Small desk top speakers for my £100 nearfield system

[raysablade]

I'm building a £100 system for my Office and have so far blown £31 on an Amp and a £9 on a DAC. Source will be my iPhone 13. I've already got the necessary cables.

That leaves £60 for speakers to sit on my desk. The amp sounds sweet and clean enough but doesn't have a lot of grunt so efficiency is a must. Not so much for ear splitting volume as a bit of headroom.

I'd thought about Gallo micros but guess they would be too compromised and a little outside budget. Another thought, Q Acoustics 2010s, are too big.

I know it is pushing it but what other; small, cheap, reasonably efficient and, having seen the Gallos, acceptably pretty, speakers should I look for?

 

[chris geary]

mission ms-50

 

[lawrence001]

I use these on my desk, they didn't sell worth contacting seller?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19521911...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

[linnfomaniac83]

The Q Acoustics work really well on a desktop, in fact, they sounded at their best by far when I had them in a near field desktop setup (mine were actually 3010, but they’re very similar). I drove mine with a Linn Majik and various DACs connected to an iMac.

If the Q Acoustics are too big, look for a pair of Dali Zensor Pico, they’re brilliant little things.

 

[Mr Pig]

My son had a pair of little Mission speakers sat on a shelf above his desk. While they didn't sound anything special from the other side of the room, sitting at the desk with them a couple of feet away they sounded amazing. Like really fantastic headphones.

You want speakers that are efficient, sound good at low volume and are clear and detailed.

 

[raysablade]

Thanks all. I can wander down the to Richer sounds to visually gauge the size the current iteration of the Q Acoustics. My recollection is that looks wise they punch above their weight too.

I will try EBay for the others. Early trials with some Kef C series are promising, lovely sound regardless of the cost.

 

[flatpopely]

JBL 104. I use them and they are superb, plus you can sell the amp you have!

 

[linnfomaniac83]

Thanks all. I can wander down the to Richer sounds to visually gauge the size the current iteration of the Q Acoustics. My recollection is that looks wise they punch above their weight too.

I will try EBay for the others. Early trials with some Kef C series are promising, lovely sound regardless of the cost.

The newer Q Acoustics models are larger, the 3010i is about 50% larger than the 3010 iirc.

 

[miktec]

Thanks all. I can wander down the to Richer sounds to visually gauge the size the current iteration of the Q Acoustics. My recollection is that looks wise they punch above their weight too.

I will try EBay for the others. Early trials with some Kef C series are promising, lovely sound regardless of the cost.

I use a pair of Q A 2020i in the shed - great they are and cost little at the time... they are on wide shelves and definitely not desktop material.
Also auditioned the 2010i and they were much smaller but slightly less bass, could easily have been used on a desk (from memory)
Loads on eBay at the mo ....

 

[sam_cat]

Dali Lektor 1's

 

[raysablade]

The 2010i's do seem to occupy a sweet spot in terms of size and performance they seem to come with feet for the desk too. And doable in budget.

That said i do have a soft spot for Dali speakers and those Lektors are tiny.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

The 2010i's do seem to occupy a sweet spot in terms of size and performance they seem to come with feet for the desk too. And doable in budget.

That said i do have a soft spot for Dali speakers and those Lektors are tiny.

I can imagine you’ll be very pleased with both. I’ve used the 3010 and Zensor Pico (predecessor it the Lektor), both do amazing space and detail for their price when used in a near field setup.

 

[raysablade]

I can imagine you’ll be very pleased with both. I’ve used the 3010 and Zensor Pico (predecessor it the Lektor), both do amazing space and detail for their price when used in a near field setup.

Richer sounds have the 3010, which seems to be the same size as the 2010s, new, for £100. With a six year warranty that's quite compelling value.

I can only assume that the"i" 3010i stands for a steroid injection. Significant bulking up at that point.

1010i 215 x 195 x 150
2010i 235 x 203 x 150
3010 235 x 200 x 150
3010i 253 x 252 x 150

 

[sam_cat]

Dali Lektor 1 260 x 146 x 211 (HxWxD)

 

[MJS]

I use a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0s on my office setup. Small and perfectly formed and do a tidy job.
145 x 236 x 165mm

 

[linnfomaniac83]

I use a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0s on my office setup. Small and perfectly formed and do a tidy job.
145 x 236 x 165mm

I don’t know why I forgot these… I’m listening to a pair right now in my parent’s garden bar, they’re amazing for the size and price, even when stuffed high up in corners… and yes, they do get a good kicking when playing backing tracks along with that Marshall stack!

 

[linnfomaniac83]

Richer sounds have the 3010, which seems to be the same size as the 2010s, new, for £100. With a six year warranty that's quite compelling value.

I can only assume that the"i" 3010i stands for a steroid injection. Significant bulking up at that point.

1010i 215 x 195 x 150
2010i 235 x 203 x 150
3010 235 x 200 x 150
3010i 253 x 252 x 150

They’re impressive things, much more so when used in your specific use case, as I used them too. They can sound a bit lost at the other end of a large-ish room unless you’re giving them a hoofing, but up close, they’re superb.

Don’t discount the Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 though, they’re a remarkably full/warm sounding speaker for such a small box. I have a pair of Quad L-ites, which are a similar size but much more expensive, the Wharfedale don’t have the quality of finish that the Quads have, but they’re the better speaker. The Quads sound very bandwidth limited and opaque by comparison.

 

[notaclue]

I use JBL Control 1 for my PC system. Classic mini speakers. Small and, in particular, very shallow (13 cm deep). I couldn't find any vaguely hi-fi speakers that were so shallow. They are plastic, but very well made and hefty. £69 on Amazon.

 

[Fergus]

I had a set of Acoustic Energy Compact 1’s that I used with a Topping TP21 that sounded great considering I only paid £10 for them. https://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/support/discontinued-products/discontinued-compact/

They also sounded none too shabby in my main system whilst I was awaiting the arrival of my Boenicke W5se’s.

 

[garyi]

T

Dali Lektor 1's

That keyboard looks thocky