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Looking for good monitors for pc setup

A

azrael201

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 11, 2005
Messages
106
Hi all,

I have roughly a $400 budget and I want to start off with a 2.1 system maybe with a receiver. Planning on completing the rest of the 5.1/7.1 experience with a Gigaworks S700/S750 package. I fell in love with the Swans T200a but cannot find it ANYWHERE! They look so sexy...

I've been swimming around paradigm, mirage, alesis, nht, energy, and any other random names and makes i find reading online. Suggestions?

Oh yea, I saw serbia's thread and I'm thinking of buying the Dayton sub as well.
 
if someone can help me find a place to buy the Swans T200a's that would be fabuuuulous!
 
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHB2031

Behringer B2031 Truth Monitor Speakers
B-Stock, Pair
$269.95

FREE SHIPPING!
Or 2 Day $46.99 Only 1 left!
Will ship today

Product Description

The B2031 sports 2 separate amplifiers for low and high frequencies. With 150 and 75 Watts respectively, they have plenty of power in reserve. The 8.75" woofer features a special polycarbonate diaphragm and a sturdy cast aluminum chassis. A newly designed bass reflex system increases its efficiency, effectively reducing low-frequency distortion. The unique shape of the bass tunnel prevents air circulation noise even at high sound pressure levels.

The high end is reproduced by a state-of-the-art ferrofluid-cooled tweeter with a 25-mm dome, providing extremely high resolution. To ensure constantly optimal stereo imaging independent of listening position, Behringer's engineers used laser technology and computer simulations to develop a wave guide, which guarantees absolutely linear phase response. Thanks to the homogenous sound and precise stereo imaging, you can work for hours on end without tiring. Enjoy!...
Click to expand...
 
my lord the Truth monitors look so beast i hope they are bookshelf size. How do these stack up to the Paradigm Cinema 90s or the NHT M-00's?

Which one is better? They are comparable I guess?

For these do you know if i have to plug them in a receiver or the Audigy 2 ZS will suffice? I believe there's factors I should look out for like active or passive speakers and if it's multimode (was that the word?).

There's a pair of JBL E10s on sale at amazon for $95, I'm gonna guess those would be worst than Klipsch Ultras?

Thanks for reply!
 
Those things are active monitors. That means they are integrated with amplification. No reciver is required.
 
Why not just use bookshelf (passive) speakers to an existing setup like the Ultras or the Promedias? Or you could jsut go with a receiver to power the passive bookshelf.

I am NOT a fan of these active monitors because it takes away a lot of its versatility. You cannot use them with a receiver and it is difficult to integrate with other speakers. I mean, lets say you wanted to use them as rears in the future, where are you gonna get the same model line floorstanders? Or what about a center?

Bookshelves are the way to go, IMO.
 
Actives have there advantages. Here are the general high points of active speakers.

Primarily they use an active crossover which is processed pre-amplification. The crossovers are also high orders, generally 4th order 24dB/octave. That type of slope, while great for seperation, can be tricky (and costly) to implement into a passive speaker. This then allows a limited frequency bandwidth to be sent to the appropriate amplifier. The amplifier driving the tweeters doesn't have to try and amplify the low frequency.

The amplfiers are also now connected directly to the drivers since no filtering is needed (though the tweeters sometimes have single caps to protect against spurious DC surges). This takes out the unpredictable reactivity of stuff like capacitors and inductors. And imperfections in the driver can be processed pre-amplfication instead of relying on expensive passive notch filters.

Most pro-sound active monitors also use balanced inputs such as XLR or TRS. In a balanced system the signal is split into two signals. One is the original signal and the other is the opposite of the signal. The signal is then sent across XLR/TRS wires with a the positive signal, the negative signal, and a ground. Upon recieving the signals a combiner adds the two signals together and only passes whats opposite. So any noise that is picked up in the wire will be the same on both wires or just on one wire. Since there is not an opossite signal to the noise and it gets ignored.

Of course the disadvantages are that they each require a power cord. The reciever has to have low signal (preamp) outputs instead of just "speaker" terminals. Most home units have single ended (RCA) outputs which would need a convertor to the balanced XLR/TRS.

Alot of studio monitors are designed for near field listening though can usually be used in most normal room sizes. Models such as the Truths have some switches on the back to accomadate for different rooms.

So called home audio active speakers are usually very expensive. Paradigm had some about 5 years ago that started at like $800 for a simple 2 way bookshelf.

So far there is no such thing as the perfect speaker, its just a question of what features do you want and what are you willing to sacrifice to get them.

I'm considering getting the Behringers Truth's for my computer. Parts Express sells them for $340.
 
Thanks for the informative reply. So just because it is active doesn't mean I can't integrate them into an existing speaker system like the Gigaworks S750s or attach them to the receiver? I didn't quite understand the reason behind the earlier post. What about attaching a separate sub (do i even need one with Truth's 8.75" subs)?

So would you get the Behringer Truth Active or Passive? Is it like the NHT-M00 with a plug in each monitor then?

How does Paradigm Cinema 90s and NHT-M00 stack against the Behringers?
 
You would need something that converts from high singal to low signal...generally some resistors will do just fine. They would need individual power cords due to each having an amplifier and associated electronics. Here a cheap hi to lo pre-built, Do it yourself version.

The Truths are only active, some models like Alesis have both passive and active versions.

Some of the actives have low frequency high pass circuits that purposfully filter out the low end bass so that the woofer does not have to strain itself. A dedicated subwoofer never hurts :)

It looks like the Gigaworks S750 has some RCA looking connectors on the back of the subwoofer that go out to the speakers themselves...OK but I see those are high level. I see that it has some set-top box that maybe controlls the volume and everything? If so than whatever connections that feeds the amplifiers in the subwoofer could be Y'ed off to also feed the Truths, just don't connect anything to the Front outputs on the Gigaworks. You would then trim the volume on the Truths to match the rest of the system and use that master control box to keep everything sync'ed.

To get unbalanced to balanced you might consider something like this convertor. The circuit can also be built pretty easily if your into electronics, but if you don't have the parts lying around then it might be more practical and even economical to buy the pre-built one. Do it yourself circuit.

Unless you already have the Gigaworks I would think a small reciever (with digital inputs) would be a better value and some cheap suround speakers. $400 is a lot of money.
 
azrael201 said:
Thanks for the informative reply. So just because it is active doesn't mean I can't integrate them into an existing speaker system like the Gigaworks S750?
Click to expand...
Why would you want to integrate them into the S750's?

The fact that they are active means that they are self amplified, so if the signal you send them is line level it shouldn't matter very much where it is coming from.
 
Nah i don't have the gigaworks yet...I guess I'll look into getting a receiver and maybe picking up some cheap Polk R13/R15's or JBL E10s online for surround. Agh more time into research and not classes...

I'm looking at these truth's that are supposedly passive (2030P) Link

It's a lot cheaper and if i have a receiver then i would probably want to buy the passives and forego the pain of high to low?

How would you spend $400 bux on speakers, receiver, and sub?
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Also anyone know how the NHT M-00's stack up against the Truths?

Auctions ending in an hour...hurry!
 
sorry if i'm spamming, but i think those above are 2030A instead of 2031A...big difference? Sure is in price
 
One thing you have to keep in mind with active monitors is that you pay ALOT more for the same sound - since you are paying for the amp as well.

300$ active is probably equal to $150 passive bookshelves... approximately.
 
azrael201 said:
How would you spend $400 bux on speakers, receiver, and sub?
Click to expand...
It depends on what I would be using them for. Personally I would buy a couple monitors for around 300 and save up more money for a sub.

What source you will be using, what you will be using them to listen to, room size, distance from you to the speakers, and the importance of future upgradeablity are all factors that we do not know for you.
 
Pinipig523 said:
One thing you have to keep in mind with active monitors is that you pay ALOT more for the same sound - since you are paying for the amp as well.

300$ active is probably equal to $150 passive bookshelves... approximately.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you don't have to go out an BUY an amp, you get something that is geared for nearfiled listening, and has the amp/driver matching that can give good sound bang/buck.

Read this article for an insight on how active speakers can be an acceptable alternative.

The Benefits of an Active Speaker Lifestyle
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_4/feature-article-active-speakers-12-2002.html
 
ah yes, specifics totally forgot.

I'll be living by myself for the next two years in an efficiency/studio in an apartment building. I intend to use them for primarily music/movies and gaming (i feel like the gaming scene is dying).

Room size I am unsure of since I have yet to see this place. I was thinking i should get a receiver so i can integrate the speakers with my TV (32") and my PC. But a room setup sharing speakers will seem difficult in terms of placement.

I'm not too concerned with future upgradeability...at least not for a few years.

Right now i'm thinking i'll pick up a receiver (i have an old kenwood at home or i might buy a new one), some passive monitors (Alesis M1/M2 or Behringer Truths), and pick up a sub (dayton).


Yea the difference between the passive and active prices are huge.
 
He is ALREADY buying a receiver... why bother with the active monitors? Stick with passive speakers and you wont have to spend alot to get your multichannel setup going, plus you have a lot more speaker varieties to choose from.

Besides - why wouldnt a bookshelf be suited for nearfield listening?? You want to come over and listen to my Polk LSI9s?
 
Pinipig523 said:
One thing you have to keep in mind with active monitors is that you pay ALOT more for the same sound - since you are paying for the amp as well.

300$ active is probably equal to $150 passive bookshelves... approximately.
Click to expand...

Your gonna have to amplify eventually. Your only getting half the speaker when you by passive. As mentioned there are benefits, but there are trade-offs. Building a quality passive crossover is actually very hard, building an active one is easy.


Personally I feel if you don't need the reciever than buy the monitors. You will get all together better integration of the parts. But you will lack the ability to expand like a reciever can. Later on you can buy a new/used preamp or mixer.

Sometime passes....

Alright I went to Guitar Center to see what they had. They had several of the KRK speakers. They looked very promising. They had the V series (8, 6, & 4). The V4's were actually pretty good for the dimunitive size. Got fairly loud for the big open space they were in and the bass was impressive. I think this would be a good time to show why a properly made active speaker can be so close to perfection. Because the designer can take what would normally be considered a low end to mediocore driver and optimize the circuit to even out any problem areas. Essentially taking a rough driver and makeing it have ruler flat response, so that as long as manufacturing capabilites are consistant you get a dependable high performance package.

The Rokit 5 were on display too. Looked pretty good, but the one thing that really stood out on these was the addition of a unbalanced RCA input, meaning you could plug these straight into any soundcard.

They did not have any Behringers in stock, but let me say this. They did have the Mackies which are almost the same looking, and they were ginormous :D . I think it took me seeing these in real life to realize they have a 9" woofer and are 15" tall! The Truths would dominate any desktop.

I think the Rokit RP5 would be a great value and the most easy to use.

They also had the M-Audio brand active monitors though none were actually hooked up. I would stay away from the lower end models like the Studio Pro that use a mylar tweeter as mylar can be one of the worst tweeter materials. The Studiophile models use a silk tweeter which can be much more forgiving. They also have unbalanced inputs.
 
hey westrock,

i'm toootally noob to this but could you elaborate more on how to expand from active monitors with preamps and stuff (was that what you were saying?)?

yea the behringer truths look like my best bet right now (especially some bastard outsniped me on the pair of NHT M-00 for $260).

what are the implications of attaching active monitors and possible sub and rear sats to my Audigy 2 ZS Plat?

Realize I don't have it yet so i don't know what's on it. What kind of system are you getting or would you get for $400?
 
Sure :)

A preamp is basically a reciever without any amplifiers in it. It does everything as far as switching inputs and controlling volume and any other managment features it might have. However the amplification is left up the users choice. Several recievers have preamp outputs built in (many Yamaha's, Harman Kardon's) and can be used as recievers or preamps or a mixture of both (use the onboard amps for the surround but use external amps for the mains).

The implication of using Actives is matching the inputs and outputs. The outputs on most sound cards are little 1/8" headphone type connectors. You would need a Y to break this up into two seperate channels. These would be single ended or unbalanced outputs. So they would need to be converted to balanced outputs (like the $50 product I link a couple posts ago). Thats why those KRK Rokit 5 and M-Audio StudioPhiles are of consideration because they have straight RCA inputs that don't require any of that. So just a 1/8" stereo to seperate RCA connectors is needed.

I wish they would have had the Behringers there, because I have a feeling that at close proximity you would not even need a sub with those puppies.
 
I didn't know Guitar Center sold speakers, i guess it does kinda make sense. I thought they just sold guitars! shows how much i kno.

There's a guitar center near where i live in baltimore and once i go back down to baltimore i'm definitely going to turn that place upside down for behringers.

How much does a decent receiver with preamp mix cost? Any suggestions? I think those Behringers @$330 will break my budget leaving little room for other components. Might be worth it however...
 
I like my Samson Resolv 65a' s (bi-amped nearfield active monitors). Good by themselves, but much more enjoyable with a subwoofer. Plus each one has 1 XLR, 1 TRS, and 1 RCA input.

Only thing I dislike about them is that changing the volume and keeping them matched takes a lot longer than with a single volume control. There are ways around this but in their stock configuration its problematic.
 
if the actives both have their own volume controls (is that what you are saying?) how do you balance them and especially if you integrate them into a 5.1 would that be a monstrous pain?
 
I was debating whether to start a new thread or not, but since the speakers were originally mentioned here i'll continue this.

I was doing a little price comparison for the Behringer 2031A Truth Monitors that was first recommended to me in this thread. zZounds.com sells new for $340 and bpmusic sells it for $320. However zZounds also sells "B-Stock" for $280.

I'm guessing B-Stock means refurbished? Any experiences with refurbished speakers and is the $40 savings worth it?

Thanks
 
B-stock can mean lots of things, but it usually is a open-box return or cosmetically damaged item. Why not give them a call and ask?
 
i knew someone would ask me that, but i did earlier but i thought to post for experiences anyways. I called and they basically said they're from trade shows and returns. So basically used speakers with slight blemishes.

Is the risk worth the extra $40? Anyone else ordered B-stock from zZounds?
 
ONe last thing that has occured to me recently.

SO is the difference between HT speakers and Studio Monitors just how flat the response is? I'm all set to go on studio monitors but i really haven't read people using them for anything else other than listening to music-ie. computer games and movies.

ANd one more thing: KRK Rokit RP5's or Behringer Truth 2030A/2031A?
Keeping in mind i don't DJ and this is purely for music listening/gaming/movies
 
preamps are anything before the main amplification stage. The term can include things like source selectors, volume control, and voltage amplifiers (such as you might use for a phono source with some receivers)
 
azrael201 said:
ONe last thing that has occured to me recently.

SO is the difference between HT speakers and Studio Monitors just how flat the response is? I'm all set to go on studio monitors but i really haven't read people using them for anything else other than listening to music-ie. computer games and movies.

ANd one more thing: KRK Rokit RP5's or Behringer Truth 2030A/2031A?
Keeping in mind i don't DJ and this is purely for music listening/gaming/movies
Click to expand...

ProAudio guys won't pay for the hype that surrounds Home Audio. Notice none of the monitors have highlights like "real wood veneer" or "Sonically matched internal wireing". This is because they know these things don't make a hill of beans as far as sound goes and won't pay for it. Also almost no monitors have grills (some have integrated metal meshes though). Pro-audio needs something that just plain works, and since they have a lot of other stuff to buy it has to be affordable. You can't get a studio setup buying one piece of equipment every 6 months :D

I would say go with the Rokit RP5's. They may be a little smaller, but they will be much more verstaile to someone like yourself who has no real desire to use more pro-audio equipment. Use the RCA unbalanced inputs.

I've actually been thinking about this for about a month or two now and I think I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna sell my Harman Kardon Signature 2.0 & PA5800 and both sets of Magnepans. I am going to put those proceeds towards an Outlaw Audio 990 pre-amp (which has balanced XLR outputs) and go with active monitors all the way around....either the Truths 2031A or the Rokits RP5. Have to see where the money is :D

Also I think you asked earlier what the difference between the Truth 2030A and 2031A was. The 2030A uses a 6.5" woofer and the 2031A uses a 8.75" woofer. Both have the same tweeter, and the 2030A is smaller. The "A" after them mean active and are self amplified, so thats why a 2031 is considerably cheaper than a 2031A.

Also I don't know if this website was mentioned, but they have a large selection and great prices. If anything you might be able to get Guitar Center to price match them on a pair of Rokits :)
 
azrael201 said:
ONe last thing that has occured to me recently.

SO is the difference between HT speakers and Studio Monitors just how flat the response is? I'm all set to go on studio monitors but i really haven't read people using them for anything else other than listening to music-ie. computer games and movies.

ANd one more thing: KRK Rokit RP5's or Behringer Truth 2030A/2031A?
Keeping in mind i don't DJ and this is purely for music listening/gaming/movies
Click to expand...

No.. there is another MAJOR difference... imaging. If you use your near field studio monitors as HT speakers... it's going to sound like ass. They have to be a specific distance apart from each other ... hence "near field" and "far field" monitors. My monitors sound amazingly wonderful if they are about arms length away... anything more and there are all sorts of cancellations and it basically sounds like crap.
 
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