# Recommendation for desk setup



## airbornflght (Dec 21, 2009)

Hi All, I'm looking to replace the speakers I have at my desk. I don't have a budget set in stone, but realistically, they're speakers for the desk, so they won't be positioned the greatest, nor will I, so there's not a lot of sense in going crazy.

Currently I have the Klipsch Pro-Media 2.1 set that I got in college. They've served me well and are still doing ok, though the subwoofer amp has all but died. 

I have a pair of Energy RC-Minis that used to serve as rear surrounds that I could re-purpose if need be, but they aren't the punchiest speakers. 

I'm looking for:

Two bookshelf type speakers that aren't picky about placement or spacing from the wall. They'll be on a desk after all.
A respectable amp to drive them - Nothing crazy
A subwoofer. Again, nothing crazy. Back when the Klipsch sub was working it was more than adequate. I don't like to overpower the speakers, just reinforce the low-end. If the bass response from the mains is good enough this could be passed over.

I listen to a decent mix of music, everything from indie, blues, atmospheric, and even rap. I have Energy Reference Candidate speakers in the living room which have a warm tone and the current Klipsch speakers at my desk that are much brighter and in your face. I wouldn't mind something in-between the two extremes. I don't want to be too picky here, they're speakers for my desk, not the most critical of listening environments.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

With no indication of budget, size restrictions or appearance preferences I can only make a few wild guesses, but for speakers what about something like the WaveCrest HVL-1? Well worth the money, for sure. If you have a bit more cash to spend the Aperion Verus Forte might be worth considering. It uses a concentric driver, which could prove beneficial for close range operations. For something different - meaning you may not even need a subwoofer - Atlantic Technology sells the H-PAS AT-2.

If you do want a sub though the Martin Logan Dynamo 300 is a good choice. For something a bit larger, the Rythmik L12 or the Paradigm Monitor SUB 12 might do the trick.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Personally I don’t see the point of getting speakers with a separate amp for desktop. Active speakers make more sense. I’d recommend the Swans M200MKII. Excellent speakers, hard to beat for the money. If your budget allows you might move up the bi-amped model, the MKIII, or the H4. Couple them with a decent 10” sub, maybe something from Craigslist, and you’ll have an awesome system.	

Regards, 
Wayne


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Wayne beat me to it! And Jon is having a sale on them right now. You can take a look at his site for a list of all his desktop systems.

http://www.chanemusiccinema.com/multimedia-desktop/hivi-acoustics


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Tonto said:


> And Jon is having a sale on them right now.


Yeah, I’m lusting for a pair of those MKIII’s ! Unfortunately, too many other priorities at this time... 

Regards, 
Wayne


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## DqMcClain (Sep 16, 2015)

I use HiVi drivers in all my DIY projects (driver manufacturer for Swan) and I can't really find a good reason to use anything else. Awesome for the price. 

But in my music studio at home, I've got a pair of Mackie CR-3 desk monitors. Very small footprint, dirt cheap ($100/pr), nice sound, and without a sub they have pretty nice bass extension. Amp is in one cabinet, and the other cabinet is passive... there's also a selector switch to tell the powered box which channel (L/R) it is, which is a nice touch. Usually in systems that size and layout, the powered box goes on the left. Sometimes that's inconvenient for cable runs. They've got 1/4" TRS ins for balanced or unbalanced signal, and a pair of RCA ins if you're not that fancy. The studio subwoofer that Mackie offers is matched to the next series up (MR series instead of CR series), and is a little pricey($350). I haven't heard it, but based on my experience with the CR's, I'd buy one without hesitation... and in fact it is on my To-Do list for that room. 

I had a pair of Fostex PM0.3B's that had a really fantastic sound to them... until the output from the powered box to the passive box went completely dead and nothing I could do would get a signal out of it. It was very depressing, and sadly I cannot recommend them.


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## DqMcClain (Sep 16, 2015)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Yeah, I’m lusting for a pair of those MKIII’s ! Unfortunately, too many other priorities at this time...
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne



Yeah, those look great, especially considering all my success with HiVi drivers. Fun fact, those tweeters (TN25) are $28/pr from PE. I've used them before, and they are really amazing even without considering the price tag. The only reason I ever use anything else is if I don't want the small square faceplate. Then I go for the SD1.1 for an extra $4. HiVi really makes DIY'ing high-quality systems a cost-effective possibility.


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes, have a look at the Chane site, you'll find all kinds of desktop goodies there.


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## DallasYbarra (Aug 3, 2015)

Aperion also has a desktop speaker called the Allaire. It has optical, analog and bluetooth inputs.


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