New near-field speaker setup for a home office? Pictures!

[Vict0r]

The KH-120A are designed for near-field listening, and are front-ported (which I prefer when desk will be closer to wall). The stands put the speakers right at ear level and are easy to adjust toe-in angle.

I'm sure those are wonderful, but they're almost €1200 a pair here. That's a bit above my budget, alas. I paid €450 for the MTM's!

 

[Vict0r]

Well, I received the iLoud MTM's today! They're bigger than I thought. I can live with the size, though. I'm going with this thread's advice about not putting the computer on my desk,but more to the side of the room, with longer cables connecting the peripherals.

About the iLouds; I hooked them up to my Topping e30 with a pair of ProCab RCA to XLR cables I ordered and it works! The only noise I got was through the USB of the Topping e30. I can hear "digital chirping and crinkling". As soon as I unplug the USB cable from the Topping, the noise disappears. I hooked up the e30 through an optical connection to my motherboard instead, and lo and behold, the noise is gone.

So, I'm sticking to an optical connection for now. I have the gain wheel all the way down to -12db (why do they advise setting it at max? I hear too much hiss at maximum gain), SENS (sensitivity) at 4db, LF cutoff at 50hz and the rest at FLAT. I ran the onboard calibration using the supplied microphone and the end result is pretty darn great! Imaging especially is so much better than I was used to on my previous setup. You really feel the singer standing right in front of you. Excellent depth, layering and whatever other esoteric descriptors you could apply to a decent pair of monitor speakers that give you proper insight into a recording.

Can't wait to put them on some suitable stands to get the tweeters at ear level. The desktop stands that I was using for my Q Acoustics 3010's were too high, even at their lowest setting. If anyone knows some good desktop stands for these, I'm all ears!

 

[puppet]

Shouldn't the sensitivity level be set @-10dBV? You aren't feeding it +4dBu. Probably explains the "hiss".

 

[Berwhale]

I'm using these stands: Moukey MMs-2 Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand Microphone Holder Microphone Clamp Height Adjustable 32-47 cm with Microphone Clip and Adaptor (2 Pack): Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

With mic stands, it's trivial to get the tweaters to ear height...

 

[Vict0r]

Shouldn't the sensitivity level be set @-10dBV? You aren't feeding it +4dBu. Probably explains the "hiss".

I swear they're hissy-er (hissier?) when I put them at SENS -10db. At the lowest gain, with SENS at +4db, they're almost dead silent, unless I put my ear directly against the woofers. Don't ask me why.

 

[Vict0r]

I'm using these stands: Moukey MMs-2 Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand Microphone Holder Microphone Clamp Height Adjustable 32-47 cm with Microphone Clip and Adaptor (2 Pack): Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

With mic stands, it's trivial to get the tweaters to ear height...

Something like that seems ideal! I was looking at these: https://www.thomann.de/nl/km_23250.htm because they look so sleek. Non-adjustable, though.

 

[Berwhale]

Something like that seems ideal! I was looking at these: https://www.thomann.de/nl/km_23250.htm because they look so sleek. Non-adjustable, though.

Yes, I suggested those on the MTM review thread, at least two members are using them...

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Review (active monitor) | Page 12 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

 

[Vict0r]

Yes, I suggested those on the MTM review thread, at least two members are using them...

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM Review (active monitor) | Page 12 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

You suggested well!

 

[Berwhale]

You suggested well!

It's a shame that the stands have to be used backwards for the MTMs to balance on them. They still look pretty good though.

 

[Milan237]

Was bored so I made some measurements of the office. Pretty horrid in the bass department! This is the average of 7 measurements in and around the listening position.

Before correction:

View attachment 118759

Funny thing is, when I use REW in combination with my UMIK1 to attenuate some of the peaks for EqualizerAPO, it (subjectively) sucks out ALL the bass and the end result sounds nasally and thin. The room needs treatment. Me measuring lazily in between the speakers at ear level instead of measuring per channel probably doesn't help either, but oh well... The "bass" I'm now missing was probably my desk vibrating.

After correction:

View attachment 118758

I'll save the measuring and DSP for when I have my new speakers and have the room as treated as I can, because in its current state the office doesn't benefit much from EQ'ing.

When I saw your graphs I immediately thought that the cause of the decline at frequencies around 100 Hz is often the sbir effect, perhaps the problem is just in it, that is not the correct location of your speaker system relative to the parameters of the room, do not forget about room mods.

 

[Vict0r]

When I saw your graphs I immediately thought that the cause of the decline at frequencies around 100 Hz is often the sbir effect, perhaps the problem is just in it, that is not the correct location of your speaker system relative to the parameters of the room, do not forget about room mods.

Oh, that's very likely, but the room is rather small and there's nowhere else to sensibly put my desk without it getting worse. I'll just have to live with the room modes and tune anything I can. I must say that after room EQ the MTM's are sounding quite nice right now. I think that as soon as my walls are treated with broadband absorbers, the new rug is in and the ceiling treated, I think I've gotten as much as I can out of this little office.

 

[Milan237]

Oh, that's very likely, but the room is rather small and there's nowhere else to sensibly put my desk without it getting worse. I'll just have to live with the room modes and tune anything I can. I must say that after room EQ the MTM's are sounding quite nice right now. I think that as soon as my walls are treated with broadband absorbers, the new rug is in and the ceiling treated, I think I've gotten as much as I can out of this little office.

You can't argue with physics, although there are always solutions, even though I have not studied this issue for that long, but I have seen examples when people managed to create quite good acoustics on the balcony, so you still have enough room for experimentation.

 

[Vict0r]

Things are escalating. I've got this Motu M4 coming in tomorrow! Couldn't resist the second hand price.

 

[mkawa]

genelec 8020 with REW measurements to correct the low end. i'm demoing the 8030cs and the low end was thin until i ran some rough measurements with the blue yeti i use for teleconfs and discovered a massive trough between 60 and 100hz. with that corrected, they're absolutely blowing my mind.

find a local dealer instead of buying online. sweetwater doesn't accept speaker returns and the b&h price is higher than i am being offered. dealers have to obey RRP on SAM hardware but not analog systems. they have also been able to offer my in-house listening sessions and 2 week home demo. in fact, talking wtih them about the low-end i've arranged to pick up a 7050 demo unit on monday that i'm going to put up against the svs 3000 micro.

 

[Vict0r]

genelec 8020 with REW measurements to correct the low end.

Too late! iLoud MTM's have been purchased. So far, so good! The 8020's were high on the list, but I bumped into a pair of second hand MTM's I couldn't pass up.

 

[Vict0r]

Quick update:

So, I came to this forum to find an alternative for my NAD 3020/Topping e30/Quad 12L desktop setup and this is what ASR has done to me so far.

Rejoice! The Motu M4 cured all my USB noise/tweeter hiss/digital crickets chirping in their little voxel habitats. XLR-to-TRS balanced cables from Cordial. Up next are some desktop stands for the MTM's, a svelte monitor arm and more room treatment.

 

[Count Arthur]

Up next are some desktop stands for the MTM's, a svelte monitor arm and more room treatment.

I wonder if you could get a monitor stand with outriggers for the speakers?

Something like this:

 

[Vict0r]

I wonder if you could get a monitor stand with outriggers for the speakers?

That would be pretty cool, but the MTM's only have a 3/8" mic stand thread on the bottom.

 

[just1n]

Quick update:

So, I came to this forum to find an alternative for my NAD 3020/Topping e30/Quad 12L desktop setup and this is what ASR has done to me so far.

View attachment 122361

Rejoice! The Motu M4 cured all my USB noise/tweeter hiss/digital crickets chirping in their little voxel habitats. XLR-to-TRS balanced cables from Cordial. Up next are some desktop stands for the MTM's, a svelte monitor arm and more room treatment.

Those teeth molds are really freaking me out, man.

 

[Vict0r]

Those teeth molds are really freaking me out, man.

Tooth be told, I had my teeth done so they are finally as white as my dance moves.