Speaker rabbit hole.

I work at home all the time now, so thought so better speakers on my desk would be nice to listen to all day. So I bought some Edifier R1280DBs, mainly from some mentions on this here forum.

Wow, those are so much better than my old bluetooth speaker, I thought. I wonder what something “better” would be like?

A pair of Q Acoustics M20s turned up. Wow, etc…..

Now I’m looking at separates, the WiiM Pro Plus, with some “better” speakers.

Am I going to really see a lot of difference to go any further, or just be poorer?

If its just for your desk then buy a Wim mini streamer and be done, if your M20’s are sitting directly on your desk then perhaps some simple speaker risers so they are firing up towards you. You may notice the difference with better speakers but is it worth it?, do you like the sound?

Unless you wish to go all in and buy Neumann KH120 ii , desk stands and the new Wim streamer for £2500 all in

I have £4k of desktop system in front of me as I type this, in my living room with £2.5k of acoustic treatment but I’m just as happy listening to what comes out of my 15 yr old Audioengine A2 and echo dot in the kitchen as I am now

Wim Mini streamer – good match for your M20’s and only £90 , it doesn’t have the best dac but still an upgrade over your original listening kit

New Wim streamer with screen below – good match for your M20’s and comes with a screen for £330 – if you upgrade in future this will fit right in to whatever active speaker system you choose

It’s law of diminishing returns. A £100 speaker/amp combo sounds way better than a £50 setup, a £200 setup sounds a bit better than a £100 setup, a £500 setup sounds a little better than a £200 setup and a £1000 setup sounds a tiny bit better than a £500 setup. Where the value for money ends is up to you – my nice stereo is probably £1500 worth but I still consider the £300 office setup perfectly decent

Above a certain price point there’s barely a hare between them

As above… I have some relatively cheap creative T20s for my PC desktop and they are good enough that I can’t justify upgrading them.

My PC desk is also in my living room so the PC and TV also feed into a Tangent BTII amp, which in turn feeds a pair of tannoy bookshelf speakers and a paradigm 10inch 100w active subwoofer for proper music/movie duties.

It’s law of diminishing returns.

…

Above a certain price point there’s barely a hare between them

Agreed, but I think you’re both being optimistic with your figures.  Once you hit “good enough” for your ears, all the money in the world isn’t going to reach “better.”

I’ve spent thousands on AV gear over the years.  Currently the best sound system in the house is probably three fifths of a ~15-year old Creative 5.1 system sat on my computer desk.

You’ve hit the boundary for diminishing returns, in my out of date opinion. There isn’t a perfect setup. The same CD/source will sound different on whatever else you try.

Wiim are launching a new streamer which has a display on it. Think it’s called the Wiim Ultra and it’s not much more than the Wiim amp iirc. There’s also a Wiim Amp Pro being launched too but I’ve not seen more more info than that.

Speakers… take your ears to a shop and demo some, but bear in mind they will sound different in the shop to how they sound in your home.

I think it also depends on the type of music you listen to – for example hip hop and some dance music really needs a decent ability to produce bass to sound good, whereas a lot of classical music barely sounds different with a subwoofer on or off – but likely would sound more different with a better high/mid speaker set

The M20’s begin to roll off at 40hz to 50hz and have a relatively flat frequency response so for a small speaker they are perfectly decent for the money with good bass – just make sure they are set up pointing towards your ears, don’t wast any £££ chasing the last 5% – that way lies madness for a desk system.

I’d be perfectly happy/pleased with them on a desk.

Above a certain price point there’s barely a hare between them

^^^ this deserves more recognition, given the title of the thread 👏

this deserves more recognition

You’re quite correct and I totally missed it, I assumed a typo.

(But that’s just, like, my lapinion, man.)

Agreed, but I think you’re both being optimistic with your figures. Once you hit “good enough” for your ears, all the money in the world isn’t going to reach “better.”

I dunno, there’s “good enough” and then beyond that there’s “yeah that’s better but bollocks to paying an extra £200 (or whatever) for it”.

There’s also the inevitable march of time. Like most people my hearing is getting worse year on year. If I paid the extra to get something a bit better 10 years ago can I still tell the difference now?

Audio pro outlet was this weekend, if you subscribe they will let you know when on next.  I ve bought a few pairs and only damaged box c half price, still going strong.

Thanks all. Might just stick with what I have.

Sorry to intrude but looking for recommendations of hifi racks, preferably wood. A tad shell shocked at the prices I’ve seen so far!

What are you actually looking to accommodate? Cd player and/or turntable with amplifier/receiver? Just buy something cheap and stick a paving slab or (better looking, TBF) a marble chopping board under the stuff that has moving bits. It’ll help with vibration damping.

To be honest, unless you have some serious gear, Hi Fi racks are just not worth the coin. You do however want something solid as Del has said, basically anything heavy will work. I’ve got my CD player on an offcut of granite work surface (the bit cut out of the sink!) It was free but an audiophile version of basically the same thing would have been around £200.

Just make sure that your speakers are not on the same surface as your source gear and preferably on stands at ear height when you are listening

Rack: whatever is going cheap on eBay that someone paid £££ for but now their wife is telling them to bin because it looks ugly.

My stuff is now hidden.

BTW, great upgrade for the desktop folk is a subwoofer, especially if you’re using smaller speakers that don’t push out much under 50/60hz. You can build quite cheaply if you’re into that kind of thing. I built a small one with a 5.25” driver that makes quite a difference.

Thanks folks. Currently using a cabinet for a CD player and amp. Unfortunately the new amp won’t fit and is currently sitting on the floor! Only wanting 3 shelves but the nice wood ones are silly money. Will keep looking around especially at alternatives, certainly wouldn’t have thought of a granite worktop!

Yes, my desktop has had a sub for many years and it’s great for Youtube with headphones. Speakers are tiny but the sub is 20cm square and packs a punch.

I used to have all my separates including turntable and speakers on dedicated spiked stands. Could I tell any difference in sound quality? No, of course not

Things that make a noticeable difference?

Try turning the speakers upside down, try putting them further apart, point them across the room rather than along, draw the curtains. All these things are noticable.

To be honest the biggest improvement was moving to an isolated house in the country, I turn the volume up to 11 and the music just sounds **** awesome

Get a pair of active dynaudio BM15’s and find out what music feels like  😉

https://dynaudio.com/professional-audio/classic-bm-range

edit ah yeah and some crystals….

(But that’s just, like, my lapinion, man.)

Oh, I say! Well done that man! 👏🏻🎩

If you upgrade from the M20s, to something else then please post back, I have them hooked up to a wiim pro (non plus) in my kitchen and they do a great job. Doesn’t stop me checking out Kef lax ii metas from time to time though!