Thanks to @mesch and others. I will try to check out all your good suggestions, that are obviously more informed than what you get googling "best desktop speakers" and the like. I may buy the FR2 plus their matching amp. Just to know how it sounds. Because their sound philosophy plus the reviews appeal to me. Maybe a total mistake. Time will tell.
Desktop single-driver speakers?
I have enjoyed the Sony SRS ZX1
desktop speakers for many years, and am looking for an upgrade. These are small
active single-driver speakers with a special «mobius duct» or C-formed extended
bass port that makes them play more bass than expected from such small (7.5 by
3.1 by 7 inches) speakers (further described here: https://www.popsci.com/gear-gadgets/article/2008-06/secret-bass/
).
They are great for nearfield listening at low-moderate volume, e g late night listening in my home office, not waking everyone else in our house, throwing a limited but high quality soundscape.
They benefit from the bass port – and even more, from the single-driver solution. I have experience with the Audioengine A5+, the Aurum Cantus 2 SE, and some small Elacs – all are two-way, and I give a plus to the one-way Sony ZX1 (even if this is otherwise a more limited speaker), for coherence, due to no crossover, but rather trying to solve problems acoustically.
In my system, including an OTL tube headphone amp into the gain chain (reducing problems with the s-state internal amp in the speakers), and some DIY stands raising them from the desktop, they have worked very well indeed.
They are great for nearfield listening at low-moderate volume, e g late night listening in my home office, not waking everyone else in our house, throwing a limited but high quality soundscape.
They benefit from the bass port – and even more, from the single-driver solution. I have experience with the Audioengine A5+, the Aurum Cantus 2 SE, and some small Elacs – all are two-way, and I give a plus to the one-way Sony ZX1 (even if this is otherwise a more limited speaker), for coherence, due to no crossover, but rather trying to solve problems acoustically.
In my system, including an OTL tube headphone amp into the gain chain (reducing problems with the s-state internal amp in the speakers), and some DIY stands raising them from the desktop, they have worked very well indeed.
I have looked in vain for upgrades
from Sony, and have not seen much else in this way, either, from other
companies. Maybe someone else can fill me out?
I am looking for single driver speakers with desktop or small monitor dimensions, preferably easy to drive for a low power tube amp. They can be active speakers, like the ZX1, or passive. The room is 12 x 9 x 7 feet, but I am mainly listening nearfield just 3-5 feet away from the speakers. I am looking for the best nearfield moderate volume sound, not speakers or amps that can «fill» the room with volume.
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- 40 posts total
I have ordered the Arche audio desktop system, FR2 speakers plus amp. We’ll see. I am well aware that it will be a limited design but I am interested nevertheless. For now, I want to notice the importance of stands and positioning, for desktop speakers. My active Sony speakers, that I hope the new system will outperform, would not have done half as good, if I had just placed them on the desktop. I have them on solid metal stands, so the driver is horisontal to my ears. Big improvement. If you can dampen your speakers from above, too, there may be one more improvement. I have tried this also with Audioengine speakers. In a bookshelf, they sounded bad, but with top damping (using books, "clamping" the speaker), it was somewhat better, and on stands, much better. Just my five cents free advice. Positioning and damping of speakers is important not just in the main rig but also at the desktop. |
I am in the period of break-in of the Arche FR2 speakers - very interesting, but too early to offer judgement. A possible problem with the Audience as well as the Arche is that they are actually "overperforming". Or, put another way, they sound good on the desktop but much better placed on stands a bit out from the wall and so on, with more volume. This has been stated by reviewers of the FR2 and Robert Harley said the same in his TAS review of 1+1. cf https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audience-clairaudient-11-v2-loudspeaker
|
I took one of the FR2 speakers down to my main listening/living room, connecting it to my Atma-sphere MA1 amp. No surprise - according to reviews - with a better amp, this speaker sounds even better. At first I was amazed, Here was this tiny speaker, on a chair between my big floorstanders - what was it doing, sounding this big? After a while, listening with my wife, we became more accustomed to it, finding more faults, although remaining of the opinion that it sounded way out of its size, very good indeed, on that level. We found that the FR2 speaker had most of the characteristics it also displayed in my office system, driven by the Arche amp, though it sounded more fleshed out and smoother, driven by the MA1. The sound profile of the speaker was mainly the same, with the MA1, as with the Arche D50A amp. That is - good recordings and low dynamic music sound very good with these speakers. Playing rock, my wife said, this is not as good (compared to acoustic and jazz). Returning the FR2 speaker back to its position on the stand on my desktop, amplified by the Arche amp, my first reaction is, this amp is in fact quite well tuned to the speakers, and even if the speakers can sound big time in a large room and a big sound system, they are indeed more at home in the Arche desktop system. More run-in is needed, and the Arche system challenges some of my preconceptions - but there is now no doubt that I will keep it. At first, I thought that it was all too bright and hard, but this is not so clear, now. The FR2 speakers do sound better with the MA1 amps - no big surprise, but showing the speaker potential. The Arche D50A amp is not in the same class as the MA1 of course, but seems well matched with the speakers. It is harder, more solid-state, more flat - but not too bad. |
- 40 posts total