Speakers for music/movies and recording and mixing with Scarlett Focusrite 2i2

[bicko19]

Hi all!

The time has come to upgrade from my old and crappy logitech speakers and sub. Unfortunatey, I have no idea when it comes to what to buy, but I shall do my best to explain what I need.

I have somewhat limited deskspace, so I'm thinking a set of bookshelf monitors. I'd like to avoid having a sub just to free up some more space. Active speakers would be a plus too. The speakers will set on my desk hutch/shelf approx 50-60cm above the desk. I can have them sitting at desk level on either side of my laptop if that would be better sound wise, and it's also a little more spacious but not by much!

These speakers need to be an all round workhorse. I listen to a variety of music, watch a lot of movies but I also record and jam guitars and vocals.

For this I use a Scarlett Focusrite 2i2 interface in which I use a POD HD 500 and a couple of mics.

I don't need my speakers to be massively revealing for fine tuning mixes and such, I'm more so chasing great sound for when I'm jamming along to backing tracks, or putting rough demos together. I still want to be able to enjoy my listening to music and watching movies without fatigue and such.

I need to find that middle ground between studio monitors and general purpose hifi speakers if that makes sense. These speakers would then be run out the back of the 2i2.

Pricewise, I'm thinking around maybe $600AUD for the pair, the cheaper the better I guess but I'm also willing to push that budget a little for the right product! If active monitors aren't the way to go, than suggestions for a quality amp would be greatly appreciated too =)

I think that's everything! I can upload a photo of the space if that will help making the right choice!

Thanks in advance for your responses and I'm looking forward to joining the world of real hifi sound haha =)

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[ID.]

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/f5/description ?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57586054-47/meet-the-new-champ-of-desktop-speakers-adam-audio-f5/

 

[davedotco]

Assuming you are actually in Australia, I would first take a look at speakers by Event Electronics.

Pretty much in your backyard the Sydney based company make the formidable Opal monitor, one of the best loudspeakers in it's class. Their 2020 models are probably the ones to look at, used if necessary, and might be around your budget.

Otherwise it is down to the usual suspects but it would depend a lot on what is available locally.

For an idea of what is available in general terms, Google 'Thomann' or 'Music store'. both big online retailers based in Germany.

Sorry but the page will not let me post links.

 

[bicko19]

Thanks for the replies so far! Both of those seem like great options!

Yes I am in Australia, but happy to buy from overseas to chase the best price!

With the 2020/bas speakers, how would I go connecting them to the 1/4" outputs of the 2i2?

Cheers!

 

[MajorFubar]

With the RCA or XLR input on the back of each speaker.

 

[bicko19]

But the 2i2 doesn't have XLR outputs?

Am I able to run 1/4" to XLR cables?

 

[davedotco]

Thanks for the replies so far! Both of those seem like great options!

Yes I am in Australia, but happy to buy from overseas to chase the best price!

With the 2020/bas speakers, how would I go connecting them to the 1/4" outputs of the 2i2?

Cheers!

The Focusrite 2i2 has balanced outputs on 3 pole jacks, balanced jack to XLR is a pretty standard lead, any music/home recording/pro audio dealer will be able to supply.

Event are based in Sydney so with home market advantage I would expect them to be competitive the latest version of the 2020 is a pretty decent monitor and sell in the uk for £500, I would expect it to be less in Oz.

If you are going to ship from europe there are plenty of outlets who can supply tax free, try.....

http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html

http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/EUR/;pgid=U29AGLqM85JSR0USh_2O4iFQ0000wqx0jt3O;sid=XXCrLqo0i2WuLuVIm-QgyqT317EAoz7k8Bo=

http://www.studiospares.com/

 

[bicko19]

Sweet! Thanks for clarifying about the XLR and 1/4" cable stuff! Just wanted to make sure I knew what i was doing before committing to something!

So far I haven't found much of a price difference between buying the 2020bas here or overseas which is disappointing. I was expecting bigger savings. That has me leaning towards the Adam F5's, that little bit cheaper getting them from Thomman.

Any other suggestions for speakers?

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

 

[ID.]

I too originally thought of Event, but I was surprised at the price of the 2020bas. IIRC it was a bit more than the OP wanted to pay and the Adams were closer to budget. Of course, try to have a listen first if possible. I suggested the F5 because I am interested in Adam speakers, but tastes differ.

 

[davedotco]

Sweet! Thanks for clarifying about the XLR and 1/4" cable stuff! Just wanted to make sure I knew what i was doing before committing to something!

So far I haven't found much of a price difference between buying the 2020bas here or overseas which is disappointing. I was expecting bigger savings. That has me leaning towards the Adam F5's, that little bit cheaper getting them from Thomman.

Any other suggestions for speakers?

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

I am not a huge fan of the Adam F series, I find them a little loose and lacking control but others seem to like them. It is a 'known' brand name and should be easy to move on should you need to, for one reason or another. The Yamaha HS7 is a similar price, the smaller HS5 slightly cheaper and again these are well known names that might be available locally to save the shipping hassle.

My favourite speaker at this level is the slightly more expensive PreSonus Eris 8, the Eris 5 is also not at all bad and very well priced, the Unik 05 and 08 models seem to offer good material value but I have not heard them.

 

[bicko19]

With all the potential speakers listed, are they all great for listening as well as recording music? I want the best of both worlds, and while I play a lot of music, I'm not after speakers that don't make for good, every day listening.

Does that make sense haha?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Those Yamahas are an acquired taste. To my ears (plus my mate's and the salesman's) they were positively grating. The Adam Audios are so much better, if you can find them.

Plenty of smoke over the old town today?

 

[bicko19]

The PreSonus Eris 5 and 8's are both very well priced within Australia. What are the major differences between the 5's and 8's soundwise?

What are the differences between the Adam f5's and the PreSonus Eris 5?

Can get a pair of the Eris 5's for almost half the price of the Adam's, and in Australia too!

 

[bicko19]

I'm pretty sure I've heard the Yamaha's before at my local music shop and wasn't overally thrilled, so might give them a miss.

I'm in Victoria and it's currently pouring rain, go figure. Not looking good for NSW tomorrow, chances a whole heap of the fires will combine and conditions tomorrow are going to be terrible!

Fingers crossed it all passes quickly!

 

[davedotco]

The PreSonus Eris 5 and 8's are both very well priced within Australia. What are the major differences between the 5's and 8's soundwise?

What are the differences between the Adam f5's and the PreSonus Eris 5?

Can get a pair of the Eris 5's for almost half the price of the Adam's, and in Australia too!

The Eris 8 is a better speaker all round than the 5, but in the UK the price difference is aubstantial £230 for the 5, £400 for the 8. If you can get Eris 8s for a sensible price locally, that would be my choice. Both speakers are reviewed in a recent Sound on Sound, but you have to buy the copy, to get the full review.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct13/articles/presonus-eris.htm

 

[altruistic.lemon]

I'm pretty sure I've heard the Yamaha's before at my local music shop and wasn't overally thrilled, so might give them a miss.

I'm in Victoria and it's currently pouring rain, go figure. Not looking good for NSW tomorrow, chances a whole heap of the fires will combine and conditions tomorrow are going to be terrible!

Fingers crossed it all passes quickly!

And without any loss of life!

 

[davedotco]

I'm pretty sure I've heard the Yamaha's before at my local music shop and wasn't overally thrilled, so might give them a miss.

I'm in Victoria and it's currently pouring rain, go figure. Not looking good for NSW tomorrow, chances a whole heap of the fires will combine and conditions tomorrow are going to be terrible!

Fingers crossed it all passes quickly!

And without any loss of life!

As I think I told you, we used to live in Sydney and on one occasion helped a neighbour (extra car and driver, no more than that) evacuate some relatives from the path of a bushfire, didn't have to get close but still pretty sobering.....