I need a little help picking my first 2.0 speakers :)

[Chocolot]

This video hits a few of the ones you have listed...

Those Elac Debut 3.0s seem to get good reviews... I think Erin is a good reviewer because he also does measurements.

Thanks so much, I'll take a look at those. CheapAudioMan has been super helpful so far so this should help. Much appreciated!

I did actually look at the Emotiva XB2s but getting them in the UK seems rare/challenging sadly.

One of the issues is what you can get since you are in Europe. Would hate to recommend something that you can't get there. For example I have no idea of you could get something like this and shipping to Europe could be expensive and not worth it...
View attachment 3593830

Yeah it's costing a lot more to import here now sadly. Certain...clearly bad decisions in the UK made imports from Europe really painful price wise. So, other than sucking it up and paying the import tax I'm trying to buy speakers already stocked here. It's certainly not a deal breaker though if there are some really good ones out there. I'd just rather try and spend the cash on components the customs .

Guy I know bought the Elacs and Triangles. He returned the Elacs. Audio Science Review took a look at them and concluded they sounded great but didn't measure up to their sound. Shows you it's all subjective. Trust your ears I say.

It's amazing how different everyone's takes can be on the same sound isn't it. I knew someone once who had these tower speakers set up in his lounge. He loved them to bits but as soon as he put on a song, it sounded like a freight train going by while the driver sang. Drowned out was an understatement but hey, he liked them!

Personally for me, if not using a subwoofer, I would not want to go with anything smaller than a 6.5" woofer. I live in apartment so those Scott 166 speakers are what I generally use to listen to music. The bass won't be disturbing my neighbors. But at the same time I do want a bass guitar to sound like a bass guitar. And for me that sweet spot is a 6.5" woofer. It can do the bass well without it overpowering the music. Which is what I think that you want. Just a thought. Anything smaller than that size for the woofer and I think you would be absolutely needing a subwoofer.

I'm living in an apartment too sadly. The bass on my Edifier 360s, even at 0 are pretty significant so when I turn up any songs, the bass comes up too. If I EQ to lower the bass it sounds awwwwful haha. I think once I'm set up with Dac, Amp, Speakers etc and know where I'm at with that, I'll pop in a small sub to cover that base ! Really appreciate the heads up on this one

 

[coonmanx]

Looks like the Edifiers have an 8" woofer. Is that correct? Hence why downsizing to something with a 6.5" woofer might be a better fit for you right now.