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Ive given up on the idea of active studio monitors (sorry blackrainbow...) so i now am looking at what i can get in terms of good cheap bookshelf speakers. I won a very cheap sub (yamaha, so not rubbish) that had speaker outs so the built in amp handled it all meaning i didnt need any separate components. It arrived broken. Since setting up this lot, i think i actually may not need a sub, just a set of decent bookshelf speakers instead.
ChainBreaker-
When me and my mates were younger pretty much all of us had Eltax Monitors and the floor standing versions (a few had Mission 701).
Honestly for a lot of the time the Monitors were just as good as the floor standing ones. I'd have thought that 2nd hand they'd be less popular (therefore cheaper) than bigger speakers.
Bear in mind though that bookshelf speakers still aren't small, and for the best sound they'll prob need to sit in a relatively inconvenient place - that's why when I left uni I traded everything in for some single cube Bose acoustimass. Sacrilegious I know.
@aggi - the only experience I've got is one mate who has them in his kitchen and bathroom. They are good - but the environments/use aren't really conducive to beautiful sounds. Their main advantage is seamless integration and being able to listen to music as you move from one living space to another.
The bathroom doesn't have any independent control - just from the main amp in the sitting room - so I guess is just set to a sensible level. Everything is wired through the ceilings from one amp with a switch box(?) to set which rooms are playing. The kitchen has a wall mounted volume + off knob - a very simple clean instrument panel.
Unfortunately all speakers were removed from high-end homes, so assume they all cost £££s. The other bits weren't especially expensive though.
My thought would be if you can install the wiring and do everything yourself (including repair if you change your mind) then I'd just go for cheap ones. I'm sure they'll be good enough. If you need to pay someone to install them, it seems like a false economy to not go for the best you can afford.
hugo7
Yeah, I have absolutely no complaints about the sound, although I've not got much to compare it to. I bought my sister an SMSL A2 2x40w amp as well, and gave her my Sony SS176e Brooklands floorstanders. I don't think she's used it much but it hasn't exploded or broken yet.
I think I need to nick them back, they were rather nice speakers...