# Looking to build budget 2.1 system



## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

Hello everyone!

I am a student and I do various music mixing and listening at all volumes and I am looking for a nice 2.1 system for my dorm room (relatively small). I currently am using Bose companion 3 setup but I find it to be slightly lacking in the low end and with some distortion in the higher volume ranges. I play a lot of dance music featuring lots of synths as well as the occasional "dubstep" style song (heavy, modulated baselines). I am looking for a system which outperforms my Bose system in this respect and offers me a nice low end, full sound. The only source of audio will be from a computer. For an amplifier/receiver unit I do not require any special features other than 2.1 sound and relatively good sound quality. My budget is around 500-1000 dollars (student) and I have no problem buying used or refurbished gear or from places like eBay. I would love some advice or community input on what I should get that will serve me a nice full bassy sound for these types of music. If any other additional info is required or if I have left something out, please let me know. Thanks for the help!


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## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

I should also mention that the speakers themselves would have to be of the bookshelf variety as space is at a premium, but any size sub will do as I have plenty of under-desk space. Thanks again!


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
For 1000 Dollars, you could put together a really nice 2.1 setup. Especially, if also looking at used gear. I would highly recommend checking out Stereophile Magazine as they have a whole Section devoted to value gear and there are many Reviews there.

Just of the top of my head, I would look at used Parasound, Adcom, Rotel, and Acurus Amplifiers, Preamplifiers, and Integrated Amplifiers. Audiogon is a great place to look. For Speakers, I would seriously consider JBL Monitors from Sweetwater (Professional Audio Website) And for a Subwoofer, if running out of money, the Dayton Sub-120 from Parts Express provides stellar value.

Much of how your System comes together is predicated on if you feel comfortable spending all the way up to $1000. Also, choosing an Integrated Amplifier will save money. With these things being the case, you could possibly afford an amazing Subwoofer like the HSU VTF-2 MKIII.
Cheers,
JJ


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## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

Hey, thanks for the reply. The JBL LSR2325P look like what I am looking for, but looking at the back they seem to have XLR inputs instead of the speaker wire terminals I am normally used too. I was looking at buying an old used amp but none of the ones I looked at seemed to have XLR outs. I guess my problem now lies with trying to find a quality amp with XLR outs for around 200 dollars or less, though i have no problem buying a used one.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I believe the Behringer EP4000 would meet your needs as I am almost positive it has XLR's. Also, check out Crown Amplifiers as they have some Class D Amplifiers that are in that range. 
Cheers,
JJ


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

IanGutz said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I am a student and I do various music mixing and listening at all volumes and I am looking for a nice 2.1 system for my dorm room (relatively small). I currently am using Bose companion 3 setup but I find it to be slightly lacking in the low end and with some distortion in the higher volume ranges. I play a lot of dance music featuring lots of synths as well as the occasional "dubstep" style song (heavy, modulated baselines). I am looking for a system which outperforms my Bose system in this respect and offers me a nice low end, full sound. The only source of audio will be from a computer. For an amplifier/receiver unit I do not require any special features other than 2.1 sound and relatively good sound quality. My budget is around 500-1000 dollars (student) and I have no problem buying used or refurbished gear or from places like eBay. I would love some advice or community input on what I should get that will serve me a nice full bassy sound for these types of music. If any other additional info is required or if I have left something out, please let me know. Thanks for the help!


hey ian. Here`s what I recommend:

Speakers: http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=2&P_ID=20916&PT_ID=295

I`d get the speakers first and then decide later whether it`s really worth it to add a subwoofer. They are powered studio monitors so there isn`t much need for a receiver - they`ll hook up straight to your computer or PS3 etc. They use a long throw 5" woofer that'll really surprise you with its bass output in a small room, and have adjustable tone controls in case the smaller room adds too much bass or treble (I suspect you'll be best off leaving treble alone, and lowering the bass)

If at some point you do decide to add a sub, I recommend importing this from USA:

http://www.rythmikaudio.com/FV12_specs.html

With bass extension down to 14hz, in a small room, it'll be pretty much overkill :bigsmile: - and i'm pretty sure it's got all the circuitry needed to blend it in seamlessly to mains without a receiver. A variable phase dial and an adjustable crossover are useful things to have 

EDIT: and then.. i read the rest of the thread and see that Jungle Jack has already recommended the LSR2325Ps ( i do recommend getting from axe music so as to avoid any unwanted border duties)



> Hey, thanks for the reply. The JBL LSR2325P look like what I am looking for, but looking at the back they seem to have XLR inputs instead of the speaker wire terminals I am normally used too. I was looking at buying an old used amp but none of the ones I looked at seemed to have XLR outs. I guess my problem now lies with trying to find a quality amp with XLR outs for around 200 dollars or less, though i have no problem buying a used one.


An amp won't be necessary with a powered studio monitor and neither will you need to use the XLR inputs. All you need is a simple 3.5mm to RCA converter cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2

This will hook it up to your laptop with an unbalanced connection to the sound card. A balanced connection will likely have less gain and so will require you to pick up a preamp - which is a lot of effort with little if any reward.


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## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

Thanks for the great suggestions, looks like i'll pick up a set of JBLs then. I am just wondering how i will hook it all up between two speakers and a sub when the only output from my computer that I have is a single 3.5mm jack, I am using a MacBook pro if that makes any difference.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

IanGutz said:


> Thanks for the great suggestions, looks like i'll pick up a set of JBLs then. I am just wondering how i will hook it all up between two speakers and a sub when the only output from my computer that I have is a single 3.5mm jack, I am using a MacBook pro if that makes any difference.


3.5mm to RCA cable will connect the macbook to the sub.
RCA to RCA cable will connect the sub to the speakers via line level outputs.


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## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

Great. I'm going to go with the JBL monitors and the matching 2310SP sub. I am having trouble finding a Canadian dealer that has them in stock for the right price. Monoprice looks to be the ticket for the cables though, Thanks for the heads up.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

IanGutz said:


> Great. I'm going to go with the JBL monitors and the matching 2310SP sub.


I don`t think the JBL sub is a very good deal. It`s expensive, but only uses a 10" driver and has no bass below 30hz despite being vented. 

Besides online dealers, try calling around your local instrument/pro audio shops. The internet's not the only place to shop! :rubeyes:


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## IanGutz (Oct 22, 2011)

GranteedEV said:


> I don`t think the JBL sub is a very good deal. It`s expensive, but only uses a 10" driver and has no bass below 30hz despite being vented.
> 
> Besides online dealers, try calling around your local instrument/pro audio shops. The internet's not the only place to shop! :rubeyes:


I seem to have quite a bit of trouble using JBL's website to locate a close dealer to me. Also why not the JBL sub? the price seems about what I want to spend and I would assume it is designed to compliment the speakers as it is from the same series. Basically it seems like the ideal sub for the price to me, I really do not want to end up with a sub that sounds out of place with my speakers, and if I choose this setup, I also need one that will work without a receiver unit.


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## Thunder240 (Mar 28, 2011)

Hey Ian, like you I'm also a student. I've got a 2.1 system that cost about $2000 to build, which I realize is about double what you want to spend, but there are a few inexpensive components in the system which are worth you're consideration.

First of all, I'm using an Emotiva XDA-1 DAC, which is really an awesome piece of gear and only costs $300 (occasionally marked on sale for $250). See this thread where it competes admirably against a DAC that costs more than ten times that amount! (www.hometheatershack.com/forums/two-channel-audio/49890-weiss-dac2-vs-emotiva-xda-1-a.html) If you plan to play digital content, the quality of your DAC is really important. The DAC that is built into your mp3 player or your computer is pretty poor compared to most any separate DAC that's on the market, and you'll hear a big difference in the detail of your music once you bypass your computer's built-in DAC and use a separate. (There are 4 ways to do this that I know of -- (1) if your DAC has a USB or Firewire input, connect the DAC to the computer using a USB or Firewire cable; (2) if your computer has a mini-optical out, as current Macs do, run a mini-optical to optical cable; (3) if neither, get a soundcard that has an optical or digital coax out; get an Apple Airport Express and play your music wirelessly, discussed below.) 

Second, I've listened to several budget high performance subs, and in my opinion Outlaw offers the cheapest that can still compete against the big boys. One of the previous posters mentioned the Rythmik F12, which is is actually the sub that I'd like to upgrade to eventually once I've saved up the money, but if you're trying to make every dollar count, I'd say pick a sub from Outlaw's lineup that meets your budget. Although they aren't quite is musically pristine as Rythmik, they still sound really good playing both music and movies, and they have plenty of power. Dr Hsu (the designer of Hsu subs) has consulted for Outlaw, so several of their subs bare a marked resemblance to Hsu subs. I agree with a previous poster that I don't think you are getting your money's worth with JBL. Not that JBL subs are bad -- far from it -- but you are paying for a name brand. 

Third, if you'd like the ability to play content wirelessly, such as from a smartphone or a laptop, the Apple Airport Express has become hugely popular with audio enthusiasts. It is a wifi router/network extender that also has the ability to provide transport for digital content via a mini-optical port using. It outputs a 16 bit / 44.1 khz PCM signal, so as long as you have the Airport Express hooked up to your DAC with a mini-optical to optical cable, you can play digital music over your home wifi network using "Airplay", and the sound quality is as good as if you were playing music from your computer using a soundcard with an optical out. The two drawbacks are (1) bit rate / sample rate are limited to 16/44.1, so you can't use it to play hi-res music, and (2) it requires that you use iTunes to play your music, although Apple has made the Airplay spec available to developers, so its possible that there are 3rd party applications that are Airplay-compatible that I'm not aware of. You can find an Airport Express for $60-80 on eBay, or $99 from an Apple Store.

Lastly, a previous poster also mentioned Audiogon. I agree that this is definitely a good place to pick up used gear for a reasonable price. They have several policies in place to protect both buyer and seller, and they have features that allow you to negotiate with sellers.

Goodluck!


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

+1 on Stereophile and Audiogon. I'm using powered monitors (mains and center), and I wouldn't consider my system to be beer budget. I have Dynaudio monitors and LOVE them. 

The only caveat I would add if using powered monitors is to make sure that they are acceptable for music/movie playback. _Some_ (and I am not familiar enough with the JBLs to comment) can be quite dead/analytical sounding as they are primarily designed to be used in a recording studio. What a recording engineer wants to hear _may_ not be to your liking.

Someone mentioned Emotiva. +1 on their amps, too. They have good subs at a good price, too. They also sell speakers (and may have released their powered monitors by now) but I have NOT heard the speakers.


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