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Help with monitors/bookshelfs

E

Emissary_of_Pain

n00b
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
13
Hey all ...

I am currently looking to move away from the poor sound quality of computer audio (was advised not to get the corsair sp2500) and into the realm of monitors ... but seems I have never bought these before and because I am on a really tight budget (prices in my country {{ South Africa }} are easily up to 8 times higher than the US) ... it gets a bit complicated.

I have been hunting all week so far and come up with these options :

Dayton B652
Polk TSi 100
Audio Bronze BX1

M-Audio BX5A Deluxe
Alesis 1M MKII
KRK RP5G2


The last 3 really are pushing the price boundary as I would really love to get this little active sub to go with these and then I would need a sound card (currently using the onboard chip of my P67 Evo)

I would prefer active monitors as well (receivers/amps are crazy expensive in my country)

I will be using them to game, watch movies and listen to rock/metal and a ton of dubstep (dubstep and gaming are my priority)


All advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards.


PS; Sorry for the long post
 
What sites can you buy from? See if you can get a small Yamaha sub instead of the sony. Also, Yamaha makes pretty good powered monitors.

you certainly want to try and get an asus sound card and a pair of powered monitors and a sub for the cheapest good setup
 
That is the problem ... I am battling to find sites to buy from ... the only way I am finding products is by searching for them by name
 
spaceman said:
http://askville.amazon.com/amazon-ship-South-Africa/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=69068948
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=596184

You can actually shop on either us or uk amazon. Probably a good bet except for media items like books, movies, etc. You should be able to order things like speakers without issues.
Click to expand...



umm.. he can probably indeed order from US or UK but I wonder what the import fees/duties situation is going to be like if he does?

additionally shipping is $2.49 a pound... plus a $13.99 handling fee (per order so if you order a couple things u just pay the 13.99 once for the order) for example not including any import fee issues a pair of Polk monitor 30 speakers are $109.99 on amazon shipping weight 21lbs so $52.29 +$13.99=$66.28 in shipping & handling + ???? import fees/duties which i tried to look up then got tired of PDF documents from the South African gov but i think would end up being around 25% when it was all said and done looking at this

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/99141-Import-duties-on-electronics


which would be $27.50


So assuming my understanding / calculations are about right would make the monitor 30s about US $203.77 by the time they get to them in ZA


So maybe it is still a good option depending on exchange rates / local pricing ... and patience wonder how long it will take to get to South Africa? if you order from Amazon US???


i guess right now the US dollar is worth 8.7746 South African Rand


if i was the op i'd double check the tariff / import fee situation and all / calculations before proceeding with ordering from UK / USA.







To the op I honestly have no idea what your options for ordering from merchants in ZA actually are..but maybe you could check around with buddies or whatever and see if anyone has any recommendations for vendors to check out?
 
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Hey All ...

Thanks so much for the replies so far ... (sorry for my late reply)


After doing some research it seems that importing anything over $150 including shipping will turn out non-viable as the duty/import fees are ridiculous ... (was looking at importing WC for my pc and 2 blocks with 2 rads, micro res and some compression fittings after all shipping and duties, etc, was going to cost me over R12 000)

So my options are limited to the 1's I post below ... if those are not good quality ... then I will have to buy cheap speakers until I can save more


Dayton B652
Polk TSi 100
Audio Bronze BX1
Behringer MS-40
Gemini SR-6
Samson Media one 5a


M-Audio BX5A Deluxe
Alesis 1M MKII
KRK RP5G2
Behringer MS-20
Gemini SR-8
JBL LSR-2325P


These are all I have access to currently ... the first set I can afford straight out the second set I need to save a bit more ...
 
You got lots of good choices there, it really comes down to what the price difference is between them.
 
Gemini SR-8
JBL LSR-2325P
Gemini SR-6
KRK RP5G2
Alesis 1M MKII

Are the best powered monitors on your list. the rest of them are basically the same. Bookshelf speakers require an amp obviously so theose will be more $$ than the powered models.
 
spaceman said:
Gemini SR-8
JBL LSR-2325P
Gemini SR-6
KRK RP5G2
Alesis 1M MKII

Are the best powered monitors on your list. the rest of them are basically the same. Bookshelf speakers require an amp obviously so theose will be more $$ than the powered models.
Click to expand...

OTOH for gaming there's little difference between el cheapo B652s and any of the above in sound quality for most people. I don't listen to dubstep, so can't comment on that. My thought is that $200 for a pair of nearfields is a ton to pay when the owner may or may not hear much of a difference.
 
I understand that ... but I also listen to a ton of music and watch a lot of movies


I just want to buy a decent set of speakers that are well rounded
 
You should also keep in mind that some of those are really large speakers, even by the standards of most people around here, specially for desk use. Some of those models with 8" woofers are like 12"x10"x15", pretty massive (probably weigh a good 25+ pounds too). Even the typical home theater floor stands wouldn't hold something like that... The larger models will go deeper, if that's a concern, though you could always add a sub for deep bass.

I think you'd be surprised at the bass coming from even the smaller ones when you're sitting close to them. I'd probably stick with something like the KRK RP5 but again, the price difference between them all matters a lot. It'd be pointless to give the nod to something smaller or somewhat better if it's much more expensive than one of the other alternatives.

If you're buying this locally, isn't there somewhere you can go and listen to them yourself? Then you can pick what sounds best to you and be truly happy with the decision.
 
Skripka said:
OTOH for gaming there's little difference between el cheapo B652s and any of the above in sound quality for most people. I don't listen to dubstep, so can't comment on that. My thought is that $200 for a pair of nearfields is a ton to pay when the owner may or may not hear much of a difference.
Click to expand...

If that is the case ... would the Corsair SP 2500 be a better bet than the B652's ?


Impulse said:
You should also keep in mind that some of those are really large speakers, even by the standards of most people around here, specially for desk use. Some of those models with 8"woofers are like 12"x10"x15", pretty massive (probably weigh a good 25+ pounds too). The larger models will go deeper, if that's a concern, though you could always add a sub for deep bass.

I think you'd be surprised at the bass coming from even the smaller ones when you're sitting close to them. I'd probably stick with something like the KRK RP5 but again, the price difference between them all matters a lot. It'd be pointless to give the nod to something smaller or somewhat better if it's much more expensive than one of the other alternatives.

If you're buying this locally, isn't there somewhere you can go and listen to them yourself? Then you can pick what sounds best to you and be truly happy with the decision.
Click to expand...


Size isn't really a problem as I have a pretty decent sized desk and I can make speaker stands if needed ...

Price is the issue and they are not cheap but I really don't want to buy cheap speakers that wouldn't satisfy my needs that is why I am looking at monitors (also cause I was told that the Corsair unit sucks)

Unfortunately there is no where for me to hear them first ... monitors are not a really big thing here ... ... There are a few places but they are on the other side of the country, the closest being 3 hours from me
 
The Corsair's wouldn't be as pleasing for music... Ya seem to be going in circles here tho. Also, most of this is based on the prices we're used to over in the US tho, where the SP2500 are as expensive as some of those powered monitors.
 
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No circles ... but the B652's are cheap if we be completely honest ... and they must compare to the Corsairs ... that is what I was asking really ...

I am currently looking at the Alesis and the KRK's ... The gemini's price has changed and the SR 8's are crazy expensive now
 
Emissary_of_Pain said:
If that is the case ... would the Corsair SP 2500 be a better bet than the B652's ?
Click to expand...

Speaker choice is an incredibly personal thing. I personally have gone through 3 or 4 different speaker setups in my sig rig, before settling one what I have now....each time I got or found something and after auditioning it in my space with what I have I found I didn't like it for whatever reason. Impulse above a few posts nailed it, try to find somewhere to go and listen if you can.

Most consumers everywhere (outside of a few select forums on the internet) have never even owned a pair of acoustically *decent* headphones to compare anything to. And most consumers don't have the vocabulary, or the listening ability with their ears to compare and contrast how two pairs of cabinets or headphones sound....and as such are shooting in the dark spending large sums of money. Folks in this thread have done a good job pointing you at good near-field monitors, whether you like how they sound with what you're listening to depends on your tastes and the state of health of your ears.

I have a pair of B652s for back surrounds, and for $30 unpowered speakers they're good...but they're still $30 speakers and they lasted about a day after I got them as fronts. In my setup I use a decent pair of headphones (My HD595s retailed new way back when for over $300) for any serious music listening, leaving my 5.1 setup for movies and gaming. Then again I'm picky, and what I listen to exposes flaws in speakers setups.
 
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Skripka said:
Speaker choice is an incredibly personal thing. I personally have gone through 3 or 4 different speaker setups in my sig rig, before settling one what I have now....each time I got or found something and after auditioning it in my space with what I have I found I didn't like it for whatever reason. Impulse above a few posts nailed it, try to find somewhere to go and listen if you can.

Most consumers everywhere (outside of a few select forums on the internet) have never even owned a pair of acoustically *decent* headphones to compare anything to. And most consumers don't have the vocabulary, or the listening ability with their ears to compare and contrast how two pairs of cabinets or headphones sound....and as such are shooting in the dark spending large sums of money. Folks in this thread have done a good job pointing you at good near-field monitors, whether you like how they sound with what you're listening to depends on your tastes and the state of health of your ears.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies ...

I guess it is a shot in the dark and I will have to live with my choice (no restocking policy for most companies in South Africa) ... I have great hearing according to the last bunch of ear tests I did so that is a good sign at least but I know that means little when trying to judge how specific speakers will sound ...

I just want to get as much information as I can before spending 3k on a pair of monitors
 
Think hard about the size tho, unless desks are typically larger there I struggle to see what kinda desk can comfortably accommodate 20"+ of speakers plus another 20" of display (assuming you only have one) on the same plane. Now if you're handy and can knock out some stands that'll hold the weight then whatever.
 
I was looking at getting in the range of 5" - 6.5" woofers (as they all seem to average out in cabinet size) ...

The reason I looked at the Gemini 8" was cause they were on special ... Space is the reason I haven't looked at getting Wharfedale 10.2's or Castle Knight 1's
 
Check out the KEF Q100, it has a 6.5" woofer with a coaxial mounted tweeter. Coax or dual concentric speakers are perfect for nearfield listening since lobing will not be an issue.
 
Face said:
Check out the KEF Q100, it has a 6.5" woofer with a coaxial mounted tweeter. Coax or dual concentric speakers are perfect for nearfield listening since lobing will not be an issue.
Click to expand...

They also cost 2-3x as much as anything on his second list. That's like telling a guy to forget the Accord or Camry, just get a BMW 5 series... :p Might as well tell him to go hog wild on a pair of KEF LS50!
 
I should have mentioned that I purchased them used in his price range. :)
 
Now that's a good deal if he can score something like that used, seems like a tough market over in SA tho.
 
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