Help with PC speaker choice

[Nightrain]

Hey guys, first post.

 

 

So i want to build myself a PC stereo system and obviously one of the key components are the speakers so i was hoping i could get some suggestions?

 

My budget is around $800 (for the speakers)

 

I was thinking of picking up the Audioengine A5's but i don't really want to settle for them if there is a pair out there that are quite a bit better and are affordable in my price range, if not then I'd be happy to settle with the A5's.

 

Any advice welcome.

 

Thanks.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Nightrain - Check out the Era D5 (Design 5) loudspeakers. I heard them last week at the Digital Music Matters events. The build quality on these things is wonderful and they sound great. The photos on the Era site don't do these things justice at all.

 

http://signalpathint.com/index.php/Design-5-Series/

 

[Shibboleth]

I had some A5s for a while: they need careful positioning as PC speakers because they will overwhelm a desk (or corner), but they're pretty likeable.

 

I was interested in the Swans 200s reviewed by 6Moons which you might find easier to get hold of there than here in the UK. There was also a group test of similar designs (including the Audioengine A5) in a recent British magaine that favoured the Epoz Actimates, but in the end (who am I kidding?!) was pretty shocked by the Adam A3-X pair I borrowed for audition.

 

For near-field listening, they're surprisingly polite for ribbon speakers, and at low volumes they're underwhelming in a big room, but if you let that little driver loose at higher SPLs, they're majestic: incredibly revealing and transparent. 2x ribbon tweeters, 4 amplifiers and two properly active speakers for $550. I can't see them being usurped from their monitor-flanking position for a long time.

 

Unless those Era D5s are any good...?