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advice: bookshelf spks under $500? - Page 2

post #16 of 26
3/15/06 at 1:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by classicalguy
I don't know why someone would say that floor standing speakers have to be very expensive to match the sound of bookshelves. Obviously, building a longer cabinet adds some cost, but not THAT much (drivers are more expensive than particle board!) With bookshelves, you have to buy stands or have to deal with mounting issues. With floorstanding, the designer has more cabinet room for bass response, so I would expect slightly better sound by putting the same drivers in a floor standing box than in a bookshelf - assuming of course optimal design of both.
It depends on the speakers. When I was on my HT speaker search that left me with Ascend 340s (on stands), two speakers I listened to were the B&W 602, and the 602.5. The .5 is a tower version of the 602, which is supposed to have better bass but otherwise be similar. My other impressions of the speakers aside, the .5's bass sounded like bloated garbage from a cheap sub in comparison to that of the normal 602. It's clear that B&W didn't take much effort to properly tune the speakers for the cabinet. In this price range, that's true of many manufacturers, though certainly not all. But you can see how experiences such as this will taint people's opinions.

All you can do is go out and listen, that's really all there is to it. Same as headphones, amps, sources....
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post #17 of 26
3/15/06 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by insomniac
Hey Graz, I think I'd recommend the Epos ELS-3. Very compact, efficient, and sounds a lot bigger than it has a right to. The low bass is going to be a problem of course, but I'm not sure how much better you're going to get in a bookshelf under $500 without sacrificing something else.

The NHT SB series purportedly has very good bass for its size but they are very inefficient.

Very warm speakers like the Paradigm Titans tend to give the illusion of more bass because of its mid bass bloom.

The active route as suggested by someone else is not a bad idea either.


Second vote for the els3! Cracking speaker. Tiny and terrific value for money.
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post #18 of 26
3/15/06 at 7:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graz
Need help to choose some decent bookshelf speakers to replace the Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's I'm currently using...
Wish list:
Efficient - intend to drive them with a modded sonic t-amp (basically the pc rig shown in my sig)
Decent low end freq response - I'd prefer to not use/purchase a sub
Cost - max budget is $500

Thanks!

Peace,

Graz

Get some used Klipsch KSB 3.1's they are excellent speakers. They are my favorite bookshelfs by far.
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post #19 of 26
3/15/06 at 8:36pm
You can pick up NHT's new Classic 2 for $500.00/pair. This is an updated version of NHT's SB2, which was an excellent mini-monitor.

On the other hand, for half the money (or less), you can pick up the updated Athena Technologies' AS-B2.2, which was just given a rave review by GoodSound.com
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post #20 of 26
3/15/06 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by soundboy
You can pick up NHT's new Classic 2 for $500.00/pair. This is an updated version of NHT's SB2, which was an excellent mini-monitor.

On the other hand, for half the money (or less), you can pick up the updated Athena Technologies' AS-B2.2, which was just given a rave review by GoodSound.com
Thanks for the heads-up on the Athena's. Interesting review...I'll see if anyone has a pair to listen to this weekend.

Peace,

Graz
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post #21 of 26
3/15/06 at 10:26pm
Stereophile review of the PSB B25's:

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1204psb/
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post #22 of 26
7/14/09 at 5:05pm
JAMO Concert C803 are the best you can dream.
They are even better than my Genelec and Dynaudio...
More detail, more soundstage, and the best is the Price!
Check Amazon.... They have them... $599

Amazon.com: Jamo C803 Stereo and Surround Speakers (Pair, Black): Electronics

Cheers
George
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post #23 of 26
7/14/09 at 5:31pm
I'd recommend looking for some used B&W 685's. I did an audition a little while ago and was impressed.
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post #24 of 26
7/14/09 at 11:50pm
omegas or other fostex based designs - diy it even - then add a sub later if you need more bass
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post #25 of 26
7/15/09 at 7:47pm
Av123 X-LS Encore. Hits harder than any sub $500 bookshelf and sounds great throughout.

Ascend, HSU or NHT are the others I would pay $$ for right now but they will not extend as far down as the X-LS.
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post #26 of 26
7/16/09 at 6:20pm
Usher S520. Maybe a little inefficient for you. Although I'm powering mine with 30watts, I have a Trends TA 10.1 that I can try out too. I'll let you know how it works out. But they are pretty damn nice especially for ~$300 +/- $50 on the 'Gon.
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