Audio Setup for 27" iMac

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zwbuntster

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
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I should be receiving my new 27" iMac within a day or so and I was just wanting to get some ideas on some speaker/amp/etc solutions. I would assume the best way to do this would be just a toslink connection to a receiver but maybe not? I do mostly video editing work so sound quality is pretty important which might spark monitor debates but that's not what I'm looking for. So if you have any ideas, pictures, whatever that would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Budget?

If its at least $500-600, consider the NHT M-00.
 
I'd say if I could stay under 300 for now that would be awesome. I can always add to / upgrade later on. I have an older receiver that I could use but don't think it is the best option to be honest.
 
Well, the Swan M200MKII or the Audioengine A5 should fit in budget. Both are active speakers desktop speakers, meaning no amplifier is needed (though maybe a DAC could benefit down the road).

I personally have the M200MKIII, and they sound quite nice, even if there are more expensive options out there.

EDIT: and both options will kick the shit out those iMac speakers.
 
are those 2.0 systems going to have sufficient bass? i was thinking about going toward the m10 or m50 from swan cause of the woofer and honestly just to try to save some money
 
Another vote for the Swan M200 series. Unless you are an absolute basshead, the M200's woofer should be more than adequate.
 
zwbuntster said:
are those 2.0 systems going to have sufficient bass? i was thinking about going toward the m10 or m50 from swan cause of the woofer and honestly just to try to save some money
Click to expand...

The M200MKIII (note the extra I) is marketed as having an engineered cutoff at 53Hz. You may need to get a subwoofer to get an extended bass response. In the mean time, the speakers work quite well without one.

Make sure the sub is capable of standing inline between the speakers and the source as well as setting a cutoff frequency, like this one (notice RCA in and out and crossover knob): http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

EDIT: I think the important thing ultimately is upgrading the parts over time. Getting just the speakers first will make an enormous difference. Then speaker/room placement. Then a subwoofer. Then a DAC. Then better source files. Going for an "all in one 2.1 USB system" means that to upgrade any low end part, the good stuff would also have to be thrown out.

EDIT2: Also, if you are evaluating M50W vs M200, see this thread a few rows lower: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1622206
 
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As I plan on having this computer setup for quite a while I don't have a problem building a system over time. That being said, would active speakers still be the best way to go. I would assume the best quality would come from the optical output of the imac which would require some sort of receiver right?
 
As I plan on having this computer setup for quite a while I don't have a problem building a system over time. That being said, would active speakers still be the best way to go. I would assume the best quality would come from the optical output of the imac which would require some sort of receiver right?
 
zwbuntster said:
As I plan on having this computer setup for quite a while I don't have a problem building a system over time. That being said, would active speakers still be the best way to go. I would assume the best quality would come from the optical output of the imac which would require some sort of receiver right?
Click to expand...

Using passive speakers could provide better results, but it might be more expensive upfront due to cost of individual components. Someone else might be able to address that question better than I can.

With regard to output from the iMac, either a USB or Optical DAC would be good.
Both have tradeoffs; the USB on some DACs can have issues with OSX not allowing higher sampling rates. An optical DAC means you can't use the iMac's built in speakers or headphone output (ie, you only have 1 "audio device" instead of the 2 you could have with a USB DAC, which is independent of the built in sound card).

The DAC you choose might also depend on if you ever want to drive some high end headphones like the K701, DT880, or HD600 or better. If so, maybe one with an integrated headphone amp would be useful and economical.

I use headphones as well, so my personal setup is this; the DAC also has a pretty decent headphone amplifier and accepts both USB and Optical:
Code: 
                                                                   |---(built in HP amp)---DT880
iMac or Winbox ---(OPTICAL OR USB)----> Grant Fidelity TubeDAC-09 -| 
                                                                   |--(DAC line out)---M200MKIII

And don't forget that right now, getting good speakers (even out of the iMac output) will make more of a difference than any DAC. You can worry about that later.
 
so from what i am gathering, if i go with something active like the swans they will clearly be a huge improvement over the imacs and can even be enhanced further with a dac later on. that being said, is this solution going to be adequate for video editing purposes?
 
What do you mean by video editing purposes? Monitors like those are what are used in studios when sound mixing, etc.
 
zwbuntster said:
so from what i am gathering, if i go with something active like the swans they will clearly be a huge improvement over the imacs and can even be enhanced further with a dac later on. that being said, is this solution going to be adequate for video editing purposes?
Click to expand...

These are marketed as near field monitors and not as highly colored "hifi" speakers, so they should be fine for audio mixing purposes. That said, every speaker will have some coloration, bias, and flaws. Moving up the price brackets (ideally) eliminates these problems more and more, though with diminishing returns, as long you don't waste money on unicorn blood cables and "power filters".

Don't forget that quality speakers are not exactly representative of the low end equipment (cheap PC speakers, iPhones, etc) that many people will use to enjoy your content. For movies, I can also see 2.0 speakers maybe being an issue if you have to mix 5.1 audio for your movies.

If you can, see if you can audition some monitors somewhere in some audio shop. Ultimately, the sound you would like is only something you can know.
 
Unicorn blood cable -- I like that. I'll have to use that next time a friend triumphantly describes the $80 premium HDMI cable they bought.
 
1. by video editing i mean i would just like something that is gonna provide a much better quality than the built ins so that i have a much better idea of sound levels and details within the video

2. i don't plan on mixing 5.1 anytime soon so i don't really need to worry about that

3. i don't need uber crazy high end speakers and such. if i get into that high of quality cutting, i'll be taking it to a post house anyway...
 
zwbuntster said:
1. by video editing i mean i would just like something that is gonna provide a much better quality than the built ins so that i have a much better idea of sound levels and details within the video

2. i don't plan on mixing 5.1 anytime soon so i don't really need to worry about that

3. i don't need uber crazy high end speakers and such. if i get into that high of quality cutting, i'll be taking it to a post house anyway...
Click to expand...
Sure, then I think these speakers should be fine for your purposes, which I are assume are for music enjoyment and light 2.0/2.1 video editing. As mentioned, future upgrades would be an inline subwoofer and a decent USB/Optical DAC.

Also, be sure to consider the M200MKIII, an improved model of the M200MKII; apparently (I haven't verified this) it has more low end extension. It's somewhat more expensive though.

I would also wait to see if anyone has better speaker recommendations at this price level. This is just what I found when looking for speaker in this price range when I was purchasing my own pair. Someone with more experience might point out some better speakers or monitors at this price level.
 
Dyn BM5A/MC15, Focal CMS40/50, Adam A5/A3x are all decent studio speakers for general use.
 
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