Need help choosing nearfield HIFI speaker £400 - £500, urgent! :)
Hello, I understand that other posts have covered the same topic so I'll try make mine as specific as possible. I understand that only I can make the final decision, but would nonetheless appreciate your advice.I'm looking for a £400 - £500 pair of hifi speakers that work well nearfield, either placed on a desk (on pads) or on stands either side of my desk (either way, about 2-4ft away from my head). I would prefer passive speakers so that my amp is put to use.I had a pair of Mezzo 2's but they were too extreme for nearfield. The metal tweeters were way too harsh so close to my head, the bass was not tight, it was lacking something in the mids, and the soundstage wasn't working at all. Good for dance music and little else. I returned them today.
My setup: Computer (Spotify Premium, 320kbps mp3) > Arcam rDAC > Cambridge Audio 540A, (Chord Silver Screen cables).My style: I don't like bright speakers. I am bass heavy, but I like very tight, contolled, warm bass. I understand the 540A is a bright amp, but it's all I have to work with at the moment. The Mezzo tweeters were far too harsh at such a close distance to my head. I listen to about 60% rock, metal, blues distorted music and 40% electronic style music. I listen to music at fairly low volumes (between 5% - 30% volume), but at low volumes I like the music to sound forceful and sustained. Every now and then I like to crank the system to about 30-40%. Mostly importantly, however, I need good sound at lower volumes.The speakers will be either sat on a desk (4ft apart), or sat on stands (6ft apart), facing inwards towards me sat at my desk. They will be fairly close to the wall (about 8 inches) - this i cannot help. I have a wharfedale SW150 subwoofer. 
I would ideally get the amp from Sevenoaks, as they have been very helpful.Here is an image of my setup: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/img0984copy.jpg/
I have hitherto been interested in:KEF Q300 - I like the look of this speaker. (£450)Spendor s3/s3r - I can get hold of this for £500. But does it have the balls?
Looking at the photo I'd suggest you consider a sub / satellite setup, with the sub under the desk to the left of where your feet will be. That will negate the bass boom from the right hand speaker effectively being in a corner. Going with smaller satellites would also enable you to wall mount them, given you a bit more room all round (as opposed to the two big 'headphones' you've got at the moment!)
For a sub try the entry level one (Gemini) from BK (http://tinyurl.com/2d9xvmd) . It should be better than your Wharfedale; it's £215 and got 4 stars from WHF - I can vouch for it being nice as I got one for my father who uses it with an old pair of Kef eggs. Not a bad setup overall.
Alternatively if you could stretch the budget a bit then the Neat Iotas are well worth considering - small, sound much bigger than they have any right to, and can be wall mounted. Not sure how they'd be with your amp though, I heard them with Naim.
nb if you go with a sub put it on a paving slab to reduce floor interaction
I wonder if I would be better with something like a Dynaudio BM6A MKII Active Studio Monitor 
I wonder if I would be better with something like a Dynaudio BM6A MKII Active Studio Monitor
Yes. Do it now. You might need something to control the volume. Forum user Overdose might be able to give you some good info, he has the BM5As (I think).
I wonder if I would be better with something like a Dynaudio BM6A MKII Active Studio Monitor
I have the BM5As, as Craig has mentioned. They are superb, as are the BM6As which have more headroom with additional power. The problem is that they are rear ported, so would not be ideal.
I would recommend a monitor over hifi speakers, as they are designed to voice correctly at close listening distances, hence nearfield. Passive or active, take your pick, but you will either need a closed box design or front ported for your setup.
Actives would be better, but then you'd need a preamp controller for them, which would just add to cost (The BM6As were on a deal for £1200 with controller included).
Have a look at sites like DV247 and Dolphin Audio for various monitor options.
Could I add my beloved arcam rdac into the mix if i got active monitors?
Could I add my beloved arcam rdac into the mix if i got active monitors?
Sorry, missed your reply.
There's no reason that precludes the use of any sources with active speakers. Some actives have a built in DAC and you would not need the rDAC in that case, but with a suitable preamp to control the speakers, any source could be used.
I purchased a set of Dynaudio BM5A Mk2's. Love them. Thanks guys.
Should I put them on pads on a (quite resonant) the desk (1m from face) or on stands either side of desk (1.5m from face)?
Stands might be better, but more to reduce reflections from the desk than to reduce resonance, but that might be a problem too.
There are special pads available that lift and tilt the monitors to reduce vibrations that you can get, try some pro audio shops online.
Glad you like the speakers though. I love them.
What did you choose for a pre amp BTW?
Ok cool. I had actually ordered some stands for previous HIFI speakers before I made this change, so they're on the way either-way.At the moment I'm just going: Computer > Arcam rDAC > Sub > Speakers. Would you suggest adding a good preamp into the mix?Will
I used a pair of Dynaudio BM5A MK2 for a couple of years - it's a splendid set of monitors. 
Congratulations with your purchase.
I'm sure you will be very pleased with them!
Volume control can be handled by this stylish little thing, which is what I used:
Without a preamp, you have no way other than via the Pc to attenuate the signal to the monitors. It's easier to have some sort of problem that results in maximum signal being sent to them with potential to cause damage. Having said that, the speakers are protected and you will probably be fine.
It is also possible that you might get sound quality degradation by keeping the volume control in the digital realm, only noticeable I believe at low volumes. Something to do with the bit depth being changed to reduce volume?
I used an audio interface for some time, in fact two. The first was a UA-25 and the second a Saffire Pro 24. I moved to the DACmagic+ as it had more connectiviy options over the Saffire Pro and can be used with the monitors in standalone configuration, ie without the need for Pc USB power in the case of the UA-25. Both were very good and can be had for not a lot of money. They have an added bonus of being able to capture audio as well, so vinyl can be digitized for example and cassettes, if you wanted. They also give you a good headphone output.
Hope this helps.
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***My room has a wooden floor with rug, quite solid, not too bouncy.