[vidas7de7jesus7]

What are some half-decent speaker brand you would recommend. I'm probably ebay-ing, so I would like to know what to look for. And, low price=better. Also, which are better, floor standing or bookshelf?

 

[BubbleChamber]

Celestion, KEF, Canton, Mission to name a few. Yes, I have an inclination toward British manufacturers(except Canton which is made in Germany). Just feel that British speakers gives more details and better imaging. I would stick with bookshelves, they are more versatile. Shipping for floorstandings are usually more expensive when buying online. And for the reasonable same price, usually bookshelves sound better than towers, unless you need something to knock off the stucco of your walls.

 

[VicAjax]

that's a pretty broad question. what's your budget? what kind of room? what kind of music?

 

[Leopold]

I recommend Swedish speakers. AudioPro Black Diamond, these are very competent and slim floor standing speakers with a black piano-gloss finish. Well worth auditioning IMHO. Why bother with smaller "book shelf" speakers if you got to put them on stands to make them sound acceptable?

 

[bpm2000]

When it comes to price/performance, this is one of the few times I feel good about saying go Canadian. (j/k

)
ex: PSB, Paradigm, Energy, etc.

 

[Denim]

It helps to have a target price, or budget. I recommended Fluance to a friend at work without ever hearing them. (Not the best idea to begin with.) He bought a set and loves them. They have a loyal following with the cheap crowd that have heard them. Not that you're cheap.

Haven't seen these mentioned on this site before, so the following responses could be interesting.

 

[immtbiker]

Sub $500....Epos EL-3.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker Sub $500....Epos EL-3.

that's a good rec. you might also want to see if Audio Advisor still has the Energy C-3 deal for $250/pair.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker Sub $500....Epos EL-3.

Can't the Epos M5 be had at that price range as well? It's a better speaker, build- and sound-wise, to its lesser sibling the ELS-3.

I will go as far as recommending the Quad 11L (or if price permits, 12L). They are exceptionally balanced speakers and if you like Sennheiser house sound, you should like them too. The piano-gloss finish is a very very nice bonus at this price point too!

Regards.

 

[vidas7de7jesus7]

I have a fairly small room (about 15 x 15) and they will be up on shelves, so I guess bookshelves are the way to go. My reciever says 4-12 ohms (or something like that) at 20 watts per channel (if that helps). I have an extremely low budget (anything less than $100 on ebay would be good). I listen to almost every type of music imaginable (with the exception of rap and country).

PS. I wasnt offended at all with the cheap comment, because, I am. I'm in high school and have no job (I'm under 16, darn child labor laws). The most I've ever spent on audio equipment was 25 bucks today on my Creative EP-630s. Well... $35 minus rebate). Shoot away!

 

[BubbleChamber]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vidas7de7jesus7 I have a fairly small room (about 15 x 15) and they will be up on shelves, so I guess bookshelves are the way to go. My reciever says 4-12 ohms (or something like that) at 20 watts per channel (if that helps). I have an extremely low budget (anything less than $100 on ebay would be good). I listen to almost every type of music imaginable (with the exception of rap and country). PS. I wasnt offended at all with the cheap comment, because, I am. I'm in high school and have no job (I'm under 16, darn child labor laws). The most I've ever spent on audio equipment was 25 bucks today on my Creative EP-630s. Well... $35 minus rebate). Shoot away!

That's what I had in mind when I post my recommendations. Do a search and you will find quite a few within your range. I've listened to all of them and some of them sounded not just decent, but quite good. Do a search on eBay, and you will find quite a few choices within your budget.

I was listening to my dad's Realistic speakers from Radio Shack when I was your age.

Keep "Merlin" in mind when you get older. Not only Merlin makes two of the best speakers, but you get to talk to the owner/creator at anytime during shop hours. Now that type of customer service is priceless.

 

[vidas7de7jesus7]

i found a pair of sony SS-MB350H speakers on the bay for cheap? any good?
Are JBL's worth looking at, specifically the E30s and E20s? They're all over at the bay

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Diamond Wharfedales should be on your shortlist as well. I've been very pleased with the 9.2s I picked up and last time I checked AA had them well below retail.

 

[Disiskurt]

Not super-experienced with speakers, but I'm still really enjoying the Athena AS-B1's.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Do you have access to some woodworking tools? Maybe there's a shop at your school, or a friend or relative will have a tablesaw and a router they can help you use.

Because for $100, you can build some really nice sounding DIY speakers. It's not that hard and you can get excellent quality for your dollar. It's fun, too.

If that's an option, take a look at some of the single driver sites. A good place to start is here:

http://www.melhuish.org/

You can pick up a nice pair of Fostex drivers under $100 and MDF is pretty cheap. You won't need a crossover, either.

Single drivers aren't perfect, but they have terrific imaging and are usually easy to drive. Later, you could build an inexpensive tube amp and get audiophile sound on the cheap.