I've read tons of reviews here (and elsewhere) and am struggling to choose an active powered near field monitor for casual (and sometimes critical-ish) listening. I have really good ears and am treble sensitive so anything with a ribbon tweeter is probably out. The speakers will go on a fairly large standing desk and I'll be streaming, listening to uncompressed audio, and likely hooking up a turntable as well. I have an 8" B&W sub that'll be connected to the speakers to fill out the low end.
As a bit of background, my main system includes Martin Logan ESLs, Rega P8, Marantz pre-pro, and Rotel AMP... and I spin a LOT of vinyl. Hopefully that gives you an indication of the tonal quality that I'm used to. Of course, I don't expect this level of performance from a pair of bookshelves on a desk. Clarity is most important and I certainly don't mind some added warmth, though speakers with a fairly flat frequency response are great as I can EQ however I see fit.
Anyway, I'm not looking to spend big bucks here, but want to find a good balance between price and quality. Am I going to put a $1k+ pair of speakers on my desk? No. Thinking there's a sweet spot in the $400-800 range. Ones that caught my eye based on reviews and connectivity options include the Kanto YU6, AudioEngine A5+ but am open to suggestions preferably from those that own and/or have demoed multiple desktop speakers. I'd rather not deal with buying and returning if I don't have to. FWIW, the Kali LP-6 seem interesting but it looks like their connectivity options are limited and each speaker needs to be powered independently, which is a problem given the lack of outlets where my desk is located, so I'd likely shy away from designs like that.
So, given what I mentioned above, what do y'all recommend?
As a bit of background, my main system includes Martin Logan ESLs, Rega P8, Marantz pre-pro, and Rotel AMP... and I spin a LOT of vinyl. Hopefully that gives you an indication of the tonal quality that I'm used to. Of course, I don't expect this level of performance from a pair of bookshelves on a desk. Clarity is most important and I certainly don't mind some added warmth, though speakers with a fairly flat frequency response are great as I can EQ however I see fit.
Anyway, I'm not looking to spend big bucks here, but want to find a good balance between price and quality. Am I going to put a $1k+ pair of speakers on my desk? No. Thinking there's a sweet spot in the $400-800 range. Ones that caught my eye based on reviews and connectivity options include the Kanto YU6, AudioEngine A5+ but am open to suggestions preferably from those that own and/or have demoed multiple desktop speakers. I'd rather not deal with buying and returning if I don't have to. FWIW, the Kali LP-6 seem interesting but it looks like their connectivity options are limited and each speaker needs to be powered independently, which is a problem given the lack of outlets where my desk is located, so I'd likely shy away from designs like that.
So, given what I mentioned above, what do y'all recommend?