Desktop speakers

Looking for something to replace my Bose Companion 3 series II desktop speakers. Appreciate style and quality with less concern for expense and am willing to spend up to 700 on a system if it sounds great and looks great and is not cluttered or taking up my whole desk. Discrete is good. Ideally I would ideally like something using AirPlay to get rid of the wire clutter but with great sound. Doesn't need to be audiophile but I want it as good as it gets still being wireless. I may accept a usb based solution if it blows away the rest for some reason. The unit I have in mind right now is the Philips SoundSphere. I do not really watch movies or play games, this is for music from my macbook pro.

Suggestions?


In any case I would hold off on buying the SoundSphere until they update it with the new ipod dock later this year so I am not in a rush here. I have looked at B&W MM-1 also and they are in first place in my head if I decide not to go wireless. Anyone with experience with Airplay and how it works please also give an opinion. Sound quality? Delay if I use it for things like Skype?

I am looking for moderate listening sitting in front of the computer. I want great sound quality and a minimalist style ideally wireless if possible but I don't want to be fighting with some audio/video delays or whatever side effects might be caused by something like airplay. I just don't know enough about airplay to know if this will cause trouble or not. I am not adverse to using USB but was hoping there is a solid wireless solution with great sound.

Both the SoundSpheres and the B&W MM-1 look very nice to me and have great reviews I just don't know what the compromises are concerning wireless vs usb. I do not want to deal with separate amp/speakers or having a separate subwoofer on the floor sort of thing, just two small speakers that magically deliver whoop ass sound look great and don't have cheap wires all over the place.

I listen to all sorts of music. hip hop, rock, all the popular music from the 80s through today, lots of latin rock, sublime, soul coughing, talking heads, enimnem, jack johnson, pink floyd, tom petty, janes addiction, chili peppers, tupac, country, everything really.

This is sort of why i tried not to think too much about the desktop speakers since the companion 5 'must' be an upgrade from the 3 and is just easier for me to justify, but you are right bose isn't the best and in the end it is better to really sort out what sounds good and also helps reduce clutter which is really what i want. I heard a youtube a/b between the companion 3 and the mm-1's and it was clear from that video the mm-1 had much richer sound but then again it all depends on the gain they set for the sub etc. Really I need to hear all of these in a same as environment to make a good decision. Too bad that is a pain in the ass. I think I need to decide on AirPlay vs USB first by going to an apple store and seeing if the airplay causes weird delay issues or not, then once I know that answer is to find whichever system actually sounds better.

Regardless of the system I want the audio to atleast be digital in, not out of the 1/8 analog plug like the companion 3 are. the companion 5 are also usb.

Well I got some B&W MM-1's up against my Bose Companion 3 series II right now and I have to admit the Bose kicks their ass all over the place. The B&W do have nicer fuller mids at reasonable listening levels but fully lacks heart pumping bass punch. It sounds small and lacking the depth. The highs are about equal with perhaps a bit more accuracy in the B&W but the pure punch of the Bose just blows it away even at lower listening levels. The Bose also have no problem pounding over 3 times harder at a point where the B&W have already fallen apart and are breaking up the bass and mids.

This brings me to the second problem with the B&W is that as their bass is sitting on the desk it makes the desk vibrate and is uncomfortable for typing and work. I know I could put them on a shelf but that is another thing to arrange or build and i prefer to just sit speakers on the desk. The point here is with the Bose i get a strong thump for bass through the floor which is much more enjoyable then a weaker buzz through my desk. Even moving the B&W to a shelf does not create more bass.

I know no one likes to admit Bose is any good but it is night and day here in my listening room. For the $150 my companion system is worth used vs the $500 the B&W is worth new it looks like a bad proposition to change anything. I am now seriously considering the Companion 5 as my upgrade path or still perhaps the SoundSphere if my experiments with airplay don't show too much delay using Airfoil.

I really wish the Bose had a bit more mid range throughout, that is where the B&W pull ahead but only within a small window of volume. This can be fixed with the EQ, however weak bass cannot. There is just no substitute for a larger subwoofer driver for moving air.

Both.

Actually I wouldn't say the B&W were accurate at low frequencies either nor does the Bose just go boom boom. I think I am starting to shift toward Audioengine.

I ended up with the AudioEngine A2 + S8 combo and they sound sweet. Took just a little EQ to get the right response for the room and it sounds better then any 2.1 speaker system I have ever heard. Plenty of power and thump without the buzz, tight and clean. Midrange just blows Bose out of the water and the sound is not artificially spacious either. Just accurate hi quality music that makes you feel like the artist is right there with you.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Now I just need a RCA adapter for the line out on the back of my XM6 dac/amp. If anyone knows where I can get one thanks again!

Agreed after trying a half dozen speakers claiming to be all that but weren't. Why would anyone get the MM-1's for example when this setup is about the same price unless you just don't care about 'real' sound.

Thinking of another upgrade

The A2 + S8 sounds great but happened across the Paradigm MilleniaOne CT and was wondering if this would be an upgrade? Anyone know how they compare? I like that they use 4" aluminum drivers rather then the A2 much smaller mid/low drivers and the build quality looks pretty sharp considering cast aluminum enclosures. I also like that the bass would be a better fit under my desk and that there would only be speaker wires going to the desktop speakers instead of having power and rca and speaker cables as the A2 have now. Price is not a concern for me as long as I have the better sound.

Wow! Much better sound for sure. I'd say the sats are about the same as the A2's maybe a little more reference sounding but the sub is much tighter, more controlled, and less boomy then the S8. For the price the AudioEngines still rule the roost but I am pretty sure the Paradigms win this one. I just wish they had a controller more suited to computer desktop audio then for use with a tv, for example add a usb in and a manual power switch/volume control. A shorter cat5 controller cable too or none at all and just have the 3.5 and usb on the sub directly.



edit: not sure what i was thinking about the sats being about the same... they blow the A2's away. it isn't even close.
Edited by groovyd - 11/15/12 at 8:37pm