Recommendations wanted: $300/pair (or less) bookshelf speakers for my son

J

jschlarb

Enthusiast
My 15-year-old son asked for a pair of passive speakers for Christmas, to go with an old receiver I'm giving him. I'd like him to enjoy these and take them to college, so I don't want to cheap out. He mostly listens to metal and dubstep, but he actually has a pretty good ear (he plays guitar). Right now I'm looking at these 3 options:

$300 - Boston Acoustics Classic II CS26
$170 - Infinity Primus P163
$160 - Polk Audio T15

Any other suggestions in this price range? I apologize if this has been covered recently; I'll try to search the Loudspeaker forum.
 
S

sharkman

Full Audioholic
A couple of years ago, Pioneer released a bookshelf speaker that made jaws drop. At only about $150, it could hang with far more expensive speakers and reviews on the net were glowing. The SP-BS41-LR speakers are worth a look, they have a 5 1/4" driver and while not the most efficient at 86db, have a very smooth frequency response. They have been replaced with a newer model but a few online retailers still carry them, new egg.com is currently the cheapest.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Mark the Polks off the list! Don't bother!

The Infinity isn't a bad choice (I own the P363 tower from the same line), the BA probably not bad either.

But, if I were talking about MY $300 on speakers then this would be MY list in no particular order:
Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 350 Pair Home Audio Speaker - Newegg.com (I already own these, NE has them for $200 from time to time, and they are good speakers)
Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 450 Pair Home Audio Speaker - Newegg.com (next step up from DT and NE has them for around $300 sometimes, but certainly worth the current price of $350)
The Pioneer speakers mentioned by sharkman above (but look for the series 2 models)
CBM-170 SE High Performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker
EMP Tek E41 Bookshelf Speaker
HTD Level TWO Tower Speakers (check out some of the HTD offerings now that you have a link to them).
Arx A1b monitor loudspeaker

I really don't think you will go wrong with any of these. It comes down to personal preference, aesthetics, and how deep you want to try to go in the bass region. There are other good options, and I'm sure someone else will give you more, but this is a good start.
 
J

jschlarb

Enthusiast
Great list, thank you! I have the CBM-170's in my HT setup and they're not bad at all for stereo listening. That may be the way to go.

Mark the Polks off the list! Don't bother!

The Infinity isn't a bad choice (I own the P363 tower from the same line), the BA probably not bad either.

But, if I were talking about MY $300 on speakers then this would be MY list in no particular order:
Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 350 Pair Home Audio Speaker - Newegg.com (I already own these, NE has them for $200 from time to time, and they are good speakers)
Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 450 Pair Home Audio Speaker - Newegg.com (next step up from DT and NE has them for around $300 sometimes, but certainly worth the current price of $350)
The Pioneer speakers mentioned by sharkman above (but look for the series 2 models)
CBM-170 SE High Performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker
EMP Tek E41 Bookshelf Speaker
HTD Level TWO Tower Speakers (check out some of the HTD offerings now that you have a link to them).
Arx A1b monitor loudspeaker

I really don't think you will go wrong with any of these. It comes down to personal preference, aesthetics, and how deep you want to try to go in the bass region. There are other good options, and I'm sure someone else will give you more, but this is a good start.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
A couple of years ago, Pioneer released a bookshelf speaker that made jaws drop. At only about $150, it could hang with far more expensive speakers and reviews on the net were glowing. The SP-BS41-LR speakers are worth a look, they have a 5 1/4" driver and while not the most efficient at 86db, have a very smooth frequency response. They have been replaced with a newer model but a few online retailers still carry them, new egg.com is currently the cheapest.
As Slipperybidness mentioned, I would skip the BS41s and go with the new BS22LR as it is quite a bit improved over the older one. At just $125 average and just $90/pr on sale, they are a solid budget speaker.

Amazon.com: Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers: Electronics


With the CBM-170SEs on sale right at the budget point, I'd also consider those pretty strongly. Very good speaker.
 
S

sharkman

Full Audioholic
I believe the SP-BS22 is a replacement for the Pioneer SP-BS21, which both have the 4 inch woofer. The SP-BS41 is the only model with the 5.25 inch driver, and wasn't upgraded with a new model. It can go lower than the above Pioneer speakers which is it's strong suit over them in my opinion. Stereophile's review was what I was thinking of when I referred to internet reviews.

But by the looks of it, there are many good options, as usual the members here have great suggestions. The Pioneer options would be on the lower end of the budget.
 
A

alphaiii

Audioholic General
I believe the SP-BS22 is a replacement for the Pioneer SP-BS21, which both have the 4 inch woofer. The SP-BS41 is the only model with the 5.25 inch driver, and wasn't upgraded with a new model. It can go lower than the above Pioneer speakers which is it's strong suit over them in my opinion. Stereophile's review was what I was thinking of when I referred to internet reviews.

But by the looks of it, there are many good options, as usual the members here have great suggestions. The Pioneer options would be on the lower end of the budget.
IIRC, Andrew Jones himself mentioned that he was able to achieve similar bass capability out of the BS22 that he got out of the BS41 because while smaller, the BS22 uses a better quality woofer. Even if the BS41 can go a little lower, the majority of people that have heard both feel the BS22 is an improvement.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
IIRC, Andrew Jones himself mentioned that he was able to achieve similar bass capability out of the BS22 that he got out of the BS41 because while smaller, the BS22 uses a better quality woofer. Even if the BS41 can go a little lower, the majority of people that have heard both feel the BS22 is an improvement.
The bass is quite surprising from the 4" driver on the BS22, and IMO, that's why there is no replacement for the 41. I run mine full range and I am not disappointed for the price and size at all, but they aren't going to compete on the bass front with a larger, quality bookshelf with a larger driver and lower tuning.
 
theJman

theJman

Audioholic Chief
You have a ton of very good options already, all of which are worth considering, but allow me to throw in a dark horse; the WaveCrest HVL-1. You'll just have to trust me on that one... ;)
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Speaker preferences are such a subjective thing, I would want to take him to the local shops and have him listen to as many types and brands of speakers as the two of you can stand, with music with which he is familiar, and of all of the types of music to which he listens (making a CDR for this is a good idea), and decide based on what he likes.

At your price point, there will be major compromises, and you don't want to compromise on the wrong thing.

At his age, I wanted a lot of bass, but by the time I got to college, I wanted something more refined and was willing to sacrifice some bass for it. (Because I did not have the money to just get what I really wanted, which would have been refined, with deep bass, and would have cost a fortune.) His priorities may well change between now and then.


At your price, I would want to look at used speakers, as you can sometimes get something much better for your money that way. It is more trouble though, as one must be patient and keep looking at local ads (like Craigslist) and then research models advertised if one is unfamiliar with them. That is time-consuming, but it can get you something better than you are likely to find new at your price point.
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
This might sound funny but when listening to speakers, try to concentrate on what they don't do wrong as opposed as what they do right.
 
J

jschlarb

Enthusiast
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Wave Crest Audio is not a Dark horse - they are designed by same folks who are making Ascend Acoustics - one of best ID speakers out there and speaking of - CBM-170 SE is on sale now -

If you want to save a bit more, Cambridge audio S30 are great speakers -
Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!
 
theJman

theJman

Audioholic Chief
Well, that WAS a dark horse until I read the excellent review in this thread:

Wave Crest Audio HLV-1... Ascend designed budget bookshelf

I'm a pretty big Ascend fan (my HT uses five CMB170's), so I think I'll take a chance on these. Thanks!
I'm actually listening to them while I type this (I have them for a review) so there is some direct perspective on my part. They aren't going to throw out a lot of bass -- nothing this size could -- but if your son does indeed enjoy a musical speaker then I think you'll find he likes these. You certainly can't beat the price.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
If you need something with a decent amount of bass, check out the Behringer 2031p, its inexpensive, it measures very well from a performance standpoint, and it has very good extension, as it should with such large woofers. They are pretty large and heavy for bookshelf speakers though.
 
S

sharkman

Full Audioholic
The bass is quite surprising from the 4" driver on the BS22, and IMO, that's why there is no replacement for the 41. I run mine full range and I am not disappointed for the price and size at all, but they aren't going to compete on the bass front with a larger, quality bookshelf with a larger driver and lower tuning.
Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. I wonder why they didn't give the BS41 the same treatment and get its frequency response down into the 40's for a BS42? Budgets and market placement and line up probably all had a say in Pioneer's decision. Whatever, they are great speakers for the money.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I would also look at the Alpha series from PSB. They have garnered excellent reviews from all the audio review sites. I would take Pyro's advice by taking your son to audition as many speakers as you can to give him an idea of the different sounding speakers available.
 
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