Speakers for a small office.


After considering a BlueSound Node 2i Streamer and an integrated or power amp to go with it I have settled on the following solution: An Onkyo tx-8270. This unit gets lots of good reviews from its owners as well as some professional reviewers (CNET raves; What Hi-Fi gave its predecessor (tx-8250) 4 stars -- good not great). I am not expecting this be the end-all (though it is pretty much the be-all with its host of features:  Enough power to drive demanding 4 ohm loads;  Full range of streaming features: 384k/32 DAC with support for TIDAL Masters; ChromeCast; DTS Play-Fi;  Sub Out with control over the crossover; Even a MM phono stage.  I will be using it exclusively for streaming, though.

The tx-8270 is in high demand, so my Crutchfield order is expected to be filled in late May. This gives me plenty of time to consider the right speakers. Also ups my budget for same since the $500 price of the tx-8270 fills streaming DAC and amplification needs.

My room size is 8’ x 12’ My speaker budget is $1,000, though I’d be happy to spend less and I could stretch it to $1,200 given a compelling case.

Here are the speakers I am currently considering:

B&W 606 ($900/pair)
B&W 607 ($700/pair)
Polk Rti A3 ($240/pair)
Klipsch RP 600M ($470/pair)
Wharfdale EVO 4.2 ($900/pair)

My room will require that these sit on the desk with perhaps 20" - 24" between them and the wall to the rear and to the side. I would be open to some reasonably priced isolation ’feet’.

I would appreciate insights on the above speakers (and others, of course)

Thanks,
Mark

128x128markainsworth
The price makes them attractive.  Room in the budget for a subwoofer if I thought it was needed.

I just purchased a Klipsch The Three II (dac, amp, and speakers) for my office; they are currently on sale for $299.  Plugged it into my PC using USB and played some hi-def music via Roon and it sounds great!!   It offers way more output than my little office can handle and looks really cool too...