoy the KRK.
Since my room is so small I think it's a good choice.

It's funny looking back on this thread since I was so clueless, and now I am a little less clueless :)
Thanks to everyone for helping me out!