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Desktop 2.1 speaker recommendation needed. After 16years my Teufel died. (Mackie/Edifier/..?)

Thanks. Moving from the wall because of cable management or to place the speakers on stands behind it?
Either but to give a little more space to speakers on both sides (from the wall and closer to at least close range distance 1m from you. And it will probably help and with everything else.
 
If you consider speakers of the size of the Kali's, the Adam Audio T5V (300€ a pair) could be an option too. There are subwoofers available too like the Adam Audio T10S or Sub8.

It was tested here by Amir
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/adam-t5v-review-studio-monitor.18122/

After registration the Adam Audio T5V has 5 years warranty.

Amir said in his test "So I pulled in the Kali LP6. I was quite surprised that the Adam T5V with its smaller woofer was able to once again produce more bass. I think this is due to the shelving of the upper bass in LP6. Regardless, the T5V sounded much warmer and balanced due to more bass energy. And it could play even louder than the LP6!"

You could use an USB audio interface (89€) and connect it via USB to the computer. And use a balanced cable connection from the audio interface to the speakers. For me this would be a quite good solution.
The USB audio interface can be replaced by something from SMSL or Topping. It's all about budget and preferences.
 
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@zonk: Sounds good. Hard to believe, that the T5V sound better if you compare just the frequency range of both. Maybe the Kali LP-6 2nd wave are a revision to the LP6 or it's not all about just frequency range. ;) Looks like the T7V is the rival of LP-6 2nd wave.

In terms of space, the Adam Audio D3V or the Kali LP-UNF makes the most sense, because I can place them on the desk. But you guys got me hooked with these nice monitors. Especially in the multiple times mentioned Kali LP-6 2nd wave.
My plan: so that the screens don't block too much from the speaker:
Zeichnung.jpg

These are my ports on the computer:
photo_2025-08-17_18-19-28.jpg

So with this
1755449951090.png
cable the setup should work.


Can placing the speakers like this on the stands aside the desk work out?
Thanks
 
Can placing the speakers like this on the stands aside the desk work out?
Can definitely work. With desk speaker placement, you want:

1. Not blocked by anything
2. Symmetrical placement with your seat
3. Tweeter at ear level
4. Equal distance between you and each speaker (equilateral triangle)
4. Symmetrical within the room if possible

You can at least get the first 3 with that, maybe all 5.

I think this will be a really major upgrade from your previous speakers. However, give yourself some time to get used to the sound. Your ear will be used to whatever problems the old speakers had, and so sometimes there is an adjustment period, because your ear is used to compensating for those problems in some way.
 
Thanks.
Today I did some research again and found out about the new Edifier MR5. That I'm not so experienced in speakers and compare them to others, can somebody give a short hint on how they compare to the Adam Audio D3V/T5V or Kali LP-6 2nd wave? Up to 40kHz sounds unreal.
I read the topic here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...difier-mr-5-description-stand-question.63177/ and they look ideal for my case.
Would you still stick to the other models?
 
Thanks.
Today I did some research again and found out about the new Edifier MR5. That I'm not so experienced in speakers and compare them to others, can somebody give a short hint on how they compare to the Adam Audio D3V/T5V or Kali LP-6 2nd wave? Up to 40kHz sounds unreal.
I read the topic here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...difier-mr-5-description-stand-question.63177/ and they look ideal for my case.
Would you still stick to the other models?
The Adam D3V has the advantage, it could be directly connected to the computer with USB and has integrated stands. They are very compact but I don't know if you have enough space on your desk.

If you are still want the configuration with the stands you should consider Adam Audio T7V as well.
Here are two tests made by Sound and Recording.
https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/studiomonitor-adam-audio-t5v-im-test/
https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/adam-audio-t7v-studiomonitor-im-test/

I am not convinced by connecting the Kali or Adam T5V/T7V by a cable on your pc soundcard.
That I have added links to Thomann doesn't mean you have to buy there.

Here is a test of the Edifier MR5
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/edifier-mr5-review.64911/
 
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For Kali LP-UNF that can connect USB and the MM-6 (LP-6 equivalent) has an optical input to avoid another conversion between digital and analog. So there are options without adding hardware. They are all good choices.
 
For Kali LP-UNF that can connect USB and the MM-6 (LP-6 equivalent) has an optical input to avoid another conversion between digital and analog. So there are options without adding hardware. They are all good choices.
Where can you buy the MM-6 in Europe?
 
Thanks.
Today I did some research again and found out about the new Edifier MR5. That I'm not so experienced in speakers and compare them to others, can somebody give a short hint on how they compare to the Adam Audio D3V/T5V or Kali LP-6 2nd wave? Up to 40kHz sounds unreal.
I read the topic here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...difier-mr-5-description-stand-question.63177/ and they look ideal for my case.
Would you still stick to the other models?
Don't buy MR 5 it's bright as a sun (+3 dB where it should be - 6 in uper highs)!
 
Don't buy MR 5 it's bright as a sun (+3 dB where it should be - 6 in uper highs)!
Sry but I don't understand what this does express? That too much dB over ideal(?) value is leading to distorted sound? Where not enough dB in upper highs leads to not hearing it?

The Adam D3V has the advantage, it could be directly connected to the computer with USB and has integrated stands. They are very compact but I don't know if you have enough space on your desk.

If you are still want the configuration with the stands you should consider Adam Audio T7V as well.
Here are two tests made by Sound and Recording.
https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/studiomonitor-adam-audio-t5v-im-test/
https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/adam-audio-t7v-studiomonitor-im-test/

I am not convinced by connecting the Kali or Adam T5V/T7V by a cable on your pc soundcard.
I've read the tests and they seem as good as the Kali LP-6.
Why aren't you convinced by the direct connection? It's not a dedicated soundcard in the computer. Just the ports on the mainboard.
Do you consider it not having enough power output?
 
You see how slope goes slightly up as you go up through frequency range. It should be opposite as it is with Kali's.
Unfortunately Nuyes didn't do full measurements so I doubt we will see them on Spinorama for direct comparison. It's not that catastrophic (as I didn't pay enough attention between on axes and lack of predicted in room response) but it's there.
Crossover is badly done (as usual for Edifier and hard to understand when digital ones are used).
They did port tuning clever to woffer Fs I give them that much but port is on the back and you really don't want that on the desk or close to back wall.
To be honest Kali LP 6 V2's by coincidence (not the design) turned up so good (rest of the same series is tonally considerably worse).
 
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You see how slope goes slightly up as you go up through frequency range. It should be opposite as it is with Kali's.
Unfortunately Nuyes didn't do full measurements so I doubt we will see them on Spinorama for direct comparison. It's not that catastrophic (as I didn't pay enough attention between on axes and lack of predicted in room response) but it's there.
Crossover is badly done (as usual for Edifier and hard to understand when digital ones are used).
They did port tuning clever to woffer Fs I give them that much but port is on the back and you really don't want that on the desk or close to back wall.
To be honest Kali LP 6 V2's by coincidence (not the design) turned up so good (test of the same series is tonally considerably worse).
Thanks for the graphs. I'm trying to understand why it should be that way? Ideally, the line should go horizontal, right? Because of a room, the things in it and therefore reflections of soundwaves, they can accumulate and sound weird. That's why some dB need to slightly fall in higher Hz range?

I also wonder why the test stops at 20kHz. The MR5 are advertised up to 40kHz.
1755541483991.png
 
Sry but I don't understand what this does express? That too much dB over ideal(?) value is leading to distorted sound? Where not enough dB in upper highs leads to not hearing it?


I've read the tests and they seem as good as the Kali LP-6.
Why aren't you convinced by the direct connection? It's not a dedicated soundcard in the computer. Just the ports on the mainboard.
Do you consider it not having enough power output?

You can start with an Y-cable 3.5 <-> 2xRCA and see if it works fine. The Cordial cables are of good quality and not too expensive.

My concerns are mainly related to noise (like groud loop hum or interference noise) therefore I prefer balanced connections and external USB audio interface or a balanced DAC and headphone amp. Maybe audio quality of the mainboard is not decent. And how will you control the volume of the speakers?

I don't know your use case but if you want to listen to headphones/IEMs in the future too, you could buy a Topping DX5II. It has a nice feature set including EQ capabilities.
 
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Thanks for the graphs. I'm trying to understand why it should be that way? Ideally, the line should go horizontal, right? Because of a room, the things in it and therefore reflections of soundwaves, they can accumulate and sound weird. That's why some dB need to slightly fall in higher Hz range?

I also wonder why the test stops at 20kHz. The MR5 are advertised up to 40kHz.
View attachment 470718
Well you certainly said that right "advertised". You are a young lad but I doubt even you still can hear up to 20 KHz. I can't above 16 & 20 is as high as human hearing can go. But you don't need even more than 12~12.5 to enjoy most of the music there is. Tell you what, stay around and learn. There is a series of educational videos from host about how to so I suggest to you to watch them when you find time. Sometimes single diagram can tell you more than thousands of words and when you learn to interpret them correctly all the fairy tales become just that and a little bit funny of course.
Maybe this is best example of that:
Instrument Freq Range.png

Enjoy your time hire and use it to learn.
 
@zonk: Sounds good. Hard to believe, that the T5V sound better if you compare just the frequency range of both. Maybe the Kali LP-6 2nd wave are a revision to the LP6 or it's not all about just frequency range. ;) Looks like the T7V is the rival of LP-6 2nd wave.

In terms of space, the Adam Audio D3V or the Kali LP-UNF makes the most sense, because I can place them on the desk. But you guys got me hooked with these nice monitors. Especially in the multiple times mentioned Kali LP-6 2nd wave.
My plan: so that the screens don't block too much from the speaker:
View attachment 470520
These are my ports on the computer:
View attachment 470521
So with this View attachment 470522cable the setup should work.


Can placing the speakers like this on the stands aside the desk work out?
Thanks
The speakers and your head in the listening position should form an equilateral triangle - 60 degrees in each corner. For this, the speakers need to be moved back. Generally, in such tight quarters, they should be moved as close to the wall as possible leaving only 10 cm breathing room for electronics and rear bass port if present. The resulting increase in low frequency energy can be reduced on most active studio speakers on the rear panel. Still, they should not be obstructed by the screens. Your listening distance will be dictated by the width of your desk unless you move the speaker behind it and your distance to the line between horizontal middle of the speakers should be around 86 % - 2/sqrt(3) to be precise - of the distance between the horizontal middle of the speakers. If the distance between the outside edges of the screens is 1 m and the speaker are 20 cm wide, you need to sit about 3^.5/2*(100+2*10) = 104 cm from your screens to have an equilateral triangle with unobstructed speakers. You could possibly put them behind and angle them down but stands are limited in height as well as angle and some cannot be angled at all. Never-mind, you are putting a fair bit of a weight a long way off the floor. Not the most stable set up.

I would recommend putting the D3V below the screens at about 2/3 the way to the outside of each screen from the middle - where the 'd' in desk is in your drawing. The D3V are about as good as big speakers at low to medium volumes. Alternatively, you can place the LP-UNF but you need to angle them up so the tweeters point at your ears.

Also, as I mentioned earlier already, you need a way to control the volume with such a simple cable unless you want risk deafening yourself when the OS volume goes to full for some reason. There are several such devices called monitor controllers. See, for instance, here: https://www.thomann.de/de/studio_monitorcontroller.html.
 
I would recommend putting the D3V below the screens at about 2/3 the way to the outside of each screen from the middle - where the 'd' in desk is in your drawing. The D3V are about as good as big speakers at low to medium volumes. Alternatively, you can place the LP-UNF but you need to angle them up so the tweeters point at your ears.

Also, as I mentioned earlier already, you need a way to control the volume with such a simple cable unless you want risk deafening yourself when the OS volume goes to full for some reason. There are several such devices called monitor controllers. See, for instance, here: https://www.thomann.de/de/studio_monitorcontroller.html.
The Adam Audio D3V can be connected to USB of the computer. And on the front of one speaker is a volume control. No additional device necessary.

There are three ways to connect the D3V
3) Balanced analog audio connection
4) Unbalanced analog audio connections
5) Balanced digital audio connection

You find the figures to the connection types in the quick start manual. According to Adam Audio 3) and 5) is recommended:
https://www.adam-audio.com/content/...desktop-monitor-quick-start-guide-english.pdf
And 5) is the USB connection.
 
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The Adam Audio D3V can be connected to USB of the computer. And on the front of one speaker is a volume control. No additional device necessary.
Yes, but that was in reply to using it in combination with monitors that each have a level adjustment. The two paragraphs you quoted are not related. Another reason to consider the D3V, though.
 
Yes, but that was in reply to using it in combination with monitors that each have a level adjustment. The two paragraphs you quoted are not related. Another reason to consider the D3V, though.
Yes the combination with standard studio monitors need something for volume control.

Edit:
Usually the line out on the motherboard has a fixed output level. To adjust the volume an external device is needed.
 
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In desk situations like this, an alternative is wall mounting:

vogels-vlb-200-lautsprecher-wandhalterung-2_1200x1200.jpg


Perhaps slightly above the screens, then angled down so they point at your head. Or angled straight but at correct height, further left and right.

It's always a compromise of course, but what can you do without much space. These mounts are available in many models and affordable too (many options for ~100 moneys), including sturdier models for 8-10kg, so you don't have to choose the smallest speakers. That close to the wall a front bassreflex port is definitely advisable.
 
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