Budget active speakers for my bedroom (under £200)

[hybridauth_Facebook_10204850719928819]

I'm looking for some active speakers for my bedroom - input will be my macbook only. Upper end of budget is £200. I mostly will be using these to listen to house/electronic stuff in general. But a bit of My bloody valentine and Slowdive as well! so something quite tight/punchy but also rich/warm.

Started off looking at Cambridge Go 2 & Sony srs-x5 but not convinced by video reviews. But its hard to tell from a video so if anyone thinks either of these are awesome, let me know!

Had a look at these Wharfedale desktop speakers too,

http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/product.php?pid=74

Anyone got any experience with them?

Read a thread on here suggesting monitor speakers could actually be appropriate & cost effective for general listening and some suggested options were M audio and Studiospares Sewin powered monitors. I like the look of the Studiospares so leaning towards them, but still feel like I'm taking a leap of faith without being able to demo any of these, so just looking for some advice.

Thanks for reading!

 

[johngw]

I'm looking for some active speakers for my bedroom - input will be my macbook only. Upper end of budget is £200. I mostly will be using these to listen to house/electronic stuff in general. But a bit of My bloody valentine and Slowdive as well! so something quite tight/punchy but also rich/warm.

Started off looking at Cambridge Go 2 & Sony srs-x5 but not convinced by video reviews. But its hard to tell from a video so if anyone thinks either of these are awesome, let me know!

Had a look at these Wharfedale desktop speakers too,

http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/product.php?pid=74

Anyone got any experience with them?

Read a thread on here suggesting monitor speakers could actually be appropriate & cost effective for general listening and some suggested options were M audio and Studiospares Sewin powered monitors. I like the look of the Studiospares so leaning towards them, but still feel like I'm taking a leap of faith without being able to demo any of these, so just looking for some advice.

Thanks for reading!

No experience of the Whaferdales but I would recommend having a look at e.g. Thomann.de and their active studio monitor range - some real bargains there in comparison to the "classic" HiFi scene. On a quick glance, for approx £200 you should be able to get a pair of ESI active 05 or 08, the latter with 8" woofer and total 90W amplification. They'll go down to about 40Hz which you'll appreciate with electronic music. Haven't heard the Whaferdales, but heard the previous version of the ESIs and they rock (for the price). Other well regarded brands in these circles are KRK and Fostex.

 

[steve_1979]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Behringer make some of the best active speakers for under £200.

 

[lpv]

I would check

1) Presonus Eris E5

2) Yamaha HS5 ( just a bit over 200, but I would check current offers)

3) KRK Rokit RP5 G3 ( not my type of sound but check those too)

4) Mackie MR5

5) yes and M-Audio AV40

6) Adam F5 ( second hand)

My mate had similar budget and after visiting some shops he got himself pair of HS5.. great straight from the macbook too.

 

[MajorFubar]

This list isn't complete without mentioning the Alesis M1Active 520 USB monitors that I use in my home studio. They link via USB, so you don't need a separate audio interface. Plug them in (via a USB cable which is not supplied), choose 'USB Audio Codec' on your Mac in System Preferences > Sound, and that's basically it.

 

[rainsoothe]

This list isn't complete without mentioning the Alesis M1Active 520 USB monitors that I use in my home studio. They link via USB, so you don't need a separate audio interface. Plug them in (via a USB cable which is not supplied), choose 'USB Audio Codec' on your Mac in System Preferences > Sound, and that's basically it.

+1 to this. They fit the budget just nicely, AND they have a USB interface, so job done. Of the above suggestions, the Presonus Eris 5 would be a great buy, but they require the cheap, but extra Behringer UCA202 for USB interfacing with the laptop, which will make them overshoot the budget. But they might fit the budget, AND they are true powered actives, as in they each have their own amplifier, instead of one being a master and the other one a slave, like with the cheaper options. These are the two options I would consider.

The others are nice and all, but they are priced per speaker (the Yamahas, the Rokits etc), so they kind of overshoot the budget, not to mention they still require an audio interface for the USB connection.

 

[lpv]

no, they don't require any audio interface. one can simply use them straight from headphone out. all you need is rca/ jack in at the back of the speaker.

 

[rainsoothe]

no, they don't require any audio interface. one can simply use them straight from headphone out. all you need is rca/ jack in at the back of the speaker.

well, technically, you need a stereo jack to 2x mono RCA or TRS splitter cable. But what you want is an audio interface to bypass a laptop or PC's soundcard. Some, like the Alesis, allow you to do that. Otherwise, it's garbage in, garbage out - no matter how good the rest of your system is.

 

[lpv]

no, they don't require any audio interface. one can simply use them straight from headphone out. all you need is rca/ jack in at the back of the speaker.

well, technically, you need a stereo jack to 2x mono RCA or TRS splitter cable. But what you want is an audio interface to bypass a laptop or PC's soundcard. Some, like the Alesis, allow you to do that. Otherwise, it's garbage in, garbage out - no matter how good the rest of your system is.

hi rainsoothe.

I don't think OP don't give a f.u.c.k. about the subject anymore... personally I don't follow an advice of anyone who have vibrapods under integrated amplifier & dac.

 

[rainsoothe]

no, they don't require any audio interface. one can simply use them straight from headphone out. all you need is rca/ jack in at the back of the speaker.

well, technically, you need a stereo jack to 2x mono RCA or TRS splitter cable. But what you want is an audio interface to bypass a laptop or PC's soundcard. Some, like the Alesis, allow you to do that. Otherwise, it's garbage in, garbage out - no matter how good the rest of your system is.

hi rainsoothe.

I don't think OP don't give a f.u.c.k. about the subject anymore... personally I don't follow an advice of anyone who have vibrapods under integrated amplifier & dac.

fallacy: If I tell you not to ear poisonous mushrooms, you're gonna go ahead and eat them just 'cause I use vibrapods? Bye.

 

[rainsoothe]

eat*

 

[BigH]

eat*

Rather eat black pasta.

 

[MattSPL]

I would recommend the Presonus Eris E5. They might be just over your budget but will blow away any Bluetooth speaker.

my friend just bought the larger E8. Great speakers

 

[MattSPL]

Just noticed Ipv mentioned the Presonus E5 earlier in the thread

 

[MajorFubar]

Don't you just hate it when someone posts a question, you and a load of others go to the trouble of giving constructive replies but that's the last you hear of them.

 

[rjbell]

If you can spare another tenner you can get the Q Acoustics bt3. Highly regarded and you have bluetooth which is handy. I was going to get them myself for the kitchen, but then plumped for a topping tp30 desktop amp and monitor audio bx1 instead. I would highly recomment the topping tp30 amp which has a built in dac which you can connect via usb to your macbook. They are £60 which leaves you £140 for some nice passive speakers.

 

[rjbell]

If you can spare another tenner you can get the Q Acoustics bt3. Highly regarded and you have bluetooth which is handy. I was going to get them myself for the kitchen, but then plumped for a topping tp30 desktop amp and monitor audio bx1 instead. I can highly recommend the topping tp30 amp which has a built in dac which you can connect via usb to your macbook. They are £60 which leaves you £140 for some nice passive speakers.