Active stereo speakers under 30k

[Silentstorm]

Fellow audiophiles, i need some advice please. I'm looking for Active stereo speakers basically to play stuff from my desktop. I had a my HT setup with it but now its moved to separate room so now i need a new set of speakers for my PC. I don't watch a lot of movies, but listen to HD audio a lot. I had Audioengine A5+ in mind but suddenly they have disappeared :sad:
What do you think would be good options for my needs? Thanks.

 

[drgb]

My recommendation would be the Swans M200MKIII, currently retailing for around 28k.
These are, according to me, one of the best sounding bookshelves in this price range (active or not). Especially the imaging is spot on. Sound quite bigger than they look.
If you are running a tight budget then go for the HK/JBL Soundsticks. Apart from looking great these sound good too.
You could also go for the Lepai LP2020 paired with the Pioneer SP-BS22LR. Great sounding combo, but just might need a bit more space than the actives.
Also, try staying away from active monitors while you're buying. They might be absolutely accurate but that much transparency won't let you enjoy your music.
Hope this helps. Cheers!

 

[Silentstorm]

My recommendation would be the Swans M200MKIII, currently retailing for around 28k.
These are, according to me, one of the best sounding bookshelves in this price range (active or not). Especially the imaging is spot on. Sound quite bigger than they look.
If you are running a tight budget then go for the HK/JBL Soundsticks. Apart from looking great these sound good too.
You could also go for the Lepai LP2020 paired with the Pioneer SP-BS22LR. Great sounding combo, but just might need a bit more space than the actives.
Also, try staying away from active monitors while you're buying. They might be absolutely accurate but that much transparency won't let you enjoy your music.
Hope this helps. Cheers!

I have heard a lot about the Swans, haven't got a chance to hear them yet. Anyways, what do you mean by active monitors, aren't all active speakers monitor as well? I don't know much about monitors.

 

[drgb]

Active monitors are active speakers used to monitor/analyse audio and are therefore used mostly in recording studios by artists to observe/analyse the music that they are working on. These speakers have the same response over the whole frequency spectrum and this is how they produce "accurate" sound (i.e. without any emphasis on any frequency).
The reason these cannot be used for enjoying your music is that they tend to expose all the nuances of the recording (both good and bad). This might seem to be a good thing but in reality the sound from these speakers is; as they say; "lifeless".
These days the term "monitor" is being used by many manufacturers to overstate the accuracy of their speakers.
The Swans M200MkIII are very nice sounding. If I can compare, I'd say they sound very close to the Wharfedale 9.2 (only the wharfs produce more bass). They are almost the same on detailing.
Proaudiohome in Mumbai has started to stock these and I guess a demo unit should be available. There is another dealer called Hifinage (in Gwalior) who stocks swans (not sure if he still does).

 

[alpha1]

Studio monitors is a marketing ploy to segment the customers into business and home.
Business customers - professional musicians - studio monitors
Home customers - musical pleasure seekers - hifi speakers.

There is no difference between the two.
I have quad speakers which are termed as "hifi speakers" by this forum (and countless others), but guess what? The box says Monitors!

Now that we have established that there is no audible difference between the two, or at least there shouldn't, let us come to what REALLY is different.

1. Studio monitors usually are single pieces. This means your stereo audio cable should split into left cable and right cable separately to be fed into each speakers/monitor. Each monitor has its own amp built in.

2. Studio monitors also come with a variety of input ports like RCA, 1/4", 1/8", XLR, etc to cater to professional musician's needs

3. Studio monitors have filters (to boost/shelve) particular frequency ranges to facilitate the correction for room and proximity effects. EG some monitors will come with a small slider switch that boosts the low end by 3dB, 6dB or reduce the low end by 3dB, 6 dB etc (mainly for room resonance correction or proximity). Some come with high frequency correction switch which used for off axis / on axis correction.


A good speaker is an accurate speaker.
Yes, there are a few hifi speakers that deliberately create inaccuracies in frequency response (like boosting the >10kHz spectrum) just to create the signature sound, but will that signature sound good to you or not cannot be determined on paper. You need to really listen in order to determine.

Similarly the low end studio monitors (lesser than 1 Lac price), no matter how accurate they claim to be, they are incidentally not more accurate than equal priced hifi speaker system generally.

 

[Silentstorm]

Active monitors are active speakers used to monitor/analyse audio and are therefore used mostly in recording studios by artists to observe/analyse the music that they are working on. These speakers have the same response over the whole frequency spectrum and this is how they produce "accurate" sound (i.e. without any emphasis on any frequency).
The reason these cannot be used for enjoying your music is that they tend to expose all the nuances of the recording (both good and bad). This might seem to be a good thing but in reality the sound from these speakers is; as they say; "lifeless".
These days the term "monitor" is being used by many manufacturers to overstate the accuracy of their speakers.
The Swans M200MkIII are very nice sounding. If I can compare, I'd say they sound very close to the Wharfedale 9.2 (only the wharfs produce more bass). They are almost the same on detailing.
Proaudiohome in Mumbai has started to stock these and I guess a demo unit should be available. There is another dealer called Hifinage (in Gwalior) who stocks swans (not sure if he still does).

Thats very good to know, thanks!

 

[Silentstorm]

Studio monitors is a marketing ploy to segment the customers into business and home.
Business customers - professional musicians - studio monitors
Home customers - musical pleasure seekers - hifi speakers.

There is no difference between the two.
I have quad speakers which are termed as "hifi speakers" by this forum (and countless others), but guess what? The box says Monitors!

Now that we have established that there is no audible difference between the two, or at least there shouldn't, let us come to what REALLY is different.

1. Studio monitors usually are single pieces. This means your stereo audio cable should split into left cable and right cable separately to be fed into each speakers/monitor. Each monitor has its own amp built in.

2. Studio monitors also come with a variety of input ports like RCA, 1/4", 1/8", XLR, etc to cater to professional musician's needs

3. Studio monitors have filters (to boost/shelve) particular frequency ranges to facilitate the correction for room and proximity effects. EG some monitors will come with a small slider switch that boosts the low end by 3dB, 6dB or reduce the low end by 3dB, 6 dB etc (mainly for room resonance correction or proximity). Some come with high frequency correction switch which used for off axis / on axis correction.


A good speaker is an accurate speaker.
Yes, there are a few hifi speakers that deliberately create inaccuracies in frequency response (like boosting the >10kHz spectrum) just to create the signature sound, but will that signature sound good to you or not cannot be determined on paper. You need to really listen in order to determine.

Similarly the low end studio monitors (lesser than 1 Lac price), no matter how accurate they claim to be, they are incidentally not more accurate than equal priced hifi speaker system generally.

Even more clear about monitors now

 

[Brajendu]

you can look for the Swans MKII model, these are smaller that the MKIII, and may cost around Rs. 17000 (without shipping). Once I ordered from HIFinage with a total cost of 20K with shipping. These are brilliant speakers... looking and sounding very good for their price.

 

[Naturelover]

You could look at the KRK range as well. Well regarded. You should be able to find some opinions on this forum.

 

[global rhythms]

Swan M200mkiii is the one that I would go for for that budget