> I have some PSI Audio studio monitors
Ouch, those are expensive. Any small studio monitors (4 or 5 inch woofer) you'd recommend in $500-$600 range (per speaker)? I can't really try many out where I live, unfortunately.
Ouch, those are expensive. Any small studio monitors (4 or 5 inch woofer) you'd recommend in $500-$600 range (per speaker)? I can't really try many out where I live, unfortunately.
As a vague hand-wavey thing, humans hear 95% of the same thing (women hear more!) and it's the individual 5% difference that matters. Plus the room you place speakers in matters (lots of hard surfaces in a room that is a box makes a messy sound that bounces around, you have to shape the acoustics to avoid making good speakers sound bad and also to make good speakers sound great), and if the room is large small speakers can disappear and sound small. And of course what you listen to also matters.
The PSI Audio are studio monitors... they reveal everything, they're as close to perfect as you can imagine so long as you sit 1m from them (I've been in studios, these sound like being there with the band). But studio monitors reveal all the flaws too. They're not for everyone, in fact they're not far the vast majority of people.
I can't really help based on what you asked... room size, music style, how good your ears are, whether you want active (amp built in) or passive (needs an amp), what your usual music source is... these are all the big parameters.
But for your budget, if you just want "good speakers with no fuss and everything built in"... go look at the KEF LSX https://uk.kef.com/products/lsx . They're not superlative compared to the others I mentioned, but they are superlative compared to a Sonos or equivalent. If you have a huge room they still may disappear and sound weak, but they'll do OK for most family rooms in most countries.
Sorry for not giving more details initially - I am actually looking for studio monitors, powered. I'm going to sit very close to them (they will be on my working desk which is 200x80cm). Small room - around 13 m^2. My ear is pretty unrefined :)
Reason for monitors vs. general purpose speakers is that I do some recording and want to use them when playing guitar through modelers. But since they are going to be on my desk, I'm also going to listen to music through them, mostly on Spotify. I currently have a pair of 8-inch Tannoy Reveal which I got from a friend, but they are pretty terrible for this size of room and distance I'm listening at.
Your LSX recommendation might actually be great for my living room!
On the basis of that experience, I'd certainly have the LSX/LS50 on my shortlist if I was looking for speakers in that size.
My system right now is a Rythmik sub plus vintage Ohm speakers and I replaced the crossovers with a MiniDSP running Dirac room correction.