First good 2.0 set €200-250

A

Aquilo

n00b
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Jul 3, 2011
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Hey everyone,
i’ve been looking for new speakers for about a month now and finally decided to open up my own thread here. These speakers will replace my t20ii, so these are my first steps out of the low-fi (ok.. crappy ) speakers range. The more i listen to them, the more i start to get annoyed at the lack of midrange and the shitty bass...

I’ve got a budget of about 200-250 € for speakers, and narrowed it down to the following:
av40 -130€/pair
A2/A5- 189€/299€/pair
M10/d1080mkii 08/d1010mkii08 ......
KRK rp5 300€/pair
Hs50m 300€/pair

I’ll use these speakers mostly for music, most played music is:70’s/80’s rock, jazz, blues, classical. I don’t need alot of bass and won’t use them for any kind of mixing or DJ’ing. Just listening. I think that therefore the HS50 and the Rp5 are less suited for me, i believe they are more orientated at mixing and a flat response. I want to listen to the music as it’s supposed to be, but i’m afraid that it’ll lose it’s shine if the sound is too flat.

I’ve got 3 problems while choosing between these speakers. The first and most important is the fact that only webshops sell non-shitty speakers in (Holland), i probably wont be able to listen before i buy...
Second is that i don’t have alot of space. I use a desk that’s 115x78 cm (45x30 inches). Av40/A5 should fit easily, but the d1080mkii 08 is a tad too big i guess...
Third is my sound source, a standard laptop without any fancy soundcard. I’ll get a DAC, probably a hrt streamer ii or a u202. The total budget i’d have for both is about €300-350 (400 if i get a superdeal somewhere).
The AV40’s were my first choice (almost got them for 100€ which is a good deal here...) but the more i read the more i start questioning if it’s the best sound quality i can get.. Some say that the 1080 is a lot better. I’m interested how the 1010mkii compares to the av40. The main question for the A5 is: will the extra 150

One last thing about swans. Where can you get these babys in Holland(or anywhere in Europe), most webshops only ship to the usa and i haven’t found any webshop in Holland/belguim/germany that sells em.


Thanks for any advice, or extra suggestions that'll make it even harder to choose the "best" speaker for me ;)!

David
 
Yeah Swan's are hard to come by in the EU.

I brought a pair of A2's a couple of months ago (they were on a 30 day trail and I kept them), I do really like them (I have adjusted the EQ slightly, less bass), They do sound bigger than you would expect (I'm planning on getting a second set for a tv).
 
Aquilo said:
I think that therefore the HS50 and the Rp5 are less suited for me, i believe they are more orientated at mixing and a flat response. I want to listen to the music as it’s supposed to be, but i’m afraid that it’ll lose it’s shine if the sound is too flat.
Click to expand...
I kinda find this a little bit confusing... If you want to listen to music the way it was ment to be and the way that the recording engineer made it sound in the studio you should be looking more for something gearing more twords "flat".

I went to a local store in the states called guitar center and compared alot of monitors there side by side. I first got the dynaudio BM5A MKII but they really overpowered my tiny room far more then I thought they would and sounded terrible. Took them back and picked up a pair of HS50M's. I haven't looked back since.

I wouldn't say the HS50M's are perfectly flat. They are more a type of speaker that "what goes in, comes out unaltered". They really allow me to hear into the music or just kick back and relax to whatever I'd like to listen to. They also have toggle switches on the back to allow you to tailor them to a individual's tastes.

I wrote a pretty quick review on them a few weeks ago here:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1615083

I'll likely do a followup review soon. Though if I had to say what my thoughts were on them now it would simply be that they are a bargain for the price I paid. more then enough bass, clear mids and highs as well. There was nothing around the $100-200 per speaker that sounded as good as these little guys do.

"Flat" in itself isn't a bad thing, though some speakers that sound "flat" also sound lifeless and dry (my hs50m's don't sound this way at all). I think this is more the sound that some people really dislike. Dry and super flat is only good in a studio or mixing stations.
 
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Thanks!
I phrased it wrong, i think. I don't want speakers that sound lifeless and dry (as you said it) and thought this was about the same as flat.
 
I guess "flat" could be interpreted a few different ways. Flat frequency response is something good in a speaker because it doesn't make it's own sound on top of the music and at the same time sound lively. That's the good "flat". The bad "flat" for home use is a lifeless, dull, dry sounding speaker like a flat soda.
 
Yea, true.. I think i'll go with the AV40 though.. About the DAC's: Will the uca 202/222 be a improvement to my onboard card? Most reviews only talk about their recording capability's which i wont use. I can probably resell them for about the same as i'll buy them so if i'd ever want to go for the HRT it wont be 25 buck down the drain..
D
 
I personally wouldn't get the uca202 or 222. In your case I'd go for a better standard PCI or PCIe sound card.
 
Ah ok, why? Because I'm using a laptop i cant use a normal soundcard and have to use an external one.. Other suggestions?
 
There's no reason for you not to get a UCA 202! Well, unless you absolutely demand analog volume control from the DAC. Your primary use is music and you need a quality stereo line-out - a perfect application for the UCA 202.

If you want a detailed review and measurement of it, check out here:
http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/nuforce-udac-2-drama.html

It's a bit overdramatic (calling the stuff relating to the uDAC "drama" is a bit ridiculous), but the measurements are good. The UCA 202 really does perform quite well overall and excellently for the price. The next reasonable step up is probably the E-Mu 0204, and I wouldn't say that's worth it until you have thousands invested in speakers, room treatment, and amplifiers.

If you absolutely want an analog volume control it's relatively easy to DIY one.
 
Aquilo said:
Ah ok, why? Because I'm using a laptop i cant use a normal soundcard and have to use an external one.. Other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Sorry if I missed that you had a laptop... That changes things a bit. UCA 202 or 222 will likely be the best bet for the money :cool:
 
Thanks everyone! Decided to go with the AV40 and UCA202! Will post some pics of my setup when they arrive..
 
Woot! got them today! In short: They sound great... The difference between onboard and uca202 is bigger then expected. Great stuff!
Bass is a bit muddy in my opinion, but i think i just have to get it burned in and have to get used to it. Mids/Highs are great, much more detail then my old (T20 creative) speakers. Sound stage is much wider, but more impressive was how "deep" and high it was, it was a wall of music coming at me;)
Overall great first impressions, will post some pics when i finish my stands and get them set up properly.

One thing though: I've seen some talk about a AV40 MKII and that it didn't has the bass boost. Well, i have one here without bass boost button! Maybe good to remember for future buyers.
 
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