Very (very) new to this. Looking for budget speakers.

[admin_exported]

I'm working on a student budget (off to uni in a few months) here, and i've FINALLY decided that my combination of sennheiser HD 202 headphones and laptop speakers doesnt quite cut it. A lot of the music i listen to is pretty bass-driven (drum&bass, house etc) and also some foo fighters/fallout boy kind of stuff.

The other thing is that I'm also trying my hand at music production, so how important is a subwoofer?

I really just need a few recommendations on what to look for, my budget is anywhere between £60-150, depending on how my rather inconsistently-paying job (caddying) goes.

It's hard to tell how naive im being with my requirements vs my budget.

Also: I've only really looked at amazon, are there any well-known specialist stores that offer a decent range and prices?

Some stuff I've found, all on amazon, are any of these to be avoided?:

Trust 17966 Tytan 2.1 Speaker (has a subwoofer): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-17966-Tytan-2-1-Speaker/dp/B0061J3GPU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Sony SSB1000: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-SSB1000-2-Way-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B000OQ3TGW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341241402&sr=1-2

Denon SCM37: http://www.amazon.co.uk/DENON-SCM37-SPEAKERS-PAIR/dp/B0032F0PPA/ref=sr_1_32?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341241472&sr=1-32

Yamaha ANSBP200PB: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-ANSBP200PB-Speakers-Black/dp/B004MYFDIO/ref=sr_1_33?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341241472&sr=1-33

Q Acoustics 2010: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ACOUSTICS-2010-SPEAKERS-WHITE-GLOSS/dp/B0032B3MKY/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341227364&sr=1-2 (theres also the 2010i, 2020, and 2020i, are these worth the upgrade?)

SO MANY QUESTIONS, im sorry, i know

Any help at all would be much appreciated, im usually good at this sort of thing but im really struggling here...

 

[Andy Clough]

Are you listening to all your music on your laptop? Then you'll need some sort of amplification built into the speakers, unless you have an amp already. Something like the Frankenspiel FS-1 at £130 might fit the bill, as they can be connected to your laptop via USB, or powered off the mains.

 

[Anonymous]

May I recomend these?

Logitech X540 - Very good sound for the price!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-X-540-Multimedia-Speaker-System/dp/B000LBHFMO

 

[Anonymous]

Think i've made a drastic miscalculation here - i don't have an amplifier, and probably dont have the money or space for one either.

- completely slipped my mind that i'd need one at all, think i may be in the wrong place...

yes, ill be playing music from my laptop (iTunes).

As for the logitech speakers, thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not really looking for 5.1 surround sound.

so - can i get good power and quality from 4mm laptop headphone jack compatible speakers?

 

[Andrew Everard]

If your budget needs to cover both amplification and speakers, might be worth a trip to your local music emporium to see what they have in their baby active monitor ranges. Had a very brief listen to some M-Audio speakers (among other brands) a year or so back while my wife was deciding which keyboard to buy, and they sounded pretty good for speakers so small, so perhaps something like these might be a solution, or at least a starting point for further exploration.

Failing that, you could probably (just about) put together a conventional stereo amp and speakers for that money by buying secondhand, but of course you run the risk of buying something that's been pre-caned to within an inch of its life, and an amp and speakers is going to be a lot less luggable to and from university.

 

[basshead]

small active monitors would be a good way to go. easy to transport, good value for money and good for getting involved with music production. all of my uni mates had active speakers as opposed to an amp and speaker combo oh and they generally go louder

maybe something like these: http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/fostex-pm0-4n-active-nearfield-studio-monitors-red-pair--76508

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/m-audio-bx5-d2-active-studio-monitors--90875

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/behringer-ms40-active-stereo-nearfield-monitors--34409

that website has an extensive range. be aware that some speakers are sold by the pair, but some by the single speaker.

 

[Memphismusic]

All you need is to plug this into your laptop http://www.whathifi.com/review/logitech-s715i

I have one and its big sounding, plus portable, plus has its own rechargable battery

Or

You could buy the bluetooth version without the dock (again will also cable to your laptop if you have not bluetooth) which I also have in our works board room for presentations.

Big sound and surprising bass.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks a lot, these all look great options!

I'm looking at the Fostex's in particular, I'll have to see how far my budget stretches