Question Speaker/Amp Suggestion for Home Office.

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Hi,

I am looking for advice on a compact stereo setup in my study (9feet by 7.5 feet).
I am unable to audition speakers ,so i’m afraid i will have to make a purchase based on reviews/suggestions. These will be primarily used to play Spotify and Amazon music HD from a MacBook via a chord mojo/cyrus soundkey. Bluetooth is not mandatory but will be an added bonus.
The speakers will be placed in a book shelf and the max available height and depth of the shelf is 30 cm

The budget i have for both speakers+amp or Active speakers is £500
I am on the fence with separates or active at the moment. I appreciate that the separates gives me the option of chopping and changing as technology advances.
However, The active speakers will mean reduced clutter, so open to any ideas that may swing me away from the separates route. From a price and convenience point the klipsch R41PM hits the sweet spot.

I have auditioned the Oberon 5 and B&W 606 in the past ,so I’m hoping the following two won’t be too different in sound signature.
  1. Dali Spektor2
  2. B&W 607
In terms of partnering amps i am thinking of the following
  1. Marantz Melody M-CR412 (RS currently have a dali spektor 2+M-CR412 for £479 and 607 with M-CR412 for £599 which blows the budget by £100)
  2. NAD C 316BEE V2 - £299 @ sevenoaks
  3. Cambridge Audio - AXA35 @ RS for £299
Both 2&3 above partnered with the 607 overshoots the budget but I am hoping i can get a deal if i buy both from the same dealer

Active options i have short listed are
  1. Audioengine A5+ @HIFIX for £429
  2. Klipsch - R41PM - £299 at RS
  3. Kef Egg - £229 at PT
Thanks.
 
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What are your plans for this space? Just having the speakers for background music while you work? Or a space where you want to immerse yourself in the music and thus high quality is a must?

For me, personally, my study is background music while I work so wasn't bothered by super high quality hifi but wanted something better than the usual "PC speakers" option. I went for Edifier R1700BT. Bluetooth from my laptop to the speakers. Or my phone. Easy and quick connection. Overall I am very happy with the sound quality. It is not as high fidelity as something more expensive or bigger but as a balance of what I need for my workspace and quality it is excellent. Overall, the clarity is very good. The only thing I miss, really, is more depth to the bass. My son has just invested in some Presonus Eris 5XT speakers which I haven't heard yet but he is very happy with. He seemed to think that in a big room they sound a little boxy but they have good clarity, good bass and very good volume! I am less sure of the Presonus speakers, myself, as they are positioned as Active Monitors and they do have a more directional nature. The XT models have adjusted for this so are better and more diverse but I would still be a bit hesitant.

Given that most of what I listen to on my laptop is either Spotify or YouTube then I'm not sure that spending a vast amount more than I did on speakers or system will give me enough of a benefit to be of value.
 
Thanks for your response. I'll say 60% will be background music and about 40% to immerse myself.
I have a small bluetooth speaker and a slightly larger iPhone dock speaker that i use with cca into the line in and with both i'm always wanting more, as they both have weaknesses.
I did look at the edifier range of speakers and some of the models do have some good reviews.
Also, looked up the Presonus Eris you mentioned, to be honest never heard of this before.

With spotify or youtube alone as a source, i agree that spending vast amounts on kit is of little value. However, with Amazon Music HD or HiRes Tracks it's a different game. I have found myself listening to tracks that i normally wouldn't, purely because of how great it sounds and this is the rabbit hole that I am currently in :).
 
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I’d consider this pairing.



As good as it gets for your budget.
 
Thanks Paul. Reading up on Adam Audio T5V now....reviews seem good. Would I be able to connect these directly to a Chord Mojo connected to a MacBook ? Or is a pre-amp such as WXC50 a must ?
 
Firstly, thanks to the responses, which prompted me to lookup studio monitors.
After doing a bit of research on studio monitors, i finally went for the jbl 305p mk2.
For the money, I don't think i can find any amp+speakers setup that will sound better.

In my study it sounds absolutely amazing. I am amazed at the clarity, separation of instruments, wide sweet spot, bass,..etc..i can go on but you get the idea. All this for £215 in my opinion is an absolute bargain. I can only imagine what higher end studio monitor sounds like.

I've placed the speakers on my desk, on foam pads, with the tweeters angled to my ears.
I've had to tone down the treble as it was a bit much for my ears.

I am amazed at the bass produced by these speakers. That said, my only gripe is that i have a bass null in my room, when sat in front of the desk. If i move back two feet the bass comes alive. Is there anything i can do to fix this....i'm thinking some sort of room correction/eq ?

Any suggestions for a good audio interface ? I am currently using a MacBook to stream spotify/amazon music HD and control the volume from the Mac. Sometimes the mac is connected to a Chord Mojo. With both, i use a 3.5mm to dual TRS jack into the speakers.
The chord mojo volume control is much better than using the mac direct, as it has very fine volume control. Just curious if there is a better way out there.

Thanks for reading.
 
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The Mojo is quite up to the task. I wouldn’t spend anything extra.

As for the bass null, that’s a problem as filling nulls is notoriously difficult and should really be attempted unless they are so small as to be barely noticeable (at which point it’s hardly worth the effort or expense).

The only way to attempt to remove the null is to rearrange the computer/workstation position in the room.

If you’ve a photo of the set up, that would help with suggestions.
 

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