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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
22,314 posts
 
One more good thing about the Triangles is they are 89db or so efficient which means they are easy to drive with most any amp. They are also pretty tube friendly even from what I have read and I would like to try them with a tube amp someday.

Maggies on the other hand generally require a fairly beefy and likely also correspondingly more expensive amp to sound their best.
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
Thanks again for your replies Mapman! Sounds like I really need to move the Triangles to the top of my audition list. Sensitive speakers are definitely god-sent with a sparse budget. I'm actually thinking of spending most of my budget on speakers, then using some spare change to purchase a vintage receiver to tide me over till I get more funds for a proper pre+power/integrated amp. Tubes are very nice, but I've heard that the good ones cost a fair bit more than decent solid states.

Celtic66 the Proac brand seems very tempting. A friend from another forum actually suggested building a clone of one of their models to get the best bang for the buck. Will check it out!

Ericjcabrera, wow active studio monitors used at home for hifi! That was what I was thinking about initally, but am a little concerned about studio monitors being too revealing. How do they compare to your regular hi-fi speakers for serious listening (stereo, music)? I've also heard great things about the Dynaudio BM 5A, though at a 1000 bucks their at the very, very top end of my budget =(

Talking about studio monitors, given that they excel in near-field applications, how many of you use them for hi-fi listening?

Wow, there are just so many models and makes, it gets really overwhelming!

Thanks once again everyone for your comments, inputs and advice. As a noob I really appreciate it!
strateahed
304 posts
 
I sense we have very similar musical tastes ... hence the moniker "straight ahead". At any rate, several months ago I was looking for near-field speakers and versatile electronics for my office. The solution: Audioengine A5's with Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 ($200 USD) - a combination DAC, preamp, and headphone amp. Plus it's got USB connectivity, and has line-in to connect iPod. I changed the tube to a GE 5-star 5670 and it sounds great. The Maverick is available direct from China and I feel it competes quite well with the Paradisea MHDT (which I owned and sold last year). The only other upgrades were Volex power cord and Kimber USB cable.

I didn't experience any difficulty with getting the A5's to sound right ... maybe that's because they're sitting on my desk. All I know is, they disappear and there is a nice sound stage right in front of me. With the USB hooked up to the PC, one can listen to iTunes or Pandora. IMHO it's a great set-up with a very high value to cost ratio.
strateahed
304 posts
 
Correction ... I'm running A2's at the office (should have checked website first). Audioengine's wireless stuff works great too. Also using the AP4's (passive) in my bedroom system at home, with Outlaw LFM-2 small sub. Picked up a nice tube integrated from Tubestein (eBay) to create a budget system that rivals my main rig (OK, that's a bit of a stretch, but it does sound really nice). Other high quality monitors in the $300/pair range: Paradigm Atoms and Ascend Acoustic CBM-170's. The point is, you should be able to put together a very nice sounding, musical system within your budget.

One last thing ... Audioengine is very good with audition allowance. Unlike experiences with some other companies, it's real easy. You get a full 30 days to check them out. If you don't like the speakers, send 'em back and you get a refund right away with no questions or hassles.
crad
39 posts
 
Here are a couple of things to look at that are musical for small spaces and should be under $1k. These are based on used prices combined.

Speakers;
ERA 5 or 4 monitor
JohnBlue JB3 monitor *
Silverline Minuet
Triangle Titus

You can always add a small sub later like a Glow Audio Sub One or similar.

Integrated amps:
Audio Analogue Crescendo
Audio Refinement Complete
Virtue Audio Sensation or mdl.two
Jolida FX-10

Should state preference for sound. Do you want tubes or SS sound?
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