I’m looking for some assistance on choosing a speaker for my desk.
I currently have the SMSL SA300 DAC/AMP powering my Wharfedale 10.0 speakers.
I use the desk for and even mixture of youtube, gaming and music listening.
I live in Australia, so choice is very limited. I have done a lot of research and have narrowed it down to the following. I’m having serious trouble choosing one as they are all review well. I’m also not sure which one would be best for near field listening as I sit less than a metre (3 feet) away from them. The list is in price ascending order all within my budget from A$600 – A$1200.
Jamo S803
KEF Q150
KEFQ350
JBL Studio 530BK
KLIPSCH RP500m
KLIPSCH RP600m
Any assistance would be great!
PS: I have also considered the KEF Q100 and KLIPSCH RP150m but these are unavailable in my country and very hard to find.
the jamo’s will be the least “shouty” at nearfield. that being said, i have seen lots use klipsch and jbl’s nearfield and a few use kef. it really boils down to what sound profile you are after.
even though i see people use them some, i wouldnt recommend the 6 1/2" woofers for nearfield. at around the 6" woofer mark, you start to get beaming from the woofer. which means it needs more space for the sound to spread out affecting soundstage and imaging.
the coaxial design on the kefs make them easy to place for imaging, but they need a foot or more from a wall to breath and not be boomy, if you want bass out of them. they come with port plugs, so you can reduce that. but your going to loose some low end.
the jamos have rolled off highs, and are a very easy all day listen. but are the least technical of the bunch. very nice speakers for the price, but they are less capable then the rest of the bunch.
rp500m are nice. sound better then the 600m(600m has a dip at the xover point that some notice, and some dont). the 500m transitions from tweeter to woofer better as smaller woofers tend to play higher then larger woofers making them easier to cross to a tweeter as a whole. they will also need some room to breath from the wall though.
I have not heard the jbl’s sorry to say. but a lot use them on desktops, so i imagine they do decent.
avoid last gen kef and klipsch. the new gen for both is a lot better.
np. i try to help people make decisions on their own. i know how rough it is.
edit: i should also ask: what are you looking for in new speakers compared to your wharfedales?
edit2: quick run down of the ones i have heard.
the jamo is going to be a modern equal or so to the wharfedales, maybe a little less capable tweeter.
the rp500m’s are going to be similar sounding to the wharfedales tonally, but with a different presentation and more detail. it uses a metal tweeter, so that has its differences from soft dome.
the q150’s will sound a lot different. more sparkle, more noticeable then rp500m’s that its a metal tweeter. outside of easy mode positioning, i don’t notice much of a difference using coaxial vs tradition 2 way designs. some say coaxial have bigger and deeper soundstages, but i have not seen that in my own testing.
It’s hard to describe not being very familiar wit all the terms.
At the distance I sit from them they sound “hollow”. Like there is not enough body to the sound. If I move back say another metre, they sound a lot better and “fuller”.
To get a sound from them that I like I have to sit about 2 meters away. So, I think they are just not made to be used in such a near field setting.
I have tried to play around with tilting them up and towards me, but it makes little difference.
have you thought about adding a min sub as an alternate to new speakers then? when things are “hollow” sounding, it typically means weaker then you would like lower mids and upper bass. something mini subs do well.
edit: just a suggestion. you should be good with any of the mentioned speakers above. unless your room has some crazy natural bass trap effect sucking the bass out of things, they should keep the fullness nearfield.