The Ideal Near-Field Desktop Listening Setup

[AbbeyRd1969]

I have never really considered active speakers. Although, I think I would really enjoy a pair of B&W Formation Flex speakers. At 100 watts class D in each speaker, I would think that would be a nice setup. Very small footprint! No more MONSTER receiver on the desk. The only drawback I can think of is that I have heard that there are some stereo connection issues between the speakers. And the only solution is to purchase the B&W Formation Audio base at $800 to act as a WiFi base for the two speakers thus keeping them perfectly in sync. It is fun to think about what you can get for the low, low price of just $1800...

 

[Boxermotor]

Thanks for all the input on configuring an "ideal" near-field listening setup!

Here's my progress so far:

Phase one, positioning speakers. I went with a 67.5" triangle with tweeters at ear level and the listening position 38% into the room.

Phase two, room treatment.

A local theater was clearing out some Auralex acoustic panels, so I snatched up a few and found some impaler clips on eBay. Reading up on diffusers, I figure my bookshelves at the rear of the room will assist in this somewhat. I chose to hang acoustic curtains over the French doors to eliminate those flat surfaces. I also have a rug in the middle of the room. I do have to say that the sound coming out of my speakers sounds much "cleaner" now.

A less-than-ideal part of this setup is the nearness of the monitors to the front wall and windows, which I can't treat without losing the view. I'm afraid this arrangement will reek havoc using rear ported monitors. I'm wondering about building "acoustic trap boxes" out of Owens Corning 703 to place on the stands to house the monitors. I've read that some studios put monitors in treated wall recesses to eliminate unwanted resonance, but I've not seen anything on The Google about placing speakers inside something on stands (which means I've either come up with a brilliant new idea that I should quick patent or, much more likely, a really dumb one. I just haven't found much on this topic. Any thoughts?

Phase three will include deciding on my favorite monitor/speaker and - this feels pretty overwhelming - tuning the room using some kind of DSP solution (I'll figure out how to cross that troll-infested bridge when I get there).

I'm still waiting on a shipment of JBL 308P Mk II's and KRK Rokit 8 G4's to compare. I keep going back and forth between powered and passive, and would like to test the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62's (high praise from Amir), and the less affordable Revel M106's (incredibly high praise from Amir). Both are challenging to find used at a good price. I'm playing the long game, though, and enjoy the hunt. As much as I would live to try Neumann and Genelec, I'm pretty sure my ears wouldn't benefit in proportion to the cost of improvement.

Thanks again for all the great advice! I'll include pictures when the project is complete.

 

[Joe Smith]

Currently using my Aiyima A07 amp w/32v power, recapped NAD 1020 preamp, variety of sources/inputs including Schiit Modi DAC from PC, all-original ADS L420 speakers on weighted stands either side of the desk making about a 4' equilateral triangle to sweet spot. Sounds pretty great. Every few months, I play with amp and speaker pairings in the workroom as it's getting the most current use.

 

[Jflijohn]

My current main audiophile listening room also doubles as a 20’ X 20’ home for my wife’s car and, right now, it’s 54° out there. The car owner hates wires, electronics, large speakers etc. While more accepting of it in her car’s home, not so much inside the main house.
Due to the frigid winters here in NorCal I have recently put a small system in my allotted space in the main house as follows:

McIntosh MHA 100 headphone amp with 50 “McIntosh watts“ driving KEF LS50 speakers and a generic sub and Sennheiser HD660S headphones for when she is awake . I’m using the McIntosh USB/ DAC driver to a PC to stream Hi-Res Qobuz.
Once I got the sweet-spot set up (and wires concealed) it’s a pretty nice system.