Compact, active 2.1 system to replace my floorstanders

[th0m]

Hi all.

My current audio system consists of a RME ADI-2, an Electrocompaniet AW120DMB and a pair of Spendor A7's. I am quite pleased with this setup, but since having a kid, I rarely (or never) have the time or opportunity to really sit down and listen to music like I used to, plus the A7's are living dangerously in the living room these days with toys and various sticks flying around all the time.

So, I'm thinking it's time to downsize a bit, get rid of the floorstanders, the amp and possibly the ADI-2 as well and get a compact 2.1 setup instead. I have been looking a bit at the Genelec G Three/F Two combo, but are there any better alternatives? My budget is ~$3500.

 

[sweetchaos]

Genelec 8050B's for US$3800/pair (or 8% overbudget), but no GLM support.
Reviewed by Amir.

Spoiler

Preference Score is 6.3 and would be 7.5 with a perfect subwoofer.
Bass extension: 27Hz at -6dB

Genelec 8340A for US$3400/pair + GLM (room correction) for US$300 = Total US$3700 (or 5% overbudget)
No review yet, but we expect nothing less than perfect.

If you want to play it loud, JBL 708P for US3800/pair (or 8% overbudget).
Reviewed by Amir.

Spoiler

Preference Score is 4.9 and would be 6.7 with a perfect subwoofer.
Bass extension: 38Hz at -6dB

Or if you can stretch the budget a bit...Neumann KH 310A for US$4600/pair (or 31% overbudget)
Reviewed by Amir.

Spoiler

Preference Score is 6.2 and would be 7.6 with a perfect subwoofer.
Bass extension: 30Hz at -6dB

Of course, you could go with the equivalent Genelec G series as well.

EDIT: Just noticed you're from Sweden, did you mean 3500 USD or otherwise?

 

[th0m]

EDIT: Just noticed you're from Sweden, did you mean 3500 USD or otherwise?

I meant USD, just to simplify.

Thanks for the great suggestions. The fact that the 8340As has room correction makes them very interesting, but I'm concerned with the possible lack of low end without a sub compared to my Spendors. Might be preferable that way though as there are "sensitive" neighbors in the apartment below.

 

[sweetchaos]

The step down Genelec 8030C's have bass extension: 46Hz at -6dB.
And we know Genelec 8050B's have bass extension: 27Hz at -6dB.

So Genelec 8040/8340's should be somewhere in the middle at 35hz at -6db.

Also, I have Genelec 8040B's at 2m listening distance, and there's plenty of bass for me (for music), without needing a sub...also, i haven't played it loud enough to cause clipping yet...for what that's worth.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I would get the 8050B, I just like the "bigger" sound of big montiros
And heard 8030C and 8050B side by side the 8030C just sounded smaller( to me)
But take it with a grain of salt

 

[Slayer]

Sadly, when you have small children or any children for that matter, along with pets, always seems to come with some dangerous situations for our audio equipment. Makes little difference if downsizing or not, the dangers are still present.
Personally if i was happy with my current equipment, I would just deal with the stress that comes with having children and a audio hobby. But then again, except for one of my residences, we always had a play room where the kids could, well be kids. Of course you can't always count on them playing strictly where they should be, but eventually they learn. In this hobby it's just one of those things that comes with the ride so top speak.

 

[sweetchaos]

I would get the 8050B, I just like the "bigger" sound of big montiros
And heard 8030C and 8050B side by side the 8030C just sounded smaller( to me)
But take it with a grain of salt

One day, I'm going to go to a pro audio shop that has both on demo, bring a laptop to high pass the speakers (say at 80hz) to get rid of the bass discrepancy, and some kind of speaker switcher, volume match them, and then do a blind test to see this effect in action.
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this concept, since I can't quantify it with objective data we have.

 

[Pearljam5000]

One day, I'm going to go to a pro audio shop that has both on demo, bring a laptop to high pass the speakers (say at 80hz) to get rid of the bass discrepancy, and some kind of speaker switcher, volume match them, and then do a blind test to see this effect in action.
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this concept, since I can't quantify it with objective data we have.

I don't understand the science behind it but big speakers always sound "big" to me
Take a tower speaker vs an 8010a for example
There's no way they will sound the same even @ the same volume
I'll leave the science thing to you and all the experts
By the way it's not just me, other feel the same from comments I've read
My own thread about it:

What makes big speakers sound "big"and smaller ones sound "small"?

Sorry for the stupid question but Bigger speakers also sound bigger to me than smaller ones even at the same volume. I've been told this is not correct and impossible but i still feel that way, and also other people do because I read the cliche of "these speaekrs sound much bigger than they...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[richard12511]

I don't understand the science behind it but big speakers always sound "big" to me
Take a tower speaker vs an 8010a for example
There's no way they will sound the same even @ the same volume
I'll leave the science thing to you and all the experts
By the way it's not just me, other feel the same from comments I've read
My own thread about it:

What makes big speakers sound "big"and smaller ones sound "small"?

Sorry for the stupid question but Bigger speakers also sound bigger to me than smaller ones even at the same volume. I've been told this is not correct and impossible but i still feel that way, and also other people do because I read the cliche of "these speaekrs sound much bigger than they...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You might want to consider some nice tower speakers.

 

[th0m]

Sadly, when you have small children or any children for that matter, along with pets, always seems to come with some dangerous situations for our audio equipment. Makes little difference if downsizing or not, the dangers are still present.
Personally if i was happy with my current equipment, I would just deal with the stress that comes with having children and a audio hobby. But then again, except for one of my residences, we always had a play room where the kids could, well be kids. Of course you can't always count on them playing strictly where they should be, but eventually they learn. In this hobby it's just one of those things that comes with the ride so top speak.

Absolutely, but getting rid of the floorstanders and getting a pair of small monitors instead means I could place them on a sideboard instead of in the middle of the floor, which should help a bit