Cheap Bookshelf Speakers

[xluben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonick i'd recommend you going higher end than the Daytons, with the C-3, or the aforementioned atoms. rather than not being satisfied and spending more later. since you are coming from the SuperFi's, i highly doubt the Daytons will satisfy you for very long, especially being the basshead you are.

You really think my ~$150 super.fi's will sound better than simlarily priced DIY speakers, which have a good reputation online? Personally I prefer my current (bad) setup to my headphones nearly 100% of the time. I guess I will have to continue considering the C-3's, but I'd really like to get the Dayton's for the lower price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobyTyler xluben, I see that your location is Minneapolis. If you want to actually hear many of the recommended speakers, including the Paradigms, here are 3 places to go. 1. Stereoland - Uptown on Hennepin Ave just south of Franklin Ave (Paradigms, NHT, Canton and more) 2. HiFi Sound - Downton on Harmon Place just off Hennepin near the Basilica (PSB, Monitor Audio, and more) 3. Audio Perfection - Richfield on Lyndale Ave just north of I-494 (Martin Logan, NHT, Magnepan and more) All 3 are excellent. Nice listening areas, knowledgable staff, etc. Stereoland often has great demo and closeout deals. Plus all three are Grado dealers! The first two also have Sennheiser and I think Audio Perfection even carries Stax.

Thanks!

I haven't had much luck looking up speaker dealers (in Minneapolis) online. I will have to go and try listening sometime. Hopefully they will have some stuff in my price range.

 

[sonick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben You really think my ~$150 super.fi's will sound better than simlarily priced DIY speakers, which have a good reputation online? Personally I prefer my current (bad) setup to my headphones nearly 100% of the time. I guess I will have to continue considering the C-3's, but I'd really like to get the Dayton's for the lower price.

yes. a general rule-of-thumb ive heard from these forums is (with headphones at least, the ratio for IEMs may be smaller) that a set of headphones will rival a set of speakers 3-5 times its value.

IE; grado SR60 for $69 will rival speakers that cost $350+

 

[xluben]

I always thought it was the other way around.

I rationalize this by thinking that (in my opinion) headphones will never sound as good as speakers

 

[warpdriver]

It's very easy for a cheap headphone to exceed a cheap speaker's resolution, and frequency range. Few cheap speakers put out anything resembling clean bass.

I'd say my best headphone at the moment (DT880) has the resolution of a $800 set of top grade bookshelf speakers like Paradigm Studio 20's, so the 2-3X rule suggested above is not out of line.

Get the C-3, you won't regret it. At $250 these are a steal (remember, these speakers won Budget Speaker of the Year Award when they were $500)

 

[jrosenth]

C-3 seems to have vanished from audioadvisor's website.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrosenth C-3 seems to have vanished from audioadvisor's website.

still there

 

[jrosenth]

They are still there! (I swear I looked last night and they were gone.) Those look very tough to beat in the price range.

 

[trains are bad]

Well now there's one set fewer there

 

[xluben]

Energy Connoisseur C-3 vs. AV123 X-LS

I'm still set on getting the Dayton's for economical reasons, but I was wondering if anyone had opinions on the C-3's compared to the (soon to be released) X-LS from AV123?

On Audio Circle a few people who have heard the X-LS say they'll bow away the C-3's and they cost less!

From the limited amounts I've read about the X-LS it seems like there is a lot of hype behind them considering that few people have heard them.

I'd still like to try the BR-1's just to get a taste of DIY speakers, but for $200 (if they sound better than the C-3's) the X-LS are very tempting (and they have a $200 sub to match, in case I decide I need bass).

 

[soundboy]

I don't know how the AV123 X-LS sounds, but if you factor in the shipping cost, the shorter warranty and non-magnetic shielding, I will take the C-3.

The lower labor cost of China contributes to the lower retail price of the X-LS. At the same time, production on the later production runs of the C-3 have also been shifted to China, which may explain the lowered price of the C-3.

 

[Ahriman4891]

Hey xluben,

Not to make your decision more difficult...

I was trying to remember where I read about Energy C-3's. It was here:

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...ics_cbm170.htm

This is a reveiw of ascend acoustics cbm-170. I was strongly considering getting Ascends, but ultimately I figured that Daytons were DIY and $200 cheaper

. Basically, the review says that Ascends and C-3s are extremely similar sonically, with C-3s having more bass. Given the cult status Ascend speakers enjoy, being "like them" would be quite a compliment for any reasonably-priced speaker. What I'm saying is that for $250, the value C-3s provide is probably the closest you can get to a DIY speaker.

OTOH, I think the designer of AV123 X-LS said that Ascends were one of the benchmarks he aimed at when creating X-LS. That may save you another $50

They do look gorgeous (for 200 bucks, too!) but alas, aren't shielded.

NB: never heard either Energys or Ascends, but the Ascends probably have more raving reviews than any other speaker @ the pricepoint.

 

[GodsMadClown]

I'd get the X-LS. He's already stated that the unshielded nature is a non-issue.

 

[mlhm5]

Hi,

Here is my 2 cents if anyone cares. Not offended if no one does.

I have what I think to be the best bookshelf speakers for the money available and that is the Polk RT7 and RT55. Many will argue that the Polk RT55 is better and it does have 2-6.5" MW while the RT7 has 1-7.5" MW, but I love the sound of the RT7 which is a little smaller and therefore use the RT7 more often.

You can get the RT55's for less than $200 on ebay and the RT7's are around $150. I bought the RT7's for $117 including postage and a pair of RT55 recently sold for $183 (pick up only) on ebay.

Since I am a long way from an audiophile (totally rehabbed SX-1010) I like to get my money's worth from the components.

I find the Polks a good quality speaker for little money if you shop the best they made a few years ago.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/rt55i/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/rt7/

 

[xluben]

Well, it is my birthday today and I got some money from my parents, so I'll probably get the Dayton's soon.

 

[av98m2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben I always thought it was the other way around. I rationalize this by thinking that (in my opinion) headphones will never sound as good as speakers

It depends really. The problem with speakers is that you need to put in the effort to set them up(positioning), taking into account your room environment. If you just chuck them into any old corner of your room without any thought they can sound terrible!

\

P.S. I learnt this the hard way.