Budget System for Baroque Chamber Music

Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
I'm looking for a good bookshelf and sub combo (2.1) that is good for
chamber music or classical music in general.
Any suggestions?
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
What is your source?
How big is the room?
Computer desktop audio system (near-field)?

Can you be more specific on budget? For some people a budget system might be less than $2000 for others $150!
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
What is your source?
How big is the room?
Computer desktop audio system (near-field)?

Can you be more specific on budget? For some people a budget system might be less than $2000 for others $150!
Thank you so much for the reply!
It is not near field. For a living room.
i like to have my speakers 12 ft away from each other for the soundstage.
Assume that my source is a generic onkyo 2.1 reciever.
https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX8020-TX-8020-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B00EE18O7W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487527390&sr=8-3&keywords=onkyo+receiver

The room is approximately 22*13 feet.

My price range for a sub and two bookshelves excluding reciever is $0-400.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Thank you so much for the reply!
It is not near field. For a living room.
i like to have my speakers 12 ft away from each other for the soundstage.
Assume that my source is a generic onkyo 2.1 reciever.
https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX8020-TX-8020-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B00EE18O7W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487527390&sr=8-3&keywords=onkyo+receiver

The room is approximately 22*13 feet.

My price range for a sub and two bookshelves excluding reciever is $0-400.
How about showing some examples of the music?

Since chamber music isn't full of loud crescendos and extremes of the type heard in rock & full orchestra, I think I would recommend against using a sub, in favor of finding the best speakers you can in your budget. Tiny bookshelf models aren't going to give you what I believe you're looking for.

My room was roughly 11' x 16' until I took out most of a wall, removed a closet and moved the entry door back about 4'. Now, it opens to the kitchen and doesn't sound like a small room. In my case, I got really tired of throbbing bass while I still worked in car audio and, while I used a sub for years, it was because the room and my speakers didn't do a great job on bass. I eventually became so dissatisfied that I build a pair of speakers using WinISD and one of the members here sent a crossover design for them, using BassBoxPro. I haven't felt the need for a sub since and it has been around 5 years. They go to the upper/mid 30Hz range before the low end drops out and since most of what people think is deep bass is really the second octave (40Hz and up), these do very well for a wide range of music, including classical. Is it like a true full-range system that digs into the 20Hz and under frequencies? No, but it sounds great for music and special effects in TV and movies- surprisingly well, actually.

I think that it will be easier to achieve a convincing sonic image with a good 2-1/2 way using 6-1/2" woofers than trying to get a sub and satellites to work together seamlessly. In my room, when something is supposed to come from the center, it comes from dead center and it's rare that anything sounds like it's just coming out of a speaker. They can be a bit light on bass at times, but mostly, that's because of the recording and some things are again, surprising in the level of the low frequencies.

You may be able to find something at one of the local stores that was returned- as long as they make sure the equipment performs to spec, it's not a bad way to experiment and find out what works, or not. I found a set of Polk T50 towers that were returned, but I don't know where you are, so it's hard to recommend where to go for these. I found a very complimentary review of these and unless you also listen to EDM, pipe organ or anything with extremely strong and deep bass, they might work.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
For $400, I have not been able to find a better pair of speakers than the Philharmonic AA's (which are only $210/pr. plus shipping). For the music you describe, the Philharmonitor AA's would cover the bass quite well without a sub (assuming your classical music does not include a penchant for organ peddle-tones).
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html
I did a comparison of the AA's against the Elac B5 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/elac-b5-vs-philharmonic-affordable-accuracy-new-monitor.97171/#post-1109193

For a sub in that budget, I would go with the Dayton Audio SUB-1200:
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

I would advise you to just buy the AA's first because I think you will be very pleased with the quality of their bass! You can always add the sub later if you decide it is necessary.

This will give you a system capable of great sound, but I must add that if you truly like to blast your music loud, the 50 Watt receiver may be lacking. The Onkyo/AA's will comfortably fill the room, but blasting it is likely to cause the amp to start clipping. You can tell when this happens because the sound will take on a harshness. It is pretty obvious with most classical music.

If you have not yet committed to the Onkyo, you might consider this factory refurbished Yamaha at $99:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrs202bl/yamaha-r-s202-2-ch-x-100-watts-natural-sound-stereo-receiver/1.html
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
How about showing some examples of the music?

Since chamber music isn't full of loud crescendos and extremes of the type heard in rock & full orchestra, I think I would recommend against using a sub, in favor of finding the best speakers you can in your budget. Tiny bookshelf models aren't going to give you what I believe you're looking for.

My room was roughly 11' x 16' until I took out most of a wall, removed a closet and moved the entry door back about 4'. Now, it opens to the kitchen and doesn't sound like a small room. In my case, I got really tired of throbbing bass while I still worked in car audio and, while I used a sub for years, it was because the room and my speakers didn't do a great job on bass. I eventually became so dissatisfied that I build a pair of speakers using WinISD and one of the members here sent a crossover design for them, using BassBoxPro. I haven't felt the need for a sub since and it has been around 5 years. They go to the upper/mid 30Hz range before the low end drops out and since most of what people think is deep bass is really the second octave (40Hz and up), these do very well for a wide range of music, including classical. Is it like a true full-range system that digs into the 20Hz and under frequencies? No, but it sounds great for music and special effects in TV and movies- surprisingly well, actually.

I think that it will be easier to achieve a convincing sonic image with a good 2-1/2 way using 6-1/2" woofers than trying to get a sub and satellites to work together seamlessly. In my room, when something is supposed to come from the center, it comes from dead center and it's rare that anything sounds like it's just coming out of a speaker. They can be a bit light on bass at times, but mostly, that's because of the recording and some things are again, surprising in the level of the low frequencies.

You may be able to find something at one of the local stores that was returned- as long as they make sure the equipment performs to spec, it's not a bad way to experiment and find out what works, or not. I found a set of Polk T50 towers that were returned, but I don't know where you are, so it's hard to recommend where to go for these. I found a very complimentary review of these and unless you also listen to EDM, pipe organ or anything with extremely strong and deep bass, they might work.
For $400, I have not been able to find a better pair of speakers than the Philharmonic AA's (which are only $210/pr. plus shipping). For the music you describe, the Philharmonitor AA's would cover the bass quite well without a sub (assuming your classical music does not include a penchant for organ peddle-tones).
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html
I did a comparison of the AA's against the Elac B5 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/elac-b5-vs-philharmonic-affordable-accuracy-new-monitor.97171/#post-1109193

For a sub in that budget, I would go with the Dayton Audio SUB-1200:
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

I would advise you to just buy the AA's first because I think you will be very pleased with the quality of their bass! You can always add the sub later if you decide it is necessary.

This will give you a system capable of great sound, but I must add that if you truly like to blast your music loud, the 50 Watt receiver may be lacking. The Onkyo/AA's will comfortably fill the room, but blasting it is likely to cause the amp to start clipping. You can tell when this happens because the sound will take on a harshness. It is pretty obvious with most classical music.

If you have not yet committed to the Onkyo, you might consider this factory refurbished Yamaha at $99:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrs202bl/yamaha-r-s202-2-ch-x-100-watts-natural-sound-stereo-receiver/1.html
You guys are probably right. I always thought too that the sub is not totally necessary.
Here are some examples of what I listen to
Thanks guys!
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
For $400, I have not been able to find a better pair of speakers than the Philharmonic AA's (which are only $210/pr. plus shipping). For the music you describe, the Philharmonitor AA's would cover the bass quite well without a sub (assuming your classical music does not include a penchant for organ peddle-tones).
http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html
I did a comparison of the AA's against the Elac B5 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/elac-b5-vs-philharmonic-affordable-accuracy-new-monitor.97171/#post-1109193

For a sub in that budget, I would go with the Dayton Audio SUB-1200:
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629

I would advise you to just buy the AA's first because I think you will be very pleased with the quality of their bass! You can always add the sub later if you decide it is necessary.

This will give you a system capable of great sound, but I must add that if you truly like to blast your music loud, the 50 Watt receiver may be lacking. The Onkyo/AA's will comfortably fill the room, but blasting it is likely to cause the amp to start clipping. You can tell when this happens because the sound will take on a harshness. It is pretty obvious with most classical music.

If you have not yet committed to the Onkyo, you might consider this factory refurbished Yamaha at $99:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrs202bl/yamaha-r-s202-2-ch-x-100-watts-natural-sound-stereo-receiver/1.html
I did consider that yamaha before, but it lacks a sub out, which I want so I can add a sub
later on if I want to.
Also the onkyo is capable of 4 speakers with 2.0 audio and I have seen
4 speaker 2.0 configurations on high end setups. Any thoughts on that?
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
Also, is there any speaker I can order online without special service like amazon and world wide stereo?
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I did consider that yamaha before, but it lacks a sub out, which I want so I can add a sub
later on if I want to.
Also the onkyo is capable of 4 speakers with 2.0 audio and I have seen
4 speaker 2.0 configurations on high end setups. Any thoughts on that?
As long as you are not driving both pairs at the same time it should work.
You should be able to play both pairs at the same time if you know they are truly 8 Ohm speakers and you are not playing too loud, but as loose as manufacturers are with their specifications, you really need to see third party measurements before playing two pairs.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Also, is there any speaker I can order online without special service like amazon and world wide stereo?
Well the Sony SC5 doesn't have the bass of the AA's, but you can try them from Amazon (30 day return) or BestBuy (14 day return). If you like their sound, I can tell you that the AA's are pretty close and it would be a safe bet to order the AA's. The Sony are very good sounding speakers, IMHO; but I have a tough time recommending them when you can get great bass for the same money.
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS5-3-Driver-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00O8YLMVA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487534876&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+sc5
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Also, is there any speaker I can order online without special service like amazon and world wide stereo?
What are your concerns here?
Dennis Murphy is Philharmonic Audio. He has been involved in helping people on forums by designing DIY projects for many years. He also designed the highly regarded Salk Audio speakers (ranging in price up to $16,000). He is now retired and enjoying the ability to share his passion for quality audio by offering speakers which represent outstanding value. For him, this is not a career, but a hobby.
Dennis is the assistant principal violist in the Washington Philharmonic Orchestra and also plays lead violin in two tango orchestras, his passion is music and sound. I mention his involvement in the orchestra because that is where he comes from design-wise. Every one of his speakers is very accurate for it's price point. No bass hump or mid/treble emphasis, he designs for an orchestra to sound like a live orchestra.
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
What are your concerns here?
Dennis Murphy is Philharmonic Audio. He has been involved in helping people on forums by designing DIY projects for many years. He also designed the highly regarded Salk Audio speakers (ranging in price up to $16,000). He is now retired and enjoying the ability to share his passion for quality audio by offering speakers which represent outstanding value. For him, this is not a career, but a hobby.
Dennis is the assistant principal violist in the Washington Philharmonic Orchestra and also plays lead violin in two tango orchestras, his passion is music and sound. I mention his involvement in the orchestra because that is where he comes from design-wise. Every one of his speakers is very accurate for it's price point. No bass hump or mid/treble emphasis, he designs for an orchestra to sound like a live orchestra.
I guess he has that outstanding credibility.
I'll take a look and contact him.
Thanks!
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
I would have the same hesitations if I had no idea about who Philharmonic Audio was. Buying a "name brand" seems safer.

More info on Dennis in post #51 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/new-sony-ss-cs5-bookshelf-speakers-at-best-buy.90746/page-3#post-1105046

Also, his thread might make you feel better about buying "no name" speakers:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/need-a-little-help-upgrading-sound.97381/
Seems legit. I contacted him and they are in stock. This is definitely going on my list.
Thanks!
 
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee

Audioholic Intern
I would have the same hesitations if I had no idea about who Philharmonic Audio was. Buying a "name brand" seems safer.

More info on Dennis in post #51 here:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/new-sony-ss-cs5-bookshelf-speakers-at-best-buy.90746/page-3#post-1105046

Also, his thread might make you feel better about buying "no name" speakers:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/need-a-little-help-upgrading-sound.97381/
Do you have any recommendation for a pair that is $400?
I think I can stretch my budget a bit more.
 
F

flippo

Full Audioholic
Haven't heard myself but maybe someone else has. How about the Monoprice K-BAS speakers that were reviewed?
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Do you have any recommendation for a pair that is $400?
I think I can stretch my budget a bit more.
AA Monitors can compete to speakers that cost 500$ and even more in some cases. For 400$ you can't really find anything better I think, unless you find some really good deal on used stuff.
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
Last edited:
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