[PhishPhan]

So, I just pulled the trigger and bought an icon. Now begins my search for a decent small speaker to pair it with aa. My budget is around 3-400 tops. The speakers need to be small enough to sit on my desk but still able to fill a decent sized room. Any suggestions?

As much as I'd like to wait for the S-1, I'm currently without a stereo and am tired of listening to all my tunes through my headphones, so I'm itching to buy something soon.

[budbrew]

There's the JohnBlue JB3. I'm waiting for the S-1s, but may decide to try the JB3s too. Right now I'm using some cheapo Aperion Audio compacts.

[PhishPhan]

I think a pair of JohnBlue JB3s are out of my price range.

[budbrew]

$350. You said $3-400 tops.

[JLM]

IMO coherency is vital for nearfield listening and nothing does it like a single driver design.  Single drivers and transmission line designs both lend themselves to easy amplifier loadings.  So for your stated use and price range the ideal speaker may be the TBI Majestic Diamond I:

http://www.tbisound.com/dsp_products_monitors_d1.asp

They're small, $400/pair, and are marketed with the less powerful Sonic Impact amp.


For $200/pair more you could move up to the TBI Majestic Diamond IR and amazingly gain a full octave of bass.

Note that this is the same company that sells the tiny/amazing/fast transmission line subs that garnered lots of press a couple of years back.

[PhishPhan]

$350. You said $3-400 tops.

Is that for a pair of speakers or for one speakers?

[rustydoglim]

We should be able to ship S-1 by July 18, possibly earlier.

[PhishPhan]

I received my Icon today.

The headphone amp sounds great. Unfortunately, I don't have any speakers to hook it up to at the moment, so it will be a dedicated headphone amp for a while until I figure out what speakers to pair it with.

The S-1 is awfully tempting. I'm hesitant to place an order though because they are "nearfield" speakers. While I would do a majority of my listening in the nearfield, I'd also be listening to them from about 5'-6' away in a 10X11' bedroom and I wonder whether they could fill the room with decent sound. I'm not expecting earth-shattering bass, but I would like it to sound somewhat full. Any thoughts?

[rustydoglim]

5' to 6' away is fine. We have been listening to S-1 from that distance.