Looking for desktop computer "audiophile" speakers

[jae]

Neumann is the best choice for your budget. I would say buy KH 80 or wait for the new KH 120s and use the remainder of the budget or save a little bit more to buy a sub if you need more extension.

 

[simplywyn]

I have the 8030. Very much worth it to go for Neumann or Genelecs and don't save here on cheaper speakers. Close to best buy ever for the money.

Sold me on this

 

[simplywyn]

Neumann is the best choice for your budget. I would say buy KH 80 or wait for the new KH 120s and use the remainder of the budget or save a little bit more to buy a sub if you need more extension.

I have r3 on the desk next to it, I don’t need crazy speakers just ones that sound better than the speaker inside the mac mini of ultrasharp

 

[jae]

Sold me on this

I have r3 on the desk next to it, I don’t need crazy speakers just ones that sound better than the speaker inside the mac mini of ultrasharp

I'm not sure what you consider "crazy" speakers but both the 8030C and KH 80 are technically "better" speakers than the R3, with the exception R3 has more bass extension. Genelec 8030C is marginally better than the KH 80 but they perform virtually the same, so I suggested the Neumann because unless you can get a good deal on the Genelec you will probably be paying $360-450 CAD+tax more for them, which is definitely not worth the difference in performance at this pricepoint (this could be justified if maybe you had other Genelec products you wanted to integrate together). In a lot of markets the value proposition of Neumann is simply better, even sometimes in Canada where the prices of Genelecs are amongst the best in the world. I'm not sure if your budget was USD or CAD, but if you wanted to spend much less and you don't expect a setup comparable/as good as your R3, you can buy something like Kali or JBL which will get very close and make one perfectly happy.

 

[simplywyn]

I'm not sure what you consider "crazy" speakers but both the 8030C and KH 80 are technically "better" speakers than the R3, with the exception R3 has more bass extension. Genelec 8030C is marginally better than the KH 80 but they perform virtually the same, so I suggested the Neumann because unless you can get a good deal on the Genelec you will probably be paying $360-450 CAD+tax more for them, which is definitely not worth the difference in performance at this pricepoint (this could be justified if maybe you had other Genelec products you wanted to integrate together). In a lot of markets the value proposition of Neumann is simply better, even sometimes in Canada where the prices of Genelecs are amongst the best in the world. I'm not sure if your budget was USD or CAD, but if you wanted to spend much less and you don't expect a setup comparable/as good as your R3, you can buy something like Kali or JBL which will get very close and make one perfectly happy.

I don’t need crazy speakers just ones that sound better than the speaker inside the mac mini or ultrasharp

 

[GXAlan]

If you have limited desk space, does the JBL 3 series or the new Kali fit?

Kali Audio — IN-UNF Ultra-Nearfield Studio Monitors

www.kaliaudio.com

 

[simplywyn]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've decided to wait a bit since we seem to be in a middle of a banking meltdown. Who knows I might have to burn my R11's for fire wood to heat my house.

 

[GD Fan]

I don’t need crazy speakers just ones that sound better than the speaker inside the mac mini or ultrasharp

That should be pretty easy to achieve without going near the price of Genelec or Neumann. Check out the active speaker recommendation thread curated by @sweetchaos for starters.

 

[simplywyn]

So basically my desk space absolute height is only around 20cm speaker. All of these suggestions are aboslutely HUGE speakers, minimum 30cm or above, even the tiny genelec is 30cm

 

[Berwhale]

So basically my desk space absolute height is only around 20cm speaker. All of these suggestions are aboslutely HUGE speakers, minimum 30cm or above

The Vanatoo Transparent Zero and the iLoud Micro are not huge...

 

[sweetchaos]

20cm is tiny.
Kali IN-UNF comes to mind.

Kali Audio — IN-UNF Ultra-Nearfield Studio Monitors

www.kaliaudio.com

 

[seadogbiscuit]

Sonos One SL, a pair, networked. Simply Awesome!

 

[marek]

How would Buchardt A500 would fit into such setup? Too big, too much power for a desktop setup where speakers are roughly 1m from the human?

 

[isostasy]

Any opinion on the Fostex PM0.3d, if it is worth trying to pick up used? I think it's out of production. Like @simplywyn I have a very small space on my bookshelf to put speakers (max 22cm, just under 9in) and the Fostex is tiny. @sweetchaos has a list of recommended speakers organized by size which I found useful though it's old now.

 

[Berwhale]

Any opinion on the Fostex PM0.3d, if it is worth trying to pick up used? I think it's out of production. Like @simplywyn I have a very small space on my bookshelf to put speakers (max 22cm, just under 9in) and the Fostex is tiny. @sweetchaos has a list of recommended speakers organized by size which I found useful though it's old now.

Amir measured them in 2020 and thought they were OK...

Fostex PM.03 Active Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fostex PM.03 active monitor/speaker. It is on kind loan from a member who bought it new from drop.com and had it shipped to me. I think the model is discontinued and I can't find an accurate price for it. The owner paid US $90 on drop. The PM.03...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[jbattman1016]

What's the goal for the set? Is this just background music while working? If you have the ability to EQ the audio out of the PC, you can likely pick up even sets from Creative Labs and achieve decent sound. I've got an old inspire 2.1 set that works great for my desk.

I see sonos mentioned, you can even just get oneif the goal does not require stereo sound.

I know I'm going to get hammered to hell for this, but you can also consider a small soundbar.

 

[simplywyn]

What's the goal for the set? Is this just background music while working? If you have the ability to EQ the audio out of the PC, you can likely pick up even sets from Creative Labs and achieve decent sound. I've got an old inspire 2.1 set that works great for my desk.

I see sonos mentioned, you can even just get oneif the goal does not require stereo sound.

I know I'm going to get hammered to hell for this, but you can also consider a small soundbar.

Basically just getting stereo sound for my desktop that's better than in embedded speaking inside my Mac mini

 

[jbattman1016]

Basically just getting stereo sound for my desktop that's better than in embedded speaking inside my Mac mini

How do you plan to get the audio out? Headphone jack/Bluetooth/USB ? This might help with your path. I think your easiest path would be two homepods, since you are using an apple product.
Edit: it looks like the mini is half off right now, so might be a better way to do for only 100.

How to Use HomePods As Computer Speakers for Your Mac | Gear Patrol

It's actually really easy to use two HomePods (or two HomePod minis) as computer speakers for your Mac.

www.gearpatrol.com

 

[simplywyn]

Ideally USB. Right now the sound is literally coming out of the mac mini (mono I'm assuming). It's "workable" as it's only used as a work computer

 

[jbattman1016]

There was another thread about some active bookshelves for nearfield usage. That has some good options, but since you are on a mac, I still recommend the easier route with the pods.