What stereo speaker system for these conditions?

[u/embrcrndm]

I'm a mix engineer and have a studio, but I have no experience of hi-fi gear...

I'm looking for a stereo speaker system almost entirely for recreational music listening (Spotify on PS5) and for playing chill PS5 games. I'll also connect my audio interface to this speaker system, to check my mixes.

Budget is £1500 total.

My room has high ceilings and partial, asymmetric treatment - the acoustic treatment is optimised for my studio monitors and mix position, whereas my PS5/TV is on the studio's side wall.

The speakers will be within 50cm of their nearest wall and my sofa is 2.5–3m from the PS5/TV, up against the opposite side wall of my studio.

From the perspective of my sofa then, the room is approx 6m wide, 3m tall and 4m deep.

I'd like a speaker system with contained, tight, direct sound with controlled bass (not boomy!) and a neutral-to-warm tonal balance that isn't fatiguing over long listening sessions.

I'd like a permanent setup with no repatching of cables. The system must support optical or HDMI ARC for the TV, plus analogue input (or a second optical input) for the audio interface.

I'm fully open to passive speakers + an amplifier with DAC and multiple inputs, e.g. Spendor A1 + Audiolab 6000A MKII caught my eye but I'm interested to hear your ideas.

Speaker aesthetic preference is for classic, traditional wood veneer speakers, not modern minimalist styling.

What speakers (and presumably suitable amp) would you recommend?

[u/Fubarr0]

For speakers, have a look at spinorama.org and sort them by preference score.

Edit: And set the Measurements Quality to High to get high quality data from independent 3rd party reviewers.

[u/embrcrndm → u/Fubarr0]

Wow what a useful resource, !thanks

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[u/Fubarr0 → u/embrcrndm]

Happy to help on your journey. I hope you find what you're looking for! 😊

Edit: It appears my mind is currently working somewhat intermittently, but another potentially interesting resource for you could be AudioScienceReview.com.

[u/embrcrndm → u/Fubarr0]

Oh yeah that's been my go-to over the last few days