What is the best audiophile audio system under 300$-400$?

cirjakvoja

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Hello, I am looking for a complete audio system (reciever, speaker, subwoofer) around the budget of 300-400 $. I live in Serbia, so please give me a couple of options so I can see whats available to me. I myself am no audiophile, however I do want to make sure that I get the best out there. I want a subwoofer which can produce very loud bass, like very loud, so I can feel it in my chest, however I am also looking for a speaker that can give me crystal clear sound. So what are your recommendations?
I am looking to use this in my room with my gaming pc.
Here is the website with all the speakers and brands available:
=9&f[p]=1&f[t]=4299]http://www.player.rs/monitori/cat/108?f[noi]=9&f[p]=1&f[t]=4299 <= these are "monitors"

and

http://www.player.rs/kucni-zvucnici/cat/15 <= these are "hifi speakers"

by providing you these links, i want you to know which brands and models are available to me, so you can tell me which one to buy.. or at least help me to pick :D
 
Solution
the word MONITORS can be used to describe many products. the word alone has nothing to do with price, quality, brand nor sound. it only generally refers to products that tend to be more neutral and often are self powered - but this is not always the case.

for instance the mackie cr3 is only $80 for the pair yet is often called a monitor speaker. there certainly ARE monitors which are $300+ for a single speaker but as i thought i made myself clear above ... only look at products actually in your budget. i could certainly link you passive speakers for $300/each also but that is again, outside your budget. just because one product called by a term is a certain price does not mean all are.

why do i say monitors (read: meaning self powered...

cirjakvoja

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hmm, fair enough. but if my budget is 400$ what speakers should i buy? and what subwoofer and reciever?


 

cirjakvoja

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These are some speakers at this price range:
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 220- € 279
JBL LSR 308- € 229
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 210- € 189
KLIPSCH RP-160M- € 299
MACKIE MR8 mk3- € 295
Q ACOUSTICS 3020 Bookshelf American Walnut
 

cirjakvoja

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are you trying to convince me that it's not possible? i mean not everyone has 1000$ to spend on speakers. Im just 16... It doesnt have to be a whole system... only a pair of speakers to start off is fine.. and maybe a reciever/amp
 

cirjakvoja

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All im asking for is help to chose my audio.. I already own Sennheiser 498's, but i want a good pair of speakers.. and I'm sure that I can get away with a budget of 300$, hell there's even people who can live with a set of speakers of 100$
 

cirjakvoja

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I already have a subwoofer, which isn't amazing but it will get the job done.. if i want to upgrade later then you can suggest me a cheap subwoofer.. but all im looking for now is a pair of speakers and a reciever if needed
 

That's what u asked on post#1, maybe it was lost during English translation.

Now you are fishing... and people not having enough fund maybe not ready for audiophile, hard-hitting, chest-beating, crystal-clear gears.
 
merged threads. please do not start another thread for an existing question. if you are having trouble with an existing thread for some reason, just let any of us mods know.

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let us get this thread back on track everyone. i think we can do without the non constructive criticism. i'm a bit disappointed how this started to turn out here.

while i completely realize $400 is in no way close to what an audiophile would spend and the use of audiophile is misused here there are certainly options within budget that are not bad. lets give some options that are good for the budget and perhaps not audiophile products shall we?

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as far as advice is concerned, i can say a few general pieces but prices and availability of prices for serbia i have no experience with.

you are not likely to get a higher quality 5.1 system for your budget. even getting a 2.1 system is going to be hard.

even basic subwoofers like the polk psw10 or dayton sub-prefixed models range from $100-140. for the price paid those models are certainly decent but as stated earlier a lower end product from better brands will cost at least $400. my klipsch subwoofer was normally $450 though i got it for $350 after a really good sale and purchase of a $600 speaker set (combo deal).

to power the speakers, you will generally need either a receiver or amplifier. if you go with fairly easy to power bookshelf speakers, an amp like the dayton dta120 is great. it has no output for subwoofer so you will need to pull it from the source signal, use a splitter, etc if you use one. we have one hooked up to some older HK thirty speakers and so far it has been great for the price ($110 or so). a receiver is generally the better option if you intend to hook up to multiple sources or end up with a 5.1 system in the end. cheap units generally start at least around $200 when on sale but most are more, especially in some countries with higher than average prices.

even with prices in the usa which are low, $200 for an on sale receiver and $200 for decent quality but still entry level hifi bookshelf speakers is the best you will get. you could get a subwoofer added for an extra $100. going the bookshelf and amp route here will still run you $300 total which would be considered good prices. no cables, wires, clips, etc are included as those are extra.

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i'm not sure about the newer wharfdales, but i know the older diamond 9 and diamond 10 series were well received. i've heard great feedback from some users i introduced to some diamond 10.0 speakers. i havent used them personally. if you can get them, they should be decent.

i myself use a klipsch setup (5.0 quintet iv satellites + 450w sub) and i am very happy with it. i did like their bookshelves as well. while i can not comment for the whole lineup, in general i've liked any klipsch products i have heard. the horn design over tweeter design gives them a bit more treble energy (in my opinion) though they could sound less easy-listening and fatiguing to some (did not have trouble with this). if you can get klipsch, they should be decent.

perhaps the best deal for us in the usa is the energy take classic 5.1 take set or monoprice 10565 copycat. they used to run about $350 with the copycat being a little over $200. paired up with a receiver, $400-550 (+ $50 or so for any wires, etc) is fair. for the money, its a great 5.1 system but its certainly not audiophile. good for the money, not the absolute best you will buy if you have more to spend. it is however not available overseas (as far as i have seen).

edited:

if you did not want to use an amplifier and wanted a simple 2.0 system.. powered bookshelves work too

mackie cr3/cr4, rokkit 5, pb42x, audioengine a2 etc would work. you wont be able to really upgrade to a 5.1 system from this, but if you wanted to keep things simple and small they certainly work.
 

cirjakvoja

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Thank you sir, for such a respectful reply. When I dont get the answer that I am looking for I post more threads, I didn't know that I shouldn't do this. You even helped me in the past, chosing my headphones. You truly are amazing. Now back to the theme. I own a basic subwoofer which should be alright (it's not amazing, but it will do the job). I do have to apologize to everyone for misusing the terms.. I have done the same mistake before.. To correct what I originally wanted to say is that I want to upgrade my audio on my pc, and get the most for my money :p.

I do have a couple of questions:

1. What do you recommend 5.1 or 2.1 (I am personally leaning towards the 2.1 since I do have a pretty small room and I dont think that I need more than 2.1)
2. What reciever would you recommend for a 2.1 system?
3. So out of the speakers that I mentioned which model do you recommend? Could you tell me which are the best and the worst, or at least how they differ from each other, how do they sound differently etc.
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 225- € 299

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 210- € 189

MACKIE MR8 mk3- € 295 <= i do like the look of these, however its 299 euros for only one speaker.. which doesnt sound appealing to me :/

KEF Q300- €299 <= many pepople have complimented these, if you can could you tell me more about these, and what you think about them?

Q ACOUSTICS 3020- € 279 <= this one is a bit smaller in size, however I heard some good feedback on it
** also just to mention, i do respect the klipsch company, however I really dont have a decent choice.. I have a choice on a monitor speaker from them for 300 euros, however that only one speaker :/
** also I did look at some reviews of the diamond 225 and kef q300, and i have read that q300's are amazing however they are quite a bit old, and they said that there are new better speakers. One of them being the Diamond 225's. I also do want to ask you if there are any specific models that you recommend to me at this price range
4. What is the difference between monitor and hifi/normal speakers? And which ones do you recommend for the type of use that I will be using them, considering that I do have a small room?
5. Just to mention, so you have a better idea about what sound I like: i dislike piercing treble, I do like bass (i wont be using terms high's and mid's since I actually dont know how to use these terms)
6. What is the difference between 2.0 and 2.1 speakers? And why wouldn't I be able to upgrade to 5.1 from the speakers that you have mentioned at the bottom.
7. If you yourself are not able to help me pick one of these or more speakers, do you know anyone that I can reach to, to help me make a choice?
8. How much do the cables cost? (I do want to mention that I have reciever a speaker set from a friend, it has a subwoofer and two little speakers, so they might have some cables.. again i have no knowledge or experience with speakers)
9. Tell me how good this subwoofer is (this is the one that I have): it consumes 85W, Its speaker size is 5.25", it's 8 Ohms, Frequency response is 20Hz-200Hz
 
be aware, this will be a long post. be sure to read through and not just skim it as i do not want to repeat myself.

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there is no reason to appologize per se, but giving us more information and being more clear would certainly have caused less confusion than we had above.

- how many channels (2.0, 2.1, 4.0, 4.1, 5.1, etc)
- what you want to connect up as sources (pc only or if you needed aux inputs)
- what kind of speakers you wanted (powered which work alone or unpowered which need an amp)
- in relation to above bullet, a pc system or home audio system
- what size of speaker you can handle in your space (though for your budget anything bigger than bookshelves is not going to happen)

you have already answered some of the above, though some points also i had to guess on or perhaps you arent sure about yet.

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1. honestly in your budget you will NOT be able to afford a "quality" 5.1 home theater system. you might be able to find a very cheap "home theater in a box" aka HTIB system but many models only offer 5.1 input via the dvd player included. external input may be only 2.0 and faked into 5.1 with dolby pro logic. it depends on the system, but most cheaper ones at least are limited. so-called true surround systems (based around a receiver) do not have connectivity problems like this. likewise, pc 5.1 systems will hook up to computers fine.

2. depends on your future plans and type of speakers honestly. 2.0 stereo receivers are cheaper than 5.1 variants normally but are more limited. often they (2.0 models) do not have a LFE (subwoofer) channel on many models which makes subwoofer hookup a bit more complex. all of the 5.1 variants have an LFE jack and will allow you to connect more speakers up in the future if you ever went larger. if you are going for a small simple system as i stated before going with a small amplifier is also an option instead of a receiver. for smaller bookshelves this should be fine.

i have had good luck with the dayton dta-120 as far as small amps are concerned. it really is much nicer than those cheap lepai units you can find around. for receivers, sony and onkyo make decent low priced models. yamaha and pioneer also are decent brands but often are much higher in price for even base models than the previous two.

3. not everyone can A/B compare every set of speakers, nor can you expect them to. also, as to what sounds best it really depends on your own preference and ears as what i like you may hate and vise versa. as i stated previously in general i have liked klipsch's sound signature and i personally own a set. i did A/B/C compare some satellites (bought), bookshelves and floorstanders from them in a theater room and liked how they all sounded but klipsch bookshelves were out of my budget at the time ($1300 was enough to spend for me on my setup.... bookshelves would have been much more). i have not heard wharfdales personally but from what i've read and have heard back from feedback they are at least reasonably good for the 9 and 10 series. i can not be sure about the newer models. i know the mackie cr3/cr4 are good and i've heard them in person but not the model you are talking about. likewise, jbl does make some decent speakers but i dont know that model. do realize there are many models out there and listening to each and every one is certainly not possible for most of us.

the best i can say is:

- i generally like klipsch products
- i've generally heard good things about wharfdale (9 and 10 series)
- i liked the mackie cr3/cr4
- the audioengine a2 was okay, but the mackies above were cheaper and sounded better (to me, opinion)
- i've heard some jbl speakers and some models sounded good
- the micca pb42x (mb42x is unpowered ver) sounded okay to me

as far as prices are concerned, you need to look at products within your budget. there are speakers which cost over $4000 each from klipsch for example while there are also products under $200 for a pair. will one sound better than the other? i would hope so! also do recall to budget for an amplifier of some sort if you are going for passive speakers.

as an example, klipsch has a set of two for $200, the kb-15 icon which is respectable. sure, its only considered entry level in the big picture (and honestly your budget really is only for "entry level" when talking about home theater) but that does not mean entry level is a bad thing nor do such products sound bad.

4. generally monitors lean towards neutral signatures while hifi can have any signature. monitors tend towards being self-powered but that is not always true. mostly i consider monitors, hifi and home theater products interchangeable in most cases and the terms themselves as more marketing terminology than anything else. for instance a product like the mackie cr3 could be used as a studio monitor while at the same time used as a small hifi system. if you want to get technical there are things like high-fi(delity) mid-fi and low-fi but generally advertising lumps all half decent speaker systems into hifi which is really a misnomer. the products you're actually going to end up buying for your budget are low-fi or mid-fi products in the big scheme of things though in todays world they are called hi-fi. confusing? i know, but this is why i said to not focus on names so much. what is important instead are its features, signature and build quality. at best you can use its tag of hifi, etc to signify what kind of target audience they are meant for. home theater products are generally meant for home theater systems for example and might not be a neutral sounding system but you could certainly use a pair for pc general use or even for mixing/monitoring. some monitoring headphones for example are fairly bass heavy. it all boils down to preference.. and preference alone.

5. you are talking about sound frequency.
here is a good example describing these http://cloud.addictivetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Instrument-Sound-EQ-Chart.jpg

as you can see, bass (or lows) are on the left, midrange (mids) are in the center and treble (highs) are on the right. be aware than various sounds may occur across a range of frequencies (as seen in chart) but might peak in greater volume on some frequencies.

for example, female vocals rely heavily on good sounding treble/mid extension but still may have some bass tones. drums might sound better one equipment capable of good mids but bass extension gives them more kick and treble extension gives them a bit more snap.

as far as treble energy is concerned, generally it can be described in three ways

how articulate or detailed treble is. more detailed speakers will show greater resolution or be able to play the smallest little details accurately. while this can sound great to some, it could make poor quality audio sources sound bad as well. sometimes too much detail is fatiguing for your ears while sometimes too less sounds horrible, lowfi and dull. its all about preference.

how powerful a response the speakers give for treble. this is relating to a speakers overall frequency response curve or general sound signature. for example a model which had "excessive" treble in relation to other frequencies might sound tinny and might lack some low end power or bass behind it to give the sound a more full sound to it. a lack of treble can make audio sound less crisp and dark.

how far they extend up into treble frequencies. you can have both a powerful response and detailed treble without them extending far into the spectrum, the three are really not tied together completely. in any case, how far they extend means how far up the treble scale they will play. too high a frequency paired with high detail might make them a bit piercing or sibilant (think of sibilance as the harsh S sound on words like HISS when someone has a lisp). of course whether or not a speaker is sibilant depends on the audio source (file) not just the speaker.

what does all that mean? its all a general understanding of what treble is and how it can be described on speakers. hopefully it can at least give you an idea how a speaker might sound to you given what people describe it as.

from what i've heard, dome tweeters can tend to be less bright (or powerful on the treble end) as horn tweeters. heres a link where someone is describing it http://www.avsforum.com/forum/91-audio-theory-setup-chat/1398576-horn-vs-dome-tweeter-design.html

klipsch tends to use horn tweeters and although they are supposed to be brighter, i've been nothing but happy with my setup. sure, the speakers are capable of nice bright and beautiful sounding treble but i've never heard them go sibilant nor be too piercing as they were balanced (opinion) to my ears. my ears and preferences might be different from yours though. i will say that i do not care for piercing treble or sibilance at all though and that i personally find such things very irritating but i have not experienced that yet with these speakers (though be aware... if you play a source which is recorded purposefully to be sibilant or bright on treble you could experience it.. i'm talking more about general sound, movies, games, music perspective)

this is also not to say that dome or more mellow sounding speakers are bad.. it really REALLY depends on your own preferences and what you like to listen to.

6. channels. 2.x references that its a two speaker setup. x.1 references that its a one subwoofer setup. 2.0 is two speakers only, 2.1 is two speakers plus subwoofer, 5.1 is five speakers (generally front l/r, rear l/r and center) plus one subwoofer.

if you want to be technical, you "can" upgrade to a 5.1 from 2.0 powered speakers in a way, but its generally not done like that. normally most 5.1 sets have a larger more powerful center channel for things like vocals. you could use three 2.0 cr4 sets for example to make a neat little self powered 5.1 setup (one set of two would be used for the center in this case.. why not just 1 for center? because you buy the sets in pairs.. why would you put a speaker on the storage shelf and not use it?). if you had individually purchased self powered speakers you could just get 5 speakers. sure, the center channel is just a normal speaker but it could work.

normally people who go 5.1 get receivers and go with passive speakers. active speakers are generally used more for 2.0 sets. its not that you cant do it, just that its less common.

7. some of the others here know a few good brands but what is available for serbia is beyond what we are likely familiar with. prices can also vary heavily and you can not expect us to do all the footwork (which can take hours) to track down what a particular product cost IN YOUR COUNTRY. using euro sites and us pricing is a good start, but when searching for products in country you may find the price varies quite a bit and the availability or variety of products might be less.

there are of course other audio sites and home theater forums but many are either USA based or europe based. finding good information on countries is very hit or miss.

honestly the best for you would be to either link products or brands available in your country for your budget and ask if they are good or not.

8. depends on what kind of cable. self powered sets generally take either 3.5mm or rca cable input. you should be able to get decently long shielded cables for under $20 as they are common. speaker wire for passive speakers if using an amp or receiver you should be able to get for $30-40 a spool or even less depending on quality. most speakers and receivers will use clips or posts for bare wire but its an option on some to use banana plugs (easier to disconnect , reconnect.. if you move the speakers to clean, etc). hdmi cables or optical cables (if you use a receiver) can be had for under $20 but some longer length models might be under $50.

generally i'd say you could get off as cheap as $5 up to around $50 or more depending on what you need to buy. it depends on what you need and how much of it.

9. is it self powered (does it have its own ac plug)? if it does, you could hook it up relatively easily. if it does not , it needs an amp to power it so likely you will not use it (since you would need to buy an amplifier for it on top of your other components).

we can not tell how good it sounds from the specs.

85w rms is a fairly small subwoofer. output will be around the same as some larger pc 5.1 subs like the z506 or similar.

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how to computer 5.1 systems fit into this all?

sets like the z506 or z906 are generally "acceptable". low end budget home theater 5.1 (Monoprice 10565/ energy 5.1 classic sets and their equivalent) will be better overall but for reasonably priced those pc sets sound okay if you need 5.1.

going with higher quality speakers of course will sound better. a pair of klipsch bookshelves for example might not have 5.1 but will sound more powerful and detailed.

whether or not you care or can hear the difference depends on your ears and preferences honestly. i personally dont like going back to worse speakers after having my setup as it feels like all audio is lacking in comparision.

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tldr:

okay, that was alot of information but what does it all mean and what should i buy?

depends on your preferences and needs. honestly it seems like you still dont know what you want so how can we know if you dont?
 

cirjakvoja

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Thank you for your amazing long post. It never bothers me to read every single detail about your long posts, they are always educational. You are truly amazing and you do help quite a lot. Now that you have educated me, I have made some decisions and can tell you more details:
- now I am certain that I want to go with a 2.1 system (the subwoofer that I have, has it's own plug, so i dont need an amp/reciever for it, and I will be using it)
-I am going to use these speakers for my pc (question: what is an aux input and what is it used for?)
-powered, unpowered... hmmmm i still cant decide.. I dont know, because I do want very good sound quality but wouldn't want to make my selection smaller due to the speaker being powered/unpowered.. so I still cant give you the answer to this one
-pc system, i have a relatively small room, and i will be sitting close to the speakers
-i can handle bookshelf speakers, i dont mind the size (some say the bigger the speaker the better.. like as in though the speaker size, they say it can get louder and sometimes better sound)

Now I do respect your love for Klipsch, however, there are no Klipsch speakers around 300$ available to me. That is the reason why I will not be interested in them for now.
My speakers are going to be very close to the PC so I shouldnt need a lot of cables.
I have also decided that I am not interested in Monitors.
I still dont know wheter to go for a reciever or amp (I do want to mention that my MOBO says that it has a good amp/sound card, I own a Z170a gaming pro MOBO, even though I am certain that I do need a reciever/amp)

I intend to use the speakers for music, some movies, and maybe games. Even though I will be using my Sennheiser 558's for most of the gaming.
Also I want to ask you, if it is possibly to aks some people/audiophiles what brands/models they recommend in this price range.
I also want to say that I have made some decisions, and that now I am leaning towards the Diamong 225's, since the KEF q300's are a little bit old. However I havent found any good sources online which say the differences between the 10 and 20 series from Wharfedales..
 

cirjakvoja

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I just checked on my reddit post... and this particular individual said that the Q100 are the best.. Im not sure if you understand, now I have a skeptical feeling towards the Wharfedales and am neutral on the Kef's... welp this didnt help hahahahaah
"I would go with the KEF's and it wouldnt even be a tough choice. They will have a very clean, accurate sound and an amazing sound stage. The Wharfdales, while fine speakers in their own right, will have more recessed highs and slightly exaggerated mid bass. Plus the imaging and sound stage wont be as good as the KEF's. I would strongly consider the Q100's though if you have the options as they are regarded as better sounding and more accurate than the 300's."

at reddit they recommended me this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2233954-2-0-bookshelf-compared-wharfedale-philharmonic-chane-musichall-elac-energy-kef.html
Uptade:
Now having more information about this, it seems like the Kef's are very neutral (i dont understand what this means :/) however they dont have as powerfull bass as the wharfedales. On that link, it says that the wharfedales can have a bit muddy lower mids and that it gets a bit hot at times. The same guy who recommended the Q100 and 300's now tells me to stay away from KEF's, he said that after I told him that I do not like treble and that my ears are sensitive to treble.
He described the Kef's like this: KEFs are analytical, neutral and brighter with exceptional clarity. Wharfedales have a colored relaxed sound with more mid bass.

Since I am an average dude and am not looking for actual sound accuracy for mixing etc. I am leaning towards the Wharfedales again :D
That being said you can ignore this comment as a whole
 
aux input is generally used for a 3.5mm stereo (2.0) signal in most cases.

there are more choices for unpowered speakers but you need an amp for them. powered speakers are a little more convenient, but there are less choices and they will not work with a receiver if you ever got one. as far as which sound better, you can not go by that (powered speakers are passive unpowered speakers with their own amp.. they are basically the same thing but with a cheap amp included)

it sounds to me like you are leaning towards going with a pair of unpowered bookshelf speakers and a small amplifier or a set of powered monitors. pc speakers would also work, but given your budget is a bit bigger you might skip over them and go right to something better unless local prices are very high.

i only mentioned klipsch since you mentioned it as an option. i also reminded to you check what is locally available as it could vary from what you were thinking.

you say no to monitors, yet it seems like that is what would fit your needs. remember, just going by the fact that a product is advertised as a monitor doesnt mean you wont like it.. your call though

if you want additional opinions, you can search them out. i dont have the time nor do i want to hold your hand and walk you through every step of the way but i dont mind giving a few pointers like i did above. you will need to do a few hours of footwork yourself. look what is available in your budget locally, read some reviews, etc

you dont need a receiver for passive speakers, an amp alone would do. you could use one if it fit your needs but for a simple setup it is not required. your motherboard onboard amp is different.. it can power headphones and speakers in the 1-5w range only and likely on the front channel alone. your onboard DAC might be okay (still nothing special, but probably more than good enough for now). i would personally suggest an amp unless a receiver is cheaper for you but it is your call.

neutral = flat response curve. ideally it means no one frequency stands out (treble/midrange/bass) and sound about equal in volume and power. now there is no true neutral so anything remotely close is called neutral. this gives the best as-recorded sound for true accuracy which is why neutral is generally used for monitoring/recording but it can sound a bit flat and lifeless compared to more exciting sound profiles. of course those more exciting profiles accent some part of the frequencies more than others so arent as natural sounding but its all about what you want...
 

cirjakvoja

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Thank you for more information, alright I will check out the amp prices. However, one thing is not clear to me :/ why do you personally think that monitors are ideal for me (the only reason that i dislike them is since one of them costs 300$, which is the price of a pair of bookshelf speakers like the Wharfedale 225) Even though you have already said that you dont know anything about the new 225's from Wharfedales. These are the pair that I am leaning towards as of right now, however I do want to understand your point on why monitors would be better than these.
 
the word MONITORS can be used to describe many products. the word alone has nothing to do with price, quality, brand nor sound. it only generally refers to products that tend to be more neutral and often are self powered - but this is not always the case.

for instance the mackie cr3 is only $80 for the pair yet is often called a monitor speaker. there certainly ARE monitors which are $300+ for a single speaker but as i thought i made myself clear above ... only look at products actually in your budget. i could certainly link you passive speakers for $300/each also but that is again, outside your budget. just because one product called by a term is a certain price does not mean all are.

why do i say monitors (read: meaning self powered 2.0 speaker systems like the cr3, cr4 or similar models i mentioned in my posts above..) would be good for you? simple to connect, no amplifier to buy, reasonably priced and often decent value. as i said before you could also go with any passive speakers and an amplifier if you wished and there are certainly decent bookshelves you can pair with an amp and have a decent setup. which you prefer is your own preference.

i do believe i very specifically said that either 2.0 powered speakers (often called monitors) or 2.0 passive speakers + amp would work for you. you are clearly misunderstanding the term and linking it with a product. i could just as easily say that some passive speakers cost $4000/each which makes me not like passive speakers, but i realize that the term passive speakers covers products in a broad price range ($1-$10,000+ per speaker) and that going by actual model/brand pricing instead of a term is more helpful.

if you are set on wharfdales... do your own research, read some reviews, get an amplifier capable of powering them and have at it. its your money, your choice, your life. i'm certainly not here to make a decision for you.

 
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