Hi-Fi Speakers and Amp vs. Active Nearfield Monitors

[Polygon]

M-audio av40 or fostex pm-0.3 as active monitors. But at this price point, why not get one of those mini component sets by philips or sony? They should deliver quite a kick. Or get some used passive hifi speakers and pair them with a cheap but impressive-sounding t-class amp

[makar1]

The speakers I linked earlier are within your pricerange; I have the smaller+older version which sound great at medium-high volumes. My friend actually asked if I had a sub when he was mixing using my T20s.
I'm guessing that since you don't want to find room for a big amp, you also don't want find room for a big sub either.

Hifi speakers are designed to sound "nice" and should be less fatiguing than monitors.

[Polygon]

The speakers I linked earlier are within your pricerange; I have the smaller+older version which sound great at medium-high volumes. My friend actually asked if I had a sub when he was mixing using my T20s.
I'm guessing that since you don't want to find room for a big amp, you also don't want find room for a big sub either.

Hifi speakers are designed to sound "nice" and should be less fatiguing than monitors.

No bass tho... At least, not at the levels the av40 can deliver

[Patch]

These are what I'm using right now - 2 speakers and a sub:

Creative Inspire 5.1 5300

vis.jpg

I want something that sounds better than these...

[makar1]

You're not going to get much improvement for £100

[Patch]

Really? I would assume that any of the ones I linked to would sound better than the 5.1's I'm using now.

I've had them for bloody years! I think I got them on ebay with a 5.1 soundcard for a desktop PC for about £15! That soundcard served me bloody well, too. 3 stereo outputs that I used for DJ'ing in Ableton. (2 "decks" and a monitor. God I had fun with that set-up!)

[makar1]

The AV40s look good if you can fit them in, otherwise the T40s are a good option for a smaller desk.

You could probably keep using your Inspire 5300 sub too for a little extra bass?

[b1sh0p]

Why are you producing with headphones?

[mdcdesign]

Please, whatever you do, do not take Makar's advice and buy more computer speakers.

Like I said, if you go second hand, you can get a REALLY nice audiophile setup for peanuts.

A few years back, I had an Arcam Alpha 7 which I picked up for £50; originally, they retailed for over £400. Later I had a Denon PMA255, then an AVR1905, and now I've got a Teac A-H300 (a good option if space is at a premium). I paid no more than £100 for any of them; the closest was the Teac at £80.

Speaker-wise, there are some INCREDIBLE deals out there on Gumtree and carboots. Look for anything by Mordaunt Short, Celestion (although not the MP-1s as they have no bass whatsoever, they're basically surround spots / monitors), Mission, KEF, Wharfedale or - if you get INCREDIBLY lucky at a car boot - Monitor Audio. The most you'll pay for a set of bookshelves is a tenner, maybe £30 for some floorstanders, simply because people have NO CLUE as to their true value. Typically they're inherited from relatives, or they bought them years ago and stopped using them "because they've got a sweet iPod dock now".

As you're in the UK, you're most likely to come across Mordaunt Short and Wharfedale, both of which are fantastic and will give you FAR better sound than any of the active monitors out there in the same price range.

Here's some results from a quick tappity-tap, local to you:

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/wh...000/1018275398

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/mo...ers/1016699659 --- holy crap, that's an INSANE deal. Those retailed for about £250 a pair. Tweeter issue is probably a crossover cap failure; if not, Monitor Audio still sells parts for them.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/mo...-amp/113155161 -- said he'll split the package, offer him £50 for the speakers

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mordaunt-S...item4d0c6d0764 -- these are the ones I'm planning on getting at some point

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wharfedale...item4ac490ddd9

Amplifier-wise, there's a REALLY nice Rotel on eBay at the moment near you:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rotel-RA-9...item27d2b80425

Some alternatives:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wharfedale...item4d0c7413ec

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marantz-am...item4ac47b0103

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-A-...item27d2ca0a7d

[makar1]

I don't see any powered speakers there.