[USA] Looking for system advice; nearfield bookshelf PC audio; budget ~$2-3k

[SandSnip3r]

I am finally moving into a home where I will have a dedicated office and am so excited to step up my audio game. I have spent a lot of time understanding which components are necessary given my particular constraints. First, let me outline my constraints/preferences:

• A desktop PC will be my audio source
• I want to be able to easily switch between headphone listening and speaker listening (I already have headphones, Beyerdynamic MMX 300 2nd gen)
• My listening position is a sitting/standing office desk (have not yet purchased the desk)
• My music preferences are a mix of electronic (progressive psytrance), rap, and rock (probably 70/15/15 respectively)

I do not yet have the experience to articulate the type of listening experience I am looking for (“warm” vs “accurate”, etc.). I plan to listen to music at a relatively low level for hours a day, so I do not want something fatiguing. But when I am jamming to a particular song, I’d love to crank it up and really feel it. I am a basshead and used to have a ported 15” SPL subwoofer in my car. I’m not necessarily trying to rattle the paintings off the wall at home, but I would like to feel the bass (and yet remain tight for higher BPM electronic music).

I have come up with a set of parts which fits what I need and I think will sound decent, but I’d like your advice on my choices. Some of my decisions might be stupid or maybe there are better components that will do what I want for a similar or lower price. It seems like the preference for an easy way to switch between headphones & speakers constrains me a bit. I have chosen passive speakers; I don’t have a good justification for why I’ve done this. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

• DAC: Fiio K7
• Amp: Fosi Audio ZA3
• Speakers: Polk Audio Reserve R200
• Subwoofer: SVS SB-1000 Pro

See my attached image for my connection setup, this is where some of the setup feels a bit convoluted and I am looking for input. My headphones and mic will connect to the Fiio K7. I will plug in RCA Y splitters to the K7’s preouts. One pair of RCAs will run down to the subwoofer. Another pair of RCAs will first run through a passive high-pass filter (probably 70hz) and then to the Fosi ZA3 amp. Of course, finally, speaker wire will run to the Polk R200 speakers. I have chosen the passive HPF to possibly reduce the burden of the low frequencies on the speakers. Maybe this is unnecessary and I can simply start by using the sub-out from the ZA3 for the subwoofer.

To be concise, I am looking for feedback mainly on my speaker choice, the HPF situation, and a general extra set of eyes on the whole setup to catch me from doing something dumb. Let’s say my overall budget is around $2-3k. Thank you!

 

[NTK]

Welcome to ASR!

I'd recommend going with a MiniDSP Flex* and a headphone amp instead of the Fiio K7 as DAC/headphone amp. The flexibility of the DSP can give you a lot more different ways to optimize your sound.

Note: * I prefer the Flex 8 personally. I can combine two pairs of single ended (RCA) outputs into 2 balanced outputs for the speaker amp, and still have 4 RCA outputs left for headphone amp and/or sub.

 

[Karmacoma]

I am finally moving into a home where I will have a dedicated office and am so excited to step up my audio game. I have spent a lot of time understanding which components are necessary given my particular constraints. First, let me outline my constraints/preferences:

• A desktop PC will be my audio source
• I want to be able to easily switch between headphone listening and speaker listening (I already have headphones, Beyerdynamic MMX 300 2nd gen)
• My listening position is a sitting/standing office desk (have not yet purchased the desk)
• My music preferences are a mix of electronic (progressive psytrance), rap, and rock (probably 70/15/15 respectively)

I do not yet have the experience to articulate the type of listening experience I am looking for (“warm” vs “accurate”, etc.). I plan to listen to music at a relatively low level for hours a day, so I do not want something fatiguing. But when I am jamming to a particular song, I’d love to crank it up and really feel it. I am a basshead and used to have a ported 15” SPL subwoofer in my car. I’m not necessarily trying to rattle the paintings off the wall at home, but I would like to feel the bass (and yet remain tight for higher BPM electronic music).

I have come up with a set of parts which fits what I need and I think will sound decent, but I’d like your advice on my choices. Some of my decisions might be stupid or maybe there are better components that will do what I want for a similar or lower price. It seems like the preference for an easy way to switch between headphones & speakers constrains me a bit. I have chosen passive speakers; I don’t have a good justification for why I’ve done this. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

• DAC: Fiio K7
• Amp: Fosi Audio ZA3
• Speakers: Polk Audio Reserve R200
• Subwoofer: SVS SB-1000 Pro

See my attached image for my connection setup, this is where some of the setup feels a bit convoluted and I am looking for input. My headphones and mic will connect to the Fiio K7. I will plug in RCA Y splitters to the K7’s preouts. One pair of RCAs will run down to the subwoofer. Another pair of RCAs will first run through a passive high-pass filter (probably 70hz) and then to the Fosi ZA3 amp. Of course, finally, speaker wire will run to the Polk R200 speakers. I have chosen the passive HPF to possibly reduce the burden of the low frequencies on the speakers. Maybe this is unnecessary and I can simply start by using the sub-out from the ZA3 for the subwoofer.

To be concise, I am looking for feedback mainly on my speaker choice, the HPF situation, and a general extra set of eyes on the whole setup to catch me from doing something dumb. Let’s say my overall budget is around $2-3k. Thank you!

I own a pair of r200, they're ok but I'd choose something different if I were you (I wouldn't buy them again, they now sit in a box since I've replaced them with Neumann's kh 150 which are far far superior).
They're pretty big and deep by the way, I don't see them fitting a desk.
My choice would be monitor speakers, Genelec or Neumann if you have that kind of money, Kali audio Adam audio or JBL if you don't.
The price/performance ratio is the best with these speakers, and it eliminates the need for an amplifier.
What's your budget?

 

[SandSnip3r]

Welcome to ASR!

I'd recommend going with a MiniDSP Flex* and a headphone amp instead of the Fiio K7 as DAC/headphone amp. The flexibility of the DSP can give you a lot more different ways to optimize your sound.

Note: * I prefer the Flex 8 personally. I can combine two pairs of single ended (RCA) outputs into 2 balanced outputs for the speaker amp, and still have 4 RCA outputs left for headphone amp and/or sub.

Thanks for the welcome! The price of the MiniDSP Flex doesn't seem worth it to me. I'm not too picky about what drives my headphones at the moment. I understand the optionality that it enables though.

I own a pair of r200, they're ok but I'd choose something different if I were you (I wouldn't buy them again, they now sit in a box since I've replaced them with Neumann's kh 150 which are far far superior).
They're pretty big and deep by the way, I don't see them fitting a desk.
My choice would be monitor speakers, Genelec or Neumann if you have that kind of money, Kali audio Adam audio or JBL if you don't.
The price/performance ratio is the best with these speakers, and it eliminates the need for an amplifier.
What's your budget?

Ah yeah, good point. I did notice the r200s are pretty large. Thanks. Why "monitor speakers"? It seems like they're focused on accurate reproduction, which I guess seems good. Genelec are usually powered, right? I'm not opposed to going this route. I figure my budget for the whole deal is $2-3k, not super firm on that though.

 

[Mort]

Note: * I prefer the Flex 8 personally. I can combine two pairs of single ended (RCA) outputs into 2 balanced outputs for the speaker amp, and still have 4 RCA outputs left for headphone amp and/or sub.

Does the regular rca flex not do the same thing?

 

[Karmacoma]

Thanks for the welcome! The price of the MiniDSP Flex doesn't seem worth it to me. I'm not too picky about what drives my headphones at the moment. I understand the optionality that it enables though.



Ah yeah, good point. I did notice the r200s are pretty large. Thanks. Why "monitor speakers"? It seems like they're focused on accurate reproduction, which I guess seems good. Genelec are usually powered, right? I'm not opposed to going this route. I figure my budget for the whole deal is $2-3k, not super firm on that though.

With that budget you can get something really good and go Neumann or Genelec which have an amp, a dac and dsp (and automated room correction of premium quality) incorporated, you'll have a hard time beating that.
Yes they're designed for accurate reproduction, and that's exactly what everybody's looking for on this forum.

 

[NTK]

Does the regular rca flex not do the same thing?

Personally I like the flexibility of having 8 channels to play with ... future options for full active cross-over, multiple subs, etc. The Flex HT (for USD$ 50 more) lose the Bluetooth, but gain eARC and can be used as a USB 8 channel DAC when connected to a computer, may be even better.