Hi im looking to spend money on laptop speakers are the "B&W MM-1" still a good buy or is there better on the market now,
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Do you stream hi-res music or download hi-res tracks? We want your opinions!
Looking to purchase laptop speakers
- Thread starter mattytun1514
- Start date
chebby
Well-known member
- Jun 2, 2008
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Focal XS Book active desktop speakers.
Ruark Audio MR1. (Walnut, black or white versions.) WHF? Review.
Ruark Audio MR1. (Walnut, black or white versions.) WHF? Review.
mattytun1514 said:
If you can afford them the Kef X300a would be a reasonable choice, either wired (usb) or wireless (airplay), £600 or £800 respectively.
Plenty of lower price options with the usb input, particularly if you look into multi media or near field monitors from your local pro audio dealers.
I have the MM-1's and they are amazing, they are the last pc speakers i will ever need to buy, especially for the small footprint. I managed to pick them up for 300 ex-dem. :dance:
If you want better you will have to go larger. I didnt want something that would monopolise my desk space. I also am at liberty to throw them in a bag and i take them anywhere with me.
If you want better you will have to go larger. I didnt want something that would monopolise my desk space. I also am at liberty to throw them in a bag and i take them anywhere with me.
I would say the Monitor Audio WS100 .
which are easily as good if not better than the previous mentioned but not capable of the levels that the KEF's would produce.
Regards
which are easily as good if not better than the previous mentioned but not capable of the levels that the KEF's would produce.
Regards
Recently bought Mackie mr5's, they're perfect for near field listening.
Good 3d musical image from budget monitors.
Good 3d musical image from budget monitors.
Thanks for your kind help I think it could be "Ruark Audio MR1" that im going for not sure if to go for black or walnut though.. 😛 :?
skippy said:
There are plenty of options along those lines skippy, but they are not, in the main, available from your local sevenoaks/richer etc so get overlooked.
Cheap effective usb and even optical dacs are available from about £25, so any nearfield monitors can be used, I use such a dac a FIIO D3 and a pair of Studiospares (own brand built by Seiwin) monitors, total cost, including digital and analogue cables, less than £150.
Edit to add. Makes the Ruark MR1 look rather expensive in my view.
Not if the Ruarks sound better, ddc!
MM1s are OK - a neat solution, providing you're sitting reasonably close to them.
MM1s are OK - a neat solution, providing you're sitting reasonably close to them.
altruistic.lemon said:
Remarkably gentle rebuke Al, are you off your fodder?
Ruark make a quality product as do other hi-fi manufacturers such as Monitor Audio, B&W, Audio Engine and the like. I happen to think that what they offer is rather poor value compared to what can be found in the pro-audio (pro-sumer) market. I have heard a fair number of these options but have not directly compared ever possible combination.
altruistic.lemon said:
Not Dave, but my main system is a Yamaha a-s500 feeding dynaudio 42s. The Mackie's were approx a third of what I paid for the main setup and they are no means whitewashed in terms of sound quality.
Ultimately the dynaudios will go louder, but I am a recent convert to active setups.
I've had the Ruark MR1 for some months now. I have to say they're the best sounding desktops I've listened to. I actually tried a few but decided to wait till the mr1 was available and I'm glad I waited. After a while I added a Subwoofer; heard from a reliable source that Ruark tested with Rel T zero during development. The setup sounds absolutely phenomenal.
altruistic.lemon said:
On this forum this is largely a waste of time if the products you are writing about are a little bit off the mainstrean.
Should you be foolish enough to do so by, for example, favourably comparing a small pair of active studio type speakers to a couple of similarly priced mainstream products, then you are in trouble. I did exactly that when I bought my little system and got shouted down by a user of the product I didn't like so much.
Similarly when I attempted to make a case for some more expensive active options against more 'conventional' systems I got into a shouting match, with among others, your good self.
My current system is a very inexpensive desktop system that is being pressed into service as a main system. It is limited and compromised in all sorts of ways but as a desktop setup it is, in my view, pretty much untouchable at the price. Have I heard every possible option, no, of course not, but I have heard options from Audio Engine, AE, Cambridge Audio and one or two others that were pretty forgetable too, none came close to matching the clarity and tightness I get from my Studiospares.
So now I mostly confine my comments to technical matters and views of a more general nature. The fact that I would much rather use an active option at the budget end of the spectrum, for purely sound quality reasons, remains my confirmed view though it is a point I rarely make these days.
mattytun1514 said:
By saying "laptop speakers" are you implying that you are looking for something easily transportable, for example, to use in hotel rooms on business trips? If so I can recommend the Bose computer mini monitors; fantastic sound for their size/weight. I got some a few weeks ago and am very happy with them.
If on the other hand you want some speakers that will sit on a shelf/desk at home all the time, then there are naturally a lot more options. Last week I bought a pair of Audio Pro Addon 8 speakers for my daughter; they can connect to any bluetooth enabled device including (obviously) a laptop which is very convenient. They also have RCA and mini jack inputs. They sound better than the Bose mentioned above but are a lot bigger and heavier and would put a much bigger dent in my baggage allowance.
Horses for courses really.
davedotco said:
I havent heard the FIIO dac but my experience with cheap dacs hasnt been good. I plugged my £25 CYP dac into the MM-1's and it really held the MM-1 back. Plugged in the usb (using the MM-1's internal DAC) and the sound was crystal clear and punchy. Using my beresford dac into the MM-1s aux input sounded great also, so IMO the CYP dac should not be let any where near hifi.
altruistic.lemon said:
I would say the MM-1s deserve a little better than an "OK". 🙂 For the size i dont think they can be bettered. Due to my computer use I spend more time listening to my MM-1s than i do to my main hifi (B&W CM1). I didnt buy the MM-1 with the intention of replacing my main hifi but in a way it just has due to my music being a lot more accessible now. I appreciate that goes for the other speakers recommended on this thread but most are still too big. On my desk i have a blu ray player, PS3, and gaming pc, not to mention my various headphones. If i had more space i think i would definately like to hear the ruarks though.
I hear what your saying about the sound field, but for me its easily fixed. Despite being desktop speakers they just need some mini speaker stands so the sound is firing at your ears and not your chest. I wouldnt consider it a short fall with the product, it just needs an extra accessory to help it out due to its intentionally small size. I havent found a decent mini speaker stand yet though !
A few months on, how are you finding the MR1s? I'm thinking of getting them but also considering the Roth Powa-5.
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