Small desk speakers around 300$

At those points you start being in Genelec money range. :wink:
Specially if going for used marked.

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Thanks! I was also thinking about it and i decided to save some money and buy Vanatoo T0. I know its a little bit overpice in polish amazon but i want to buy really solid product once for all. I’m also afraid of problems with iloud micro. Saw some posts on reddit where people have problems with noise/speaker died.

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I apologize for the deleted posts - I suggested things that would not have fit into your setup so this is to clean things up.

Here we go! This is a good choice.
This is what you can get at the 400 dollar range. (The way currencies are right now is messing up my suggestions… It appears this is sub 300 right now? i’m so confused. Anyway ! check it out just in case, it looks like a good option.)

This also eliminates needs for a future sub at some point. But sub placement will probably matter a fair bit on this one… So you might run into the problems I mentioned earlier when pointing you at the Vanatoo’s. It’s difficult to say, I have never heard this one in-person. But the user-comments and reviews are positively ecstatic (so overall, people sound very happy with it).

Price: £279.99

I’m just going to delete the other two posts to clean up the thread, if you want to know about what was in them, they were much bigger speakers in size that would not have fit your desk setup. (the Adam T5v and the JBL 305p)

Just buy used twice as good half the price budget goes so much further. For $300 CDN I Bought a mint set of Adam Audio F7 and a 8" B&O Sub with cables.

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Adam audio no longer makes the F7, the new model for that is the T7v, unfortunately the T7v is not as good in a desk environment as the T5v because of the way the T7v’s throw sound - Zeos explains why in his video covering them.

Sadly, they are both too large to fit into the spots Wkpf indicated he had for speakers - he needs something very tiny, unless he wants to change his setup around. My first thought with a raised budget was the Adam T5v’s though =) then I realized they would never fit into the spaces he indicated. He needs something super tiny to fit in those spots… That’s when I thought of the Edifier S350DB - but then I realized the price has changed on that due to fluctuating currency prices.

*reference his original picture at the top of the thread
https://forum.hifiguides.com/uploads/default/original/3X/0/8/08694250f9126a30db525f88e3ae8392691bd196.webp

The more and more I think about it, the Vanatoo T0’s seem the best way to go, tiny yet very capable, will work great on a desk or smaller room without a sub… I wonder if Vanatoo would ship to Poland? I’ll send them an email and ask. (Update) I checked with Vanatoo - they DO ship to many countries in Europe, they use Amazon to sell to those countries, you can find them by going to amazon specific sites for France, Germany, Poland, etc.

Yep - seems like the more I wrestle with this one, the more I keep coming back to the Vanatoo T0’s as the best choice for your situation. The reason they might seem overpriced is because you are looking at new speakers there and the price has gone up due to inflation over the years since Zeos reviewed them years ago.

They really are great speakers though. I own a set of Vanatoo’s myself, they were painful to buy initially, but I have never regretted owning them. They are marvelous speakers. - also, if you ever do add a real sub - the Vanatoo’s have the proper cut-off built in already (and it’s an adjustable cutoff) so you won’t have problems that you would have with the smaller subs that come in kits.

Turns out because of the whole ‘brexit’ thing, you have to look at amazon’s individual country websites to find them for sale, and they only sell the Vanatoo’s that are in good condition over in Europe (B-Stock never makes it over there because Vanatoo is a US based company - so we only get B-stock in the america’s). So that is the new price for vanatoo’s these days. They are really perfect for a desk though. And since it’s sold through the official amazon site and the seller is actually the Vanatoo company, so you can relax there knowing you will have good warranty and policies covering the speakers.

The problem with speakers, when you go past Vanatoo T0 pricing, speakers don’t get more capable and maintain that smaller size. Even the Edifier I linked has issues because that ‘sub’ is not really a true sub, it’s a woofer that also acts like a sub. But because of that, you get into placement issues I went over earlier…

This may be a somewhat bold claim, but I don’t think anything exists that is more capable than the Vanatoo T0 for any price at that same tiny size. Maybe someone else can come up with something. But I can’t.

from the perceptive of Sound and overall performance. Yes there are much better ones but with much much higher cost and then they are only speakers. Basically needs more gear for control and to get everything working but then they are. The thing.

But and it’s a big one.
Huge advantage the Vanatoo’s have are the connections. Basically Plug & Play and low cost, good starting point in the world of active speakers/monitors.

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I would love to know what else could be available, I created a thread for that purpose, to explore the other possibilities

Lets explore the possibilities together. =)

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I think i found good price for iloud micro on thomann.de 285$ cheaper than amazon :smiley:
IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor – Thomann United States

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Yep! That’s thomann, I bought my DAC (the RME ADI-2 DAC FS) from them. They are one of the largest music and audio product resellers in Germany. You can trust them to deliver a good product, but be sure you familiarize yourself with their return policy, it might be a bit different than what you are used to.

Also - you will be getting the version of the product meant for sale in Germany. So if your power plugs are different from theirs, and if the iLoud Micro’s do not come with adapters for various countries - then it will be up to you to get the proper power adapter.

*see image for reference - (check the power rating for the power adapter on the Thomann site to make sure it will be compatible with your countries power grid)

My DAC was fine because it’s power supply was designed to work with a wide range of input voltages, and all I needed to do was replace the cord at the end and everything else was fine. I am not sure if the same will be true for the iLoud Micro.

I checked the IK Multimedia website and looked at the iLoud Micro, I even downloaded the manual, but it does not specify the voltage range that the power supply can accept from the wall.

If Poland’s power grid is different from Germany, I suggest contacting IK Multimedia using the support email or call them directly and ask about the power adapter.

Here is a link.

I checked on the wall outlet power in various countries, it looks like the plugs in Poland are compatible with Germany, and the two countries supply the same voltages to the outlets. So you should be fine.

Here is a resource for you to compare the two countries power grid information.

Its me again :rofl:
NOTHING Competes with these New Swans.. - YouTube found something “new”
looks good and only 20cm height, considering that I will use speakers occasionally and less than headphones, this is an interesting proposition

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THIS!

I saw this thread subject come up and was gonna point out Z’s latest review because they fit the ask quite nicely.

update: bought today edifier mr4 for 89$ i think its a good deal :smiley:
they are a little bit taller, but i think i can handle it

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Congrats! I hope that you enjoy them, be sure to report back on how they work out for you! Depending on your setup/situation, we may be able to help you optimize it a bit, too.

Of course, i will report back. One problem i have to handle is that speakers will probably stay behind my main monitor because of height and they will be covered a little bit. I know it can cause worst sound but untill i will like how they sound i will keep them. After long long research i figure out that there is no reason to buy “that small” speakers like audioengine a1/a2+ for 250$ only for size. Edifier are a bit bigger and it can be problem, but i found a deal for only 89$ brand new and they will probably sound much better than other “tiny” speakers. Its like 160$ cheaper compare to audioengine and almost 400$ compare to vanatoo t0 (in my situation, cuz of i live in Poland and polish amazon want 500$ for vanatoo) For occasionally usage i think its good choice

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Since you just bought the edifiers again recently, you could also buy the Swans (if anyone sells them in poland) and compare the two side-by-side, then return the one you don’t want.

I believe Amazon’s no-questions-asked return policy lasts until February for items bought during the holidays. So it’s a good time to test things like speakers.

Even so, you may want to wander on down to your local hardware store and pick up a couple L brackets and some wood to make some speaker shelves.

Or you could order a couple cheap shelving units from amazon too, although if you made them yourself they would likely be a good bit cheaper.

report back:
I ended up returning edifiers. They are too high and tweeter is almost fully covered by monitor (its huge difference). I finally decided to not buy speakers if i can’t find something really small with decent sound. I mean there is audioengine a1/a2+ kanto yu2 but i think they are way overpriced to occasionally usage. Maybe with discount for 150$ or less i can take them but not for 200$+
Anyway thanks for all comments and help :smiley:
Now i gained a lot of knowledge of speakers especially small ones

On Ebay, the Kantu YU2s are selling for around $160 new/open box. I was able to order one for $140 in almost new condition. You could also check out the Monoprice MM-3. Selling for $170 on Ebay, and Zeos seemed to have liked them.