Best floorstanding speakers under $1500

[zieglj01]

I'm a fan of Revel, KEF, Linkwitz, Infinity, NHT, PSB, RBH, Def Tech, Dali, MartinLogan, and Rythmik Audio.

EMP is owned by RBH; JBL, Revel, & Infinity are owned by the same Harman company; GoldenEar Tech is owned by Sandy Goss (formerly Def Tech) so I am probably a fan of EMP, JBL, and GoldenEar also.

One other speaker company I might be interested in is Phase Technology.

I am a fan of > KEF > PSB > Martin Logan > NHT > Boston (high end) >
Atlantic Technology > Focal > of higher up JBL and Infinity

From the past (out of business) Platinum Audio and Snell.

My favorite budget speaker is the Cambridge Audio S30 - and even more,
since modded by Dennis Murphy. And, the former Andrew Jones designed,
Pioneer S-DF2-K speaker.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am a fan of > KEF > PSB > Martin Logan > NHT > Boston (high end) >
Atlantic Technology > of higher up JBL and Infinity

From the past (out of business) Platinum Audio and Snell.

My favorite budget speaker is the Cambridge Audio S30 - and even more,
since modded by Dennis Murphy. And, the former Andrew Jones designed,
Pioneer S-DF2-K speaker.

So many damn great speakers, so little money.

 

[zieglj01]

So many damn great speakers, so little money.

Too many for me to know them all - I edited my post to add Focal,
their tweeters are good, regardless of price. I do have the old JBL
62T bookshelf speaker, coming from Ebay.

http://jblvintagespeakers.com/jbl-62t-reference-bookshelf-monitor-speakers

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Too many for me to know them all - I edited my post to add Focal,
their tweeters are good, regardless of price. I do have the old JBL
62T bookshelf speaker, coming from Ebay.

http://jblvintagespeakers.com/jbl-62t-reference-bookshelf-monitor-speakers

Very nice looking.

 

[GranteedEV]

Honestly, while I'm sure there's better speakers under 1500, I don't think the difference is big enough to say I'd spend x amount more than I did on my $800 EMP e55tis + two good subs. There's better speakers worth the difference in cost, but they're a bit more expensive unless it's DIY.

 

[zieglj01]

Honestly, while I'm sure there's better speakers under 1500, I don't think the difference is big enough to say I'd spend x amount more than I did on my $800 EMP e55tis + two good subs. There's better speakers worth the difference in cost, but they're a bit more expensive unless it's DIY.

After $1000 - I find that the differences get smaller. Also, it really
comes down to the design and engineering - and did the crossover
designer, squeeze all they could out of the drivers. Plus, how is the
quality control at the assembly plant.

 

[Seth=L]

Fostgate Audionics (Rockford Fostgate) owned them for awhile -
Fostgate Audionics failed in their attemp to make home speakers.
They were going to try and do more, under the MB Quart name.
It seems some company in Germany, Maxxsonics Inc. has the
name now. MB Quart did car audio for a long time.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rYzNR1WdG-8J:www.fosgateaudionics.com/newsreviews/2002_FA-BrianCarlsness.asp+fosgate+audionics+and+mb+quart&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

http://www.maxxsonics.com/corporate/news_MBQuart.html

http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=PMB_/_MB_Quart

And something interesting here
http://www.mbquarttvmirror.com/
And here
http://www.mbquart.com/main_news.html

I can tell you that Maxxsonics' products aren't top shelf components. It's a shame that MB Quart is no longer in the home audio business.

 

[slerch666]

I have the B&W 683s.

I compared them to:

Martin Logan Motion 10/12 (toyed w/ the unpowered electrostat, but the pinpoint positioning needed to actually hear the music well killed that idea quickly)
JBL - don't recall the model
Energy (6 1/2" 3 way, don't know model)
Def Tech Mythos (was a floor stander, don't know model)
Polk's Quad 6 1/2"
Mirage - OS³

and one or 2 others I can't recall.

I took my own music in and listened to tracks I know very well, per all the advice I had read. I even took my own Blu Ray in for the HT test.

Over all, I loved the 683s above all the others. I had a budget of $1500 for the fronts and this was as high as I could go, which is why you'll notice most of what I auditioned falls in that price range.


What I noticed is you seem to be on the right track. If you can't properly audition a speaker, don't buy it. The problem you'll have is you'll always wonder if you made the right choice. If you buy a set cheap, then maybe it won't sting as much when you realize you aren't happy with what you've gotten, OR you'll absolutely love what you have and not worry about what could have been. For me I would have fallen into the former, which is why I tried so many. For me, the 683s were, without a doubt, the best speakers for my ears and in my price range.

 

[zieglj01]

It's a shame that MB Quart is no longer in the home audio business.

That is true - they have always drawn my attention.

 

[GranteedEV]

I can tell you that Maxxsonics' products aren't top shelf components. It's a shame that MB Quart is no longer in the home audio business.

zumbo tells me that the original MBQuart team are still in the business

They just have a new name: German Maestro:

http://www.german-maestro.de/EN/casa.htm

 

[Jeff R.]

Save the money and buy the MB Quart 830's and don't look back these are awesome speakers. I have the big brothers.....when I bought mine I paid 1800 per speaker new....to get a pair for $1000 is a no brainer.

BTW - The MB Quart team is still around as menioned above. I even contacted them to buy a replacement midrange driver last year and they supplied me the exact match for my speaker with no issues and less than 2 week turn around. I almost considered buying a set of replacement drivers to store so my speaker can last forever.....

 

[Docks]

Depends what matters to you.

Go listen to a few respectable brands. I'm one of the few that doesn't enjoy the B&W sound. That said, I have paradigms. Some find them too bright, but if you look at the response for paradigms most of them are very accurate. Revel seems to have a similar goal as well.

If you dont want accuracy, lots of people do enjoy a bit of extra bass and rolled off treble look around a bit. See what you like, this will prevent you from having any type of regret.

 

[audioholic212]

$800 EMP e55tis + two good subs.

Yeah, I have EMP 5Ti's and dual HSU VTF2-MK3's. Best bang for my buck. Thank you Audioholics forums.

 

[zumbo]

I can tell you that Maxxsonics' products aren't top shelf components. It's a shame that MB Quart is no longer in the home audio business.

I guess you didn't read my DETAILED previous post.

German Maestro home speakers. This is the same folks that built MB Quart QLS 830. NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH MAXXSONICS!

Linea-S is the current model line of the QLS.

http://www.german-maestro.de/US/casa.htm

Company info:
http://www.german-maestro.de/US/company.htm

 

[zieglj01]

2001: Rockford Fosgate acquires MB Quart and decides to throw out all current home audio loudspeakers and start developing a new series: VERA. Due to the high tooling costs for a complete new headphone and headset series no new models are made and the current models stay.

September 2004: Rockford Fosgate leaves MB Quart over night...MB Quart goes into insolvency and will be under receivership until September 2005.

September 2005: Maxxsonics USA, Inc. acquires MB Quart and establishes Maxxsonics GmbH.

2007: After acquiring the MB Quart brand name it‘s said that Maxxsonics bankrupted their German company Maxxsonics GmbH in September, causing them to take all engineering and production to China. What is left of MB Quart, again goes into insolvency...

2008: While many employes leave the company, what‘s left of MB Quart join forces between management and engineering along with a private German investor and purchase the assets from the German trustee. MAESTRO Badenia Akustik und Elektronik GmbH is founded.

 

[zumbo]

And as mentioned, the German Maestro Linea-S MS F-One is the modern QLS 830 equivalent. It's $4000 a pair.

The QLS 830 is $999 a pair.

One of these days someone other than me and Jeff R will have the pleasure of owning these fantastic speakers.

 

[zumbo]

2001: Rockford Fosgate acquires MB Quart and decides to throw out all current home audio loudspeakers and start developing a new series: VERA. Due to the high tooling costs for a complete new headphone and headset series no new models are made and the current models stay.

September 2004: Rockford Fosgate leaves MB Quart over night...MB Quart goes into insolvency and will be under receivership until September 2005.

September 2005: Maxxsonics USA, Inc. acquires MB Quart and establishes Maxxsonics GmbH.

2007: After acquiring the MB Quart brand name it‘s said that Maxxsonics bankrupted their German company Maxxsonics GmbH in September, causing them to take all engineering and production to China. What is left of MB Quart, again goes into insolvency...

2008: While many employes leave the company, what‘s left of MB Quart join forces between management and engineering along with a private German investor and purchase the assets from the German trustee. MAESTRO Badenia Akustik und Elektronik GmbH is founded.

Americans ruined their German competition. Hey, if we can't win, we'll kick your @$$ and rob you blind. What a shame.

-----------------ROCKFORD FOSGATE----------------------

 

[zieglj01]

What a shame.

They have a challenge - NHT came back with their name.

 

[zumbo]

They have a challenge - NHT came back with their name.

What do you mean?

When I purchased my HT system in '03, Rockford owned Quart and NHT. I have a NHT sub.

I never knew Rockford just left Quart, I always thought they sold them to Maxxsonics.

 

[zumbo]

I think I got it.

NHT is it's own company now.