Best Small Speakers in the $200-400 range?

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cmyden

Audiophyte
Hello,

I am trying to decide on a pair of quality rear surround speakers for a 5.1 setup that will be used mostly for watching movies.

My problem is that I'm limited to the following dimensions:

Height: maximum of 7 or 8 inches
Width: maximum of 5.75"
Depth: maximum of 7 inches

My budget is between $200-400 for the pair. I considered the Energy C-50 but they were a little too deep.

I'm not too concerned about matching them to my fronts and center, as I plan to upgrade those in the future.

The only other factor I can think of is that there is no wall directly behind my listening point, but the speakers will be mounted on side walls.

Anyone have some small surrounds that they're happy with?

Thanks for your input, love the info on these forums.

chris
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
cmyden said:
Hello,

I am trying to decide on a pair of quality rear surround speakers for a 5.1 setup that will be used mostly for watching movies.

My problem is that I'm limited to the following dimensions:

Height: maximum of 7 or 8 inches
Width: maximum of 5.75"
Depth: maximum of 7 inches

My budget is between $200-400 for the pair. I considered the Energy C-50 but they were a little too deep.

I'm not too concerned about matching them to my fronts and center, as I plan to upgrade those in the future.

The only other factor I can think of is that there is no wall directly behind my listening point, but the speakers will be mounted on side walls.

Anyone have some small surrounds that they're happy with?

Thanks for your input, love the info on these forums.

chris
Click to expand...
Just in time:D There is a thread above, speaker face off 2007 that has those price ranges.
 
Z

zumbo

Audioholic Spartan
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cmyden

Audiophyte
Thanks guys. I've done a little more research and narrowed down the field a bit.

Anyone have any opinions on the Energy RC-Mini versus the ERA D3 satellite ?

I'm also considering the Mirage Omnisat, and now the Monitor R90 thanks to mtrycrafts.

chris
 
dorokusai

dorokusai

Full Audioholic
Why exactly are you limited to those dimensions? The DefTech Mythos & Polk RM series line may work into that application but they are a little taller. I'm not a huge fan of small speakers but if your limited, by admission, there are still alot more choices in this area.

Mark
Polk Audio CS
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
If you are going to shove them into a cabinet or small area, you'll want to consider front ported or sealed as a feature for sure.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
I think the ERA D3s weigh a bit more than the Monitor Audio R90s, but I can't be certain on the weight of the ERAs because I am stuck using dial-up right now, browsing is limited at best.:D
 
R

rnatalli

Audioholic Ninja
I also considered the Omnisat when I was shopping for speakers about a month ago. They're great speakers, but once I heard some PSB and Mordaunt-Short speakers, I felt they sounded a little muddy. Mirage's Omni series are very picky about placement. When I found the MS speaker system on sale at TSTO for $249 I was sold. In a few weeks, I will pick up some MS floorstanders for mains; but, I've been using the small MS302's and they sound great! MS has brackets for these speakers which I picked up at ac4l for $20 a piece and I think the speakers fit your physical specifications. TSTO also has a similar Mission system on sale. You can always buy a few pairs and keep the one you like best. That's always the best bet.
 
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cmyden

Audiophyte
dorokusai: I've attached a picture of my seating area to show why I'm limited to those dimensions. Basically, there isn't much room to pass between the couch and the wall, so the speaker can't stick out too much. I've indicated in the picture approximately where the speaker will go.

Unfortunately I didn't design the theater area, I bought the place with the basement developed. I still feel pretty lucky to have a home theater and a pool table in an inner-city townhouse though :)

j_garcia: Just wondering if you could take a look at the picture I've attached and let me know if you think front ported or sealed are still a must? The speakers won't be in a cabinet, but the room width is a little over 10 feet, so pretty narrow.

rnatalli: The Mordaunt-Short 302's look great, but it seems they're based in the UK (I'm in Canada). Could be a problem tracking them down here?

I think I'm leaning towards the ERA D3's, I don't think I've ever seen a single complaint about them on any forums, and people seem to love them. Supposed to be a great speaker for the money.

It's kind of hard to find dealers for the ERA's though, only one I've seen is goodwinshighend, anyone dealt with them?

chris
 

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j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I do think Mordaunt is a little harder to find in Canada than the US for some reason. Check their dealer locator www.mordauntshort.com and see what comes up. They are solid speakers.

If it is going to be mounted directly on the wall like that, I would still probably look for sealed or front ported.
 
C

cmyden

Audiophyte
Thanks guys, this has been a big help. According to Signal Path International, even though they're rear ported, the ERA D3 speakers were designed to go close to the wall. Their explanation:

"The rear port is tuned 10Hz below the lowest resonant frequency. Essentially, the port allows the speaker to breathe, not throw unnecessary bass frequencies at the wall, making the speaker thick in the mid-bass region. "

I'd probably be able to place them about half an inch to an inch from the wall, not sure if that's far enough.

j_garcia: It looks like all the ones I've considered are rear ported. Any front ported / sealed ones that you can recommend? Are the MS-302s ? I couldn't find much info.
 
R

rnatalli

Audioholic Ninja
Don't know where to find Mordaunts in Canada, but they must have them. My two surrounds (MS302's) are mounted on the MS brackets and it's about 4cm from the wall to the back of the speaker. The speaker itself is about 13cm deep so that's about 17cm in total from the wall to the front of the speaker. The speakers are sealed so putting them flush against the wall should work and I found these speakers like to be facing straight ahead, but you would need a mount that would allow you to do it as the MS302's don't have a hole for a nail or anything. These speakers have a freq response starting at 100 so you need a good sub to compliment them.

I also remember some Boston Acoustics (the CR57 and CR67 I think) that were pretty darn good and had a hole so that you could hang them on the wall. They weren't too deep either. I don't know how readily available BA's are in Canada though.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I didn't mention that I used to own 902s and had them very near the wall. Surprisingly, they seem to tolerate being close pretty well actually, so the 302s may be less of an issue than other rear ported speakers.
 
dorokusai

dorokusai

Full Audioholic
The picture certainly helps with the request, thanks.

Polk has a VM series that fits your measurements, specifically the VM10 @ 11"H x 4-1/4" D x 4-1/8" W. It's a little taller but with the mounting bracket stand-off(1"), I believe it would work fine. If you want more information on that, contact me by PM or email. Just a thought, either way I'm sure you'll find something cool.

J_Garcia brings up a good point about ports and placement. I've also had many, less than ideal, choices for placement in my travels with little or no issues. However, I wouldn't suggest mounting a rear ported(flush to the cabinet) loudspeaker flat, against the wall.

Mark
Polk Audio CS
 
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