2022, Current top 5 most competent full range speakers in budget/mid/high-end ranges?

[ryanosaur]

Over $5,200
Salk Song3 Encore
$6,295 in black or white satin, $6,595 in std veneers
25Hz - 40kHz (±3 dB) (Larger woofer, bigger cabinet & different mid than Song3/3-A ST)

This.

While I enjoyed the SS9.5, it's not worth the ticket, for me at least, going up against the Phil 3s. But then, I would still likely choose the BMR Towers, now, if making a "cost conscious" decision.

 

[Pogre]

Really? You can take this apart and run it through a high-temp chemical sanitizer?

I typo that like, EVERY TIME!

 

[ryanosaur]

I typo that like, EVERY TIME!

It's OK, Buddy. I know what you meant.

 

[snakeeyes]

If I was in the market, I would be tempted to do the 60 day trial on Arendal THX after reading James’ review last year. I would guess the towers would perform similar to the 60 pound monitors.

 

[John Parks]

It's not quite full range nor a tower, but Ascend's new LX for $1398/pr (temporary pre-order price, they will be going up after this first batch, iirc) does dig very deep for a bookshelf with -3 dB of 36 hz. High power handling too ~350 watts. I think it's also the first speaker on the market to be fully NFS optimized using a Klippel, and scores very high on the Harman speaker rating. The measurements alone are pretty astounding and this looks like an amazing, extremely accurate, unique speaker.

These links should take you straight to the correct posts:

Measurements.

Specs

Pre-order link.

Interesting! I had the Sierra-1 and upgraded to NrT and it had fabulous bass. Then the EX supposedly provided more bass (and RAAL tweeter) and now the LX even more bass? Sweet! It is interesting that the LX is now all aluminum drivers in lieu of polypropylene woofer and silk dome or RAAL tweeter...

 

[Pogre]

If I was in the market, I would be tempted to do the 60 day trial on Arendal THX after reading James’ review last year. I would guess the towers would perform similar to the 60 pound monitors.

I forgot about those. Yeah, they look really interesting too. I wanna check those out.

 

[ryanosaur]

Interesting! I had the Sierra-1 and upgraded to NrT and it had fabulous bass. Then the EX supposedly provided more bass (and RAAL tweeter) and now the LX even more bass? Sweet! It is interesting that the LX is now all aluminum drivers in lieu of polypropylene woofer and silk dome or RAAL tweeter...

I mentioned to Pogre, elsewhere, that Dave is clearly designing this to game the scorecard and make a product that hard-borks the testing protocols.
The key thing is will it sound as good as it performs in his tests?

 

[Pogre]

Interesting! I had the Sierra-1 and upgraded to NrT and it had fabulous bass. Then the EX supposedly provided more bass (and RAAL tweeter) and now the LX even more bass? Sweet! It is interesting that the LX is now all aluminum drivers in lieu of polypropylene woofer and silk dome or RAAL tweeter...

He's been working on it for the last year. I think this is partly in response to getting beat up at ASR for what turned out to be port noise. He took it to heart and dug in on what a Klippel can do and was very impressed so he invested in one. He has one of the most advanced R&D labs for speaker manufacturing in the world right now and leveraged it to develop the LX and it looks like he might have knocked it out of the park.

One of the members at ASR put together a list of top recommendations based on the Harman speaker score and they're first in class for the price, and many levels above. They're number 2 at twice their retail.

Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)

I'm constantly asked which speakers to purchase...so, here you go! :D This guide is for PASSIVE speakers. For ACTIVE speakers go here. Click on the "Spoiler" buttons below to expand each section. Readme: Legend: Never Buy This Brand: Passive Bookshelf Speakers: Passive...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It's one of the most accurate, best measuring speakers in the world right now.

 

[Pogre]

I mentioned to Pogre, elsewhere, that Dave is clearly designing this to game the scorecard and make a product that hard-borks the testing protocols.
The key thing is will it sound as good as it performs in his tests?

According to the group that went in over the weekend for some listening tests, yes.

Now that group are definitely fans of Dave's work pretty much no matter what so possible bias for sure, but I'm pretty confident they sound as good as they measure. I'll bet it won't be long before one ends up on Amir's bench. Dave's specifically counting on it.

 

[Pogre]

Interesting! I had the Sierra-1 and upgraded to NrT and it had fabulous bass. Then the EX supposedly provided more bass (and RAAL tweeter) and now the LX even more bass? Sweet! It is interesting that the LX is now all aluminum drivers in lieu of polypropylene woofer and silk dome or RAAL tweeter...

There is one caveat for all that bass tho. It does take a hit in sensitivity at 83 dB. So you'd want to make sure you have some power to put to them if you like it loud. I'd say that's the biggest criticism on paper.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Probably big towers with dual 12" woofers, dual 10" woofers (157 Square-Inch), triple 8" woofers (151 Square-inch) or at least quadruple 6.5" bass drivers. No replacement for displacement.

SVTR (dual 12" woofers)
Polk L800 (dual 10" woofers)
Klipsch RF7-III (dual 10" woofers)
RBH SF-8300 Standard Edition (triple 8" woofers), NEW Upcoming speaker.
KEF R11 (quadruple 6.5" bass woofers)

 

[SithZedi]

Thanks; can't seem to find a shop with them. Any links with a price that someone could buy right now? Sorry, not trying to be lazy, just legit couldn't find a place to buy them and wanted to make sure its accessible.

Very best,

No worries. I did some price checks a few months ago on some of VA Hayden bookshelves. Here's a couple of dealers I found:

David Lewis Audio

David Lewis Audio is one of the most respected high-end audio dealers in the United States. Contact us to order or schedule an in-person demo!

www.davidlewisaudio.com

In Montreal, click on upper right for English:

Audio Store, Montreal, Filtronics, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Boutique Audio

Filtronique is an audio store based in Montreal, specializing in the sale of new and second hand equipment.

www.filtronique.com

 

[shadyJ]

For full-range tower speakers that can do 30Hz, we do have a couple of reviews that have yet to be posted of products at surprisingly low price points. One should be published not too long from now, and the other I have just started but did the groundplane measurements already, and is probably a couple of months away from being published.

 

[MaxInValrico]

Thanks; looks like they don't show the price on their website and you have to contact them to purchase. Is it $800 per speaker I imagine? Do they do 30hz in a room?

Very best,

$800 for a pair and should you'll want to use subs with them

 

[MalVeauX]

$800 for a pair and should you'll want to use subs with them

Ok, so they're not full range?

Very best,

 

[Pogre]

Ok, so they're not full range?

Very best,

Maggies? Oh no. You will definitely want a subwoofer with them. They really shine in a lot of areas, but bass ain't one of them.

 

[MalVeauX]

Maggies? Oh no. You will definitely want a subwoofer with them. They really shine in a lot of areas, but bass ain't one of them.

Ok, then they don't really fit in this series then. This is all about full range speakers to avoid subwoofer needs and keep it super simple; stereo.

Very best,

 

[MaxInValrico]

Ok, then they don't really fit in this series then. This is all about full range speakers to avoid subwoofer needs and keep it super simple; stereo.

Very best,

Subs work with stereo quite well.

 

[ryanosaur]

Subs work with stereo quite well.

I don't think he disagrees. Rather, just not the topic of this conversation.

 

[MalVeauX]

Subs work with stereo quite well.

Yessir, they go well with everything, not arguing that. Just that this thread is focused on full range speakers for the purpose of not needing a sub.

Very best,