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Originally Posted by tdogzthmn /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I am still hesitant to get into speakers as they are much pricier than headphones but I know I will take the plunge sometime!
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That is not necessarily true.
Maybe it is up to $300-$400 or so, but you can get into excellent speakers for a lot less than the new wonder headphones or the out of production high end models.
Personally, I was tempted to buy both the HD-800 and the PS-1000. Those would have set me back a little over $3,000.
After a lot of soul searching, I instead bought a local pair of
Quad ESL-63s for $650 and kicked off a build of the Linkwitz
Orion+.
The other side of the speaker coin is that they're cheaper and easier to run than headphones. There isn't a big supply of inexpensive used headphone amps going back a few decades, but there is for speakers. You can get an old receiver for $20 that'll do a good job of driving audiophile speakers. Some might sneer, but a 1980s two channel deck with about 100W of power will make some pricey kit sound amazing. You just can't do that with headphones. Great used loudspeakers are plentiful, too.
So don't fall for the "speakers are too expensive" myth. If you factor in the amount and availability of used gear the deals are as good or better.
Anyhow, if you're thinking about building a Bottlehead, then you should be able to build your speakers, too. One driver you should look at is the
Jordan JX92S full range driver. A pair is $300 and there are three or four cabinet designs you can use there. No crossover and MDF is cheap, so you should be able to bring a pair in within $400. You could also do the same with several excellent Fostex drivers from
Madisound. Also, you can find a number of terrific projects at
the full range driver site. I prefer full range drivers to horns - they're also highly efficient, much simpler and have a more headphone-like presentation without the crossovers.