Small desktop speakers with (out) low noise floor

[Sasamur]

Hello,

in the hopes that I did not post in the wrong sub category of the forum, I am looking for some help with some desktop speakers.

I have the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 and a Taga Harmony htr-1000cd v.2 to drive them (my first buy into stereo hifi).
I like them but the noise floor of the amp makes those speakers abyssal for extreme near field listening (60-80 cm) and those speakers are simply to big for my desk and do really not like standing in corners. Replacing that amp and dac combo is in the works, but a different project.

I have since then tried the Neumann KH 80, KH 120 and Genelec 8030c and I liked the KH 120 the most but their noise floor, while a lot better than the Genelecs, is still to much for me.
Since then I have tried out a pair of Abacus C-Box4 and tried to measure them with medium success.

Sorry but that was my first time measuring and i could not calibrate the measurement mic to higher than 80 db.

Are those speakers form those files worth buying, currently 1000€ for the pair?
Or is there maybe anything else I could try that is dead quiet (I heared it is a result of the eq in active speakers) has a depth that is close to 20cm and a frequency range similar to the KH 120?
Passive or active does not really matter, my comfortable budget is 1000€ and my absolut pain threshold is 2000€ without dac.

Thankyou in advance.

 

[staticV3]

The German website soundandrecording.de measures the self-noise of active speakers.
An ASR member has collected their data into a spreadsheet (Link).

The KH 80 and KH 120 clock in at 20dBA at 10cm.
The quietest models they've tested are at around 15dBA or 30% quieter than the Neumanns.

If you feel like that's still not quiet enough, then you'd have to consider an inefficient, passive speaker combined with a low noise amp. Here are some of the lowest noise power Amps I could find:

-Topping LA90: 2.0μVrms A-wt (Low gain)
-Hypex NC500 OEM: 9μVrms unwtd
-Soncoz SGP1: 9.8μVrms A-wt
-Purifi 1ET400A: 11.5μVrms A-wt
-MODULUS-86: 13.7μVrms A-wt

Hypex's new NCx and Nilai should be between the LA90 and NC500, but I couldn't find the exact numbers.

 

[Mal]

KEF LSX - being a "lifestyle speaker" I guess "no hiss!" was a requirement,... I certainly don't hear any in normal desk use at distance of about 1 - 2 metres...

 

[Digby]

Something to check. Have you removed all audio inputs and listened to noise of the powered on speaker alone? Sometimes the noise is coming from other equipment through your cables (or from poor quality cables picking up noise), especially if connected to a PC.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I have the old K+H O110s, the KH120's predecessor, and tweeter hiss is gone by about 0.5 m or so. (One unit has a slight buzz issue, possibly an aged capacitor somewhere in the power supply, but even that is subtle.) 0.6-0.8 m is by no means an unduly low distance, actually values of around 0.8 m are quite typical in desktop use. Make sure the Output Level control is set to 94 dB and Input Gain is turned down. Your master volume should end up 20-30 dB below maximum on normal material at average levels. (Genelecs have pretty hot inputs and no input gain knob, making it hard to tame source noise. Their selection of sensitivity choices is essentially the same from the 8" to the smallest 3" models, but typical listening distance drops the smaller they are, and by the time you get to 8020s things are never quite silent and with 8010s hiss is a constant companion. I think they're aiming for consistent levels in a multichannel setup that uses models of different sizes.)

KH120s also have a bit of a reputation of insisting on balanced input lest sound quality may suffer. Running the signal through at least a trusty Behringer HD400 may be quite advisable. (I am using one of those, too. The source is my lowly onboard sound sporting a Realtek ALC1200. Good enough. I decided the additional power draw and driver hassle was not worth fussing with soundcards in this case. A bus-powered low-midrange audio interface would still be worth considering in a situation like this.)

If you are after low noise, I would avoid equipment with vacuum bulbs like the plague, as illustrated by the Taga thingy (never heard of the brand nor the model).

The C-Box 4 seems to have a bit of a sound to it going by the measurement but nothing that a bit of EQ couldn't fix. If the other parameters fit your use that would be the least of my worries, there's always Equalizer APO and such. Now there is little about this speaker that screams "bleeding edge", with its fairly conventional box design, no waveguide and a modest 12 dB crossover - there's only the active bass EQ so you can trade off between bass depth and level handling depending onn levels required. (A more boutique manufacturer like Abacus would obviously not have the sales volume of e.g. Neumann, and economy of scale has a noticeable influence on what you can offer at a given price point.) It also seems to be a powered speaker with a passive crossover, but that in turn (in conjunction with the lack of a waveguide and its associated efficiency boost) would explain a very low noise level as well. In addition you can plug an unbalanced source right in with no worries about ground loops. Clearly it's a design that tries to make the most for nearfield use out of limited resources.

 

[Sasamur]

Tank you so much for the replies

@staticV3
Those measurements are something I have not found and I honestly really tried.
The solution with passive speakers with a low efficiency and a good amp was something I considered but i could not find speakers that fit my size requirements and have been testet. While I sometimes do order stuff and then have to return it I try to minimize it. So I was searching for something that has been testet, can be placed close to a wall and on a desk and sounds good. Here in Germany we call that an "Eierlegende Wollmilchsau", an egg laying sheep-milk-pig because it shall do everything well and not be expensive at the same time. If it was possible to buy, a passive version of the KH 120 and the Topping LA90 would already stand on my desk but sadly one of them I'd have to invent myself.

@Digby
I tried that. I even turned off all breakers and unplugged everything except for the speaker just in case it was something in my flat that was spewing huge amounts of noise into the ac wiring. I even bought one of those ac filters, but it was only a power bar and not that expensive (80€). I read and watched Armins reviews of power conditioners and filters before the gear. But in my head those were still worth a try. So now the power bar is being used as a power bar and spewing its obnoxious green glow of the "On" Led into my room.

@AnalogSteph
I had all the active speakers being fed by an Audient ID 14 mk2, so balanced outputs. The hiss on the Neumanns stayed pretty much the same on all gain settings. I cannot hear it when it is a bit nosier outside but once it gets quiet and I have heared it, I can unhear it for the rest of the day.
If 0.6 to 0.8 m is normal listigen distance for near field monitors then I wonder how people use their monitors because I cannot constantly listen to music loud enough to overpower the hiss or if I'm just really sensitive to it. That being said, I'm one of those guys that likes the sound of Beyerdynamic Dt 880s without eq.

That being said I think I will buy a pair of the Abacus C-Box 4 and a better decibel reference for my measurement mic since they are not terrible from what I read from your post and do mostly fit my requirements.
After that I can search for the next upgrade in peace without having the pressure of only being able to use my headphones and wanting speakers on my desk again, if I require it.

@Mal
I do not know if rear ported speakers like it close to walls. The wall is treated with Caruso WLG 035 100mm but I do not think that will be enough.