Any sound junkies or audiophiles hanging around here?
A few months ago I bought myself a pair of Alessandro MS-1 headphones (pretty much modified Grado SR60s, I think) and have been loving high-end audio since. I've been after speakers for my room for some time now and now I'm seriously deciding to get some decent monitor speakers. Can you guys help?

They will be connected primarily to my 15" Macbook Pro and secondarily will be connected to my Universal iPod Dock to listen to my iPhone 3G, so two inputs is a must. Since I take my laptop away often for dialysis I think a USB connection is an advantage for convenience. I have all my USB devices hooked up to a 7 port hub so I only need to connect one USB to the laptop.
I will mainly be using the speakers for general music listening and, when I get my act together, I will also use them for Final Cut Pro editing and audio mixing of videos, so I'm after decent close-to-reference quality. My budget is about $250. As with my headphones, I'm after more entry-level of the spectrum of high-end speakers with an emphasise on value-for-money more than anything and am willing to push a little above budget because of this.

I've done some research and came up with a few active desktop monitor speakers (some probably are not). I've noted the cheapest price I've found them for and the notable features as well.

Behringer MS40 | $220 | 40w RMS
2x digital inputs, headphone jack, bass/treble adjust, 2x input volume adjust, tweeters asymmetrically positioned

Edirol/Cakewalk MA-15D | $319 | 30w RMS
2x digital inputs, headphone jack, bass/treble adjust, 2x input volume adjust

Alesis MS1Active 320 USB | $249 | 20w RMS
USB input, headphone jack, compact size

M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 | N/A | 30w RMS
Headphone jack, decent reviews

Audioengine A2 | $180 | 30w RMS
No headphone jack, available in white

I'm leaning towards the Behringer at the moment. What do you guys think? Or should I be considering a separate amp and passive speakers instead?

I've been out of the loop for a while.....but the reference was Yamaha NS-10's.

These are passive so you also need a good amp, which will push above your budget.

To be honest, I really don't think you'd get anything decent for $250.

Looks like Yamaha HS-50 or HS-80 maybe worth a look?

Also, just be aware that monitors aren't generally (IMO) the best choice for general music listening as they tend to sound a bit 'flat'. But if you're doing production type stuff, that is kind of what you're after.

Thanks mission. I guess I'm not really after reference quality speakers since 1) I don't have the budget and 2) I'm not into music production whatsoever, but I'm after something remotely close. I'll have a look at the Yamahas.

Don't worry, I'm aware of the flatness of monitor speakers, which is why I decided on 2.0 speakers, as opposed to 2.1 speakers (though, space was also a factor).

Liek this?
http://is.gumtree.com/ad_image/live/big/264429665.jpg

You can get monitor speakers at under half the price of local if you import from USA

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Studio-Monitors--2862

http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/studio-monitors/

What's so different about a monitor speaker to a normal speaker?

I heard a nice pair of JBL's the other day, fortunatly, sweet water sell them!
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LSR2328P/

The guys at sweetwater are awesome and go way over the top to make sure you are happy.

I heard a nice pair of JBL's the other day, fortunatly, sweet water sell them!
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LSR2328P/

Well I'm not surprised they sound great. You'd certainly expect nothing less from them at US$439 RRP for a single speaker - clearly out of my budget! :p

What's so different about a monitor speaker to a normal speaker?

Monitor speakers, not to be confused with speakers attached to monitors, are bookshelf style speakers designed as reference speakers for DJs and anyone involved with audio production. Consumer (or regular) speakers tend to "colour" sound, or in other words, put bias towards low (bass) and high (treble) ranges of sound, which results in smooth enjoyable music and satisfying *doofs* for those bass junkies. Monitor speakers, on the other hand, present all ranges of sound (low, mid and high) flat and evenly. This often reveals detail in recordings that is usually hidden, as well as flaws, such as coughs in the background and loops in electronic music that, well... don't loop very well.

your probably better off scouting ebay for a good pair of monitors/bookshelfs+amps second hand

The monitors in that price range probably won't sound anywhere as good as your headphones.

I picked up an old pair of wharfdale bookshelfs and a nad amp for next to nothing a few years ago - talk about bargains!

also heard good things about the audioengine gear - personally i hate Behringer for some reason..

Consumer (or regular) speakers tend to "colour" sound, or in other words, put bias towards low (bass) and high (treble) ranges of sound

jesus I never knew about this and I did a semester of audio engineering, I guess I would only trust quality headphones - do they f*** with headphones too?

do they f*** with headphones too?

Yeap, that's why reference headphones can cost quite a bit.

The reason that Monitors have a flat sound is so the engineer can make sure the sound is 'flat' across the frequency spectrum. As previously mentioned so it isn't bass heavy or has sharp treble etc

This is because the end result (he cd, dvd or whatever) will be played on anything from a tiny tv speaker, iPod, car stereo to top end home HiFi. So it's critical that the recording will sound as good as possible across all playback devices.

I think my cousin has some powered Alesis speakers for his home studio. He live in Sydney so I haven't actually checked them out but he said they do the job and weren't overly expensive.

I need a decent 2.1 or 2.2 system...

2.2, haha!

What do you intend to use the speakers for (gaming, music, etc.)?

Zy - Logitech Z-2300

Logitech website has as RRP of $299.95 - http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/home_pc_speakers/devices/231&cl=au,en

BUT MSY has them for $170 - http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=z2300&spos=3

I used these suckers before I left Aus and they crank, THX Certified, massive sub :D

I love my KRK Rokit 8s. :)

Lewd has some of these... Behringer Truth B2030A

They've always sounded pretty good to me. I think he bought them from Billy Hydes in the valley.