Looking for 2.0 speaker for my WFH setup. Criteria:
- in the range of RM500 mainly for music/youtube/gaming in PC/laptop. Willing to topup a bit if performance to price ratio is good.
- prefer 2.0 as I want to have a clean desktop setup with nothing on the floor.
- must not be too big and bulky (my table is only 120x60cm and my ultrawide 21:9 monitor already takes up 82cm width).
- must have tight and detailed and punchy bass - to be able to produce fast pace varying pitch of Double Bass instrument in classical/jazz/pop or synthesizer in the bass range from EDM, or those punchy sound when you hit the bass drum using leg from a drum set. I don't know what terms you guys refer those kind of bass. I have a tendency to appreciate those kind of sound, maybe because those cannot be heard from phone/TV speakers and most 2.1 speakers cannot really produce them accurately, most are very muffled/unresponsive. I owned a 14-year-old cheapo 2.1 Logitech X-230 and surprisingly this old cheapo's bass is tight and punchy but already kaput, my 16yo 2.1 Edifier M2300 bass not so detailed, my 2.1 Logitech Z623 and Edifier S330D also unable to respond to fast/tight bass and sound muffled (although they can produce those rumbling bass like cinema).

Currently looking at R1700BT and R2000DB. Read some review that says R1700BT bass is quite thin, not sure if it can satisfy criteria #4 above. R2000DB seems to have really good review and maybe can satisfy my bass, I don't mind topping up a bit if its performance can justify. Also heard about S1000DB, is S class and should sound better than R2000DB? But heard a comment says its bass is weaker than R2000DB and seems like is too bulky and doesn't blend well with my desktop, afraid table no space to put. S350DB also saw tonnes of good review but it is a 2.1 speaker, maybe can be used as replacement for my other 2.1 but they not yet spoil. Any advise is appreciated!

Haha I understand I am probably asking for too much, I know we're against physics which is why I come here for advise, to look for the best compromise between sound/size/price.

I think my table can still put R2000DB or similar size but that's the max, not to the point I need to put smaller ones like Presonus Eris 3.5. S1000DB will protrude out since I only have ~17cm clearance for each speaker. Speaker stand is an option but that adds cost and I have to rearrange my table placement, unless S1000DB is overwhelmingly justifiable for the extra cost, I will consider!.

Isn't R2000DB has 5"? I read many reviews from Amazon and online blogs that have very good impression on the bass, in contrast to R1700BT which isn't as good and only 4". I don't trust Shopee/Lazada user review, mostly give 5 stars and good comment like they have been listening to phone speaker the entire time, which is why I come here.

At first I am quite sold to R1700BT because I am only comparing it to R1280T/DB, but read more reviews and found that some describe the R1700BT bass as quite muddy, which I afraid might not satisfy me (having been listening to 2.1 all the time), I even audition it at Viewnet but at that time there was some uncle blasting old chinese song so couldn't quite hear properly, but one thing is for sure that the bass can get really loud if turn the bass knob, much more than R1280T, but when it is playing some pop song with bass, that bass sound flat and loose like my 2.1 Edifier set, I don't hear any significant improvement, I am not sure is it because it is how Edifier tune the bass. Until I come to this thread and saw people recommending R2000DB, then start reading up some reviews, so far quite positive, and most importantly bass review is good (tight and not muddy). I also heard you mentioned about rear port venting on the R2000DB if place against wall can actually pack some punch? Are you referring punch as those sound from the drum set that is hit using leg? But since R2000DB is also Edifier and I haven't auditioned it before, given my past experience with Edifier's bass, so not sure how it perform against my own judgement, maybe I should go to Viewnet again, I hope it won't disappoint. Maybe I have not been listening to recommended products in this thread and bought unpopular set.

I heard about Audioengine A2+ and Kanto YU2 or ELAC debut/Dayton Audio/KEF/Klipsh/B&W, these are frequently recommended in US but seems harder to get here and much more expensive compared to there, also not sure where can audition them here. I don't know if the price/performance ratio is justifiable. Do they beat R2000DB/S1000DB hard sound wise/bass wise? At least Edifier I can audition them in Viewnet to my heart's content without salesman kacau me, and pray that no one come blast EDM from Sonic Gear. Note that I don't consider myself an audiophile that need to buy RM5000 speakers, I am just sensitive to bass detail, which all my 2.1 that I currently own cannot satisfy me.

I like your idea of paring 2.0 with a separate subwoofer in the future instead of 2.1 system, that way I can enjoy the best of music/gaming/movie, when listening to music just use 2.0, when watching movie/playing games just turn on subwoofer to get the rumbling cinema effect. If use 2.1 then cannot separate out the subwoofer entirely so the sound is like phone speaker without the bass if only listen to satellite and turn the subwoofer knob all the way down, but this is another topic that I would like to explore in the future for my living room TV set.

Auditioned R1700BT, R2000DB and S1000DB at All IT @ Ikano Mutiara Damansara, unplanned and unprepared, was initially going to Ace Hardware but saw All IT beside it then just went in. I got bookmark some songs for audition in my phone to sample different scenario but long time no listen so kinda forgot which part of song to pay attention. Not the most sterile environment to audition, got a Vinnifier speaker playing nearby, and I looked like an idiot bowing down and sticking my ear near those speakers with my hands on knobs and phone to control soundtrack, a bit paiseh. I am only testing using bluetooth.

Initial impression of R1700BT-R2000DB-S1000DB. Bass loudness: R1700BT > R2000DB > S1000DB. This surprised me. To my ear, both S1000DB and R2000DB sound pretty similar treble/midrange wise, S1000DB bass loudness slightly weaker than R2000DB, but treble/midrange clarity maybe slightly better, other than the look and price, they sound quite similar to me. Turning the bass knob on both of them does almost nothing to boost the bass loudness to the level I prefer, I already cranked them to the max, but still loses to default setting of R1700BT, which brings me to it. Surprisingly R1700BT bass can get REALLY loud and powerful, turning the knob actually has HUGE adjustment and can clearly hear the difference, default level is just nice for most people, but I can imagine basshead will prefer to turn it to max and it will sound like as if it has subwoofer, which R2000DB and S1000DB can't achieve. Maybe the treble is not as clean as R2000DB and S1000DB, but at least it is able to produce frequencies up to 20kHz like any other speakers. The difference lies in the sub bass. From my song, the sub bass clarity of S1000DB and R2000DB maybe slightly better, but not too far off from R1700BT, but because the bass loudness of S1000DB and R2000DB is so weak, I can barely hear the changing pitch in the sub bass frequency. Then I went back to listen to my headphone (Sony WH-1000XM2), all 3 not able to produce the kind of changing pitch being played at the sub bass level, they just blend the different pitch into the same pitch. Granted, per spec, the lowest frequency response for S1000DB is only 48 KHz, R2000DB is 55 KHz and R1700BT is 60 kHz, while headphone is 20kHz, which is understandable. But because R1700BT bass output is louder, it is easier to distinguish the sub bass pitch from the song. Speaking of control knob, both S1000DB and R2000DB have knobs at the back of right speaker, which makes adjusting profile on the fly less convenient, while R1700BT is at the right of the right speaker. As a bonus, I also sampled R1280T there, it is downright suck among all of them.

Contrary to my listening, the reviews that I read does not match what I hear, maybe I am not listening in a clean environment, or my soundtrack quality is not good, or I am used to listening to 2.1 and headphones and have bias, or I have bad taste. I guess my taste is different, to me I prefer to listen to the different pitch produced by song rather than quality especially the sub bass pitch because it is such a niche frequency that most failed to produce cleanly, but of course not to the point I can accept "radio" quality sound. Most speakers can play treble and midrange well because frequency at that range is easy to produce and you can at least play around EQ to get the profile you like, but when a speaker can't produce a particular sub bass, no matter what you do or how you tune, it just can't produce, which is why TV/phone speaker sucks and I can't stand listening to them. I appreciate the sub bass pitch when listening to headphone and some of my old Logitech 2.1, and I will realise just how much sound I am missing when listening to my Edifier speakers (the sub bass quality of my Edifier is not as good as Logitech), and it sometimes bothers me. Edifier wins hands down in the treble and midrange and also build quality, having wood vs plastic and most of their satellite have separate tweeter/midrange woofer, I also prefer their cabling, but Logitech got the upperhand in the bass, and I am always in a dilemma when choosing between them. I kinda hope I can mix the best of both together.

I need to audition it for the second round because I want to sample those song from my headphone first to really understand the sound signature of each song, and this time will include S350DB or more speakers into the list as well. Gonna listen to more comparisons from Digital Stereophony youtube as well. But from first impression, it's either I choose a jack-in-all-trade that just perform decent (but not great) across different frequencies and call it a day (R1700BT), or select the one that has the best treble and sacrifice bass for now (R2000DB or S1000DB), and looking to add a dedicated sub later, hmm...


p.s. sorry for always posting "long winded" post but I enjoy typing and telling my experience.

Maybe the way I test is not ideal. The volume I set is very low because I dont want to attract ppl attention (I am shy), because of this i have to bend down and stick my ear near speaker, and i crank the bass dial of R2000DB and S1000DB to +6 (max) to hear them properly, even then it is still a bit weak (which is why i said the dial not much impact/adjustibility), plus got some shop background noise, for R1700BT bass is +2 already quite loud. I know all the video comparison is at +0, i watched R1700BT vs R2000DB and can hear clearly bass of R2000DB is stronger, but i know with the dial of R1700BT it can get even stronger than +6 of R2000DB. I also watched R2000DB vs S1000DB, cant hear any bass difference other than overall the way they sound is a bit different. I dont have the best audiophile ear. I have not watched R1850DB, will watch it. I will test 2nd round again.

Anyone heard of Swan HiVi D1080MKII or D1080-IV? How are them sound compared to Edifier? They are quite comparable in price, and seems to share the same design language, having wooden style enclosure and 3 dials at the side.

What is your current setup? Saw somewhere you mentioned using chinese amp + passive speaker? What are the models and how do you like them?

WOW lot's of big names there! Haven't came across this site just by googling. I never bother to read reviews/comparisons of these speakers because I thought it is hard to come by in Malaysia and even it does it will be expensive, but looks like I can now!

Side question not related to audio: What you used to paint it? I need something similar for my bed, transparent and matte. Varnish/polyurethane/shellac/laquer? Spray or brush paint?

Wa.. need so many steps? Can i just straightaway apply clearcoat spray? Mine is Ikea TARVA bed frame, it comes unpainted.

The thing is, i am not sure how rough is considered rough (or smooth). Some advise me to sand, some don't. Maybe i'll just yolo and buy this try and see :
https://www.lazada.com.my/products/wood-var...ASABEgLhkPD_BwE