Best new pair of bookshelfs $250 shipped can buy

[mike c]

The ED's are one of my top considerations right now. I know they are highly regarded for car audio, and that they are sort of new to the whole home audio market. I really like the way that they look, very slick, but they only have 2 4" woofers, would that be enough for decent midbass at this price range, or would I be better off going with a bookshelf that has a 5.25" or 6.5" woofer? Or would the 4" suffice because there are 2 of them?

you'd be better off buying speakers from a real speaker company IMO.

and actually, they're NOT highly regarded in the car audio forums. they're just very "affordable"

 

[jostenmeat]

I've heard the MA b2, BR2, and PSB alpha.

voltain, I just want to note that for $9 more can get you PSB B15s. Its a marked improvement from the Alpha line.

I'm sure these guys are pointing you in the right direction, and Im sure they've heard a lot more of these speakers than I have.

PSB Images can crank. Midbass leaves something to be desired, IMO, with the bookshelves, but good speakers. I'd be curious on those KEFs too.

 

[mike c]

I've heard the MA b2, BR2, and PSB alpha.

voltain, I just want to note that for $9 more can get you PSB B15s. Its a marked improvement from the Alpha line.

I'm sure these guys are pointing you in the right direction, and Im sure they've heard a lot more of these speakers than I have.

PSB Images can crank. Midbass leaves something to be desired, IMO, with the bookshelves, but good speakers. I'd be curious on those KEFs too.

you should try the KEF's! even the >1k Monitor Audio GS10 could not dislodge my Q1 from my bedroom setup (in SQ, not aesthetics or build quality)

 

[voltainthesky]

I also want to say that my music is pretty much all mp3, 192-320kbps in quality... so I don't want a speaker that will really bring out and highlight the flaws in the mp3 file type, since mp3's are compressed and may lose a little sound quality, and I don't want it to sound too bright. That being said, which speakers would I be safe with and which ones might I want to stay away from?

I am having second thoughts about the Elemental Designs now, I just liked them because they had an upgrade path where I could later get a matching center and rears. Can I do that with all of the other recommendations as well?

I am also having second thoughts on the Energy ESW-8. Reading an Energy Owners Thread, people were saying one might be able to do better outside of Energy when talking about the Energy sub. I really only want to spend $150 max on this part... and I still feel like the Energy sub would be more musical and what I want than the Dayton, but is there something else better out there for my price range?

 

[kaducii]

From my research, the only viable $150 subs are the Velodyne one and the Dayton one. The thing about cheaper subs is that it doesn't hit the lower range - something like 30hz and below. So everywhere I asked, people just told me to save up my money and go w/ something in the $400+ range. Most good bookshelfs will go down to the 40hz anyways so music reproduction isn't too bad. Plus, a lot of music types don't reach the sub 30hz level. I ended up taking their advice and buying a used Hsu VTF2.2.

Also, I browsed and bought my speakers and sub used and noticed that people take very good care of their speakers, so you may want to consider getting a set of speakers outside your current budget used. (I got some AV123 X-LS Encores used for $250)

 

[bandphan]

I also want to say that my music is pretty much all mp3, 192-320kbps in quality... so I don't want a speaker that will really bring out and highlight the flaws in the mp3 file type, since mp3's are compressed and may lose a little sound quality, and I don't want it to sound too bright. That being said, which speakers would I be safe with and which ones might I want to stay away from?

Im very confused by the above statements. Good speakers will for the most part reveal flaws in recordings, so you can take it from there. Bad speakers are bad speakers and Im not talking about subjective opinions either.

 

[voltainthesky]

Well... I read a review once comparing 2 speakers. One of the speakers was more detailed and exact than the other, and when listening to mp3's you could really tell the music had been compressed and you could pinpoint the flaws. The other speaker was overall better rounded and and warmer, you couldn't really hear the flaws in the song, and the mp3's sounded a little better. Are you still confused?

 

[Seth=L]

Well... I read a review once comparing 2 speakers. One of the speakers was more detailed and exact than the other, and when listening to mp3's you could really tell the music had been compressed and you could pinpoint the flaws. The other speaker was overall better rounded and and warmer, you couldn't really hear the flaws in the song, and the mp3's sounded a little better. Are you still confused?

The reason that WmAx recommends two subwoofers is because it will sound better, not necessarily louder. If it's accuracy you are after two subwoofers will help with bass accuracy (and output if you so desire).

WmAx probably has the best advise to offer if you are looking for accuracy, if you are just looking to please your ears with some duller sounding speaker (to reduce the affects of those 192kbps mp3s) then you should go out and listen to speakers until you find something that pleases you.

This is your reward for having 192kbps mp3s, lots of comparitive listening.

 

[bandphan]

To tame the sound the dcx2496 that Chris recommended will cover that

 

[nfm]

I think Behringer B2031P is a good choice, I just ordered a pair for $115 shipped via 30% Live cashback and Ebay "buy now" using paypal.

 

[voltainthesky]

The PSB Image B15's are indeed in my price range. Paypal is not an option for me and I really would rather not mod anything. Right now I feel it is between the

Realistic:
PSB Image B15,
MONITOR AUDIO B-2,
Axiom M2 v2,
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1
KEF IQ1
SVS-SBS-01

Extremely stretching my budget:
KEF IQ3
HTD Level THREE
AV123 ELT525M Mini

How would you rate these from best to good?

 

[3db]

I have the older model 1Bs (B15 relaced them) and I used them for my mains for awhile until I had enough to purchase the T45s. I love the B15. Its a very good speaker with an awesome midrange and nice accurate but not bright treble response. They will go down to 60 Hz; so you will get good mid bass response. They won't fill big rooms with sound but for smaller rooms, they do a really good job. The spevs are listed below. Good luck

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/Image-Series/Image-B15-Monitor

 

[mazersteven]

HTD Level THREE

I wouldn't stretch for these. In fact you couldn't give them to me. JMO

 

[mazersteven]

How about these. Here is a deal

Polk RTi6's and CSi3
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47920

 

[WmAx]

I don't know about $250, but for $134 shipped from www.zzounds.com, the Behringer B2030P will easily exceed the over-all performance and build quality of most things in the $500-$600 range, much less $250.

It is very important to note that I don't base my suggestion the same as everyone else. My suggestions are rooted in careful objective/measured analysis as correlated with the perceptual research that is painstakingly devised to determine important key factors that determine how human hearing interprets specific measured characteristics. Using this method of judgment(the most reliable method when used by one with sufficient knowledge and background experience as to be able to use this method accurately), the B2030P simply has no competitors for $250/pair of which I am aware of - and it only costs $130 plus shipping. Build quality is also much higher than pretty much most things in the price bracket you specified. Heavy cast driver frames, very large/powerful motor, crossover using high grade film caps only and very high power inductors as to prevent saturation and a cabinet with 1.25" front baffle. It is a most unusual product in this regard.

-Chris

 

[voltainthesky]

What about the B2031P's then? They are only like $180 and still within my budget, would they be better than the B2030's?

If I do get the B2030P's I could probably get 2 pairs so I would have a 4.1 setup as soon as I find a sub... but what could I do for a matching center? Do they have one?

 

[WmAx]

What about the B2031P's then? They are only like $180 and still within my budget, would they be better than the B2030's?

If I do get the B2030P's I could probably get 2 pairs so I would have a 4.1 setup as soon as I find a sub... but what could I do for a matching center? Do they have one?

I must go by performance of specific products. The B2031P might have more bass extension and the identical treble and mid-rang performance of it's smaller sibling. But I have not measured/analyzed the B2031P, so this is not known. It's a gamble for me to recommend it and simply can not as a result. In all probability, the B2031P probably has an off axis dip where it crosses with the tweeter and 8" mid-bass. It also has probably a much more resonant cabinet which will hurt mid-range clarity and accuracy. But these are just guesses on my part since I have not measured/analyzed the B2031P.

As for a center channel, you will use another B2030P. It is ideal to use the same speaker for the center as you do for the left and right. You can turn the B2030 on it's side if you need it to be short.

As for the subwoofer, please remember, with speakers that have to be crossed over 50Hz or so, which is the case here(you should cross 80-85Hz), you will have better sound quality for music playback if you use 2 subwoofers, locating each sub within 3 feet of each left and right main speaker. For movies and games it would not make much difference. They are not nearly as quality critical as music.

-Chris

 

[3db]

As for the subwoofer, please remember, with speakers that have to be crossed over 50Hz or so, which is the case here(you should cross 80-85Hz), you will have better sound quality for music playback if you use 2 subwoofers, locating each sub within 3 feet of each left and right main speaker. For movies and games it would not make much difference. They are not nearly as quality critical as music.

-Chris

I have a problem with your subwoofer layout. It may be that your suggested locations for the subs may not be optimal for the subs. In the three rooms that I had, only one of the rooms allowed me to locate the sub near the speakers. The other two rooms for optimal bass response was at the opposite end of the room relative to the speakers and it was optimal from the seating location based on eveness of the output and the strength of the output.

 

[bandphan]

I have a problem with your subwoofer layout. It may be that your suggested locations for the subs may not be optimal for the subs. In the three rooms that I had, only one of the rooms allowed me to locate the sub near the speakers. The other two rooms for optimal bass response was at the opposite end of the room relative to the speakers and it was optimal from the seating location based on eveness of the output and the strength of the output.

If will note chris recommends using a dsp/crossover/eq for intergration

 

[3db]

If will note chris recommends using a dsp/crossover/eq for intergration

If it can change the phase that much, then sure .. . Besides it would look so much neater .