I need suggestions for a pair of bookshelves for $400-$500

Go used. Browse Audiogon - there are lots of good deals. You might be able to find bookshelves that originally cost $1,000 for $500 there. Look around.

Another option is to build your own. $500 should get you some decent drivers and crossover components. If you know anyone with a tablesaw and router, cabinets are not difficult to build. Similarly, you might be able to find some nice kits at Madisound or Parts Express that will give you much more value than a new pair of commercial speakers.

And I know these aren't what you requested, but the best entry-level speakers with amazing soundstage are the Magnepan MMGs. They sell for $599 and aren't bookshelf speakers, but they sound wonderful. You might be able to find a pair for $500 at Audiogon. However, I'd sell off unused videogames, DVDs, game consoles, etc. to scrape together an extra $100. They're worth it.

Onix Reference 1 MKIIs. Available for $400-500 used. They originally retailed for $1200-1500, but the used prices fell steeply after AV123 (their primary reseller in North America) fell from grace (owner went to court for charity fraud) -- they competed admirably at their original price point. Technically, they slaughter most of the competition in the $400-500 market (new or used).

 

They're a bit hard to drive at 4 ohms. They tend to a warm and slightly bright sound with good bass, hitting hard at 40Hz without problems, and reaching somewhat below. Excellent treble response, but also quite forward -- some find them fatiguing. Overall, they're my monitors of choice under $1500, and I've auditioned a fair many.

I have a pair of Usher V604 floor standers that originally cost $1500 but can be found much cheaper now because theyre no longer distributed stateside. I mention these because they have very strong bass without a subwoofer, and their little brothers the V601's and V602's are often on Audiogon in your price range.

I wasn't recommending the V604 floorstanders, I was recommending their little brothers.  The V601's are bookshelf speakers, and the V602's are shorter floorstanders (but still probably too big)

 

Link to V601 ad on Audiogon http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ddspkrfull&1292869185&/Usher-V-601-The-BookShelf

Link to Specs: http://www.questforsound.com/speakers/spkrs_usherV601.htm

Edited by AirForceTeacher - 11/7/10 at 6:19am

I have had Orbs for 3 years now and love them.  I feed them thru a Headroom desktop amp (pre) to a trends class T.  Very small, fits nicely on my desk and sounds great.  I do not even use a sub.

 

I hope you're kidding. The Epos M5 and M5i have very little soundstage for speakers, and overemphasized (etched, grainy) detail. They're actually annoying to listen to.. check out some user reviews of them.

 

Moreover, I only saw Stereophile compare the Ref 1s to the M16i, not the M5 or M5i. Personally I find Epos's offerings try for detail but simply don't excel with it as headphones do. They compromise smoothness that speakers should have.

Edited by 3X0 - 11/7/10 at 4:42pm

like has already been suggested: Audiogon is where it has.

 

lot of good deals. just by browsing the first page on the Monitor's page:

 

   Energy Rc10

 

   Usher S-520

 

   Quad 11L2

 

these are all well known as some very good budget speakers. any of these speakers will outperform the BX2's by miles. I have not heard the RX1's, but I heard the BX2's at a MA dealer. to be frank they sounded rubbish to me. you'd be mad getting a pair of BX2's when you can get any of those, imo. by all means, go audition the BX2's just to hear what they sound like. I'd say if you're impressed by them, you'd be amazed by the others.

 

disclaimer: audio is subjective: not everything sounds the same to everybody.

Edited by Lenni - 11/8/10 at 3:10am

bought Monitor Audio Silver RX1 for less than $500(used)

If you decide to audition the BX2s could you give a short impression? I am also looking at bookshelve speakers. The BX2s are very cheap on amazon btw, they cost 225 pound a pair instead of 350 euros a pair in Holland! It's too bad they can't be auditioned where I live.

I just want to let to know I have auditioned some speakers yesterday. The rx1 are very good indeed, neither the mordaunt-short mezzo1 or the aviano 6 came close to the rx1's quality. Then I went to another hifi shop where they had some more expensive bookshelves. I liked dynaudio and b&w but their both overpriced IMO. After a while the salesman said his superiors wanted to sell more cheap speakers so he could give a 100euro discount on the elac fs 67.2's (floorstanders for 600euro a pair with the discount). I didn't know the brand but I thought: let's give it a try. Wow! Without any burn-in they sounded neutral, very relaxed with lots of detail, simply just right. I compared them to the rx6's and the monitor audios sounded muffed IMO. The comparison is not entirely fair because the listening room was not perfect but for me it was clear: I am going to buy the elac's with the marantz pm7003. So basicly I went over my budget but it's worth it: my sugestion for you would be, get the rx1's anyway. If you listen to a lot of music you want good quality speakers that can last a while.
Edited by mcmalden - 11/21/10 at 1:52am