Hello everybody,
The fact is that 99% of the music I listen come from my computer (sometimes 128kbps, 192kps, 200+ or flac, sometimes real CD), I think it should be a good investissement to get the best sound quality I could get.
I mean best quality by the accuracy (studio-like sound maybe), I do not need a powerful installation to tell my neighbors I'm listening Ziltoid the Omniscient
The precision is the keyword of what I'm looking for and I know there is some professionals here or at least experts in audio stuff that could give some advices.

So, I looked at some 2.1 systems (I don't want more that two speakers) the quality is mostly bad or average or always has some weakness like the lack of treble, bass,... Bose, Altec, Logitec, you know them.
Then I go through what we call "monitor", which I never has the occasion to listen this type of quality, M-audio, Yamaha, Behringer, lot of choice here too...
Last thing to know : I'm using foobar2000 with an equalizer, I have a sound card which is not the best ever but appears to be enough to just listen music (I'm not doing music)

Now I have two questions :
- Do you think that's really I'm looking for ? does an album like Addicted or Ki will sound really better if I get one of these monitor speakers ?
- I read somewhere that when you have active speakers like monitor speakers, you need a wall behind it to spread the bass sound. If not, the bass would sound very weak. Is it true ? because my desk is far from the wall in front of me...
Or maybe if you know really (really) good 2.1 speakers...

Thanks if you read all of this, despite my bad english ! maybe I should ask to some audio elitist forums but I prefer speak with people that share my passion of music.

What is your budget?

Some other points in the meantime:

- most studio monitors will not come as a sub/sat-system, i think
- active speakers have usually a deeper and more controlled bass considering their size compared to passive speakers
- neutral sounding speakers like studio monitors are the best choice for wall of sound-metal, i think
- you only need a wall if the speakers are designed for wall-mounting, but not all of them are
- technically an active speaker should be the best option, if you want to spend like 600 € i think you can get a really good 2.0 setup with good bass up to 40 hz (good subwoofers maybe starting at around ~400 extra)
- you should consider to buy a little usb DAC/preamp because it allows you to adjust the volume for left/right simultanously (on some active speakers you have to adjust volume separately or using the windows-mixer)

I don't have much experience with monitors, but i think good brands are Genelec, Mackie, Klein & Hummel and maybe others (i checked a Behringer Truth a few years ago - with "Truth" of course - and was very disappointed).

I have speakers by german manufacturer Nubert, which are very neutral and are phenomenal for the prize. They have new active speakers that seem to be very good, but unfortunately their website is only available in german: http://www.nubert.de/index.php?action=product&id=932&category=78
These speakers have very good specs for the prize, reviews are superb. You may add an active subwoofer later if you want. You can connect them via USB or via a small external DAC like the NuForce u-DAC (it's a completely different brand): http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconudac2/

Some other points in the meantime:

- most studio monitors will not come as a sub/sat-system, i think
- active speakers have usually a deeper and more controlled bass considering their size compared to passive speakers

Is there really a difference? I thought "active" means they have amplifier built in and that's doesn't seem to affect bass response - this one's usually dependent of chassis construction, driver radius and stuff.

- neutral sounding speakers like studio monitors are the best choice for wall of sound-metal, i think

Not sure about that one either - "neutral" sounding speakers tend to sound, well, neutral, which can be disappointing when you expect crushing sounds. I have monitor-ish Alesis speakers and have to admit, while spacey records sound rather delightful, they tend to bring all the flatness and crappy dynamics out of the heavy guitar recordings :>

Heard lot of good things about Microlab speakers, not sure about the availability in your parts though.

Some other points in the meantime:

- most studio monitors will not come as a sub/sat-system, i think
- active speakers have usually a deeper and more controlled bass considering their size compared to passive speakers

Is there really a difference? I thought "active" means they have amplifier built in and that's doesn't seem to affect bass response - this one's usually dependent of chassis construction, driver radius and stuff.

I'm not a technician, but the thing seems to be that the amplifier fits exactly the chassis. If it's build well it can supply more power at low frequencies. I have a little active "unit" for my passive speakers which boosts my speakers low limit from 51 Hz to 35 Hz (it gets the amplifier to deliver much more power to to low frequencies, don't ask me how exactly it works). This little box is exactly matched for my speakers and as far as i know know quite similar technique is already built-in when you buy an active speaker (not in all of them of course).

- neutral sounding speakers like studio monitors are the best choice for wall of sound-metal, i think

Not sure about that one either - "neutral" sounding speakers tend to sound, well, neutral, which can be disappointing when you expect crushing sounds. I have monitor-ish Alesis speakers and have to admit, while spacey records sound rather delightful, they tend to bring all the flatness and crappy dynamics out of the heavy guitar recordings :>

Yes, it can be disappointing. Some metal-recordings are just crap... But if you are listening to the Infinity-album for example, i think you need a quite neutral setup, otherwise it will sound "mashed". I don't know "real" studio monitors, just very neutral home speakers. And those are great.

My budget isn't so high, maybe 300€ max
I though it was enough to get a very good quality (though I'm barely the only one who would listen it, so it's not to fit in a big place with a ton of dB needed) but it doesn't seems to be enough...

- neutral sounding speakers like studio monitors are the best choice for wall of sound-metal, i think

Not sure about that one either - "neutral" sounding speakers tend to sound, well, neutral, which can be disappointing when you expect crushing sounds. I have monitor-ish Alesis speakers and have to admit, while spacey records sound rather delightful, they tend to bring all the flatness and crappy dynamics out of the heavy guitar recordings :>

Well maybe I should test this sound by myself. I may have a friend who has monitor speakers, do not know the reference but it could help me to know what we are talking about.

Thanks to both of you !

My budget isn't so high, maybe 300€ max

Hey, considering you don't want to be super loud that's decent amount of money for speakers. Or you can always buy a pair of awesome headphones :>

Good idea with checking by yourself anyway.

Yeah, forget the subwoofer, two monitors is perfect for your situation. 300 should be enough to find some nice and small ones, if you shop around for a good deal.

Btw, get rid of the equalizer in foobar. With good speakers it's not needed, and it's essentially just an illusion that using one would make everything sound better

I've been monitor hunting alot lately. I ended up with KRK VXT6's, but they're up in the 1000 or something range. I'd highly recommend Adam's AX series, I guess it would be A3X or A5X for you. The VXT and AX series were the ones I personally liked most. Check em out.

Finally I've got my M-Audio BX5A Deluxe + M-Audio SBX10

180€ + 400€

Of course, M-Audio's speakers are not recommanded if you are a profesionnal but for listening only, they appears to be the cheapest solution.
The problem is that speakers like that can't do bass. They really can't.
So instead of trying bigger speakers I bought the subwoofer M-Audio (because my desk couldn't handle two speakers of +10kg) which is really good for its price (20h - 200hz, 240w, 10" boomer, upper frequency regulable by 50hz to 200hz)

I had to configure Foobar a bit (with a preset from Foobar Convolver which was designed for those BX5A) so that's why I know they aren't really "monitor speakers".

Now the sound is fantastic. Comparing my old 2.1 Altec Lansing, it's like change your dvd player for a bluray.
The sound is more accurate and stronger.
Generally, the drum toms sounds better, the voice too (you feel more the reverb sometimes). The guitar doesn't change so much expect from really low tune guitar (Meshuggah).
From the subwoofer, I discovered that some metal bands actually have a bassist, the bass drum sound stronger (= like a real one) and a lot of details in the bass sound I didn't notice because my old sub couldn't get so low.

Some examples (100% Devin) :

Devin Townsend Project - Juular : the orchestra is still undermixed but now it doesn't bother me because you can still hear the details behind the guitar+drum+voice.
Devin Townsend - By Your Command : the drum sounds fake (o rly ?) but the bass guitar is hearable.
Strapping Yound Lad - Plyophony / The New Black : the bass special effects sound deeper, now they are really "mighty fucking bass in your stomach", impressive ! The drum doesn't have so much bass sounds, which is a good thing actually.
Devin Townsend - Unity : I almost cry when I listened to it. All the keyboards parts, the orchestra, the drum,,etc. Now everything is clear, it's like everything has its room to speak. Beautiful.

Holy crap, that sub is huge ! ~55 x 45 x 55 ?! And I thought my logitech z2300 was big (sounds like crap though)
I once thought about purchasing monitoring speakers but if you need such a huge subs to complete the setup, the problem is different . Not sure this would be a good idea for someone who's got tinnitus.

T'es en France ? J'peux m'incruster chez toi si je veux un aperçu du son ?