Desktop audio options

[andrew]

So I am, like a lot of others, working from home and finding that time at my desk extends from early morning to late evening. The reason for the post is that I am looking to bring music to the desk-top to make the days more enjoyable and am after some advice. My main issue is that I use dual 27” monitors – one set-up as a primary monitor and another on an angle to the side (see picture) – which makes setting up speakers a bit difficult. The options that I’m looking at are:

1. Speakers at ear level at the back of the desk (position 1). I’d have a direct line of sight to the tweeters but the RHS speaker would be partially obscured by the supporting monitor.
2. Speakers at ear level either side of the main monitor (position 2). This would allow for direct line of sight to both speakers but the listening distance would be ~80cm – so extreme nearfield.
3. Speakers on the desk either side of the main monitor (position 3). Similar to option 3 but without stands
4. Move from dual to a single (ultra-wide) monitor and get speakers – not that good for productivity as I really like having the second monitor for reference information when working
5. Stick with dual monitors and use headphones – never really got into the headphone sound and don’t really like being cut off from the world but perhaps an ear monitor like RAAL SR1a might be an alternative

Any suggestions as to how others have solved this problem? And recommendations on the type of speakers that work?

 

[BDWoody]

So I am, like a lot of others, working from home and finding that time at my desk extends from early morning to late evening. The reason for the post is that I am looking to bring music to the desk-top to make the days more enjoyable and am after some advice. My main issue is that I use dual 27” monitors – one set-up as a primary monitor and another on an angle to the side (see picture) – which makes setting up speakers a bit difficult. The options that I’m looking at are:

1. Speakers at ear level at the back of the desk (position 1). I’d have a direct line of sight to the tweeters but the RHS speaker would be partially obscured by the supporting monitor.
2. Speakers at ear level either side of the main monitor (position 2). This would allow for direct line of sight to both speakers but the listening distance would be ~80cm – so extreme nearfield.
3. Speakers on the desk either side of the main monitor (position 3). Similar to option 3 but without stands
4. Move from dual to a single (ultra-wide) monitor and get speakers – not that good for productivity as I really like having the second monitor for reference information when working
5. Stick with dual monitors and use headphones – never really got into the headphone sound and don’t really like being cut off from the world but perhaps an ear monitor like RAAL SR1a might be an alternative

Any suggestions as to how others have solved this problem? And recommendations on the type of speakers that work?

View attachment 78090

Looks familiar...

I put my JBL 705P's on either side of the 34" Acer, which works fairly well. I tend to sit with my seat reclined, and my feet/legs resting on the pulled out double bottom drawer when at my desk for long, and that puts them pretty close to ear level.

 

[Racheski]

My set-up is option #3 with a 34 in ultrawide main monitor and a 24 in vertical monitor. I have cheap "audio" foam risers that help angle and isolate my Vanatoo t0s, which are about 65cm from me. I got used to having the gap in between the dual monitors very quickly. I'm also using dual monitor arms that are independent which helps to get them in the perfect position.

I had the same problem as you with #1; the angled monitor obscured part of the speaker. My issue with #2 was the concern that i would knock the speakers off the stands by accident. Another idea is to buy something like these Speaker Wall Mounts if a wall is close by and angle them down.

 

[AnalogSteph]

#2 here. I am no stranger to an angle of up to 120°, and if you consider 80 cm "extreme nearfield", what do you call down to half that? Mind you, you need something no bigger than 5" and well-behaved in the vertical (or a coax) to pull that off. My trusty K+H O110s will still just about pull it off, my dream speakers here would have to be some of the Genelec "Ones".

I have little reason to be worried about knocking things off the stands, as I have a drawer for the keyboard and mouse these days so my hands usually aren't even on the desk.

Anything substantially bigger than my current 5:4 19" (!) monitor would be problematic here. It's a shame they don't make anything in this aspect ratio any more. I'm still thinking about how to make a "sound collar" for the monitor out of melamine foam, a bit like the hoods used by graphics pros but for absorbing sound coming in from the speakers (without blocking my view or impeding ventilation, of which this old S-IPS beast needs plenty).

I'm not going to share a photo here because my desk isn't looking nearly as neat and tidy as you guys' setups even at the best of days.

 

[Racheski]

#2 here. I am no stranger to an angle of up to 120°, and if you consider 80 cm "extreme nearfield", what do you call down to half that? Mind you, you need something no bigger than 5" and well-behaved in the vertical (or a coax) to pull that off. My trusty K+H O110s will still just about pull it off, my dream speakers here would have to be some of the Genelec "Ones".

I have little reason to be worried about knocking things off the stands, as I have a drawer for the keyboard and mouse these days so my hands usually aren't even on the desk.

Anything substantially bigger than my current 5:4 19" (!) monitor would be problematic here. It's a shame they don't make anything in this aspect ratio any more. I'm still thinking about how to make a "sound collar" for the monitor out of melamine foam, a bit like the hoods used by graphics pros but for absorbing sound coming in from the speakers (without blocking my view or impeding ventilation, of which this old S-IPS beast needs plenty).

I'm not going to share a photo here because my desk isn't looking nearly as neat and tidy as you guys' setups even at the best of days.

Picture or it doesn't exist

 

[jhaider]

Can you stack the monitors and put them on a clamp mount attached to the back edge of your desk?

That's similar to the setup I use (laptop on desk with screen open under monitor on the single-monitor version of the linked mount) and works well for both work and sonics. I find the extra distance from eyes to screen (my desk is 24" deep) helpful as well.

I had also improvised mounts for the monitors with Ergotron monitor mount bases and arms, and a pole mount speaker adapter (Ergotron poles are 35mm just like PA speaker stands), but it turns out clamp mount bases take up more space on the desk than a flat speaker stand, so I bit the bullet and bought Neutrik's stands for KH 80 DSP.

 

[andrew]

Can you stack the monitors and put them on a clamp mount attached to the back edge of your desk?

That's similar to the setup I use (laptop on desk with screen open under monitor on the single-monitor version of the linked mount) and works well for both work and sonics. I find the extra distance from eyes to screen (my desk is 24" deep) helpful as well.

I had also improvised mounts for the monitors with Ergotron monitor mount bases and arms, and a pole mount speaker adapter (Ergotron poles are 35mm just like PA speaker stands), but it turns out clamp mount bases take up more space on the desk than a flat speaker stand, so I bit the bullet and bought Neutrik's stands for KH 80 DSP.

I think that the monitors are too big to stack and still have an ergonomic view of the top monitor but I'll see if I can trial this solution. Also, the KH80 DSP (along with the JBL LSR705p) is one of the speaker options that I'm considering. What is your take on how these speakers work in this type of set-up?

 

[AnalogSteph]

Picture or it doesn't exist

OK, you were asking for it, so I don't want to hear any complaints regarding clutter.

Chair position is realistic.

 

[Racheski]

OK, you were asking for it, so I don't want to hear any complaints regarding clutter.
View attachment 79321
Chair position is realistic.

Very nice stands; they look very sturdy. Where did you find them?

 

[Berwhale]

Option 4 (ultrawide) and then get some software to split it into virtual screen spaces (Fancy Zones in the free Powertoys will do the job on Windows 10 very nicely).

My speakers are placed ready to sit either side of a 34" UWQHD display, i'm hoping my 27" WQHD will break soon, so I can justify buying one

You could augment the ultrawide with a small USB display if you really want a separate screen for reference material. Something like this could sit on the desk, below the level of the speakers...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AOC-I1659FWUX-16-Inch-portable-Monitor/dp/B07DKTPH6G

It might look something like this (using my Lenovo Yoga to represent a 15.6" USB display in portrait mode)...

I'd like to work like this, but the fact that the fingerprint sensor on the Yoga is unreachable annoys me intensely.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Very nice stands; they look very sturdy. Where did you find them?

Dad and I made these 13 years ago (he's always been into woodworking to some degree, partly out of necessity as well). The short tubular steel feet and some composite beech were provided by one of the local home improvement stores. Cost for material: €25-ish? Edges were chamfered (I don't remember the details), then a good bit of sanding, oiling (the smell has only gone away in recent years), and finally mounting the feet. While originally sized for my old Tascam VL-X5s, they fit the O110s quite nicely as well - total width ca. 20 cm, depth ca. 28 cm (subtract about 1.5 cm each for actual standing surface), thickness of wood ca. 1.8 cm finished, feet ca. 21 cm high.

 

[Racheski]

Option 4 (ultrawide) and then get some software to split it into virtual screen spaces (Fancy Zones in the free Powertoys will do the job on Windows 10 very nicely).

My speakers are placed ready to sit either side of a 34" UWQHD display, i'm hoping my 27" WQHD will break soon, so I can justify buying one

View attachment 79343

You could augment the ultrawide with a small USB display if you really want a separate screen for reference material. Something like this could sit on the desk, below the level of the speakers...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AOC-I1659FWUX-16-Inch-portable-Monitor/dp/B07DKTPH6G

It might look something like this (using my Lenovo Yoga to represent a 15.6" USB display in portrait mode)...

View attachment 79347

I'd like to work like this, but the fact that the fingerprint sensor on the Yoga is unreachable annoys me intensely.

What is the black brick in the middle of the 2nd pic that your mouse is connected to?

 

[Berwhale]

The black brick is an Anker Bluetooth speaker, it's connected to the Lenovo USB dock under the shelf for power only. I connect to it via Bluetooth from my work laptop when I want to listen to something without being tied to my wired headset. I tried plugging the line out from the laptop into the aux input on my Tannoy monitors, but I get terrible buzzing when I do this.

 

[BillG]

1. Place the speakers on risers/stands behind the desk if possible, well above the monitors, and angle them down to my listening position.

2. Wall mount the speakers, if the desk is facing a wall that is, and angle them down to my listening position.

With either #1 or #2, or any option for that matter, room EQ would be very appropriate.

 

[andrew]

Quick update: I have adopted a variant of Option 4 - ditching the second monitor and placing some KH80 DSP either side of the remaining monitor. The plan is that, down the track, I'll move to an ultrawide monitor. The KH80 are on the Neumann desk stands, with the acoustic center at ear height, and I'm taking advantage of a sub-woofer for the low bass. Still need to measure and EQ / optimize but sounding good and I cannot imagine having larger speakers on the desk.

 

[jhaider]

Quick update: I have adopted a variant of Option 4 - ditching the second monitor and placing some KH80 DSP either side of the remaining monitor. The plan is that, down the track, I'll move to an ultrawide monitor. The KH80 are on the Neumann desk stands, with the acoustic center at ear height, and I'm taking advantage of a sub-woofer for the low bass. Still need to measure and EQ / optimize but sounding good and I cannot imagine having larger speakers on the desk.

Sounds like you went the best route to me.

The Neumann desk stands are priced excessively high, but they do seem to be nicer than any alternative I've found. At least they're built well, and even the tools included are German-made.

 

[BillG]

Quick update: I have adopted a variant of Option 4 - ditching the second monitor and placing some KH80 DSP either side of the remaining monitor.

According to some advice from a recording engineer that I stumbled upon, it's best to line the monitor(s) up flush with the speakers' baffles when using them in desktop environment - I'll post an example below. I've done it with my own, after reading the advice, and did make a difference in the clarity that I was hearing...