[jung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif High resolution with deep bass for 100 bucks? LOL!!!!!!!

Many of the speakers on the list is around $500.

I don't know if there is any active speaker around $600 that sound better than these passive speakers. I understand that the built in amp would cost extra, but these days there are some cheap but good Class-D amps. And electronic or digital crossover can be much better than passive crossover. So it seems possible to make active speaker for $600 that sounds better than the $500 speakers on the list.

 

[Bemopti123]

The non fatiguing Gershman X-1s make excellent bass, to the 40 hz easily, can actually overpower a small room.

The newer itineration is called the X-2s.

They sure are not near the $100 figure that someone threw around here.

Did I say I own them, along with a pair of passive subwoofer standmounts called the SW-1s. They have a very high craftsmanship factor, never sounding harsh, but at the same time, are very accurate. Need some power though.

If you live in Seattle, I would visit a dealer in the Canadian side and check them out.

 

[Prozakk]

I find it hard to suggest speakers without knowing what kind of music you listen to. That makes all the difference in the world as to suggested needs.

Also, why not tower speakers, if you really want DEEP bass???

 

[Bemopti123]

It is easier to "mess up" your bass than to add some more. That Is what I found out about bass and speakers. So, perhaps his approach might not be bad, if it is just enough, perhaps monitors can get the bass right, instead of overpowering a room.

The irony of it all is that monitors+stands=same space as towers.

Really "deep bass", especially that is audible is not something that we can tame or want.

If you find the a speaker "lacking" in the slamm department, you can always add a decent subwoofer. Although really good ones are expensive.

 

[Prozakk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bemopti123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) It is easier to "mess up" your bass than to add some more. That Is what I found out about bass and speakers. So, perhaps his approach might not be bad, if it is just enough, perhaps monitors can get the bass right, instead of overpowering a room. 2) The irony of it all is that monitors+stands=same space as towers. 3) Really "deep bass", especially that is audible is not something that we can tame or want. 4) If you find the a speaker "lacking" in the slamm department, you can always add a decent subwoofer. Although really good ones are expensive. If you must ask on a forum about speakers, I'd try avs.com Not knocking this site, but you'd be better off getting starting info there.

1) With a good amount of knowledge about what's out there, what's good, and what's not, it's easy to buy "quality" bass. I'd suggest going to local boutique dealers to listen to some speakers, rather than start on a forum. Take what you like to listen to, both good and bad recording to find out what works for you.

2) Hence my last post. Plus it's about the same price as towers, but with LESS bass.

3) Why would someone not want deep bass? If it's in your recording, don't you want realistic playback of your music? The bottom octave is your friend. It's all about keeping the fine line between adequate reproduction and bloat.

4) There are some really good cheap subs. HSU and SVS are some perfect examples.

 

[Bemopti123]

One needs to be careful to classify midbass as "bass." In strict term, slam, for me is not boomy bass, but something that gives the music foundation. I say, something that is able to "pressurize" the room, instead of being fully audible.

The most present danger when auditioning to speakers is what I call the possibility of being impressed by an "audible" hump or bass. It will sound fantastic in the demo, but I say whether that will not become fatiguing in the long run is to take the speaker in question back home, to your audio room.

The best speakers are those who sound natural most of the time, while they provide you slamm when the music demands it. Not easy to find these sort of speakers on the affordable side.

 

[stevenkelby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bemopti123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The most present danger when auditioning to speakers is what I call the possibility of being impressed by an "audible" hump or bass. It will sound fantastic in the demo, but I say whether that will not become fatiguing in the long run is to take the speaker in question back home, to your audio room.

Great advice.

I would look for second hand speakers at that price.

 

[jung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prozakk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find it hard to suggest speakers without knowing what kind of music you listen to. That makes all the difference in the world as to suggested needs. Also, why not tower speakers, if you really want DEEP bass???

I listen to classical, rock, ...

I am not looking for absolute deep bass. But within the bookshelf speakers, some can play down to 40Hz, while some only 60Hz. If at the $500 price level, there is no 60Hz speaker that is much better than 40Hz ones, then I want to limit my search within the 40Hz ones.

About bookshelf vs tower, I think bookshelf speakers are more flexible. They can be mounted on stands, or on shelves, or on desk, ... And I think bookshelf speakers are still cheaper than tower speakers, even with the cost of the stands figured in. I already have a pair of sturdy steel stands for about $100. So which $600 tower speakers are better than these $500 bookshelf speakers?

For the speakers on the list, I listened to PSB Image B25, Monitor Audio Silver RS1, and Quad 11L. The 11L setup sounded much more real, and better than my home setup of NHT SuperOne and SuperZero. (I am buying the speakers for a third stereo setup.) But all these are in different setups. The 11L was in the best setup, powered by Naim amps, and the room was heavily treated with acoustic panels and rugs on the walls and the floor, and the speakers on good stands away from the walls. The RS1 was on shelves powered by Denon receiver. The source is the same though, my Creative Muvo2, playing the highest quality variable bit rate WMA. Some busy orchestral tracks have overall average bit rate over 400kbps.

 

[jaspert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif If bass performance is important to you, try Dynaudio speakers. I compared many monitor speakers a while ago (there were Monitor Audio RS1 and Quad12L also) and ended up with Dynaudio A42. Well I couldn't stop there and now I have Dynaudio Focus 110.

Another vote for Dynaudio Audience, new or used.

I had Dyn Audience 52 for a few years before i upgraded to Focus 140 recently and the Audience 52 rocked. Neutral sounding with tuneful and tight bass for a smallish stand mount.

 

[Bemopti123]

I had someone from the same Seattle shop suggest the Quad 11L as an excellent partnering speaker for my Naim Nait 3....but, when you see the experts in the Naim forum, they state that the Quad 11L is somewhat "polite", polite is not a good word in the Naim context.

While many monitors are erroneously called "bookshelves", most, if not the majority of them are not designed for to placed in bookshelves and instead need a very firm stand and some space between them and the wall.

I read that you might be interested in mounting these monitors on bookshelves. If that is your intent, get a speaker that does not have a woofer port exiting in the back, but one that exits either in the front, should you get a bass reflex design with ports. Of course, there are speakers without any ports=acoustic suspension. These are more accurate, but less efficient and with less bass on the average.

What sort of amplification do you have in mind? This will dictate what would be good for you.

If you are forced to place these speakers near the backwall, you will gain some bass at the expense of clarity and soundstaging. Furthermore, you can always get a terrible bass response should the speaker be ported in the back. Be aware of these possibilities.

PS: The most satisfying bass I have ever enjoyed was a partnering between an older Epos ES11 and a 47 Labs Shigaraki integrated(20 watts) and the bass was utterly lightning quick, nimble and extremely satisfying. The interesting thing is that the Epos had a limited frequency response of 55hz, while several other speakers that I have had went to the 40s, and 30s, and yet, that simple system's bass delivery is what I remembered the most.
It was not the quantity of whatever "hump" or "bass" as someone and even I loosely called it that gave me the satisfaction, but the quickness of what is "audible" perhaps a hump in the 150-500 hz frequency that gave the impression of slam.

I assume that you are a headphone listener, therefore, I think you are used to concise bass, something that is very difficult to get with monitors or real world speakers.

I say, go for nimble upper bass that can keep up with the music when it goes to speakers. In the longer run, your ears with thank you.

PS: My newest set up will partner an older Naim Nait 3 (30 watts)+ a pair of these from Europe:

It is hard to get the Neat speakers in the US, so I had to get them from overseas. Very small, but I believe to be very fast.

 

[sejarzo]

I heard the PSB B25 on some stands in a correctly arranged room at one dealer and thought them to be a good value for the money. The sales guy then replaced them, on the same stands, with the 11L's, which in comparison sounded a bit thin/bright (same CD/electronics/cables) but more detailed. I would have preferred the Quads in the end, I think.

Next place had the B25's positioned much like they would be in many prefab home theater wall units.....up higher and on shelves, still driven by a decent player/electronics/cable system. They sounded terribly muddy and boomy. I couldn't believe a first-time audio buyer would buy them at any price, if he/she were not aware that the placement was the problem.

Getting "more" bass from a smaller speaker might be more a function of placement in your room than the speaker itself, but that depends on the room. When it comes to "deep" bass, it's not really there like the mid-bass, though you can enhance what is there with placement.

My Paradigm Studio 40v3's are spec'ed at -2 dB at 62 Hz (I presume in an anechoic chamber), but three different measurement mics/systems have shown their in-room response (without any sub in the chain) to be flat down to about 34 Hz. In other words, that's about an extra octave of flat response. Seeing those curves changed my mind big-time about where to set the crossover frequency for the sub!

 

[Prozakk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jung /img/forum/go_quote.gif I listen to classical, rock, ... I am not looking for absolute deep bass. But within the bookshelf speakers, some can play down to 40Hz, while some only 60Hz. If at the $500 price level, there is no 60Hz speaker that is much better than 40Hz ones, then I want to limit my search within the 40Hz ones. About bookshelf vs tower, I think bookshelf speakers are more flexible. They can be mounted on stands, or on shelves, or on desk, ... And I think bookshelf speakers are still cheaper than tower speakers, even with the cost of the stands figured in. I already have a pair of sturdy steel stands for about $100. So which $600 tower speakers are better than these $500 bookshelf speakers? For the speakers on the list, I listened to PSB Image B25, Monitor Audio Silver RS1, and Quad 11L. The 11L setup sounded much more real, and better than my home setup of NHT SuperOne and SuperZero. (I am buying the speakers for a third stereo setup.) But all these are in different setups. The 11L was in the best setup, powered by Naim amps, and the room was heavily treated with acoustic panels and rugs on the walls and the floor, and the speakers on good stands away from the walls. The RS1 was on shelves powered by Denon receiver. The source is the same though, my Creative Muvo2, playing the highest quality variable bit rate WMA. Some busy orchestral tracks have overall average bit rate over 400kbps.

My suggestion then: Paradigm Monitor 5v.3 or v.4. I own the v.3 that were my mains for awhile, then bought another pair now used as my 4 surround speakers.

 

[coho66]

more of a true bookshelf speaker...

i'm listening to a pair of paradigm mini monitors (v.4) right now and they sound puuuurty...

and their price was just as nice....

 

[kaushama]

Since the new line has come, you can find a demo pair of B & W DM602 S3 pair lesser price. I got one for 200£ and they sound fantastic!

 

[koshui]

My vote goes for Dynaudio 52SE or 42 to be in budget.
You could also try Totem's Arro.They are floor standers and sound veery nice... maybe a bit out of budget again.

I would have most likely bought Totem model-1 signature if I had had the money at the time I was buying my current setup.. instead,
I ended up buying Sonus Faber Concertinos (not home but the older version) due getting a good deal out of a demo pair.
Speakers are driven by Arcam Solo and can't say I'm not pleased with the setup.
I had Cambridge Audio's Azur 640a first as an amp but after 2 returns (and with extra cash in pocket) upgraded to Solo.