System for a small office

[Jason36]

I'm just about to take up residence in the day in a smallish office approximately 140 square foot and I am looking for a small system so that I can listen to music whilst I am working during the day......this would either be via an iPod or laptop computer.

I dont want to go down the root of an all in one ipod dock/speaker system...for sound reasons so as far as I can see I have two options open to me:

Option 1:
If mainly used via iPod...probably most likely....active speakers via a DAC and Ipod dock

Options 2:
Passive speakers via amplifier and DAC and ipod dock

I dont want to spend a lot of money, but want to obtain some sort of decent sound levels and quality (all music saved as Apple Lossless)

What do other people use in small studies, offices or small bedrooms....Help Please.

 

[richardw42]

How much is it you'd like to spend.
If a compact solution would suit, how about the new b&W ZEPPELIN AIR ? I have the normal Zeppelin and it would be more than capable of filling the room you describe, and as far as reports suggest the AIR improves on this. You also get Airplay which will mean you can stream from your laptop.
As far as other solutions go. There is almost an infinite amount of possibilities. Set yourself a figure and that will help you decide which way to go.

 

[BenLaw]

Sonos ZP120 and a good pair of small speakers?

But I agree, budget and how much space you're able to use will be key factors.

 

[scene]

Sonos ZP120 and a good pair of small speakers?

But I agree, budget and how much space you're able to use will be key factors.

I'd look at a B&W Zeppelin Air, an Arcam rCube or maybe a Sonos ZPS5 + dock (if you feel like it)

As has already been stated, budget and physical space are critical...

 

[Jason36]

Hi guys....

Well bearing in mind I am looking to buy a pair of ATC SCM11's for my home system within the next two months, ideally as little as possible.

I have never looked at this before, so not sure what a realistic figure would be....I was probably thinking something alon the lines of £500 or £600 ideally and if possible?

Was thinking maybe something along the lines of :

Alesis M1 Active 520 speakers

Arcam Rdac or CA DacMagic

Pure Digital i20 or Onkyo ND-S2 iPod Dock

This would come in around the £500 to £650 mark.......Just thinking about this I think most listening would be via Ipod and most of the stuff on my laptop is on the iPod.

I have never looked at a system like this before so a little bit lost really.

What do you think the above mentioned system would like and are there alternative Active Speakers at the price level (I believe the Alesis are £199.00)

 

[noogle]

B&W MM-1s from my laptop.

 

[Paul.]

Don't want to spend a lot of money? I bought a Marantz PM44 SE and some Mission SC-M50 for under £90 all in including postage off eBay, thats budget! Had some Chord rumour offcuts, an old ipod dock with remote and some brackets to finish up.

The speakers are front ported, I have them wall mounted with tweeter at ear hight at my desk, sounds surprisingly good Then again, If my office was insured I would probably get something a little nicer.

 

[BenLaw]

Hi guys.... Well bearing in mind I am looking to buy a pair of ATC SCM11's for my home system within the next two months, ideally as little as possible. I have never looked at this before, so not sure what a realistic figure would be....I was probably thinking something alon the lines of £500 or £600 ideally and if possible? Was thinking maybe something along the lines of : Alesis M1 Active 520 speakers Arcam Rdac or CA DacMagic Pure Digital i20 or Onkyo ND-S2 iPod Dock This would come in around the £500 to £650 mark.......Just thinking about this I think most listening would be via Ipod and most of the stuff on my laptop is on the iPod. I have never looked at a system like this before so a little bit lost really. What do you think the above mentioned system would like and are there alternative Active Speakers at the price level (I believe the Alesis are £199.00)

The advantage of the Zeppelin and rCube that's been recommended is you can both stream and dock, although with the rCube you'd need to buy a Kleer dongle. I've not heard the Zeppelin, but I've heard the Mini and the rCube and I felt the rCube had significanlt better SQ and went louder.

BUT, you probably don't need to dock and stream. Unless you really need the charging facilities docking allows, then streaming would be fine, and gives more flexible access to be changing tracks. The Zeppelin (will do shortly), rCube and Sonos all give you the flexibility to expand your system into a multiroom setup, if that's may become relevant. The Sonos gives you the added flexibility of changing / upgrading speakers (and indeed amplification) in future. I recommended the ZP120 as it has its own DAC and amp on board, so you wouldn't have to confine yourself to active speakers. If you want to go active, the ZP90, which still has its own DAC, would be an option.

Your suggestions mean a lot of boxes, and bigger boxes at that, but if space is not problem that's fine. I believe the Pure i20 uses its own DAC, so at least to begin with you could save on an external DAC.

So if docking is essentail, the cheapest option may be Pure i20 + active speakers. Upgrade path is external DAC and improving speakers. If docking is not essential, merely getting music off your iPod, the cheapest option may be Sonos ZP120 and suitable speakers (MA BX1 as small and good, but many options obviously). Upgrade path is external DAC and speakers. And all-in-one high quality docks have already been suggested.

 

[Jason36]

Hi guys.... Well bearing in mind I am looking to buy a pair of ATC SCM11's for my home system within the next two months, ideally as little as possible. I have never looked at this before, so not sure what a realistic figure would be....I was probably thinking something alon the lines of £500 or £600 ideally and if possible? Was thinking maybe something along the lines of : Alesis M1 Active 520 speakers Arcam Rdac or CA DacMagic Pure Digital i20 or Onkyo ND-S2 iPod Dock This would come in around the £500 to £650 mark.......Just thinking about this I think most listening would be via Ipod and most of the stuff on my laptop is on the iPod. I have never looked at a system like this before so a little bit lost really. What do you think the above mentioned system would like and are there alternative Active Speakers at the price level (I believe the Alesis are £199.00)

The advantage of the Zeppelin and rCube that's been recommended is you can both stream and dock, although with the rCube you'd need to buy a Kleer dongle. I've not heard the Zeppelin, but I've heard the Mini and the rCube and I felt the rCube had significanlt better SQ and went louder.

BUT, you probably don't need to dock and stream. Unless you really need the charging facilities docking allows, then streaming would be fine, and gives more flexible access to be changing tracks. The Zeppelin (will do shortly), rCube and Sonos all give you the flexibility to expand your system into a multiroom setup, if that's may become relevant. The Sonos gives you the added flexibility of changing / upgrading speakers (and indeed amplification) in future. I recommended the ZP120 as it has its own DAC and amp on board, so you wouldn't have to confine yourself to active speakers. If you want to go active, the ZP90, which still has its own DAC, would be an option.

Your suggestions mean a lot of boxes, and bigger boxes at that, but if space is not problem that's fine. I believe the Pure i20 uses its own DAC, so at least to begin with you could save on an external DAC.

So if docking is essentail, the cheapest option may be Pure i20 + active speakers. Upgrade path is external DAC and improving speakers. If docking is not essential, merely getting music off your iPod, the cheapest option may be Sonos ZP120 and suitable speakers (MA BX1 as small and good, but many options obviously). Upgrade path is external DAC and speakers. And all-in-one high quality docks have already been suggested.

Thanks for that Ben, A very comprehensive reply to my post.

The office is small at approximately 100 square foot and will obviously have a desk, bookshelves and filing cabinet etc in....so space is something I have to consider.

Having looked at this in more detail and read the various posts I think the active speakers / doc / dac are probably not the best option.

At the moment I believe flexibility would be obtained from either the Zeppelin Air or RCube as both of these give me the option of either docking an iPod (none touch model) or streaming directly from my laptop (all lossless files). I believe the Air has an inbuilt DAC so if I am docking the iPod it would bypass the iPods not very good DAC.

The additional benefit of these options I suppose is that I can move them around fairly easily and bring them home to setup in a home study / bedroom in an evening or at weekends.

I have arranged a demo of the Zeppelin Air tomorrow as I believe this may offer better functionality

Thanks for the advice