rocketsurgery
Standard Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2014
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 52
- Age
- 51
Hi there, looking for recommendations on desktop speakers for near-field listening in my home office. I'm a bit of novice here so I hope I haven't provided too much detail below.
The office is around 10 sq m, with a sit/stand desk (180cm x 80cm). I work from home 90% of the time, and listen to music when I'm not on Zoom calls. My main computer is an M1 MacBook Pro attached to a 27" monitor. The MacBook Pro has USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 outputs, and I also have a Thunderbolt 3 hub (CalDigit TS 3+) which has USB-A and USB-C outputs, a headphone socket, and optical out.
I was previously using Apple HomePods via AirPlay, but the lag was unusable for Zoom, and anyway both developed faults and were returned for refunds. I'm looking for wired desktop speakers instead and I'm ready to pull the trigger.
A few things to note:
I'm looking for opinions on the best option. All seem to be within budget. Reading other threads, I was left wondering:
The office is around 10 sq m, with a sit/stand desk (180cm x 80cm). I work from home 90% of the time, and listen to music when I'm not on Zoom calls. My main computer is an M1 MacBook Pro attached to a 27" monitor. The MacBook Pro has USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 outputs, and I also have a Thunderbolt 3 hub (CalDigit TS 3+) which has USB-A and USB-C outputs, a headphone socket, and optical out.
I was previously using Apple HomePods via AirPlay, but the lag was unusable for Zoom, and anyway both developed faults and were returned for refunds. I'm looking for wired desktop speakers instead and I'm ready to pull the trigger.
A few things to note:
- The speakers need to be small enough to sit on the desk and will be positioned near to the rear wall. I often switch the desk height between sitting and standing positions, so speaker stands at the side of the desk wouldn't work. However it's a decent sized desk with plenty of space and I'm happy to use desktop stands to get the positioning right.
- Music will mostly be streaming from Apple Music, mostly AAC 256 kbps, plus some Hi-res Lossless @ 24/192 where available
- I mostly listen to orchestral and synth music, occasionally some jazz or opera, as well as podcasts. I will also use the speakers for Zoom calls
- I don't need room-filling sound; I will only be using these in a near-field setup (I'll be about 3 feet away from the speakers)
- I'm going to be using them pretty much all day Mon-Fri (for either Zoom or music)
- I have a spare BK Elec Gemini II sub that I can bring into service
- I've got a budget of £400-500 (can stretch further if absolutely necessary)
- Ruark MR1 Mk II. I like the fact they are fairly compact, and I can run them with my Gemini sub if I feel bass is lacking.
- Q Acoustics M20 HD. The reviews are promising, and again I can use my Gemini sub if required
- Studio monitors + headphone DAC pre-amp, e.g. Adam T5V or KRK RP5 G4 or Tannoy Gold 5 or similar, plus something like a Topping DX3 Pro. I've never owned studio monitors but I see them recommended here regularly. I like the idea of having a headphone amp so I can buy some decent headphones for late-night listening (vs my current wireless buds), but that's very much a nice-to-have. If I'm going to buy a DAC pre-amp I'd like one with a physical volume control and remote.
I'm looking for opinions on the best option. All seem to be within budget. Reading other threads, I was left wondering:
- Would I see much difference in sound quality between the three options?
- Will rear-ported speakers like the M20 or T5V be too bass-heavy positioned near the wall? Or am I better with front-ported speakers?
- Are any of these options unsuited for near-field desktop use? (I ask because I tried pair of old Mission M70 speakers with an old Denon PMA-715R and they sounded really muddy in near-field use)
- Can I use the Gemini II sub with studio monitors? I gather that dedicated subs for studio monitors are daisy-chained, which the Gemini doesn't support. Is there any way to run them off the pre-amp?
- Given that I will be using them all day, would monitors be too revealing / tiring?
- Having read a little about the difference between Class AB and Class D amplifiers, would I see much difference in power consumption for all-day use?