[firewall]

Dear Reader,

I more or less stumbled into near-field systems as I was traveling. Often flying from one apartment for 4 months in Seattle, to another few months in Manhattan, et cetera while consulting.

So. I wanted to buy the best sounding and best-reviewed desktop speakers available for my - desktop at each place I stayed at.

I checked out Genelac, bought KEF LS50 Wireless, Adam A7x (It's a monitor used often in studios - near field,) and others.

Without a doubt - the Magnepan Mini Maggies offer the best sound.

They need a bottom end, though.

So, for my 12x10 (wxh,) office I purchased a couple of SVS PB12 subwoofers.

I also run a DDRC-24 for Dirac into a:

Sunfire Theater Grand - 400 A/B watts into 4 ohms, which is what the Maggies are resistive at.

I wish I could share the sound with you folks. It's toe-tapping, hair-raising fun!

What do you run for your desktop system?

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Image from few years back: https://i.redd.it/k1rgauruud4y.jpg

I have a 27 inch iMac on my desk and needed a speaker that could work around at a distance of 93-100cm for each side of the equilateral listening triangle.

My final contenders were PSI A17, Amphion One 15 and ATC SCM20 Pro ASL MK2 (active). It ultimately came down to the Amphions and ATC. If I were to replace the current Amphions, it’d only be for the ATCs.

I went with the full Amphion setup (speakers, amp, and cabling). I’ve loved them since day 1 and they’ve sounded correct at that distance and room. Pretty much killed my desire to spend more time and money looking into headphone setups for desktop use. Although, I’ll still use my Audeze’s from time to time.

[Armaegis]

I have a pair of ART RM5. They aren't the last word in resolution by any means, but the sheer convenience of being able to VESA mount them on arms for precise positioning and their slim profile making them only a bit thicker than my monitors means they don't take take up any room on my already cramped desk.