In search of a studio monitor for desktop use

[q3cpma]

In any case, if stamped steel is good enough for Neumann, this matter clearly can't be that important after all (assuming a certain minimum strength of material). Perhaps it should rather be seen as a sign of a manufacturer who knows how to make the right tradeoffs between cost and performance, as you would hope in something mass-market and mid-price like Yamaha HS8s.

Really don't know about the supposed virtues of cast vs stamped steel, but maybe it matters more for bigger woofers with a heavier magnet assembly?

 

[vlad335]

Really don't know about the supposed virtues of cast vs stamped steel, but maybe it matters more for bigger woofers with a heavier magnet assembly?

I have heard stamped steel baskets can ring at certain frequencies. I take a couple pieces of Dynamat and wrap the legs and then it cant be an issue. ( if it ever was.)

 

[vlad335]

I have been playing with this system here and tried a couple things. Broke out my old 2015 MiniDsp. Using optical out from my soundcard feeding a $15 Prozor DAC. Not too good...

Next i found an old dongle DAC ( HifiMe 24/96 is whats listed in Windows) that I paid $30 years ago and it sounds pretty good. Really good actually! The bass is super clean and tight. I just have rudimentary settings in the 2x4 with my sub and monitors but there is alot of control and seemingly all the volume i would want. Think the issue was with the Creative sound card distorting.

I just bought this to replace the dongle DAC.

Hifime S2 DAC - USB and Optical DAC for iPhones, Android, USB-C

Also ordered a UMIK and will jump into REW.

Anyway, I still am interested in upgrading these monitors. looking hard at Adam A5X but they are sold out most everywhere. Also on the short list are the Newmanns and Genulec. Guess I need to get this system squared away before I start swapping speakers in and out.

 

[timblocktoom]

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM are going to be my next desktop speakers too.

I'm very much in love with mine -- but I will say that I'm looking at adding a subwoofer to them.

There are times when I just want to rock out a bit more and have more presence to the low end for sure.

They are quite capable on their own, but don't own the space quite like you can with a sub -- which can simply be "fun"

 

[RobS]

Really don't know about the supposed virtues of cast vs stamped steel, but maybe it matters more for bigger woofers with a heavier magnet assembly?

Stamped baskets have no point other than extreme cost savings. They really have no redeeming quality.

Cast aluminum is more ideal since it has better structural integrity, air flow optimization, rigidity etc.

Think about what a transducer is tasked to do. It has to function as a piston and there's many forces involved that are integral of the primary motor force, so it has to try to hold itself together. With mechanical waves, the coil you have a positive on one side and negative on the other. They will meet in a closed loop at the mechanism's center of mass, usually within the magnet. That energy travels from the coil, across the diaphragm, through the surround, through the basket and cancels out. If you take a look at higher end Dynaudio drivers, for example, you can see how they design around that principle. A stamped steel basket, on the other hand, the closed loop is no longer mechanically efficient. It will convert some of the energy into heat or basket resonance. What that means is the transducer will be less linear as the frequency approximates a function of the basket.

 

[andrewch]

Neumann KH120 or Genelec 8030c are the best you can do for that budget. They play loud enough for me at 1 meter.

Neumann kh120 imo. Later down get new/used kh750 and use the full dsp potential of the sub, get better lows and full range sound with Neumann MA 1.

 

[vlad335]

Neumann kh120 imo. Later down get new/used kh750 and use the full dsp potential of the sub, get better lows and full range sound with Neumann MA 1.

I researched the KH750 and $1600 is pretty steep for a 10" sub. I have no doubt that it will sound excellent though I am am pretty set with subs.

 

[vlad335]

Question for you guys about the Minidsp 2x4 ( Non HD)? it is the old Rev A version with 0.9vRMS.

I have been swapping this around and noticing that it doesnt have very good sound quality through the analog inputs. I tried using my Creative sound cards stereo outputs into the miniDSP and it sounded lifeless and lowfi. Terrible. the sound has the same quality of my motherboards soundcard. Going from a USB DAC into the minidsp 2x4 is the same. i thought it was the cheap DAC I was using but trying the DSP on the soundcard showed this was not the case.

I love the control but not the quality it is outputting overall. Would the 2x4HD or even the DDRC-24 sound better through analog inputs? Would i have to step way up to get great sound quality by using the miniDSP SHD. i want the DSP control between my monitors and subs like the minidsp provides but this sound is a deal breaker.

 

[andymok]

Depends on where you live, I recommend Sonodyne’s SRP400 / 500 for critical listening, even better is the smaller SRP300 + one of their sub, PM100 for entertainment

the SRPs are pressured die cast aluminium with toroidal transformer. Excellent phasing and amplifiers, well matched drivers. All designed and made in-house in India, so they are well engineered and well priced, bang for the buck

 

[richard12511]

If you listen to music quiet at night it can be very irritating. At least for people with healthy and good hearing.

I have healthy and good hearing, and it doesn't bother me at all(on any speaker I've ever heard) . Even on my JBL 308p, which are quite loud, it doesn't bother me. In fact, my air conditioner and refrigerator are several times louder than any monitor I've ever heard, and even those don't bother me.

I actually don't think it's a matter of hearing it or not hearing it. I think it's more just our brains either caring or not caring. In some sense, I feel lucky that speaker noise(or background noise really) has never really bothered me. It does seem that most people consider it a very important aspect of speaker performance, so you're definitely not alone. I had a roommate in college who was super sensitive to any kind of electronic noise. He would get mad at us for leaving the TV on, saying something like "WTF, how do y'all not hear that?". I would say, "I hear it, it just doesn't bother me" .

 

[vlad335]

Question for you guys about the Minidsp 2x4 ( Non HD)? it is the old Rev A version with 0.9vRMS.

Would the 2x4HD or even the DDRC-24 sound better through analog inputs? Would i have to step way up to get great sound quality by using the miniDSP SHD. i want the DSP control between my monitors and subs like the minidsp provides but this sound is a deal breaker.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I noted a review here of the SHD after I posted the above and it seems like a great unit. That's alot of money though and i don't need streaming.

 

[vlad335]

I bought a set of Adam Ax5's and they arrived today. I think I am in love with this tweeter.