Help me improve my home office nearfield setup

[CaffeinatedCNS]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but have read a few of the great reviews over the years.

I love music but have mainly listened casually via a number of aging Sonos products. The only focused listening I've done is by way of my vinyl setup, which consists of;

Pro-Ject Debut Pro > Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra > Pro-Ject Head Box S2 > Sennheiser 560S (or NAD 310 > JPW Bookshelf Speakers)

I work from my home office 3-4 days a week, and this is really the only time I get to sit and listen to music, mostly via streaming, my current setup is;

Amazon Music Unlimited > Windows PC > DisplayPort > Gigabyte M27Q Rev 2.0 (Monitor's built in DAC ) > Creative Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theatre 5.1 DTT2200 (These must be 25+ years old(!) and running in a 2.1 configuration)

Generally sounds okay to me, but I don't have any experience in analysis! The higher resolution offerings by Amazon have always interested me, my (built in) DAC reports 24 bit 96 kHz.

I've looked at and been tempted into a standalone DAC over the years, Chord Mojo 2 or ifi ZEN DAC v2, but didn't commit as have often wondered if it would offer me any improvement unless I was willing to invest in an amp and speakers too.

I'm considering a combined DAC + Headphone Amp so I have the option to utilise my 560S, but I think I'd mainly listen via nearfield desktop speakers. It seems there are a lot of good value options out there;

Topping DX3 Pro+
SMSL RAW-MDA 1
Topping DX5 II

Looking for a cost effective improvement, any advice on what I should look to change as a priority?

Thank you
Liam

 

[RandomEar]

Hi and welcome to ASR. Your vinyl setup including the 560S looks pretty good, the speakers are probably the weakest link in that chain. A couple of Pro-Ject boxes have been reviewed here and they performed decent. They may not be the best in class, but they offer good value for money and to be honest: Many vinyl setups will be limited by the noise and dynamic range of the record itself. Considering that, I would say the electronics in your vinyl path are fine, unless you notice an audible and annoying amount of noise or lack top end SPL. Both of those things would surprise me. You might think about upgrading the speakers and add room correction, if you use those a lot.

Your Amazon Music path is certainly less high end The limiting factor in this case will 100% be the good old Creative 5.1 "speakers". The DAC in your Gigabyte monitor won't match the performance of a modern stand-alone solution on paper, but with those speakers attached to it, I don't think anybody could tell. And even with really good speakers in that chain, the DAC is very unlikely to be the limiting factor.

Switching to higher resolution audio won't make any audible difference for 99% of the population, unless those tracks are derived from a different master. So I wouldn't worry about "high res" at all, it's just marketing.

My recommendation: Invest in a good pair of stereo speakers for the Amazon Music path and think about an additional subwoofer. If the vinyl and the Amazon audio setup are in the same room, route the audio from the streaming setup to the better speakers. If they are in seperate rooms, you could go with active speakers for the streaming path to avoid the added clutter of an additional amp (KEF LS50 wireless comes to mind, but there are cheaper options, too). If you're worried about the DAC in your monitor, get a cheap external one for ~100$ (e.g. SMSL SU-1 or Topping E30 II Lite) or invest a couple dollars more for something with volume control and a remote (e.g. SMSL M300 SE or Fosi Audio ZD3). A (used?) Topping DX3 Pro+ would be fine, too. The external DAC is unlikely to make an audible difference, but that's not a lot of money to achieve peace of mind.

When the improved hardware is in place, decide if you're happy with the sound or not. If not, get a measurement microphone and apply EQ/room correction. A used UMIK-1 is maybe 80$ and absolutely worth the investment. Speakers and room are the limiting factors for audio reproduction in almost all modern HiFi setups.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I will add:

Don't think in components first. First define the problem that you are trying to solve, along with your constraints (budget, space, placement options at close to ear height, aesthetic preferences etc.). Then you can go ahead and look at what's available to effectively tackle your personal circumstances.

Depending on your viewing distance, large monitors have a tendency to block good spots for speaker placement, so that's one potential hurdle. A picture of your desk might help.

USB audio seems a sensible option, whether built into speakers, as a USB DAC or a USB audio interface. I wouldn't get hung up on the specifics just yet.

Mentioning your approximate budget would definitely help. "Cost-effective" can mean a lot.

You can take some inspiration from threads like this.

 

[DVDdoug]

Speakers, speakers, speakers!!! (And enough amplifier power for them if they are passive.) Or headphones, and your headphones are already excellent.

The electronics make very little difference unless you have a problem. And "CD quality" (16-bit, 44.1kHz) is usually better than human hearing. They guys who do blind ABX tests have pretty-much demonstrated that you can't hear the difference between a high-resolution original and a copy down-sampled to 44.1/16. Or you might have to listen very carefully and A/B.

Vinyl is (technically) inferior to digital. The "resolution" is limited by noise, there are frequency response variations (sometimes in the records), and occasionally audible distortion. Of course some people enjoy it and some people even prefer the sound.

running in a 2.1 configuration)

Whatever you like... Personally, I like to "up-mix" with a "hall" or "theater" setting on my AVR, or I REALLY enjoy the true-surround with movies, and I have a shelf-full of concert DVDs. (Not that you'll be watching videos when working... )

Generally sounds okay to me, but I don't have any experience in analysis!

The sound and your enjoyment of it is what's important! Analysis can be useful if you've got some "boomy" bass resonances in your room that you need to diagnose, etc.

It might be worthwhile to visit an audio/video store just to listen to a variety of speakers. And although speakers are a "different experience" than headphones, your headphones are a good reference for what good sound should be like. Sometimes we go looking for improvement when we've already got excellent sound....

I'm considering a combined DAC + Headphone Amp so I have the option to utilise my 560S,

What you have is probably fine for sound quality. Your headphones got a good review here (and they seem to be popular) but you might want to turn-up the bass a bit.

 

[CaffeinatedCNS]

Hi @RandomEar, thank you for your wonderful and timely response.

I perhaps should have said the vinyl path was more for background info, it is in a different room and I'm happy with the setup.

The path vinyl to headphones where all purchased together a few years ago, the NAD and JPWs were given to me and put in place along with a Sonos Connect for background listening. I will take on board the JPWs being the weakest link as we're going to me making some changes in that room, and I had considered either updated Sonos or KEF LS50 Wireless, and good to know you advocate the latter.

My home office setup is what I'm using 99% of the time and looking to improve. It sounds okay so perhaps I shouldn't get hung up DACs and Hi Res and just carry on as I am.

That said (and following @AnalogSteph advice) the subwoofer on the Creative speakers seem to be the only part holding it together, if I put my foot over the bass port the audio from the tiny drivers becomes very flat, which just leads me to feel I'm not actually hearing all the frequencies I ought to be, the instruments certainly don't sound real to me.

As new speakers are what I need first and foremost, I'll look down this route before even considering a DAC, as pointed out, they may come with one built in. Speaker placement on my desk is a bit of an issue, the small size of the current speakers allows them to sit under my monitors, of which one is offset, anything much larger would have me have to reconsider my monitor position completely.

On the budget, I was really only looking to spend the amount of the aforementioned DACs so perhaps £200-300 but expect that might not go too far on USB interfaced, active speakers.

Thank you both for your advice, I'll see what I can find (while checking out the linked thread) and welcome any other recommendations.

 

[CaffeinatedCNS]

Speakers, speakers, speakers!!! (And enough amplifier power for them if they are passive.) Or headphones, and your headphones are already excellent.

Perhaps I grab my Pro-Ject Head Box S2 > Sennheiser 560S combo from downstairs and go;

Amazon Music Unlimited > Windows PC > DisplayPort > Gigabyte M27Q Rev 2.0 > Pro-Ject Head Box S2 > Sennheiser 560S

See how I get on while I'm think of new speakers? I could perhaps forgo the Head Box but have no idea if the monitor has the power to drive the headphones...

 

[RandomEar]

Ohhh, that's a tight spot for any speaker bigger than a fried egg Maybe the KEF LSX II would fit? They are active, bring their own DAC and they've got a sub out in case you want to add one later on. Not quite* within the stated budget, though.

A way cheaper alternative would be Edifier MR4. They're not great, but they're surprisingly good for the price. And they are certainly compact.


(* as in: absolutely not)

 

[Berwhale]

Your asymmetric monitor setup makes things tricky, but you might be able to squeeze some iLoud Micro monitors in there...

N

'iLoud Micro Monitors measurements and quasi-anechoic spinorama'

Jan 20, 2020

I've had these little monitors for a while. I'm a big fan. Their name might sound like a cheap Apple knockoff product, but for $300 a pair, they sound great so long as you intend to use them in the nearfield and don't intend to listen at ridiculous volumes. I'm a 70dB kind of guy, so that's where I'm coming from.

Because I'd seen noaudiophile's excellent review and measurements, I hadn't been in any hurry to do my own measurements. Turns out my particular unit appears to show some significant differences, so I'm glad I did.

Here's the quasi anechoic spin:

We see a lot...

• napilopez
• Replies: 59
• Forum: Room Acoustics and General Speaker Discussions

• 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/IK-Multimedia-iLoud-Monitor-Speaker/dp/B01C5RZWCQ

 

[LesterHiggins]

Treat your room with some bass traps and absorption panels, I resisted this for a really long time, finally said 'ok, I'm going to do the work here," I saved up some cardboard boxes, got a big bag of rockwool and some cheap breathable curtains and got to custom-shaping the right pieces for the right locations. For $100 my audio went from "this is fine... ugh, this is not fine" to "holy shit, play something else!"