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DBR62s Coupled with Yamaha A-S501 For Small Home Studio

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Jan 17, 2025
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Hello forum

A few months ago my wife and I finally found enough means to move out of our small apartment and into a house which means I now have a small study room where I have setup my computer and music gear (electric guitar, electronic drumkit and a midi keyboard). I play and record music as a hobby purely for the joy of it, however on the speaker side I'm terribly lacking. I have done some research including reviews and posts on this forum and found the DBR62s and A-S501 to be close to my budget ceiling while offering great quality.
Now my question is if this setup can serve me well for playing/recording my instruments mostly through FL studio and also function as daily drivers for watching videos, films and playing video games? I would love to hear your thoughts and of course your recommendation for other speakers/amps in case you think there are better options.
 
Presumably, you're using a Mac or a PC as the source.

Would the speakers be set up on a desk?

Do you already have a DAC, or possibly a USB Audio Interface of some sort?

Have you considered active monitors?
 
Also agree that active monitors are worth considering: Kali (LP6) or JBL 306/308 are fantastic value - you might stretch to Neumann or Genelec (8030)
 
Presumably, you're using a Mac or a PC as the source.

Would the speakers be set up on a desk?

Do you already have a DAC, or possibly a USB Audio Interface of some sort?

Have you considered active monitors?
I have a basic Steinberg audio interface, my desk is pretty wide at 180cm but it’s already fully utilised with my PC case, screen and work laptop + screen, so I plan to place the speakers on either side of the desk initially probably on the floor or makeshift stands until I grab proper ones.

I hadn’t considered active monitors before your comment but if they offer value and serve me better I would definitely go that way. Do you have any recommendations?
 
Also agree that active monitors are worth considering: Kali (LP6) or JBL 306/308 are fantastic value - you might stretch to Neumann or Genelec (8030)
Sounds like they are indeed seeing the above posts, appreciate the recommendations, I will look them up and read up on them.
 
I have a basic Steinberg audio interface, my desk is pretty wide at 180cm but it’s already fully utilised with my PC case, screen and work laptop + screen, so I plan to place the speakers on either side of the desk initially probably on the floor or makeshift stands until I grab proper ones.

I hadn’t considered active monitors before your comment but if they offer value and serve me better I would definitely go that way. Do you have any recommendations?

In which case, unless you're set on having an amplifier, or need additional inputs, you could take the output directly from the audio interface to a pair of active monitors.

Placing the speakers on the floor, will almost certainly give very poor results, so I would budget for a set of stands, or have a re-think on how you arrange your desk. Typically you want the speakers tweeters at around ear height. It's not always possible to set things up absolutely ideally, but you should be aware of what you're aiming for:


Once you've set the speakers up as well as possible, you can go down the rabbit hole of room treatment, room correction and EQ. :)

Member MZKM has created a list of speakers and monitors, although I'm not sure how up to date it is:



There are some more reviews with measurements, here:

 
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In which case, unless you're set on having an amplifier, or need additional inputs, you could take the output directly from the audio interface to a pair of active monitors.

Placing the speakers on the floor, will almost certainly give very poor results, so I would budget for a set of stands, or have a re-think on how you arrange your desk. Typically you want the speakers tweeters at around ear height. It's not always possible to set things up absolutely ideally, but you should be aware of what you're aiming for:


Once you've set the speakers up as well as possible, you can go down the rabbit hole of room treatment, room correction and EQ. :)

Member MZKM has created a list of speakers and monitors, although I'm not sure how up to date it is:



There are some more reviews with measurements, here:

I truly appreciate the advice and your insight, I’ll make sure not to place them on the floor, I don’t think I have ever done it in my life to be honest :D
 
I ended up buying a pair of Kali LP6 V2s and received them yesterday; I got to say they sound amazing based on the limited listening time I managed. Thank you guys again for helping me out.
On another note, one of the speakers is picking up static/noise which I isolated to be from being close to the PC case and I think its due to the Wi-Fi adapter on the motherboard. I'm using RCA connection because that's the only out I have on my audio interface, is there any way to mitigate or resolve the issue? The other speakers is silent and I know that the speaker is not defective because when I put the noisy one alongside the quiet one they both were silent and had no issues.

ETA: I was thinking if purchasing a new audio interface with TRS output could mitigate the problem, is that a viable solution?
 
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I ended up buying a pair of Kali LP6 V2s and received them yesterday; I got to say they sound amazing based on the limited listening time I managed. Thank you guys again for helping me out.
On another note, one of the speakers is picking up static/noise which I isolated to be from being close to the PC case and I think its due to the Wi-Fi adapter on the motherboard. I'm using RCA connection because that's the only out I have on my audio interface, is there any way to mitigate or resolve the issue? The other speakers is silent and I know that the speaker is not defective because when I put the noisy one alongside the quiet one they both were silent and had no issues.

ETA: I was thinking if purchasing a new audio interface with TRS output could mitigate the problem, is that a viable solution?

Balanced cables/connections are more resistant to interference than single ended. However, is it the cable that's picking up noise, or the speaker itself?

It's difficult to say for certain whether an interface with a balanced output would solve the issue. Is there any possibility of borrowing an interface and some cables?

Failing that, can you relocate the PC? I know lots of people have PC cases with windowed side panels and like to have them on the desk, whereas I've always placed my PC on the floor, underneath the desk and out of the way; it's also further away from me, so I'm less likely to hear the fans. :)
 
Balanced cables/connections are more resistant to interference than single ended. However, is it the cable that's picking up noise, or the speaker itself?

It's difficult to say for certain whether an interface with a balanced output would solve the issue. Is there any possibility of borrowing an interface and some cables?

Failing that, can you relocate the PC? I know lots of people have PC cases with windowed side panels and like to have them on the desk, whereas I've always placed my PC on the floor, underneath the desk and out of the way; it's also further away from me, so I'm less likely to hear the fans. :)
I’m not sure if it’s the cable or the speaker, I used my other RCA cable which is usually connected to my home theatre subwoofer but that produced even louder static noise. The noise is something similar to what I used to get on my car speakers when a mobile phone rang back in the day.

I don’t mind moving my case but the problem is that I have dogs and they love hanging out under my desk while I work, one of them is German Shepherd who sheds all the time. However I will definitely move my case away if only to see if it helps with the noise, my only concern is that it might get too close to the other speaker and mess with that one :D

I’m planning to upgrade my audio interface soon so hopefully that will help matters as well.
 
Maybe you could use an under desk PC mount, this sort of thing:

1737548291679.png



Or perhaps a short table or foot stool, just something to keep the PC up off the floor. I made a little platform for my PC using a piece of plywood to which I attached some casters, so that I could pull it out from under the desk. Something like this:

1737548818766.png
 
Maybe you could use an under desk PC mount, this sort of thing:

View attachment 423018


Or perhaps a short table or foot stool, just something to keep the PC up off the floor. I made a little platform for my PC using a piece of plywood to which I attached some casters, so that I could pull it out from under the desk. Something like this:

View attachment 423019
Thanks, a wooden step or platform could very well be the solution if relocating my case resolves the problem. I have already had to relocate my 3D printer so might as well go even further.
 
One last thing you can try, is to keep your audio signal cables well away from your PC cables.

I did once have an issue where I would hear a faint buzz through the PC speakers whenever I moved the mouse. I did have the cables neatly bundled and going through a hole in the desk to the PC. Separating out the speaker cable and moving it away from the mouse's USB cable, solved the problem. This was with a different set up to the one I have now, and I've never had a similar issue since, so things can be a bit random. Maybe my current mouse is less noisy, maybe my current speakers are better. Who knows. :)
 
One last thing you can try, is to keep your audio signal cables well away from your PC cables.

I did once have an issue where I would hear a faint buzz through the PC speakers whenever I moved the mouse. I did have the cables neatly bundled and going through a hole in the desk to the PC. Separating out the speaker cable and moving it away from the mouse's USB cable, solved the problem. This was with a different set up to the one I have now, and I've never had a similar issue since, so things can be a bit random. Maybe my current mouse is less noisy, maybe my current speakers are better. Who knows. :)
Good news, I managed to fix the issue and I sh&^t you not, it turned out the power outlet was the source of the problem. I plugged in the problematic speaker to another socket and the noise vanished.
 
Excellent! :)

Sounds like it might have been a ground loop issue, but it's difficult to say for certain. In any case, glad you managed to get it sorted.
 
Excellent! :)

Sounds like it might have been a ground loop issue, but it's difficult to say for certain. In any case, glad you managed to get it sorted.
That's my suspicion as well, the outlet that was producing the issue has a ground prong while the non-problematic ones don't.
 
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