Best 2.1 Sound System for Under $400

[rando]

Your ears look fine on the internet.  Merely pointing out IEM's might be a solution.

 

If I might interject, the onus of this site is high end computer audio.  The responses thus have very prudently neglected to draw a line there.  Instead choosing to divulge information that will enrich your experience with any equipment.  If you stick around you will learn a lot, but it will be in the realm of audiophile level equipment.  

[Nobear]

1 hour ago, GUTB said:

Well, it's better than your motherboard audio, so not a disaster in terms of sound quality. Comfort, I have to recommend the Fostex TH-X00, 600, 610, 900. Very light on the head and soft. Bio-cellular drivers are very flat impedance curve, easy for even mediocre amps to drive well. The 900 is the only hi-fi product in the range and probably well outside your price range. The AudioQuests use the same driver. The others are strong mid-fi and can be had for around $400 or less on the used market. The HD650/600 grips your head like a vice and is very boring.

 

I checked out the Fostex's you recommended for comfort, and I appreciate learning about what's out there, but I decided I'm not willing to pay that much in the near future.

 

I ended up making a text file with only the most important specs of various headphones I was considering. I remember the HD280s feeling a bit heavy, but that may have had a lot to do with the weight of the (non-detachable) coiled cord. Anyway, I ruled out any headphones weighing 285g or more, which is what HD280s weigh.

 

I wanted to get the perspective not only of audiophiles, but of recording and mixing artists (I want to create music, not only listen to it). I saw the HD380s on a "best studio headphones" list. At first I had dismissed the HD380s, assuming they'd be too similar to the HD280s, and inherit my complaints about them. However, I now see they are much lighter (the lightest headphones on my list), and they have a detachable cable that I can replace with a lighter straight cable. I've read from multiple people that they are superior to the HD280s in both quality and comfort.

 

I think I will be satisfied for now with sound quality at least as good as that of HD280s. I know that I can expect a pretty flat frequency response, not one colored to sound subjectively better. And when I have a bigger budget, what I could do is get some nicer open-backed headphones for mixing and listening, and keep the HD380s for recording.

 

1 hour ago, rando said:

If I might interject, the onus of this site is high end computer audio.  The responses thus have very prudently neglected to draw a line there.  Instead choosing to divulge information that will enrich your experience with any equipment.  If you stick around you will learn a lot, but it will be in the realm of audiophile level equipment.  

 

I noticed mostly expensive equipment being discussed when I joined this forum, which is why I said in my OP to suggest an alternate forum if you think there's one that better matches my current budget (but is still informed). That said, I have already learned a lot from both of you, and several others on this forum. Even though I can't afford to apply it to maximum effect right now, I do really appreciate it. I'm just not ready to enter the world of true audiophile quality yet, but it's something to look forward to and motivate me.

[Nobear]

BTW very noob question here, but if I want to connect my ProMedia's through my interface to get a better signal, is there a good and cheap way to combine balanced 1/4" outputs to a single 1/8" female that I can hook the ProMedia's into? Or am I better off plugging them into the stereo 1/4" headphone output with an adapter, and manually switching out speakers for headphones?

[esldude]

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-153-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B000068O3C

 

This should do what you want.  The 1/4 are unbalanced, but the 1/8th inch stereo is unbalanced as well.  I can't remember do the Promedia speakers just need a single 1/8th stereo or is it two 1/8th inch mono (one for each speaker)?

 

If the latter the above won't work, but versions that do what you want are available.

[Nobear]

20 minutes ago, esldude said:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-153-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B000068O3C

 

This should do what you want.  The 1/4 are unbalanced, but the 1/8th inch stereo is unbalanced as well.  I can't remember do the Promedia speakers just need a single 1/8th stereo or is it two 1/8th inch mono (one for each speaker)?

 

ProMedia's use a single 1/8" stereo. I was looking at those, I just wasn't sure if splitters and breakout cables could be used in reverse. Thanks.

 

Should it still be an improvement in signal and sound quality to connect the ProMedia's this way (balanced output to unbalanced), compared with connecting them directly into the laptop?

[esldude]

14 minutes ago, Nobear said:

 

ProMedia's use a single 1/8" stereo. I was looking at those, I just wasn't sure if splitters and breakout cables could be used in reverse. Thanks.

 

Should it still be an improvement in signal and sound quality to connect the ProMedia's this way (balanced output to unbalanced), compared with connecting them directly into the laptop?

Yes the interface will have less noise, better isolation from computer activity, and higher output.

[rando]

Full disclosure: I own a set of the speakers I suggested (HiVi Swans M10).  At a previous residence I would run numerous extension cords out into my woods to have music while I worked.  In that environment they are quite enjoyable, which is the only thing important.  Surprisingly they required a fair amount of attention compared to the typical ancient farm radio that gets detailed for this duty.  

 

 I learned a lot about atypical placements to maximize the pleasure of listening.  Don't be afraid to place any or all of the speakers on different levels and play around with aiming them indirectly if needed.  The small workshop they spent most of the year in presented a fun challenge for my ability to get separation between the channels and parity.  Due to the closeness of headphones nullifying the ability to work such wizardry, quality is unavoidable.  Poo pooing has some merit here.  Common sense would be spending the majority of your budget on them if for no other reason other than to assure quality of modifications to make them usable for you.  No matter how silly or stupid the change may seem.  

 

Second disclosure: My ears suffer the same form of discomfort.  Especially with shooting ear protection which seal quite firmly.   

[Ralf11]

OP, I don't know of another audio forum (at any level) with better informed people on it.  There are quite a few engineers in the audio (mostly digital) field here.  I don't know if there are any specialists in acoustics or cognitive psychology.  (There is a woo-woo contingent  however, so you can't believe everything you read on the internet.)

 

The site is slanted towards higher end audio, but it is a good discipline for people to think about "what is the best sound one can get for a lower price point" and besides, the SQ per unit dollar is going up over time.

[Nobear]

Guys, my Sennheiser HD380s came, and I'm loving them hooked up to my M-Audio M-Track. Even though it's not what you guys were recommending, I learned a lot and took the information into account, and this is what I can comfortably afford right now. I know it's not audiophile level stuff, but the headphones are clearly superior to my multimedia speakers. The HD380s are light and give my big ears plenty of room. The grip is a bit tight for my big head, but at least they don't slide around, and so far I've been able to listen to them for quite a while without my ears getting sore, either physically or through listening fatigue. In quality, they are good enough to tell which recordings of mine are great and which suck. I hear chairs creaking that I've never heard before, and some entire albums suddenly have an unbearable noise floor, but my good recordings are worth it!

 

Now I have some questions about media players. One of you recommended Audirvana, and I've also heard of JRiver. Which one do you all think is better? And am I likely to notice the difference from iTunes with my current headphones/interface?

 

The HD380s have a flat frequency response, which I want for making music. However, for listening, I'd like to be able to use a high quality EQ, for instance to boost the bass. The iTunes EQ, apart from any quality limitations it might have, only goes down to 32 Hz. You know that's not low enough for me :P.

 

 

[patagent]

1 hour ago, Nobear said:

Guys, my Sennheiser HD380s came, and I'm loving them hooked up to my M-Audio M-Track. Even though it's not what you guys were recommending, I learned a lot and took the information into account, and this is what I can comfortably afford right now. I know it's not audiophile level stuff, but the headphones are clearly superior to my multimedia speakers. The HD380s are light and give my big ears plenty of room. The grip is a bit tight for my big head, but at least they don't slide around, and so far I've been able to listen to them for quite a while without my ears getting sore, either physically or through listening fatigue. In quality, they are good enough to tell which recordings of mine are great and which suck. I hear chairs creaking that I've never heard before, and some entire albums suddenly have an unbearable noise floor, but my good recordings are worth it!

 

Now I have some questions about media players. One of you recommended Audirvana, and I've also heard of JRiver. Which one do you all think is better? And am I likely to notice the difference from iTunes with my current headphones/interface?

 

The HD380s have a flat frequency response, which I want for making music. However, for listening, I'd like to be able to use a high quality EQ, for instance to boost the bass. The iTunes EQ, apart from any quality limitations it might have, only goes down to 32 Hz. You know that's not low enough for me :P.

 

 

I've tried both Audirvana and JRiver.  I prefer Aurdivana's SQ (and interface.  It's so much easier to upsample on Audirvana.  You can download free trial versions of both so go ahead and test it out.  I ended up purchasing Audirvana.

[Nobear]

2 hours ago, patagent said:

I've tried both Audirvana and JRiver.  I prefer Aurdivana's SQ (and interface.  It's so much easier to upsample on Audirvana.  You can download free trial versions of both so go ahead and test it out.  I ended up purchasing Audirvana.

 

I just downloaded and tried both. Yeah, there's no question about Audirvana's interface looking (and functioning) better on a Mac. I was also not impressed with JRiver's EQs. The graphic one only goes down to 60 Hz, and the parametric one has no visualization.

 

In Audirvana, I tried the EQs that come standard as AU plugins on Mac. What I discovered is that, whether I boost bass in iTunes or in an AU plugin in Audirvana, the bass starts sounding audibly distorted after not much boost. Do you know of any higher quality software EQs, or are software EQs inherently going to have that issue?

 

The main difference I seem to notice between iTunes and Audirvana, quality wise, is that in iTunes I hear occasional pops and clicks, I assume related to my computer's other activity, where in Audirvana I don't.

 

P.S.: Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have a flat response and quality than boosted bass if I have to choose. I definitely see the value in the flat response for the purposes of making music.

[Nobear]

Update: After getting my not-even-audiophile-quality HD380 studio headphones, and hearing for myself how much better they sound than the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, I'm going to return the ProMedia's to Best Buy tomorrow, as many of you were advising. I showed my mom what my favorite pipe organ track (Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor) sounded like on my headphones, and she was blown away. She already offered to buy me those headphones as an early birthday present. She is an awesome mom, for many other reasons too!

 

I now consider it worthwhile to get 305 studio monitors, as some of you recommended. I will also get a SubPac, which seems like the most cost-effective way to feel bass without a proper listening room. I think Amazon is good about returns if I happen to not be satisfied.

 

I will eventually want to tune my room up to optimize my 305s, which should hopefully be easier without having to worry about a subwoofer.

[Nobear]

When I get the SubPac, what's going to be the best way to connect my gear to my M-Audio M-Track? Does it really make a difference whether I connect the SubPac to the dual mono 1/4" studio monitor outputs, and swap between headphones and monitors on the 1/4" stereo headphone output, or vice versa? Both outputs have independent level control.

 

Or since the SubPac is only rated for up to 32 Ohm headphone output, maybe I should hook up the headphones to the headphone out, and the SubPac to the monitor out, and connect the actual monitors to the SubPac out? That would avoid plugging and unplugging cables frequently, and it seems powered studio monitors would need a boosted signal less than HD380s would. I just hope this won't degrade the signal quality too much, what do you think?

[STC]

23 minutes ago, Nobear said:

Does it really make a difference whether I connect the SubPac to the dual mono 1/4" studio monitor outputs, and swap between headphones and monitors on the 1/4" stereo headphone output, or vice versa? Both outputs have independent level control.

 

Please experiment both and choose whatever sounds the best to you.

[stuartplab]

 JBL LSR305 Studio Monitor by JBL Professional would be my first choice.