How about some UNDERPRICED speaker recommendations?

[audiofox]

I for one would be interested in opinions on great values in audio and video equipment-it's easy to throw money at a problem (if you have it, that is), but it is much harder to find good price-to-performance values in the a/v market with all the quasi-scientific "data" that clouds the truth. Maybe this will generate another flame war, but I have no interest in how bad a pair of $50k speakers are because I would never spend that much even if they broke the known laws of physics to achieve their performance.

I believe that, as with most other things, value in a/v equipment asymptotes as the price goes up. That is, the performance of an item in a class of items is nonlinear and flattens out at the high end of the price spectrum, where one has to spend a lot more to achieve a very modest increase in capability. I'd rather stay in the linear part of the curve, where the relationship is more one-to-one (price increase vs relative performance improvement). It would seem to me that finding the knee is the trick so one can avoid going into the nonlinear region (like a power amplifier).

 

[Warpdrv]

Bose 321....


Oh Cr@p you said value... my bad...

 

[HiJon89]

I'm a big fan of BIC, the DV62CLRS center, DV64 fronts, and DV62si rears for $450 Shipped from Amazon seems to be a winner

 

[Guiria]

I for one would be interested in opinions on great values in audio and video equipment-it's easy to throw money at a problem (if you have it, that is), but it is much harder to find good price-to-performance values in the a/v market with all the quasi-scientific "data" that clouds the truth. Maybe this will generate another flame war, but I have no interest in how bad a pair of $50k speakers are because I would never spend that much even if they broke the known laws of physics to achieve their performance.

I believe that, as with most other things, value in a/v equipment asymptotes as the price goes up. That is, the performance of an item in a class of items is nonlinear and flattens out at the high end of the price spectrum, where one has to spend a lot more to achieve a very modest increase in capability. I'd rather stay in the linear part of the curve, where the relationship is more one-to-one (price increase vs relative performance improvement). It would seem to me that finding the knee is the trick so one can avoid going into the nonlinear region (like a power amplifier).

and now for the short version, a basic economic principle.
Diminishing marginal utility.

 

[Seth=L]

www.av123.com

They have some pretty nice speakers, check out the Onix X-LS.

BIC is also good, Infinity Primus, and used speakers. I have two pair of NHT 1.5s and I got both pairs total under $200 ($1200 about is the retail for two pair of 1.5s). That is just an example, but if you don't mind used and scratch and dent sales it will be the best value, if you know what to look for.

 

[MorePower4me]

I had great luck with the Swans Diva 6.1's I had previously. They can be had at Newegg.com for a lot less than a Full ranage tower of that quality should be.
Compromise is that you can't hear them before hand, and return shipping is prohibitively expensive.
That said, I thought they were fantastic.

Also, and I hesitate to call these 'value' speakers, but my B&W 601 S3's I have in my 2nd room are some of the nicest sounding speakers I have heard. They produce tremendous bass for a bookshelf, and I would have no problem using these even as mains in a 7 channel set-up. Also worth what they cost (I think maybe even more )

 

[speakerman39]

I hear what you are saying and agree to some extent. That is, I for one have always had chapagne taste but unfortunately a poor feller budget so to speak. As such, I really enjoy searching for the "biggest bang for my buck" that I can find. Notice the operative word is " MY " and not " They" or "You". IMHO, this is what makes this hobby so exciting. Thus, this philosophy can be pretty much summed up by simply reading my signature. For example, I use to own a set of the Paradigm Studio 20 v.3's that really are "giant" killers that many has read about. Just loved them but the 20's are a bit expensive for my budget and to finish my set-up with the 20's would of been way out of my budget. Therefore, I came across the Infinity Primus speakers and now my set-up consists of the Primus 360's, C25, and the 150's and I could NOT be any more happy. Sure, there are speakers better BUT a better question is how much better and at what cost???? I really like the Axiom speakers and wanted to go with the M60's, VP150, and the QS8's BUT could not get the funds together in order to do so. Theres no doubt in my mind that the M60's are better than the 360's but then again the M60's are $960 a set whereas the 360's were less than half that. One day I may be able to own the Axiom speakers BUT until then I am more than happy with my Infinity Primus speakers--they really are that good.

 

[Tomorrow]

On the audio side of value.....(and those who know me know this is coming, )

To paraphrase what a friend of mine says:

There are 4 kinds of speakers.
1: Those in transistor radios.
2: Those in all-in-one surround systems (cubes).
3: Almost every other brand/kind of speaker.
4. The very highest end of non-value speaker...huge cost differential over #3 with very little improvement in performance.

I will also add that measurable speaker performance per se is virtually irrelevant to how a speaker sounds to any given individual. Therefore, value is only where you find what pleases you for the cheapest amount of money. (Physical appearance is not factored into this theory...though many fall prey to "sexy looks". )

With all that as a precursor, I'd like to say that everyone I've had with me during A/B/X testing of #'s 1-3 above have preferred ..............................................JBL speakers. Yep, cheap, ol', big-box store JBL's.

Now of course there are those that don't like the sound of dynamic, clear, efficient, well-designed speakers with reasonably flat response for very little money. That's where individuality makes life interesting.

That is my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I second Infinity Primus. Excellent value in their price range. Higher in both price and performance, but still excellent value, are the B&W 600 series.
(FWIW I think the performance/price curve "flattens out" much faster for electronics than for speakers.)

 

[abefroeman]

Since you brought up the asymptote analogy, I will stick with it. For those that missed it, an asymptote is like a boundary. It is visable when are graphing somthing. In this case, he is referring to an upper boundary on a graph of price to value. As price increases value increases but at a decreasing rate.

I would say the "knee", if you will, occurs between $100/speaker and $500/speaker. So that doesnt really help ya. What does help ya is discounted speakers:

A4L
TSTO

These are speakers that are typically found "above the knee", but are selling at prices that are "around the knee".

 

[Joe Schmoe]

me during A/B/X testing of #'s 1-3 above have preferred ..............................................JBL speakers. Yep, cheap, ol', big-box store JBL's.

Are you referring to the Venue series? I have been curious about those since they came out, but Best Buy is a lousy place to audition.

 

[Tomorrow]

Are you referring to the Venue series? I have been curious about those since they came out, but Best Buy is a lousy place to audition.

I believe every JBL I've heard is/was a terrific value speaker....Venue is the only consumer model I have never heard, but I assume there is much crossover from other models and has that typical JBL sound (what some call the "West Coast Sound").

As an addendum to this thought...a friend brought over a pair of used JBL Synthesis bookshelves yesterday for some listening. VERY nice! That's one of JBL's expensive lines....but wow...it was nevertheless a great value as he got them for a song.

And you are absolutely right about Best Buy...audio audition h3ll.

 

[Ryan8886]

I set my system up on a tight budget over a period of a couple years, with most of the audio in the last year. I took a risk on the Athenas, having never heard them, and have been very pleased. Great sound and less than $500 a pair!

...of course....everyone is partial to their own gear, otherwise they wouldn't own it!

 

[Tomorrow]

I set my system up on a tight budget over a period of a couple years, with most of the audio in the last year. I took a risk on the Athenas, having never heard them, and have been very pleased. Great sound and less than $500 a pair!

...of course....everyone is partial to their own gear, otherwise they wouldn't own it!

Yes...perhaps. I think people more often than not settle on a set that sounds 'good'...especially inet-only sold equipment. But the trick is attempting to do as the gone-but-not-forgotten Craigsub did. Gather as many friends/neighbors as are willing and all the brands/models of speakers you can put together and A/B/X 'em all....blind switching with someone keeping score. Suddenly you find people not being so partial to their own when gear running even a modestly designed double-blind test. I'd wager few do this before buying.

As always, the key to happiness, even with high value/low cost speakers, is to audition audition audition.

 

[yettitheman]

$50 Insignia Bookshelf speakers at Best Buy...

Even though the tweeter might be a bit harsh.... still a good place to start for cheap.

BIC, yes yes yes.



Lol at $5 KLH cubes at pawnshop. They look like great door stops.

 

[Rowdy S13]

I think the only way to buy speakers is to get the best sounding (to you) that are in youre price range. Ive said it a million times (in my 150 or so post) that when I heard my Canton LE170's that it was an instant "I gotta have these" type feeling. The Cantons were actually a tad bit less than the speakers I was looking at as well. I went with what sounded right to me and fit my budget and couldnt be happier. I havent found a speaker yet that has made me want to upgrade on sound alone. One more thing Ill point out, youre budget ,I think, should have a lil flex to it. By that I mean have an idea what you want to spend, but dont be afraid to listen to speakers just outside youre original budget. Going just a lil more expensive just MAY (but also may not) give that leap in sound, and give you that "I gotta have these" feeling. Sound IMO is subjective to the listener, if it sounds good to you, then it sounds good. Regardless of brand or mesurments or cost. Some people are just as happy with there 20 buck no name speakers, as some of us are with our $1000 plus exclusive name speakers.

Sean

 

[mkossler]

I also agree with the the asymptotic model for audio performance. Even though I might have the wherewithall to purchase higher-end equipment, it has not been my experience that the cost justifies the additional outlay. Perhaps if at some point money becomes totally meaningless to me, my position will change. In the meanwhile, I have taken the "knee of the curve" (although it can hard to identify on some of these exponential curves that have asymptotic values) as well (see sig).

Boy, I kind of hate to say it, but I recently tried a little [A,B,...n] no-peek testing with my brother-in-law over the Christmas-New Year's break, and what stood out like a siren amongst swine? A JBL speaker set up. I was shocked, and a little irritated with myself with regard to the bias I felt against the JBL. I immediately went hunting for additional amplification, subwoofer changes, and additional speakers, because my bias would not allow me to believe the lowly JBLs could sound so good.

And you know what? Once I knew what they were, and listened to other speakers, they started to come back to the pack, so to speak. My knowledge of what I was listening to had a direct and immediate impact on my perception of the sound quality.

Ah, the zen of it all...

 

[MDS]

There have been quite a few positive mentions of JBL speakers lately. I currently have J900MV floorstanders, J-Center, and J520M (bookshelf) surrounds that were purchased sometime in 1996. They are all wood, 8 Ohm, > 92 dB sensitivity and to my ears sound pretty good. IIRC the whole set cost about $750 in '96.

Choosing speakers is complicated because not only do you want decent specs and good sound but you have to balance that with size and shape and 'decor friendly' colors. JBL is still sticking with the standard black and I haven't see any new models with di/bipole speakers in the wedge shape that is nice to have if you mount the surround speakers on the side walls. So...for my forthcoming HT upgrade JBL probably won't make the cut despite the fact that I have been happy with the sound of the ones I have.

 

[Tomorrow]

There have been quite a few positive mentions of JBL speakers lately. I currently have J900MV floorstanders, J-Center, and J520M (bookshelf) surrounds that were purchased sometime in 1996. They are all wood, 8 Ohm, > 92 dB sensitivity and to my ears sound pretty good. IIRC the whole set cost about $750 in '96.

Choosing speakers is complicated because not only do you want decent specs and good sound but you have to balance that with size and shape and 'decor friendly' colors. JBL is still sticking with the standard black and I haven't see any new models with di/bipole speakers in the wedge shape that is nice to have if you mount the surround speakers on the side walls. So...for my forthcoming HT upgrade JBL probably won't make the cut despite the fact that I have been happy with the sound of the ones I have.

No...no wedge shape dipoles. But the 180 degree HT1D's dipoles sound superb! They're from that ~1996 era. They are meant for side wall mounting. The trouble is finding them for sale.

I've been having this same dilemma regarding an 'upgrade'. I'm thinking the timbre of the Infinity ES250's might be the ticket to matching JBL's.

Oh, JBL's come in various flavors still, MDS...beech, black, cherry.

 

[Tomorrow]

I also agree with the the asymptotic model for audio performance. Even though I might have the wherewithall to purchase higher-end equipment, it has not been my experience that the cost justifies the additional outlay. Perhaps if at some point money becomes totally meaningless to me, my position will change. In the meanwhile, I have taken the "knee of the curve" (although it can hard to identify on some of these exponential curves that have asymptotic values) as well (see sig).

Boy, I kind of hate to say it, but I recently tried a little [A,B,...n] no-peek testing with my brother-in-law over the Christmas-New Year's break, and what stood out like a siren amongst swine? A JBL speaker set up. I was shocked, and a little irritated with myself with regard to the bias I felt against the JBL. I immediately went hunting for additional amplification, subwoofer changes, and additional speakers, because my bias would not allow me to believe the lowly JBLs could sound so good.

And you know what? Once I knew what they were, and listened to other speakers, they started to come back to the pack, so to speak. My knowledge of what I was listening to had a direct and immediate impact on my perception of the sound quality.

Ah, the zen of it all...

LOL, I continue to have this experience. I keep wanting to put JBL's in my preconceived "lousy speaker" file based upon my audio-elitist type biased attitudes. And they just keep outperforming much more expensive speakers. I thought it was just my ears until everyone else that listened to the A/B'ing said "Yes...THOSE!" in favor of the JBL's....and this against some VERY well regarded and very expensive speakers.

Who knew?