What speakers for $2,000?

[Hikaru12]

I haven't. Seems like they are a number of dealers near me. I'm adding it to my list to research.

 

Correct, I plan to use a receiver. I was hoping for a smaller alternative because my desk space is at a premium, but I can't seem to find anything.

 

You could use a smaller Emotiva amp or get a seperate DAC and get a headphone amplifier with RCA jacks. In my opinion, you should be looking for speakers that are specifically geared for nearfield. 

 

The Focals I recommend specifically are the Focal Solo 6 series.

 

Adams A5X, Swans MKIII, Paradigm Prestige,  Wharfdale Diamonds 9.0/9.1 and Alesis all get my vote. The Alesis and Adams are both active. 

[KaminKevCrew]

Focal makes very good speakers. For a preamp/headphone amp, I would recommend either the emotiva xda-1 (it's a 1u height, but full width and depth) or the stealth dc-1, which is also 1u in height, but half width, and I think it's also half depth, but it's $200 more.

I agree with the near field idea as well. Honestly, you could get some really nice (not krk, I mean legitimately VERY nice) monitors and some speaker stands (keeps you from having to worry about desk space), so that you don't have to worry about an amp. That way you can just run one of the emotiva dac/preamp/headphone amps (mentioned above) and the speakers. Imo, that will give you the best sound for the price, and it will also take up the least amount of space.

[johnt]

Focal makes very good speakers. For a preamp/headphone amp, I would recommend either the emotiva xda-1 (it's a 1u height, but full width and depth) or the stealth dc-1, which is also 1u in height, but half width, and I think it's also half depth, but it's $200 more.

I agree with the near field idea as well. Honestly, you could get some really nice (not krk, I mean legitimately VERY nice) monitors and some speaker stands (keeps you from having to worry about desk space), so that you don't have to worry about an amp. That way you can just run one of the emotiva dac/preamp/headphone amps (mentioned above) and the speakers. Imo, that will give you the best sound for the price, and it will also take up the least amount of space.

 

The Emotiva's you suggested seem like they might work. So much money without banana plugs? I was really hoping not to buy more cables.

 

I apologize I'm giving you guys the story piecemeal. Even though these are attaching to my PC in the loft, the loft overlooks most of the house. We typically use this setup to crank up the volume and do stuff around the house. I'd prefer versatile speakers instead of ones optimized for near field.

 

I've drank from the internet direct koolaid, and it tastes super good. I don't have any experience with local sales like KRK or Focal. What insight can you tell me about them?

[johnt]

You could use a smaller Emotiva amp or get a seperate DAC and get a headphone amplifier with RCA jacks. In my opinion, you should be looking for speakers that are specifically geared for nearfield. 

 

The Focals I recommend specifically are the Focal Solo 6 series.

 

Adams A5X, Swans MKIII, Paradigm Prestige,  Wharfdale Diamonds 9.0/9.1 and Alesis all get my vote. The Alesis and Adams are both active. 

 

Do headphone amps usually have enough juice for speakers? I guess if they are efficient speakers maybe.

[bob345]

You taken a look at Bowers & Wilkins CM10's? I have heard some great things about them.

[KaminKevCrew]

You taken a look at Bowers & Wilkins CM10's? I have heard some great things about them.

They've already been mentioned in this thread, if I'm not mistaken.

[p3acefrog]

WOW!!!!!!

I am speechless!!!! 

Speecherless!

[dylan43270]

JBL Studio 590 perhaps?

[KaminKevCrew]

The Emotiva's you suggested seem like they might work. So much money without banana plugs? I was really hoping not to buy more cables.

I apologize I'm giving you guys the story piecemeal. Even though these are attaching to my PC in the loft, the loft overlooks most of the house. We typically use this setup to crank up the volume and do stuff around the house. I'd prefer versatile speakers instead of ones optimized for near field.

I've drank from the internet direct koolaid, and it tastes super good. I don't have any experience with local sales like KRK or Focal. What insight can you tell me about them?

There aren't any powered speakers that use banana plugs. They are powered which means that the amp is actually inside the speaker box. You can get a pretty good pair of xlr cables on amazon for about $10, so I wouldn't worry about that too much, they are dirt cheap, even for quality cables.

Near field speakers would probably sound just as good from elsewhere in your house as any far field speakers just because of all of the reflections that you'll be dealing with from your walls, so I would recommend near field, just so they'll at least sound really good when you're at your desk. Just because they are near field doesn't meant you can't absolutely blast them, so they'll get plenty loud enough. Also, the emotiva stuff come with pretty decent remotes, so you'll have that too.

Krk is generally for the super budget conscious, and it's really not that great. Jbl pretty much beats Krk at all price points, plus the Krk gear (imo) Looks kinda silly with all that yellow. As such, I wouldn't recommend Krk for monitors, I'd get focal or jbl or Yamaha (or something else along those lines).

For focal, I've only ever had experience with their passive, floorstanding speakers. If they're anything to go on for focals general quality though, they are some truly excellent and very impressive speakers. Imo, from what I heard with the floorstanding ones, you don't even actually need a sub (provided that you'd set one up to come in subtly, just to add that last little bit) because of how low they can reach. Really impressive stuff, if I do say so myself. The shop that they were setup in had pretty much the full range, and the ones I listened to started at $800 a pair (I think) all the way up to a little over $2,000 a pair. Very impressive little speakers.

[Hikaru12]

I agree with Kamins sentiments about the KRK. They're constantly recommended but they're not the best you could get for your money. The Yahama HS80M beats them every time.

 

Also, if you want a little more power without spending any extra money try to look for some that you can biamp so you can lower the resistance. If you're crafty you might be able to get yours down to 2 ohms of resistance which will allow you to really crank them.

 

The reason why powered speakers don't use banana plugs is because they're connected to each other, not an amp. One could argue you could still use banana plugs there but it really shouldn't matter all that much. Personally, if I were looking for some speakers I'd probably go with the Alesis but you have a much higher budget so the Focals sound right up your alley. 

 

 

Do headphone amps usually have enough juice for speakers? I guess if they are efficient speakers maybe.

 

Headphone amps only provide power through the headphone jack so you'd have to get a splitter. If you really want some small, efficient amps (though they don't have a sub output) check out the Lepai T-amps. 

 

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

Dude the JBL's LSR305 are 148€ the VXT 8 are 550€ a piece

 

Also do you realise that's the setup of Laidback Luke?

 

 

I like house, trance, EDM, dubstep, drumstep and all. I have KRK VXT8's. But I wouldn't really recommend them. Plus using a DJ's success as a "good reason" why a certain product is good is like saying you can be the best basketball player if you use Beats headphones like LeBron.

 

[Bean86]

notsure on availability in your are but have a look at Dynaudio. they have amped and regular speakers. For amped once have a look at the XEO series it's realy nice and quality is top notch and will last for decades if treated well. Also the XEOs support multiroom feature (different sources to different speakers) in case you want to extend it in the future.

https://youtu.be/IBo4vUB52Ig

[TheConverter]

I like house, trance, EDM, dubstep, drumstep and all. I have KRK VXT8's. But I wouldn't really recommend them. Plus using a DJ's success as a "good reason" why a certain product is good is like saying you can be the best basketball player if you use Beats headphones like LeBron.

 

 

*facepalm*

Why do a few millionaire DJ's PRODUCERS still use the same speakers that they started with? They obviously have the money to spend 100.000$ on custom made speakers like Armin van Buuren.

Also, wouldn't the best possible speaker setup be the one that the music was created on? You would pretty much hear the same thing as the maker of it.

 

I find it funny that the people making millions honestly don't care about audio, heck they make hits on crappy headphones on their laptop while in their private jets, while the so called "audiophiles" do research for months on what is the "best".

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

*facepalm*

Why do a few millionaire DJ's PRODUCERS still use the same speakers that they started with? They obviously have the money to spend 100.000$ on custom made speakers like Armin van Buuren.

Also, wouldn't the best possible speaker setup be the one that the music was created on? You would pretty much hear the same thing as the maker of it.

 

Because not all ears are made the same and measurements tell the better half of the truth. Apparently, the ones that win awards and make millions of $ use Sennheisers.

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

I find it funny that the people making millions honestly don't care about audio, heck they make hits on crappy headphones on their laptop while in their private jets, while the so called "audiophiles" do research for months on what is the "best".

 

Then why are you here? Plus its apparently easier to make millions through EDM, dubstep, and the likes. If I remember correctly, Skrillex made tons of money with speakers that were so bad that it blew up.

[TheConverter]

Then why are you here? Plus its apparently easier to make millions through EDM, dubstep, and the likes. If I remember correctly, Skrillex made tons of money with speakers that were so bad that it blew up.

 

Well then tell my why they don't care about their audio setup as much as these so called "audiophiles"

 

[TheConverter]

KRK definitely seems like it might fit the bill. Is that your setup in the first pic?

 

Looks like there's a few US dealers in San Francisco and Sacramento that I might be able to explore. I wish KRK would post the speaker sensitivity. It's pretty important for me to buy an efficient speaker to keep up with my subs.

 

Do you have something like this nearby?

 

 

[xtroria]

Because not all ears are made the same and measurements tell the better half of the truth. Apparently, the ones that win awards and make millions of $ use Sennheisers.

What they use depend on their studio, plenty of them use audio technica, akg and beyer

[SSL]

Why do a few millionaire DJ's PRODUCERS still use the same speakers that they started with? They obviously have the money to spend 100.000$ on custom made speakers like Armin van Buuren.

 

Who's spending $100k on speakers in this thread? Oh yeah, nobody. Way to bring out a strawman.

 

Also, wouldn't the best possible speaker setup be the one that the music was created on? You would pretty much hear the same thing as the maker of it.

 

No. While a monitor might be enough to produce the music, the individual subjective experience of reproducing that music might require something different. Plenty of music/movie producers don't use subwoofers. Does that mean that we shouldn't bother using subs either, and only listen on Sennheiser HD800s or Sony 7506s?

 

I find it funny that the people making millions honestly don't care about audio, heck they make hits on crappy headphones on their laptop while in their private jets, while the so called "audiophiles" do research for months on what is the "best".

 

Then fuck off? You apparently have a bone to pick with people who want to buy nice speakers and are just being contrary for the sake of it.

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

Well then tell my why they don't care about their audio setup as much as these so called "audiophiles"

 

 

You haven't answered my question, why should I answer yours?

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

What they use depend on their studio, plenty of them use audio technica, akg and beyer

 

Needless to say, it depends on preference, I guess.

[Stagea]

This topic is a little something different than the typical recommendations for $100-$200 speakers.

I'm looking for entry to mid range audiophile level speakers. My maximum budget is $2,000 for a pair of speakers mainly used for all types of music and some gaming. They will be used in a 2.1/2.2 setup. I already own the subs these new speakers will be paired with.

My initial thought is to purchase speakers from the same brand as my subs, which is Power Sound Audio. But I want to see what alternatives you guys might propose. Plus, general discussion is always appreciated.

 

I suggest you listen around for a pair that you like. We all have different preferences.

 

The Polk LSiM703 may be worth a look if you have space for them. You don't get an audiophile brand, but it's engineered and finished really well for the price. It measures really well when coupled with a high current amplifier (near-flat and wide response, minimal resonance and low distortion... something more typical with big buck speakers). Being big bookshelves, you can also cross them low with your sub (allowing for a more seamless transition).

 

 

A pair is like ~$1500, so you can throw in a budget amplifier like the ~$500 Marantz PM5005 (or whatever you fancy) to drive them. If you can spend some more for a beefier amp, these speakers will do even better.

[xtroria]

I know people are stratching their head asking "why spend so much on a speaker" to which i would reply "you should listen to a pair first before saying that"

 

I tried martin logan summit X in a best buy before with McIntosh tube preamp with separated power block. The speaker costs $15K a pair and the only thing that beats the sound that came out of that electrostatic (yes, electrostatic speaker) speaker is a $40K home theatre setup.

 

Dare I say $2K for a pair floorstanding is a modest budget

[TheDudeWhoTriesHard]

 

 

I know people are stratching their head asking "why spend so much on a speaker" to which i would reply "you should listen to a pair first before saying that"

 

I tried martin logan summit X in a best buy before with McIntosh tube preamp with separated power block. The speaker costs $15K a pair and the only thing that beats the sound that came out of that electrostatic (yes, electrostatic speaker) speaker is a $40K home theatre setup.

 

Dare I say $2K for a pair floorstanding is a modest budget

My mother asks me why do I spend a big part of my salary on headphones that cost alot. I tend to reply to her "why spend thousands of $ on bags?". Simply because we want the best of something out of our money. So, why spend $2k on speakers? The real question should be "why NOT spend $2k on speakers?"

[johnt]

There aren't any powered speakers that use banana plugs. They are powered which means that the amp is actually inside the speaker box. You can get a pretty good pair of xlr cables on amazon for about $10, so I wouldn't worry about that too much, they are dirt cheap, even for quality cables.

Near field speakers would probably sound just as good from elsewhere in your house as any far field speakers just because of all of the reflections that you'll be dealing with from your walls, so I would recommend near field, just so they'll at least sound really good when you're at your desk. Just because they are near field doesn't meant you can't absolutely blast them, so they'll get plenty loud enough. Also, the emotiva stuff come with pretty decent remotes, so you'll have that too.

Krk is generally for the super budget conscious, and it's really not that great. Jbl pretty much beats Krk at all price points, plus the Krk gear (imo) Looks kinda silly with all that yellow. As such, I wouldn't recommend Krk for monitors, I'd get focal or jbl or Yamaha (or something else along those lines).

For focal, I've only ever had experience with their passive, floorstanding speakers. If they're anything to go on for focals general quality though, they are some truly excellent and very impressive speakers. Imo, from what I heard with the floorstanding ones, you don't even actually need a sub (provided that you'd set one up to come in subtly, just to add that last little bit) because of how low they can reach. Really impressive stuff, if I do say so myself. The shop that they were setup in had pretty much the full range, and the ones I listened to started at $800 a pair (I think) all the way up to a little over $2,000 a pair. Very impressive little speakers.

 

Not powered speakers. I was referring to the XDA-2 you recommended. I did notice that it does come with a serious remote. That price...

 

I agree the yellow KRK covers are, yes, silly.

 

The Focals seem a bit too European for my American flat. I'm looking at the Chorus 726 and the specs seem a little out there. 28 kHz? Right. My neighbor's dog can enjoy them also. But I think they are worth a listen.