Quezac

Thank you all for your further comments and recommendations. Looking at the scarce availability of really diminutive bookshelves, and stumbling upon the Adam Artist 6 after Ajax pointed to this brand, I figured I might also consider small & thing floorstanding speakers which I'd put right next to my desk. I'll have to scan the market again, but for the moment I've spotted the Adam Artist 6 (amplified and the smallest), the System Audio Saxo 30 and XP30, the Monitor Audio Radius 270. I would have to deal with the lack of front power button, which wouldn't easily be accessible anyway given they're floorstandings. Instead I'd have to resort using a pre-amp as a "soft power off" button, as was suggested earlier.

Thank you both for your additional inputs. Indeed anwaypasible, the caveat is that we don't know upon which criterion the recommended power rating was decided. So I guess if one intends to listen at low levels, using a small amplifier should work. The main issue with the speakers you recommend DigiPete, aside from their unconventional design, is that their power button is located in their back. Their diminutive size is a good point, though.

Thank you all for your additional comments and calculations. The usability issue I see with preamps is that there is no way to turn off the speakers. Although at least it'd be possible to turn off the pre-amp that feeds them sound. The Audioengine HD6 with a remote control could be a workaround; but they seem a bit large. I've read comments on forums about upcoming HD3, however I couldn't find the source of these rumours. Browsing review websites, I stumbled on the Temple Audio Bentam Gold (25W @ 4 ohms ; 190GBP) and the Ampstatic Mini-1 (< 20W @ 4 ohms ; 100GBP) amplifiers. With their size and design, they almost fit the bill - if not for their limited power, they'd seem very good for my intended use. Yet, something puzzles me. The Hifipig review of an earlier Amptastic Mini-T reads: The writer further commented: In a later article, he said of it: Then, about the Mini-1, its successor, the reviewer explained: The MBL 116F he refers to are these ones: What gives? I don't want to ignore the arguments you have given me earlier, but at the same time, it does seem like a lot of people are using these kinds of feeble amps to drive powerful speakers; with good results in the long term. Users reported using the Mini-1 with Wharfedale Super Diamonds and Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3, the Mini-T with Diapason Emeras, etc. One founder of Amptastic said a Mini-T would work fine with Q2010i or Q2020 speakers and implied what mattered most was the sensitivity of the speakers ("90db or above"). So whilst I find the rating of similar Chinese amps up to 50wpc quite dubious, it appears possible from real world usage that such diminutive amps are competent for driving bigger stuff. This user on AV Forums reported having compared the earlier Mini-T to a much older yet much more powerful amplifier, the Quad 405-2 capable of outputting 100W @ 8 ohms, and declared that "no audible difference whatsoever was detected, provided that the 17 V(peak to peak) limit set by the Mini-T amplifier was not exceeded."

Thank you for welcoming me, Scott Yes, I forgot to mention it: I initially looked at Audioengine's A2+, as they seemed small, neat and quite feature-packed. What turned me off was the power and volume buttons both located on the back. Since I'll be using my computer as a source, I could deal with the practical absence of volume button. But I do prefer to have a readily access to the power button, so that I can cut the power (in addition to muting the volume) and better avoid "accidents"... sensitive hearing again. The A2+ have an auto sleep mode feature but this isn't completely powering off, and AFAIK this also means auto-power-on, thus not so safe for my necessary paranoia. I'm also unsure about how long it takes to auto-power-on, I've read it's 30 seconds for the Kef X300A... too long for my taste, I'm a rather impatient one. The Vanatoo Transparent One's controls are also all on the back; and a small detail: they aren't available outside of the USA. Their quality looks really impressive though, as even Noaudiophile raved about them. There's also the Emotiva Airmotiv 3B, which are small and sport controls on top of the right speaker. Their price is sweet. But the power button seems to perform On and Standby only, no real Off; they're less easy to source (and return or RMA) and their design is less appealing. So well... I've ruled out all these speakers as of now, but in the back of my mind I know how appealing their "plug & play" philosophy is. I am also taking good note of your tips regarding using more powerful amps than required on little speakers, cheers.

Hello all, This is my first message here. I'm a beginner looking to invest in a serious 2.1 desktop setup which hopefully will last me long. My post is about matching an amp with speakers, even though said amp looks too feeble on the paper. After spending hours researching the subject, I've narrowed my choice down to two potential setups, including this one: Monitor Audio Radius 90 speakers + Teac AI-301DA amplifier to drive them. For the Radius, M.A.'s website specifies: "Recommended Amplifier Requirements: 30-100 Watts" (at 8 ohms). For the Teac, it is presented as: "Maximum output: 30W + 30W (8 ohms, 20Hz to 20kHz, JEITA)"; "Rated output: 22W + 22W (8 ohms, 20Hz to 20kHz, THD 0.1%, JEITA)". (Cached page) ... though weirdly, on another Teac website, the effective output is rated at 20W + 20W (8 ohms, 1kHz, THD 10%, JEITA) or 15W + 15W (8 ohms, 1kHz, THD 1%, JEITA). The specs of the amplifier and speakers somehow match if I consider the max output, but my question is: does "maximum output" here mean peak output which can't be sustained for long times? Because I find it weird that such an amplifier wouldn't able to drive two relatively simple bookshelf speakers with ease... What do you think? Additionally, I stumbled upon this review which said about the Radius: I'm not sure what the reviewer meant by "realistic" and what an underpowered amp would mean in this case. My own reality, though, is that my tolerance to sound is much lower than average people (but I need good quality sound); so if using an underpowered amp up to, say, 55dB maximum won't cause any damage (clipping?) to speakers... then it's fine by me. So do you folks think such a setup would work for me, that it wouldn't cause any issue in the long term for someone who will never listen to music at loud levels? Or is this a wrong setup, and I need either a more powerful amp or less demanding speakers? My alternative (and quite cheaper) setup is the Monitor Audio Radius 45 speakers + Teac AI-101DA amplifier. The AI-101's rated output is 20W @ 4 ohms, so I guess at the 8 ohms required by the speakers, it would be around half of that value, so 10W... whilst the Radius 45 are rated for 15-50W amps. Eh. Same issue I guess. Thank you for the explanations or suggestions you could provide me with! (Background, for those wondering why I went with the above prospective setups): I have high space constraints and don't want to gamble anymore (my Logitech kit died some time ago, as did a second-hand Creative setup before that), so I left out lauded bargains from Pioneer, Micca, JBL, etc. for the speakers and Topping, SMSL, etc. for the amps (too bad because their diminutive form factor is exactly what I wanted). Loudness, on the other hand, is not a preoccupation. I will never listen to music at loud levels - always at relatively low ones. Bass are appreciated but not critical. I'm looking for a small footprint amp, with power button and volume control both on the façade. DAC is optional.