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Best budget speakers for near-field/small space

Hi Ladies & Gents,

First time on Audiogon.

Coming from headphones, due to dorm constraints, I'm finally going to be able to get a speaker setup once I move into an apartment at the end of the year.

Sharing an apartment with a few mates, so I'll be setting up the speakers in my bedroom. The room is probably going to be pretty small (about 12 by 8 feet), and with my bed, wardrobe and all, optimal speaker positioning might be a problem.

Hence I'm thinking of going with a near-field setup, on my desk with my computer since that's where I do most of my listening. I could swap my chair and desk with a nice recliner as well, but its going to be near-field either way.

My budget for speakers and amps is pretty tight. Under 1000USD (please don't tease =) and the lower the better. I'm looking for the greatest bang for my buck what with being a student and all.

I listen almost exclusively to Jazz. Mostly 50's 60's bop, hard bop etc. Some acoustic singer-songwriter stuff, and indie rock as well, but only occasionally.

At the lowest end of the spectrum the Audioengine A5 looks interesting. Possibly paired with S8 subwoofer. Being active, I'd save on electronics and could add a DAC down the road, to pair with my Macbook Pro.

At the upper end of my budget, the Magnepan MMG looks very attractive especially with the great reviews on the web. Potential worries: read that they need a really beefy amp that might cost a bit, and more importantly, positioning. I don't believe these speakers were made with near-field listening in mind so that's a bit of a worry.

I've also heard many great things about the Linkwitz Pluto. And since its available as a DIY I could save some bucks (though I have no experience whatsoever, so its a bit daunting).

Other active/passive studio monitors seem to be decent choices as well. The KRK Rokit series, Dynaudio BM5a etc seem like viable alternatives, but I'm worried that they won't be as 'musical' as hi-fi speakers and might end up being cold and too revealing (might be a problem with badly mastered records, especially all those bright RVG remasters).

I have incredibly limited experience with speakers. More well-versed with headphones only. So I really need your help!

Many thanks in advance!
milesandcoltrane
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,203 posts
 
First off, nice moniker!

Regarding speakers, Triangle Titus XS are perfect for nearfield and low to moderate volume listening in tight quarters. I've had mine for years and can't part with them.

I've owned Maggies as well and the little Triangles allowed me to part with them with a sound upgrade for less and few speaker placement issues.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1278172697&/Thiel-SCS-4-Barely-used-pair
drdennis
165 posts
 
Maggies are tempting, but probably not in a small cramped room and on your budget.Start with a NAD amp or receiver(50 wpc), and PSB speakers (Alpha B-1's). If you buy used, or on a closeout from Audio Adviser you night stay on budget with enough left over for the PSB sub. Scrimp on speaker wires/cables(Radio Shack house brand)and upgrade these later. A Cambridge Audio DAC Magic will make you go over budget, so might be best to think of that, or other DAC, as your next purchase.I just bought a HRT Music Streamer for my daughter ($99 from Music Direct). You can have a very high quality system for under $1,000.
horseface's avatar
horseface
222 posts
 
I'm running the A5's at work and to be honest - I cant get them to sound all that pleasing to me. I switched to the A2's to save space.

How about a hybrid tubed integrated? (Jolida 1501RC) seems like it might be a good fit for the style of music you listen to. Plenty of power ...

I have done well with Dynaudio Audience 42's and Paradigm Studio 20's. I am running Proacs now but thats a little out of your price range.
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
Thank you for your inputs! Do keep them coming =)

Horseface, is the A5 really that bad? I had an extremely brief listen to them at one of the big box stores, and wasn't impressed as well. But the environment was really noisy and the music being played was something I'm not familiar with.

I've seen quite a number of people pair the Jolida 1501RC with their Maggies. I would love to get some of the tube sound and the Jolida seems to be a very nice option.

I'd have to agree with you Drdennis, I think the Maggies would be a real headache given the space I'm looking at.

Mapman, thanks for the compliment! Does the Triangle Titus XS really beat the Maggies where SQ is concerned? The Triangles do look very tempting, especially given the affordable price.

Ok so far based on your recommendations I will be looking into Triangle Titus XS, PSB Alpha B1, Dynaudio Audience 42 and Paradigm Studio 20.

What about the Linkwitz Pluto? I must say I'm very taken in with the omnipole design and the unique aesthetics. Bang for buck factor would be very high if I can DIY this thing.

Do keep your inputs coming in!
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