So after getting into IEMs for myself and having some great chats on here, I come looking for (very last minute, I know) Xmas advice for my better half.
His desktop speakers have just died - they were very cheap, but I know he’d love something nicer. Those speakers were connected directly to a reasonable sound card (an Asus Xonar, not sure which one exactly anymore, and not opening the PC now :p).
If I have a budget of ~$500, should I get him:
A) a pair of good speakers (which ones?), or
B) somewhat cheaper speakers (which ones?) and other stuff like a DAC and/or preamp (which ones - you get the gist).
The desk isn’t huge, so the system can’t take up a whole lot of space, but smaller bookshelf speakers could work (bigger ones are out). Also, he prefers simple to overly complex, so it’s always going to be better to have fewer elements for the same result (but if adding another step improves things dramatically, he’ll get that it’s worth it.)
He would be using those mostly for gaming, watching videos, and listening to lots of music (classic folk/rock all the way to black metal.)
Oh, that sounds like an interesting set up! Would you have by any chance suggestions for slightly smaller alternatives to the emotiva? There’s a chance they’d fit but they’ll take a fairly large chunk of the desk.
The iLoud Micro is solid, but also look at the iLoud MTM for another similar form-factor option (it costs more, but goes on sale for not much more from time to time).
