[TehJam]

So I'm looking at some nearfield speakers and my only concern is bass. I listen to electronic music which frequently hits below 50 Hz and I'm hoping to find a speaker that can at least do 40 without being extremely flabby. I just don't want to have to buy a sub because a quality one would be pretty expensive.
 
So, in short, what speakers have the best bass under $500 without sacrificing detail, etc?
 
Hoping this isn't too tall of a request

 

[Gadget67]

I recently purchased Bowers & Wilkins MM-1's for my desktop. At $499 they aren't cheap but they have very adequate bass and DAC built in. I did a lot of research and found reviews at Amazon and Crutchfield helpful. I'm completely satisfied you won't find a better 2.0 setup and the headphone out on the speakers also takes advantage of the internal DAC. Read the reviews and check them out!

 

[TehJam]

They look nice, but I'm not sure a 3" woofer can go down to 40 Hz, let alone 50. The form factor is awesome though.
 
Any other suggestions?
 
Looking at some Swans, Emotivas, and a few others.

 

[Gadget67]

They claim a Frequency response of 38-22000 kHz. Pink,Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" actually sounds impressive with these speakers. I purchased from Crutchfield because they have a 60 day return policy; If you don't like them, send them back. I like dealing with them for that reason alone. I wanted the smaller form factor with no sub so my choices were a bit limited. The Focal XS 2.1 with a subwoofer is $599 and appears to be highly regarded but I've not heard them myself. If bass is critical that may be a viable alternative. Crutchfield sells both.

Good luck!

 

[Matt34]

If you have a amp or spare avr sitting around the [size=small]Definitive Technology [/size]SM 450 or SM 350 models can dig pretty deep while maintaining a clean sound. 
 
Otherwise the KRK 6" and Behringer 2031A would probably be your best choices under $500.  40hz (at a respectable, distortion free db level) is tough for any bookshelf speaker to reproduce, If you could almost triple your budget, these would get it done.
 
http://soundfieldaudio.net/Products.html

 

[TehJam]

Thanks Matt, those look like good choices. Also looking at some of Swan's offerings now, attractive to say the least.