Active monitor speakers or mini amp with passive speakers?

[MrJim]

Well my idea to wait for the sales went out the window! I ended up spending more than I originally intended (as ever), but I went for the slightly more expensive two-input 30W Topping amp:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and based on several reviews, these speakers:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...co-2010i-graph

I'll let you know how things work out! Thanks for all your advice

[krazy_olie]

Qacoustics are great value!

No idea about the amp, probably will get the job done fine and having two inputs is incredibly useful and quite rare in this class.

[MrJim]

Qacoustics are great value!

No idea about the amp, probably will get the job done fine and having two inputs is incredibly useful and quite rare in this class.

I'm looking forward to testing them out The amp I chose uses the Tripath TK2050 chip, which I guess is similar to the one you mentioned. I'll post my conclusions about both items once I set them up.

[Lowe]

If you were gonna blow the budget you should have said - and gone for a pair of these

http://pmc-speakers.com/products/pro...active/twotwo6

[MrJim]

If you were gonna blow the budget you should have said - and gone for a pair of these

http://pmc-speakers.com/products/pro...active/twotwo6

Ha! The main issue is the speaker size...desk space is limited! As it is, I'll have to move a few things around to fit the Q Acolustics either side of my monitor. Those PMCs look good though, but at a price!! That's not so much blowing the budget, as nuking it!!

[Lowe]

twotwo.5 then haha.

Nuking - it's the only way to be sure

[MrJim]

twotwo.5 then haha.

Nuking - it's the only way to be sure

I nearly used that quotation myself, but I didn't think many people would get the reference!!

[MrJim]

Having had the speakers & amp for a few days, I'm happy to say that I'm really very impressed with both. The amp really is tiny, it's amazing that it manages to pump out 30W. For the money, I think it's excellent value, it drives the speakers to reasonable sound levels, especially as I'm sat only a short distance from them. The sound is very clean indeed, but if I'm being very critical, it could be said to lack a bit of warmth. The speakers may loosen up a bit as they're used, but to my ears the audio is still very crisp indeed, with a surprising amount of bass given the size of the 2010i's.

[MrRockliffe]

I now understand what you meant about 'lack of desk space'! Looking great though

[kalniel]

Do let us know if they do warm up.. considering something similar myself now.

[MrJim]

Do let us know if they do warm up.. considering something similar myself now.

I'm not sure whether it's the amp or the speakers, but either way I'll keep you informed. It's hard to be too critical over a £200 system though

[MrJim]

I now understand what you meant about 'lack of desk space'! Looking great though

Yeah, it's a constant battle!

[krazy_olie]

Have a play with positioning/angling the speakers, such as angle and raising them off the desk a bit (with a book or something).

Have a walk around the room, too. Those speakers will certainly be outputting plenty of bass but it may be more noticeable at the back or side of the the room.

Try playing with EQ/volume as well, bass response at low volumes is sometime s a bit different, eq can help compensate.

[MrJim]

Have a play with positioning/angling the speakers, such as angle and raising them off the desk a bit (with a book or something).

Have a walk around the room, too. Those speakers will certainly be outputting plenty of bass but it may be more noticeable at the back or side of the the room.

Try playing with EQ/volume as well, bass response at low volumes is sometime s a bit different, eq can help compensate.

The little 2010i's have definitely opened up quite a bit since I first tested them. They are sounding pretty amazing given their small stature They have a thin rubber / neoprene surface on their underside, which helps with sonic isolation. I'm considering buying a pair of these to put them on though:

https://www.musicmatter.co.uk/isoaco...FfHKtAodXhwAgA

But the stands are quite expensive - they cost almost as much as my amp! I am really impressed by the Topping amp, the quality is outstanding for the money. The only small niggle is that the speaker binding posts are very small (by necessity). I had some think speaker cable I wanted to use but couldn't, as it wouldn't go through the hole. Still, I'm very happy performance-wise