Budget monitors for mid/far field listening?

[Nytrex]

[Kommando] Peste Noire.
toutlehautparleur - that's where I bought (for example) my current tweeters when they first went on sale at retail. https://www.toutlehautparleur.com/moteur-d-aigu-coaxial-b-c-dcx464-8-8-ohm-sortie-1-4-pouce.html

I didn't know either, thanks for making me discover them!

 

[Nytrex]

No problem!

As I said, the intention of my post wasn't to try and convince you to get a sub (TBH I agree it's probably better to start without one initially for simplicity), but rather to point out that having bigger speakers wouldn't solve the same problems as a sub would.

In addition I thought it important to stress the importance of optimized placement and room EQ for sound quality.


Sure, there are several ways to go about this, though note that not all of them may have the same functionality, or integrate seamlessly (e.g. consider power on/off of all components, clicks/pops/noises during sample rate changes and power cycling, gain-staging, auto-standby, etc...).
These kinds of things may not seem like a big deal initially, but can sometimes become a source of frustration in the longer run so I thought it worth mentioning as well.

By the way - there are also all-in-one active speakers with HDMI or optical inputs, e.g. Kali MM-6 and Klipsch The Fives. As far as I know neither of them provide room correction EQ capability, sadly.

I know that some things won't be perfect, like you said power on/off components but I guess it will be fine.
About the all-in-one speakers, I'm aware of them but there's not upgradability with them, and more components inside one unit usually means more things to fail.
About room EQ, I was wondering, would the EQ in the TOPPING E50 III be enough? That would only cost 30€ more from what I originally planned, that's not very significant.

Edit :
It seems that the PEQ is only available with the USB input so that won't work

 

[Nytrex]

Hi

One more vote (I am biased) for the JBL LSR308. I have owned the for the past 7 years. I have been putting off replacing these for the past 5 year, so good they have been once dialed in the room.
First a bit of truth: Regardless of the quality of the speaker, Performance in the bass region (20 to 500 Hz) is influenced by the room. I have come to the conclusion that to fully enjoy the performance of a speaker, EQ/DSP is mandatory.

The LSR308P by the way are very, very capable in the bass. They do reach 35 Hz with authority.

I understand you have budget restrictions but EQ can be performed in a PC or even on a Raspberry Pi. Something to keep in mind to linearize your system. A very simple system can be had with a dongle/USB DAC and a Raspberry Pi for EQ, Streaming and volume control...
The Raspberry Pi is around 75 Euros, there exist several free EQ/DSP for the Raspberry Pi, among these Camila DSP, and smartphone apps... SO that you stay within budget but assemble a system capable of excellent sound... in your room.

Best.

Thanks for the feedback on the LSR308!
About EQ/DSP, like I said just above, do you think the EQ on the TOPPING E50 III would be enough?
If so, I could add room correction with a calibrated mic and a software like REW no?
That would seem to be the most affordable option for me

Edit :

It seems that the PEQ is only available with the USB input so that won't work

 

[Sjkrabbe]

I'm looking at active speakers/studio monitors purely for listening to things (mainly music and movies). I know that this is not really what they're made for but they usually have have better performance and bass extension that passives of the same price.
Budget is around 200€ each.
The speakers would be around 3.5 meters away.
Room is around 4.5m x 4m. I don't plan on adding a sub in the near future.
Here are the speakers I found, I'm having a difficult time deciding between them :
JBL 305P MKII 140€
Pioneer DJ VM-50 160€
Adam T5V 170€
Kali LP6-V2 208€
JBL 306P MKII 200€
Adam T7V 200€
M-Audio BX8 D3 180€

All of them has been reviewed either here or on EAC.
There's also other speaker that have not been reviewed but that I could afford like the M-Audio Forty Eighty and so on...
They will be connected to a DAC using XLR (likely a fosi ZD3).

I have the ADAM T5V and they sound so great in my small listening room - I have about 2 meters between me and the speakers, so I would go for the T7V in your case with a little larger listening distance

 

[Nytrex]

I have the ADAN T5V and they sound so great in my small listening room - I have about 2 meters between me and the speakers, so I would go for the T7V in your case with a little larger listening distance

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Nytrex]

For anyone still watching this thread, what would you pick between Kali LP-8 V2 and Adam T8V?
Both seem to be good and have great reviews.
The Kali are a little cheaper (40€-50€ cheaper for the pair), have a lot of dip switch configuration that could help adjusting them a bit for the room and apparently have a better soundstage and directivity. Would that mean that they are the better pick, or are the ribbon tweeters and the really good woofer on the Adam are just better?

 

[Flaesh]

still watching

Although I've been using the 15"+ waveguide compression driver format for over fifteen years and have no experience with small monitors, I'll continue to follow this thread (while being mindful of budget constraints).
Is subwoofers being considered? Perhaps in the future. Some bass issues may exist in the room in question. When I eliminated the dip around 50 Hz in my 4.8x4.2 room, it was a significant improvement.
I reread the first post and striked out the subwoofer(s)
Can you draw room layout?

 

[Nytrex]

Although I've been using the 15"+ waveguide compression driver format for over fifteen years and have no experience with small monitors, I'll continue to follow this thread (while being mindful of budget constraints).
Is subwoofers being considered? Perhaps in the future. Some bass issues may exist in the room in question. When I eliminated the dip around 50 Hz in my 4.8x4.2 room, it was a significant improvement.
I reread the first post and striked out the subwoofer(s)
Can you draw room layout?

Subwoofer and EQ are considered but I just can't afford any of them right now. I'll first get good speakers then when I have more money I'll buy what's necessary.
About my room layout, here's what it looks like:

The speakers will be on the desk, I'll be listening for the bed. There's very little furniture, there's a shelf in the bottom left corner and a few stuff in the top left corner (something to hold clothes, an electric piano...). There's a curtain separating the "main room" and the nook on the left. (idk if it's the right words, it's like the "dip" in the left wall). As you can see from the side view, the wall near the celling are inclined because my room is a bit under the roof.
Anyway that's pretty much it

 

[Ellebob]

For anyone still watching this thread, what would you pick between Kali LP-8 V2 and Adam T8V?
Both seem to be good and have great reviews.
The Kali are a little cheaper (40€-50€ cheaper for the pair), have a lot of dip switch configuration that could help adjusting them a bit for the room and apparently have a better soundstage and directivity. Would that mean that they are the better pick, or are the ribbon tweeters and the really good woofer on the Adam are just better?

I like the Kali better but it is very much a personal decision. I see some people really love their tweeter and go with Adam. Try to listen to each if at all possible. It's a decision that is tough to make for someone. I do like some of Adam's 3 way speakers.

 

[Karmacoma]

For anyone still watching this thread, what would you pick between Kali LP-8 V2 and Adam T8V?
Both seem to be good and have great reviews.
The Kali are a little cheaper (40€-50€ cheaper for the pair), have a lot of dip switch configuration that could help adjusting them a bit for the room and apparently have a better soundstage and directivity. Would that mean that they are the better pick, or are the ribbon tweeters and the really good woofer on the Adam are just better?

I could only find kali lp-8 v2 and Adam t5v directivity graphs, but if the t8v is the same, the Kali has a better managed directivity.

 

[Nytrex]

I could only find kali lp-8 v2 and Adam t5v directivity graphs, but if the t8v is the same, the Kali has a better managed directivity.

The T8V has been reviewed here T8V Review
When comparing both LP8-V2 and T8V it seems that the LP8 has better directivity yes

 

[AnalogSteph]

In return, the T8V should have the better level handling... The Kali woofers have poor electrical nonlinearity. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Nytrex]

In return, the T8V should have the better level handling... The Kali woofers have poor electrical nonlinearity. Decisions, decisions...

Yeah it's really hard to decide between the two

 

[kyuu]

Yeah it's really hard to decide between the two

Given your stated listening distance of 3.5m I would say you want the one that will handle higher SPLs better. Neither are intended for far-field use, but from what I can tell the T8V would likely fare a bit better.

 

[Nytrex]

Given your stated listening distance of 3.5m I would say you want the one that will handle higher SPLs better. Neither are intended for far-field use, but from what I can tell the T8V would likely fare a bit better.

Yeah that makes sense, but what about the better directivity of the Kali? Wouldn't they be better since I'm far away and the room is untreated?
I really wish I could listen to both.
I don't think I've said it before but I don't listen to music very loud anyway if that changes anything

 

[kyuu]

Yeah that makes sense, but what about the better directivity of the Kali? Wouldn't they be better since I'm far away and the room is untreated?
I really wish I could listen to both.
I don't think I've said it before but I don't listen to music very loud anyway if that changes anything

T8V has a bit of an aberration just before 3kHz, likely diffraction. Overall yeah the LP-8 has a bit better horizontal directivity (vertical is another matter). Not enough so that I'd give up the likely better ability of the T8V to play without compression and distortion.

Not listening "very loud" at 3.5m is still likely going to be pushing the speakers a bit, I think. Of course hard to say for sure without knowing what exactly that means to you.

May as well flip a coin, I think you'll probably be happy whichever way you end up going.

 

[Nytrex]

View attachment 486385

T8V has a bit of an aberration just before 3kHz, likely diffraction. Overall yeah the LP-8 has a bit better horizontal directivity (vertical is another matter). Not enough so that I'd give up the likely better ability of the T8V to play without compression and distortion.

Not listening "very loud" at 3.5m is still likely going to be pushing the speakers a bit, I think. Of course hard to say for sure without knowing what exactly that means to you.

May as well flip a coin, I think you'll probably be happy whichever way you end up going.

Thank you, that's very helpful!

 

[Everett T]

For anyone still watching this thread, what would you pick between Kali LP-8 V2 and Adam T8V?
Both seem to be good and have great reviews.
The Kali are a little cheaper (40€-50€ cheaper for the pair), have a lot of dip switch configuration that could help adjusting them a bit for the room and apparently have a better soundstage and directivity. Would that mean that they are the better pick, or are the ribbon tweeters and the really good woofer on the Adam are just better?

Personally I'd go with the Kali, I have the LP 6 at your same listening distance in a bedroom setup. They sound good without a subwoofer (I have one) but you get SPL limited without one (may not matter to you).

 

[Nytrex]

Quick update!
I have just bought a pair of Adam T8V, a Fosi ZD3 and XLR cables (Cordial CCM). I have found a good deal on both the monitors and the DAC. I got everything for 587,19€.
I think it's pretty good since everything cost 703,8€ at their usual price in France.
I should receive everything by the end of the week, I'll probably make another update after having tried them. It's my first real/good audio setup, before that I was using an old 1980's HiFi system so I'm really excited!
Thanks to everyone for guiding me and helping me decide between everything (on this thread and the others I've made before)!

 

[Guerilla]

You will be happy.