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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
jdoris
972 posts
 
If you are considering DIY, you might consider North Creek. George Short designs for small rooms and near wall placement. With George's associate Lee Taylor making the boxes, it's a pretty simple DIY, and you could get something well-suited to your space for well under a grand. (northcreekmusic.com)

John
sandy_k
1 posts
 
I have just purchased a pair of Dynaudio BM5As at a local Guitar Center. Since the MkII version has just come out I picked these up for $600, which I think is a very good deal. There may be other stores that are also closing out the MkI model. I have several Dynaudio speakers, so I clearly like their sound. My most significant other immediately commented on their clarity and overall sound. That's the first time she's made a comment about any speaker, so...
face
516 posts
 
Tannoy dual concentrics work really well nearfield.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,211 posts
 
dual concentric drivers (a highly approximated point source) are a natural solution for nearfield listening I would think.

Doesn't KEf have some models that use this approach also? I've always thought this to be a very practical design for application in tight quarters.
tiggerfc
153 posts
 
I'm not personally sold on the B&W 685s. I've listened to them several times at the local shop and they just don't compare to my MAs in any way. I'm not sure about what speakers are best for nearfield but due to my room constraints (12'10" X 12'8") and what speakers I have auditioned in that context and given their distance to my ears when sitting in my "spot" is 8'11", I can say the Monitor Audio RX1 ($650 new) or older RS1 (~$400 used) might be right up your alley. They are a tad bright with a solid state amp but if you run with the Jolida 1501RC, the tube pre-amp stage will help roll-off that brightness. You can even swap tubes in the future and add even a little more warmth to them. Given your music tastes I'm sure you'd be all about that.

The Jolida is a great amp too. I had the opportunity very recently to compare it to my Bada DC-222 and while they both had their flavor they were quite level with eachother in performance and sound. Though you can get the Jolida with a subwoofer output, where as the Bada is strictly a 2-channel setup and one record-out. The Jolida would add versatility as your funds increase.

There is an enormous wealth of knowledge on this site. Just pick a thread and run through every post until you get a warm and fuzzy and move to the next. You will learn so much and be able to make informed choices.

Good luck with your search. Remember, above all its your ears. Go with what sounds good to you. Not what they're trying to sell you.
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