Best Reference Speakers for Under $1500?

[Skivlgadon]

Hey guys, I'm wondering what are the best reference level speakers for under $1500? I'm looking for completely neutral, flat and "pure" sounding speakers with no alterations to the original sound whatsoever.

For reference, I'm interested in the ATH-R70x headphones because they have natural and neutral sound. I'm not looking for bass or anything like that (I generally try and avoid it because it can be distracting), just some high quality and natural sounding speakers.

I know next to nothing about audio, especially when it comes to speakers, so I need some help. Thanks guys!

 

[Brettc]

If you could just come up with $500 more it would be worth the SVS ultra


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[shadyJ]

Audioholics will be publishing a review of an extremely neutral speaker set pretty soon, maybe a week or so that hits your target budget nicely, so stay tuned for that. But, to give you some other choices to look at until then, check out the Outlaw Audio BLSv2 or LCRv2, those are quite neutral, and also speakers from the Paradigm Premier line. They were reviewed recently and they are also very neutral speakers. Some other very neutral speaker brands to look at are Revel, JBL Pro, Genelec, Ascend Acoustics, Dynaudio, and some of the Monitor Audio speakers.

 

[Brettc]

Yes for sure a solid choice


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[AcuDefTechGuy]

RBH might still have some SX-T1 speakers on clearance for under $1500/pair (MSRP $5200/pair).

Here is the frequency response of the T2 (which has the T1 + 1010-sub). It's about +/- 2.5dB.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Accurate/neutral speaker brands include RBH, KEF, PSB, NHT, Salk, Revel, Focal, Ascend, Dynaudio, Philharmonic. These speaker brands are usually +/- 3dB or less.

Speaker brands that might have a hump/peak in the treble region 9-15kHz include DefTech, GoldenEar, Paradigm, B&W.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

@Skivlgadon
If you like neutral/accurate sound, headphones I can't recommend enough on Sennheiser HD600.

Audioholics will be publishing a review of an extremely neutral speaker set pretty soon, maybe a week or so that hits your target budget nicely, so stay tuned for that.

Wink Wing. Nudge. Nudge. Dear op, google name Denis Murphy. That's all I gonna say for now.

 

[everettT]

The CAOW from salk sound is a great reference monitor.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

If you like neutral/accurate sound, headphones I can't recommend enough on Sennheiser HD600.

I've owned a pair since 2005. I don't use headphones much anymore, but man are they sweet sounding.

OP also consider Canton speakers. They're not bass heavy at all, but sound fantastic. My only experience is with the "entry level" GLE's so I can't even imagine what the Chrono's and Vento's can do!

 

[Swerd]

Wink Wing. Nudge. Nudge. Dear op, google name Denis Murphy. That's all I gonna say for now.

Gotta agree with that.

To be specific, the BMR Philharmonitor, a stand-mount 3-way speaker, is in my opinion (and that of many others) by far the best sounding speakers for $1350/pair (plus shipping). They're completely neutral, flat and "pure" sounding speakers with no alterations to the original sound. They are champions at creating a realistic sound-stage in your listening room. They are sold Internet Direct by the manufacturer, Philharmonic Audio.

 

[Skivlgadon]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I found this monitor speaker that I'm interested in at Salk Sound.

It's the Veracity HT1, it's about twice as much as my original budget, but I figure I might as well wait and save up for something a bit higher quality. Here's the frequency response graph.

What do you guys think? I read some reviews and they got me interested in this one, one caveat is that it's more than a decade old, judging by when the reviews were posted. How much does this matter, if at all? Should I just go for newer speakers? Again, I'm very new to audio systems, so I need some advice from you guys.

Thanks again!

 

[Kvn_Walker]

I doubt you'll find a bad word spoken about Salk speakers on this forum.

Jim Salk is quite active on the Salk Audio Circle forum. If you start a post there and relay your specific needs he will no doubt steer you towards a specific product of his.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=82.0

I have to warn you though that Salk has a very long wait time because they are a small outfit and every speaker is hand made. A 6 month wait or longer is likely, depending on their workload. But I don't think I've seen a single owner say the wait wasn't worth it.

 

[ryanosaur]

I woulda loved to play in Salk's sandbox... but for what I wanted... a little rich for me.

I went the way of Philharmonic Audio. Dennis Murphy played a big role in helping design Salk's speakers; selecting drivers and designing crossovers is his jam. To say he does it well might be an understatement!

The BMRs are amazing. If you want a Center BMR, Dennis will do that to. I have, quite simply been in awe since receiving mine, 3 or so weeks ago.

The only thing that's going to blow these out of the water is the Phil-3s when they arrive in May or June.

Please feel free to check out the thread I started: B-M-WOW!

Cheers!

 

[lovinthehd]

Might throw the Ascend Sierra 2 into the mix....but don't think you can go wrong with Salk or Philharmonic Maybe the JBL LSR 30x family. Hard to determine what you'll like in the end in your room, tho.

 

[rekh127]

What about the LS50?

 

[ichigo]

Ribbons are pretty height sensitive though, anything more than 10 degrees above or below the tweeter will result in ~20db drops in the FR. For a living room setup I prefer traditional dome or concentric drivers.

 

[Swerd]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I found this monitor speaker that I'm interested in at Salk Sound. It's the Veracity HT1, it's about twice as much as my original budget, but I figure I might as well wait and save up for something a bit higher quality.

What do you guys think? I read some reviews and they got me interested in this one, one caveat is that it's more than a decade old, judging by when the reviews were posted. How much does this matter, if at all? Should I just go for newer speakers? Again, I'm very new to audio systems, so I need some advice from you guys.

The Veracity HT1 is certainly a worthy speaker – I've heard it and like it. It was Jim Salk's first design, and if I recall the story, he first built one for himself as a DIY project. He was unhappy with it's sound and, through a DIY speaker builder forum, contacted Dennis Murphy, who designed a different and better crossover. The rest is history. It may be a 15-year-old design, but it uses drivers that are still produced and are still considered among the best around. I wouldn't worry about the design's age.

Over the years, the ribbon tweeter Salk favors has changed twice, from the Aurum Cantus ribbon originally used, to an LCY ribbon, to the RAAL ribbon presently used. I would not worry at all about the suggestion that ribbon tweeters lack vertical dispersion. It's one of those theoretical concerns that hasn't become a significant problem in real use.

Are you considering buying a new HT1 or a used one? A new HT1 costs about $2900. For $400 more, you might want to consider a popularly received recent 3-way floor standing design, the Song3. It, of course, was designed by Dennis Murphy, and can be thought of as a cousin to the much less expensive BMR Philharmonitor that several of us mentioned earlier.

I suggest you contact Jim Salk by phone or email and talk directly to him. He is always happy to discuss questions like yours.

 

[Swerd]

Ribbons are pretty height sensitive though, anything more than 10 degrees above or below the tweeter will result in ~20db drops in the FR. For a living room setup I prefer traditional dome or concentric drivers.

That's an often-repeated exaggeration. A more significant problem with any 2-way speaker is that sounds from the mid woofer and tweeter, within an octave of the crossover frequency, can interfere with each other, causing cancellation losses in the upper mid range/lower treble. If your 2-way speaker is mounted on a stand at the right height as you sit, you can easily hear this if you simply stand up. This is true with any kind of tweeter, dome or flat panel like a ribbon.

 

[ryanosaur]

Ribbons are pretty height sensitive though, anything more than 10 degrees above or below the tweeter will result in ~20db drops in the FR. For a living room setup I prefer traditional dome or concentric drivers.

I agree with @Swerd on this: the Raal tweeters being used by Dennis and Salk are magnificent. They have great dispersion and sound truly clean and effortless. Lesser ribbon tweeters maybe, but not these.

 

[Alex2507]

The funny thing about the differences in tweeters is that once Dennis gets his hands on them, they all start sounding pretty similar. Not the same, but close enough. My experience is limited to a couple of DIY designs from him and a couple of different tweets in Salk's SongTower series. I think varying rooms and varying placement has a bigger impact on differences in the sound of Dennis' xo designs than the drivers.

Plus I've heard a couple of Phil 3 speakers played in different rooms. Same speakers but in the differing rooms, the audio quality was markedly different. They sounded best in Dennis' living room: the sales floor as it were.

Edit: Maybe I should have just said that rooms and placement has a big impact on sound as opposed to bigger than the driver choice. Still, a lowly twenty something dollar tweeter has much in common with a $125 tweeter in my two diy designs.