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Best budget speakers for near-field/small space

Hi Ladies & Gents,

First time on Audiogon.

Coming from headphones, due to dorm constraints, I'm finally going to be able to get a speaker setup once I move into an apartment at the end of the year.

Sharing an apartment with a few mates, so I'll be setting up the speakers in my bedroom. The room is probably going to be pretty small (about 12 by 8 feet), and with my bed, wardrobe and all, optimal speaker positioning might be a problem.

Hence I'm thinking of going with a near-field setup, on my desk with my computer since that's where I do most of my listening. I could swap my chair and desk with a nice recliner as well, but its going to be near-field either way.

My budget for speakers and amps is pretty tight. Under 1000USD (please don't tease =) and the lower the better. I'm looking for the greatest bang for my buck what with being a student and all.

I listen almost exclusively to Jazz. Mostly 50's 60's bop, hard bop etc. Some acoustic singer-songwriter stuff, and indie rock as well, but only occasionally.

At the lowest end of the spectrum the Audioengine A5 looks interesting. Possibly paired with S8 subwoofer. Being active, I'd save on electronics and could add a DAC down the road, to pair with my Macbook Pro.

At the upper end of my budget, the Magnepan MMG looks very attractive especially with the great reviews on the web. Potential worries: read that they need a really beefy amp that might cost a bit, and more importantly, positioning. I don't believe these speakers were made with near-field listening in mind so that's a bit of a worry.

I've also heard many great things about the Linkwitz Pluto. And since its available as a DIY I could save some bucks (though I have no experience whatsoever, so its a bit daunting).

Other active/passive studio monitors seem to be decent choices as well. The KRK Rokit series, Dynaudio BM5a etc seem like viable alternatives, but I'm worried that they won't be as 'musical' as hi-fi speakers and might end up being cold and too revealing (might be a problem with badly mastered records, especially all those bright RVG remasters).

I have incredibly limited experience with speakers. More well-versed with headphones only. So I really need your help!

Many thanks in advance!
milesandcoltrane
horseface's avatar
horseface
222 posts
 
I'm running the A5's at work and to be honest - I cant get them to sound all that pleasing to me. I switched to the A2's to save space.

How about a hybrid tubed integrated? (Jolida 1501RC) seems like it might be a good fit for the style of music you listen to. Plenty of power ...

I have done well with Dynaudio Audience 42's and Paradigm Studio 20's. I am running Proacs now but thats a little out of your price range.
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
Thank you for your inputs! Do keep them coming =)

Horseface, is the A5 really that bad? I had an extremely brief listen to them at one of the big box stores, and wasn't impressed as well. But the environment was really noisy and the music being played was something I'm not familiar with.

I've seen quite a number of people pair the Jolida 1501RC with their Maggies. I would love to get some of the tube sound and the Jolida seems to be a very nice option.

I'd have to agree with you Drdennis, I think the Maggies would be a real headache given the space I'm looking at.

Mapman, thanks for the compliment! Does the Triangle Titus XS really beat the Maggies where SQ is concerned? The Triangles do look very tempting, especially given the affordable price.

Ok so far based on your recommendations I will be looking into Triangle Titus XS, PSB Alpha B1, Dynaudio Audience 42 and Paradigm Studio 20.

What about the Linkwitz Pluto? I must say I'm very taken in with the omnipole design and the unique aesthetics. Bang for buck factor would be very high if I can DIY this thing.

Do keep your inputs coming in!
milesandcoltrane OP
17 posts
 
Oh yes, I've been reading about the Bowers & Wilkins 685 as well. Many online reviews tout them as the best bookshelves for under a 1000, especially for Classical, Jazz and Acoustic. That sounds like what I want! How does the 685 compare for near-field/small space listening?
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
"Does the Triangle Titus XS really beat the Maggies where SQ is concerned? "

In my case they did for me. They have speed and transparency and bested my Maggies, which were middle 80's vintage mg1cs.

I've also heard mmgs recently at a local dealer running of some good tube amplification and I would not switch from my Triangles running of a 20 watt vintage Yamaha receiver based on what I heard.

Until a series of way more expensive upgrades to my main system over the last few years, teh Triangles driven off a 80 watt/ch tandberg tr2080 was my best sounding reference standard.

You may or may not elect to add a sub later in that they do not do much below 50hz or so, but what they do they do extremely well!
celtic66
990 posts
 
Audio Refinement Complete or Exposure integrateds with Proac Tablette 50 or other small monitor model.
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