Dorm Room Speakers

[NotreDameIrish]

Hi all, I'm new around here and looking to get speakers for my dorm.

First off, I am a complete novice when it comes to audio, and I apologize for this in advance. I have done some research so I have come up with a couple of options.

My room will be about 20 by 15. I'll be listening to music on these speakers (from an ipod or computer), and have a budget of around $500. Can't go too much higher but I am splitting it with three other guys so we might be a little flexible. Other than that I have very little preferences. Just aiming for the best quality for a good price (I know that people have different preferences in quality, but I am new to this so I will accept and trust your biases). Finally, I just want them to be loud. We'll be using them for parties so this is a necessity.

These were the options I came up with:
Pair of Yamaha NS-B310 Speakers
Pair of Monitor Audio M2 Speakers
Pair of PSB Image B5 Speakers
Pair of JBL ES30BK Speakers

How would the bass be on these speakers? Buying a sub is not in the budget for now. At least not this semester.

The part that really confused me was when I was looking at amps/receivers to get. My friend suggested getting these studio monitors that are powered. How would that effect sound quality?
KRK Rockit Powered 8 Generation 2

So in summation, which set up would you suggest that would be in this budget, and what can you tell me about an amp/receiver to work with these? I have very little/no knowledge about amps.
Any advice/opinion is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

[blackraven]

I would recommend a pair for PSB B6's. I did a review on these a few days ago on this forum. They have very good punchy bass and a very smooth sound. They play loud given that you provide ample clean power as you should for any speaker. They are very forgiving to poorly recorded music and sound good with any genre of music and you won't need a sub. I bought a pair of B-stock from www.saturdayaudio.com for $399

http://www.saturdayaudio.com/picturepages/psb_bstock.htm

The monitor audio M2's are a good deal and www.audioadvisor just put them on sale for about $280pr. This would allow you to buy a receiver and maybe a USB DAC.

If you think that the speakers will get beat up in the dorm then go for the cheaper speakers otherwise consider the B6's because they would be a good start to a quality system when you can afford to buy a good amp.

Here are a few choiices for receivers and amps-

#1 choice-Amazon has this 2ch Onkyo receiver for $150-
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-8255B-TX-8255-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B001AMSPQI/ref=pd_cp_e_2

Parts express has this budget digital amp that will sound better than most budget receivers-this would be my #2 choice.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-383

If you really want to go cheap then consider this Sherwood receiver-

http://www.amazon.com/Sherwood-RX4109-2-Channel-100-Watt-Receiver/dp/B000MBUSD6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311955185&sr=1-1

For DAC's (converts digital signal to analog)-You will probably want a USB DAC to hook to your computer unless is has a digital coax or optical out. Not all the one's listed below have USB inputs.

http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC2-HP-Black-Headphone-24bit/dp/B00442KO0Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_12
http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconudac2/

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=180-997

http://cgi.ebay.com/Audio-DIR9001-4X-TDA1543-parallel-connection-NOS-DAC-S-/270725592140?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0880b44c

Or this copy of the highly regarded Beresford DAC-

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7774&t=1

[NotreDameIrish]

Thanks for all the info. I can't seem to find the M2s for $280 on audio advisor?
Also the JBL ES30 are only around $250, and have great reviews on amazon, any input on that?

[Poultrygeist]

Since you've got plenty of smarts or you wouldn't be at ND you shouldn't have any trouble slapping them puppies together. And you won't need a sub.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-702

[chenzo76]

I have a iHomeAudio iW1 portable speaker that works with AirPlay works great but expensice $$
ihomeaudio.com

Also I have a Volcano Portable Speaker which is great for travel and $$ cheap
ispeakers.ca

I recommend both ;-)

[blackraven]

Thanks for all the info. I can't seem to find the M2s for $280 on audio advisor?
Also the JBL ES30 are only around $250, and have great reviews on amazon, any input on that?

I received the Audio Advisor catalog this week and they have a demo pair of the Monitor Audio M2's for $288.64, you probably have to call them for the demo pair.

They also have a Demo Nuforce uDAC-2-HP for $89.99

[blackraven]

Here's the link to the Monitor Audio M2's at Audio Advisor-

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1MRM2

I would take these over the JBL's any day of the week. I have not been impressed with any of the JBLs that I have heard in the last several years. But if you decide to go with the JBL's, J&R music has them on sale for $222. The Monitor Audio's should be easier to drive with a cheap amp given its 90dB sensitivity compared to the 88 of the JBL's.