Help: max. 1000 USD desktop setup for exact listening (song rating)

[audixix]

Hello!

HeadFi forums recommended this forum to me, I was asking for recommendations for desktop speakers there.
I was told to take a look at the iLoud MTMs, but I was not quite convinced after doing some "research".

I'm using Yamaha HPH-200s at the momemt and I'm happy with them, though I'm planning to upgrade to high end Sennheisers (600/650/800/880S/..., not sure yet).

I don't have a DAC or amplifier yet. Source is a MacBook Air M1.

I am currently putting great effort into rating fast all my 3000+ of songs, and for that I need to listen closely and carefully. It is very obvious to me that the MacBook Air's speakers do not allow me to do an accurate rating, I do need the Yamahas for that, there's a very clear difference.

I am very sensitive to hissing noise on idle or any other disturbances / electric noises / coil whine etc.

I am usually not moving much in position, just sth like leaning back in my chair, other than that no change. I don't care much about space wasted by speakers. I don't listen at high volumes, just loud enough that one can easily distinquish everything effortlessly.

I'm not quite sure because I got the impression that some say there's an important difference between "monitors", and speakers to listen to / enjoy music. So I'm not quite sure what I should do. I think pertaining to the speakers, I'd rather choose some that are good to enjoy music, rather than being overly focused on monitoring, because I think that I'll end up using the headphones for the rating business anyway -- perhaps what I'm saying is I'd like speakers that strike a good balance between enjoyment and monitoring, if that even makes any sense - like I said I'm completely new to speakers.

1200 USD is the upper limit for the complete equipment to be bought. You need not max it out if you think something cheaper will do the trick mostly.

(Not important: If you are aware of good speakers in that price range that come with a Bluetooth option (just the option), please mention, but that's not necessary. I'm not sure how bad the loss of quality would be with BT, and if it would be discernible. (The iLoud Micros I think had issues like hissing or sth.))

Thank you very much, and please do ask if there's anything I should add.

(Examples of what I listen to, if that's relevant: Bach, Tallis, Buxtehude, Debussy, Glass, Agnes Obel, Sleepthief, Black Hill, Silent Island, Enya, Shinnobu, Vangelis, JM Jarre, Chicane, Oldfield, Samaris, Robert Miles, Wolfsheim, Neofolk, Dargaard, Cranberries, Trees of Eternity; Singer/Songwriter.)

 

[AnalogSteph]

I would suggest something along these lines:

Audio interface - Audient iD4 MkII (should drive 300 ohm Sennheisers well and the Mac drivers are supposed to be pretty good if memory serves), maybe MOTU M2
Speakers - 1 pair Kali LP6, KRK RP5 G4, Mackie MR524
Cables (TRS to XLR male), desk stands

You might be able to fit in some Neumann KH80s when going frugal on the rest, though it seems speaker playback isn't your #1 priority anyway.

Otherwise, I might swap the audio interface with a DAC/HPA combo sporting balanced line outputs, like the Topping EX5 or Sabaj A20d (2022).

iLouds are basically the smallest (mostly) legit speakers, but if you do not need their small size they aren't necessarily first choice. Hmm, to clarify, by "I don't care much about space wasted by speakers", do you mean
a) you don't mind the space that speakers are taking up (which would have been the basis for my recommendations above)
or
b) you don't like the space that speakers are taking up and really don't want anything much larger than iLoud Micros (in which case you would be immediately facing slim pickings, high prices and compromises left and right - in the office I have some EVE Audio SC203s that I beat into submission via measurements and EQ, which yielded decent results but wasn't exactly trivial; these are one of the very few models with an inaudible noise level)

You basically can't go wrong with HD600s for a pair of cans that are very universal right out of the box. They may not have quite the bass level handling of planars (of which I bet there ought to be some interesting candidates at intermediate price points), but for a Jack of all trades that requires little if any EQ, they are extremely hard to beat.

If you have some budget left over, addressing the room acoustics would be worth considering, depending on how bad things are.

With a music list like that, you don't happen to have a RYM profile, do you?

Spoiler

(I do.)

 

[audixix]

Thank you very much for this reply - and sorry for being so late to answer.
I've decided to go "full headphones", and spend all money probably on HD600s AND in addition perhaps some more expensive Hifimans or so. I think only after this will I look into speakers and see if these will improve on what I have, in terms of enjoyment.
Again, thank you.