ketch90

I am a college student, and I was thinking of upgrading my speaker setup. I currently have the JBL Creature II, which I had bought a few years ago for about $80. I have been looking around for speakers that are about $200 or less, but no more than $250. I am debating whether I should get the Swan M200 ($200), the M-Audio Studiophile AV40 ($150), or the JBL Control 2P ($200). Does anyone have any suggestions? I am hoping to get a 2.0 system, not 2.1.

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Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, in our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes. But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a man in black.

Bear Cub

Even at a similar price point, neither the M-Audios or JBL's will hold a stick to the Swans. Hi Vi drivers are used in some high quality (not just high dollar) speakers, M-Audio are just some generics, JBL is all in the name.

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Living in the United Socialist States of America.

vanblah

Just a quick note: M-Audio is not just some generic. The company is owned by Avid ... AKA Digidesign. Maker of Pro-tools. The (unfortunately?) de facto standard for digital recording.

Not that THAT is any reason to purchase something. But there is a lot more to M-Audio than people think.

ketch90

That is one of the reasons I am considering those. I had worked with M-Audio and JBL studio monitors in high school, and they had seemed to be fairly good quality. Of course, those were larger monitors, and went through a mixer first. I on the other hand do not have said mixer so I cannot split my 1/8 audio out into a left and right 1/4 input for them.

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Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, in our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes. But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a man in black.

vanblah

1/8" to 1/4" Y cable: Hosa CMP Y Cable 1/8 Inch TRS to Dual 1/4 Inch TS Cable at AmericanMusical.com

or

1/8" to RCA: Hosa Cable Stereo Minijack to Dual RCA Adapter Cable at AmericanMusical.com

PulpMind

Um, hi!
I do pro hi-fi sound for a living so I have some thoughts... but...
I don't know much about speakers in your price range. Personally, I would suggest saving a little longer and spending $200 on *each* speaker (so ~$400 total). You'll be happier with them now and after college they'll still sound great. Mackie just released the MR5 (and MR8 for more $), and they promise to be AMAZING (given their reputation with the HR series).

As far as the ones you listed...
JBL is overrated. Most of their products are crap and sound like shit. You will not get what you're paying for. Spend the same amount of money on another company and get something better.
M-Audio is great. These speakers look alright. They make high-end quality stuff in the mid-range price range, if you want to spend that extra $100
Swan is not a company I'm terribly familiar with, but the spec sheet looks the best for your price range. I say go with them. Great frequency response for the money, plus they just plain look pretty.
You should also look into some Alesis speakers in your price range. They have a great reputation all around.

***
Next topic.. getting your signal to your speakers. Since you're probably not in the market for a sound card with good outputs (the ones built into desktop/laptops are notoriously noisy) (if/when you are in the market, M Audio and Edirol make pretty good basic L/R USB ones for ~$100), then doing the 1/8" --> 1/4" split is currently your best bet. BUT!!! Do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES use Hosa cables! Use Hosa and get hosed! They sound like utter shit and will break within a year. Spend the extra $5 and get ANYTHING else. Spend the extra $50 and be a believer.
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Most of all... if there's a place where you live that you can go and test out some of these in person, then do it! You're the best judge of what sounds good TO YOU. Try to avoid Guitar Center as they're bound to hook up $1,000 studio monitors to fucking Hosa cables. But even that is better than just looking at numbers and pictures on the internet.

Congrats on the upgrade! Good luck

vanblah

I, too, worked in pro-audio sales for a couple of years. I've been a professional musician for more than that.

I've had some Hosa 1/4" insert (TRS 1/4" Y) cables for about 10 years now and they haven't broken yet. I can't hear the difference between them and anything else.

I spent the extra money on some 10' 1/4" patch cables from Monster one of which died in a month. My Hosa patch cables are still working just fine; some of them are from the mid-90s. I've also got some boutique (small local company--out of business) cables that work fine, too.

When it comes to an ANALOG signal it's very unlikely that anyone is going to be able to actually HEAR the difference on normal home-quality equipment. DIGITAL signals may be a different story.

Don't believe the hype ... believe your ears.

Fly

glad i found this thread,keep talkin' fellas........i'm listening too........

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BASTARD

SterlingStudios

Bear Cub

Can't say I agree with you there on the digital vs. analog. There is a MUCH greater discrepancy between analog signals/interconnects than with digital. Unless of course you and I have very different definitions of "normal" home audio equipment. I've done about a million A/B comparisons through my digital coax connections with VERY minimal difference between properly constructed cables, whereas the forwardness of the midrange, soundstaging, imaging, etc, all varied dramatically with the analog inputs. Enough so that I could work around the strengths and weaknesses of an amp by changing just how I wound my interconnects without even changing the materials.

__________________
Living in the United Socialist States of America.

vanblah

My point with digital had more to do with jitter (which can also be caused by a number of other issues besides cables). A bad digital cable can cause all kinds of problems.

Normal home audio to me is NOT McIntosh amplifiers (McIntosh | Home) and other high-end stuff. I'm talking about off-the-shelf packages from WalMart or Target mainly when it comes to my definition of normal. I personally don't have one of those systems, but then I'm not normal. I'd say that the higher-quality stuff does require better cabling to a degree. But a LOT of cable talk is just hype.

Then again, if YOU hear a difference that's all that matters.

Bear Cub

OK, I can see your point in that regard, and will second your cable comment for the most part. Even more so for speaker wire and power cables.

Normal for "me" is mid-range Denon, Pioneer, Marantz, etc, with upper end being your McIntosh, Krell, Meridian, Pass Labs, etc. I've been building speakers since I was 14, so I don't think I'll ever consider an in the box system to be "normal".

__________________
Living in the United Socialist States of America.

Willravel

PulpMind

I do my best not to believe the hype and to listen to my ears. I think I have better-than-average ears for this kind of stuff, but I also think most of that is mental attentiveness (and, in turn, a desire to listen closer), not some physical difference in people (though my dumbo ears probably help.

Anyway... As it turns out, I currently have my left channel running through a Hosa balanced 1/4" to XLR, and my right channel is Monster (I lost my other monster at a show a few weeks back =(. I can't hear a difference with them both playing simultaneously, but if I pan or mute L/R then it's quite noticable. The Hosa cable also isn't shielded as well and I can hear white noise through that channel at low volumes.
I have higher end components in this setup (motu firewire card and mackie monitors), so that Hosa cable is the weakest link in the chain. A lower end setup may not be able to tell the difference.
As they say, "X" is only as good as the weakest link in the chain.

Will it matter to our poster? Maybe not. He is making an effort to upgrade, so I'd like to think he will =P

damn, I have the flu and I'm rambling... so... ciao...

ketch90

Well I purchased the M-Audio ones. I'll let you know how they are next Monday. For my next upgrade... Does anyone have a recommendation for a USB sound card?

__________________
Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, in our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes. But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a man in black.

vanblah

How much do you want to spend and what do you need it to do?

ketch90

Preferably under $100. It would just need a line out, and maybe a volume control.

__________________
Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, in our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes. But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a man in black.

PulpMind

For under $100, just get one from M Audio or Edirol. Even get one used... if everything works when you get it, it's not going to break anytime soon. Depending on where you're at, they pop up on craigslist semi-frequently (then just test it before you buy it)...

good luck!

ketch90

I got the speakers today, and I really like them. They have good response, and there is little distortion at higher volumes. The only problem I have with them is that they are almost as high as my laptop itself. o.0

__________________
Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, in our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes. But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a man in black.