Best speakers for 600 - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by bumbabeef 

The RC10's can be found for under $350 on vanns.
 

I believe they regularly go for $300 which is close to 50% off. For $300 they are pretty much the best money can buy, but the higher options like the Era, Ascend, and Onix are really in another class if you have the cash. Energy has higher-end models designed to compete in this category.

Yes,

The Onix Reference 1, in particular, is a stunning speaker to listen to. I also have a home theater setup with Ascend speakers. Those are nice as well though they do pale in comparison to the Onix. 

My first pair of "good" speakers were B&Ws. On retrospect, the only thing "good" about them was that they held their value really well and I suffered only a $50 loss after using them for 2 years. Some of the lower end B&Ws just really doesn't deliver a lot. This may have changed in the last 5-7 years or so that I haven't kept up with their offerings.

Jack

I'd vote for the Energy RC-10, but apparently both Vanns and wwstereo are out of stock and they aren't getting anymore. The word is that the Energy RC line will be discontinued in 6 months and will be replaced by a new Veritas line. The Klipsch RB-61 would fit the bill if you are ok with somewhat bright/forward speakers. They have great bass for bookshelf speakers and are excellent for metal/electronic music.

Yes I'm so pissed that I missed the Cherry RC10 on sale for 299 last time, and now I hear they will never show up again. Too bad...

Old thread I know, but just saw this. I really don't understand the point of bookshelves. Why sacrifice full range for sake of space and a few bucks? Most lines offer full range and bookshelves, and I'd take the full range every time. I'd think more than very little has musical info below 40Hz - dub/reggae, some jazz, classical, etc.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 
These will easily reach 50Hz will bass-light placement (speaker stands, far away from walls) and will approach 40Hz with bass-heavy placement (closer to the walls, on shelves). Very little music save electronic has musical information below 40Hz.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastnbulbous 

Old thread I know, but just saw this. I really don't understand the point of bookshelves. Why sacrifice full range for sake of space and a few bucks? Most lines offer full range and bookshelves, and I'd take the full range every time. I'd think more than very little has musical info below 40Hz - dub/reggae, some jazz, classical, etc.
 

 

Whoops -- you're right, I meant 30Hz, and I meant there is very little below, not that very few genres have them.

Until you reach the higher price points full-range and floorstanders tend to be dominated in raw performance by bookshelves at the same price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastnbulbous 

Old thread I know, but just saw this. I really don't understand the point of bookshelves. Why sacrifice full range for sake of space and a few bucks? Most lines offer full range and bookshelves, and I'd take the full range every time. I'd think more than very little has musical info below 40Hz - dub/reggae, some jazz, classical, etc.
 

 

Most floor standers are, simply put, poor choices in speakers when hunting the maximum fidelity. The simple fact is that the longer a fulcrum (the side of the speaker case) is, the more leverage pressure places on it. A large cabinet (all else being equal) will vibrate more than a small one.

Those cabinet resonances are not accurate to the original sound (If you could block out the sound from the speaker, you would hear the cabinet and it won't sound good). So the a bookshelf will be superior to a similarly engineered floor-stander because the resonance will be reduced in the upper frequencies (the mids being in smaller enclosures and also being physically isolated from the bass drivers).

In addition to resonance issues, there are issues with passive crossovers that are reduced in a 2-way design relative to a 3-way design (also, the speakers are easier to drive). Further: a good sub will run LF better than most any floor-standing speaker for a given price-point.

If you are after the maximum fidelity (LF in stereo) you will use two subwoofers, running with an external crossover (in stereo) placed less than 1/2 wavelength (crossover wavelength, which is a few feet in this case) from the bookshelf. Compared to the floor-standers of comparable cost: you will get better range, better isolation, and less crossover interference.

There are certainly some exceptions with carefully chosen components at the very high end: but most of those are, in the end, bookshelves mounted on subwoofers (B&W 800D for example).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik 

I don't disagree, Jerry, but what about open baffle floorstanders? Not everything has to be in a box.

True. My comment is really about box-based builds. Planar speakers (for example) are a different kettle of fish.

It's a statement about apples-to-apples. When the poster to whom I responded discussed both floor-standers and bookshelves in the same line: I took for granted that we were discussing commercially produced box-speakers in the <$10k range, as that was what fit with that statement.

Yes, you can build a tower to as low a resonance as a bookshelf. It costs more. Even a custom builder is more likely to solve the problem through isolation. Isolated HF boxes are common in the >$10k speaker range, but not below. In that range: It's rare to see bookshelves and towers in the same line.

Once we are talking about an active-crossover to a 3-way with a separate LF enclosure: the difference between a full-range and a bookshelf+sub becomes (generally) semantics.

I am speaking in generalities, and I am speaking for a certain subset of "audio"... but I believe it is the subset being discussed and that those generalities hold true in that domain.

For reference (and to establish if I eat my own dog-food): my main listening speakers are 4-way active-crossover towers. My home-theater is bookshelves with subs.