Recommendations for 2.1 system

[sophie smith]

Greetings,

I am thinking of assembling 2.1 system for music listening in the medium sized office room. Budget $2000 USD for speakers.
Would strongly prefer something made in US/Canada/Western Europe. Need to be fairly sensitive to run on 20W amp in medium sized room. Want something with the solid design and good measurements.

1. Speakers.
The first choice is Focal Aria 906. Decent measurements, Made in France, 1K pair on Amazon and Acc4less.
Another option is Paradigm 15B bookshelves. Not sure how well they measure, but similar price, about 1.2K
The third option I just discovered is Axiom M5HP, also about 1k, apparently made in Canada. The measurements provided on their site look fine, although I am not an expert. But I could not find any other independent measurements on them.
Canton - Made in Germany. Bookshelves are on the less sensitive side, about 86dB. I would prefer higher than that.

2. Sub.
Paradigm Defiance V12, $700. Made in Canada. The attraction is built-in ARC from anthem. Not sure how great it is, but reviews are mostly good.
Tekton - few options for under 1k
Axiom - only ported are under 1k, and no DSP. Also made in CA

Any ideas on the above or other suggestions.
Any thoughts on the Axiom as a brand?
Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[TankTop]

The Aria’s are great speakers, you’ll never wish you went another direction for $1,000. Subwoofer you should look at SVS, HSU and Rythmik. For an office and only music the SVS SB3000 is about the best subwoofer in the world for music and should energize your office nicely.

 

[sweetchaos]

Any thoughts on the Axiom as a brand?

I'm in Canada and I have yet to see Axiom speakers sold anywhere.
I even put together a list of all the Canadian speaker dealers/resellers, and Axiom is not sold anywhere in Canada currently.
EDIT: As someone else mentioned, Axiom is 'Internet Direct' brand only, which explains why none of the dealers sell it.
I don't trust speaker measurements posted on vendors websites, with the exception of Genelec, Revel and a few more.

Any ideas on the above or other suggestions.

My advice...consider speakers that have measurements posted.
Here's a list of Amir's speaker measurements.
Here's a list of Erin's speaker measurements.

Regarding subs:
- Avoid Tekton, Axiom subs since we don't have CEA2010A on those. So you don't want to purchase a sub without measurements, it's too risky.
- We have CEA2010A on 5 Paradigm subs, but they're too expensive. Meaning its bad $/value.
- Instead, the usual recommendation is to go with Rythmik, SVS, HSU (in no particular order). We have CEA2010A from most models in the lineup, so it's very easy to judge performance and value.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Greetings,

I am thinking of assembling 2.1 system for music listening in the medium sized office room. Budget $2000 USD for speakers.
Would strongly prefer something made in US/Canada/Western Europe. Need to be fairly sensitive to run on 20W amp in medium sized room. Want something with the solid design and good measurements.

1. Speakers.
The first choice is Focal Aria 906. Decent measurements, Made in France, 1K pair on Amazon and Acc4less.
Another option is Paradigm 15B bookshelves. Not sure how well they measure, but similar price, about 1.2K
The third option I just discovered is Axiom M5HP, also about 1k, apparently made in Canada. The measurements provided on their site look fine, although I am not an expert. But I could not find any other independent measurements on them.
Canton - Made in Germany. Bookshelves are on the less sensitive side, about 86dB. I would prefer higher than that.

2. Sub.
Paradigm Defiance V12, $700. Made in Canada. The attraction is built-in ARC from anthem. Not sure how great it is, but reviews are mostly good.
Tekton - few options for under 1k
Axiom - only ported are under 1k, and no DSP. Also made in CA

Any ideas on the above or other suggestions.
Any thoughts on the Axiom as a brand?
Any other ideas?

Thanks

Of all the speakers you're looking at, the 906 is objectively the best performer.

Soundstage has measured all three in fact:

• 906
• M5HP
• 15B

I would certainly choose the Focal out of those three options myself.

Also, have you considered active speakers? Or are you set on passives?

Finally, can you tell us a bit more about the room and how the system will be set up? And also, about your previous experiences with speakers and what you've liked/disliked? And what kinds of SPL levels do you like to listen at?

 

[Steve Dallas]

Soundstage! measurements of the Axiom M5HP for verification against Axiom's measurements.

Soundstage! measurements of the Paradigm 15B.

Soundstage! measurements of the Focal 906 for comparison to Amir's measurements on this site.

Index of all Soundstage! measurements can be found here.

Axiom is a good company. They were early adopters of objective measurements and used CA's NRC anechoic chamber, until they built their own. I have a friend who has a room full of Axiom speakers in his home theater, and they sound very good to me.

Another option is Dynaudio X18--made in Denmark. They are discontinued, but still being sold new at deep discounts on some sites. They are also widely available lightly used. I have never found reliable measurements of them, but they are sitting on stands in front of me right now, and I know I like them enough to keep them for years to come. The smaller X14 is in Amir's queue to be reviewed. If they measure well, the X18s sound better, so...

Of the speakers you list there, I would go for the Focal 906. I have not heard that Axiom. I heard the Paradigm and was very much less than impressed. I owned the 906 and rather liked it a lot. I gave the pair to my adult son, so he would have a nice pair of speakers. I miss them... err... him.

 

[ttimer]

Have you considered active speakers? Bette value in actives in your price range. Especially if your source is a computer, which seems plausible in an office.

Which Cantons are you looking at? They all measure flat on axis, but I’m not sure about directivity. The lower series are made in the Czech Republic.

 

[dfuller]

I've liked every Focal I've owned a lot, and they all measure pretty soundly. Admittedly, the speakers I have are Shape series studio monitors, which are active and use a dual passive radiator bass reflex system instead of a port. Regardless, they sound very good and the placement of sources in the stereo field at ~1m distant is simply outstanding.

 

[sophie smith]

Thanks for the replies.

My office is about 18x15 feet. I will put up some room treatment.
I have Decware tube amp, about 20wpc. That's why would prefer passive speakers with higher sensitivity. Replacing my old Polk LSi 15 towers, about 20 years old. Decided to try something different; that is why want to go 2.1 route.

I do not listen to anything loudly. About 70-80 dB is what I measured on my cell phone was the top of my comfort level at about 6-8 feet. Anything over 90 is very uncomfortable.
I do listen to classical music, so lower end is important; hence the need for a good sub.

Thanks again

 

[andreasmaaan]

Thanks for the replies.

My office is about 18x15 feet. I will put up some room treatment.
I have Decware tube amp, about 20wpc. That's why would prefer passive speakers with higher sensitivity. Replacing my old Polk LSi 15 towers, about 20 years old. Decided to try something different; that is why want to go 2.1 route.

I do not listen to anything loudly. About 70-80 dB is what I measured on my cell phone was the top of my comfort level at about 6-8 feet. Anything over 90 is very uncomfortable.
I do listen to classical music, so lower end is important; hence the need for a good sub.

Thanks again

The 906 is the most sensitive of the three (especially in the lower frequencies, where it matters more). That's probably important given you listen to classical music (with a wide dynamic range) and will be using a low-powered amp. Even if your average listening level doesn't exceed 80dB, peaks in orchestral music may well tax your amp.

And given your taste in music, I'd also tend to recommend the 906 for its wider directivity.

Hope that helps

 

[sophie smith]

Out of the recommended subs listed (Rhythmic, HSU, and SVS), I know the first two are made in China. Does anyone know where the SVS 3000 made?

Any thoughts on the Canadian made Paradigm subs with ARC, other than not the best value/$$$?
Audioholics measured X12 and V12 Defiance, and the conclusions were positive. I would not mind paying a bit extra for Western made piece. X10 and V12 can be had for under1K (I do understand the other options listed are better value for the price).
,
Thanks

 

[sweetchaos]

Does anyone know where the SVS 3000 made?

All woofers are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Amps are sourced from Canada. Cylinders are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Box subs are assembled in the USA by SVS, with domestic and overseas cabinets.
Ed Mullen
Director - Technology and Customer Service
source

Any thoughts on the Canadian made Paradigm subs with ARC, other than not the best value/$$$?

Yep, just not the best value.
Paradigm V12 (measured by Audioholics) is US$700 and gets a "Medium" sized room Bassaholic rating.
It's producing frequencies in the 25hz, but nothing below.

For comparison, HSU ULS-15 MK2 retails for US$729, and gets an equivalent rating of "Large" room.
It's producing frequencies in the 12.5hz, but nothing below.
So yeah, Paradigm is not the best value for money, as I mentioned.
HSU is able to play louder (since it can hit the "Large" room rating) and lower (since it extends down to 12.5hz) than Paradigm.

I can list other examples, but you get the idea.

 

[TankTop]

All woofers are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Amps are sourced from Canada. Cylinders are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Box subs are assembled in the USA by SVS, with domestic and overseas cabinets.
Ed Mullen
Director - Technology and Customer Service
source


Yep, just not the best value.
Paradigm V12 (measured by Audioholics) is US$700 and gets a "Medium" sized room Bassaholic rating.
It's producing frequencies in the 25hz, but nothing below.

For comparison, HSU ULS-15 MK2 retails for US$729, and gets an equivalent rating of "Large" room.
It's producing frequencies in the 12.5hz, but nothing below.
So yeah, Paradigm is not the best value for money, as I mentioned.

I can list other examples, but you get the idea.

The OP stated he doesn’t listen above 80db, the SVS SB3000 will play flat below 20hz at that volume and includes dsp. The problem I see is the amp the OP is using, the SVS doesn’t have speaker level inputs, maybe his source has subwoofer output?

 

[sweetchaos]

I have Decware tube amp, about 20wpc.

Is that 4ohm?
That amp is going to be limiting your performance, of course.

Amir just reviewd Loxjie A30, which was on sale for US$130, 3 days ago.
Measured performance was 40wpc@4ohm and 18wpc@8ohm.
If your amp is 4ohm, then this is double the watts from your amp, and will play with less distortion than yours.

 

[sophie smith]

Thanks again.
I use PC as a source, then USB DAC, then amp.
I can route stereo RCA from DAC to SVS sub, then stereo RCA out from the sub to the amp, can I not?
Thanks

 

[Steve Dallas]

All woofers are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Amps are sourced from Canada. Cylinders are hand-built in the USA by SVS. Box subs are assembled in the USA by SVS, with domestic and overseas cabinets.
Ed Mullen
Director - Technology and Customer Service
source


Yep, just not the best value.
Paradigm V12 (measured by Audioholics) is US$700 and gets a "Medium" sized room Bassaholic rating.
It's producing frequencies in the 25hz, but nothing below.

For comparison, HSU ULS-15 MK2 retails for US$729, and gets an equivalent rating of "Large" room.
It's producing frequencies in the 12.5hz, but nothing below.
So yeah, Paradigm is not the best value for money, as I mentioned.
HSU is able to play louder (since it can hit the "Large" room rating) and lower (since it extends down to 12.5hz) than Paradigm.

I can list other examples, but you get the idea.

My SVS SB2000s are made in China.

 

[sophie smith]

Is that 4ohm?
That amp is going to be limiting your performance, of course.

Amir just reviewd Loxjie A30, which was on sale for US$130, 3 days ago.
Measured performance was 40wpc@4ohm and 18wpc@8ohm.
If your amp is 4ohm, then this is double the watts from your amp, and will play with less distortion than yours.

The amp is designed for 4-8 ohm load.

 

[TankTop]

Thanks again.
I use PC as a source, then USB DAC, then amp.
I can route stereo RCA from DAC to SVS sub, then stereo RCA out from the sub to the amp, can I not?
Thanks

That should work. Don’t turn up the volume by accident or you’ll be back looking for advice on a replacement. The SB3000 will play flat below 20hz at your listening levels, the only downside is people in offices next to yours will never hear your music but they will feel it.

 

[andreasmaaan]

@sophie smith I'm not familiar with the SVS models specifically, but just as a general piece of advice, I'd be looking for a subwoofer that allows you to high-pass filter the signal to your speakers.

This will allow for easier integration of the sub with the speakers, and will also reduce speaker distortion.

 

[sweetchaos]

The amp is designed for 4-8 ohm load.

I'm going to assume that this unit was rated 4 ohms, since manufacturers like to write higher watts on their boxes to get people to buy the higher watts units.
So to estimate your amp's performance, it would be 20wpc@4ohm, and approx 10wpc@8ohm.
In other words, the Loxjie A30 would be a decent upgrade to your amp, for not much $.

 

[sophie smith]

@sophie smith I'm not familiar with the SVS models specifically, but just as a general piece of advice, I'd be looking for a subwoofer that allows you to high-pass filter the signal to your speakers.

This will allow for easier integration of the sub with the speakers, and will also reduce speaker distortion.

What are the common subs that have high pass filter?