Reasonably priced full range speaker

[TankTop5]

From the 60’s through the 80’s everyone was making large full range 3 way speakers that had great sound. It looks like a couple companies are making them still but are charging an arm and two legs for them, any companies making anything good in the low hundred dollar range? I’d like to put my 40 watt receiver to good use in the garage so it’ll need to be something with good efficiency. I do see older stuff from all the major manufacturers for good prices but I don’t want to buy someone else’s problem, will consider lightly pre owned.


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[R.Elder]

What size is your space?

 

[R.Elder]

Garage has a lot of hard surfaces but if it’s not real large you might be best off setting up a 2.1 system if you want full range. You might be able to pull this off reasonably with bookshelf’s and small sub.

 

[TankTop5]

What size is your space?

Full size two car garage.


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[Russdawg1]

Check out this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bic-america-3-way-225-w-speaker-multi/4235065.p?skuId=4235065&ref=212&loc=1&ref=30&loc=KW-4325&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1260573&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItN78ybi_4QIVzYqzCh1iFg4aEAQYAiABEgIdhPD_BwE

A fellow member recommended this to someone, forgot who.

 

[lovinthehd]

Klipsch is known for relatively affordable speakers with high sensitivity.

 

[ichigo]

Full range at what volume level and listening distance? You can make a pair of bookshelf speakers full range with room correction if you are only going to play them at 70db nearfield. But if you want to sit 15 feet away and blast at 100+db you are going to need something with multiple 12" woofers.

 

[KEW]

From the 60’s through the 80’s everyone was making large full range 3 way speakers that had great sound. It looks like a couple companies are making them still but are charging an arm and two legs for them, any companies making anything good in the low hundred dollar range? I’d like to put my 40 watt receiver to good use in the garage so it’ll need to be something with good efficiency. I do see older stuff from all the major manufacturers for good prices but I don’t want to buy someone else’s problem, will consider lightly pre owned.


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Have you met @MrBoat ?
Is kitted diy an option?

 

[shadyJ]

If you want some inexpensive full-range speakers that can get loud, these maybe the analog of what you are looking for from back in the day:
BIC Venturi DV84
BIC Formula FH-6T
Premier Acoustics PA-6F
They probably won't have exquisite audiophile quality, but for a garage I think they will be more than sufficient.

 

[KEW]

Have you met @MrBoat ?
Is kitted diy an option?

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/tempest-build.106100/

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Ahhhh, someone with similar tastes as I!

If you want to fill that garage on a budget, go after some well-kept Klipsch Forte 2's or KLF 20/30's. Prices vary wildly but they are pretty common to find. Also check out Cerwin vega D9's or AT-15's. Either of those can bring down the roof.

For new, anything decent that meets your criteria won't meet your budget. Production costs of anything and everything have of course risen tremendously over the decades. You can buy brand new 12"/15" speakers under $500 a pair, but their quality and longevity might be questionable. These days I'm all about "low mileage used" with my cars and my audio.

 

[shadyJ]

For new, anything decent that meets your criteria won't meet your budget. Production costs of anything and everything have of course risen tremendously over the decades. You can buy brand new 12"/15" speakers under $500 a pair, but their quality and longevity might be questionable. These days I'm all about "low mileage used" with my cars and my audio.

Production costs of speakers may have gone up a bit, but so has engineering and production quality. Those boxy old speakers had all sort of design issues. Modern speakers have come a lot further.

 

[R.Elder]

I use some EV sonicXS powered speakers in one of my work spaces that’s about the size of a 2-car garage ... better acoustics but they can hit 90-95 dB with little distortion at about 10ft. They are 2.1 1 in aluminum tweeter and 5-6 mid-woofer on the satellites with a little powered sub. It works prettt damn good ... I used this 2.1 on my PC for years.

 

[bradymartin]

i use a pair of dennis murphy aams with 50watt monoprice tube amp in my 3 gar carage. plenty volume for me

 

[Phase 2]

If you want some inexpensive full-range speakers that can get loud, these maybe the analog of what you are looking for from back in the day:
BIC Venturi DV84
BIC Formula FH-6T
Premier Acoustics PA-6F
They probably won't have exquisite audiophile quality, but for a garage I think they will be more than sufficient.

Them Premier Acoustics look interesting. For what they are going for a lot of speaker for not much coin can be some good starter speakers

 

[lovinthehd]

Keep in mind those speakers selling for $300-500 a pair in the early 70s with an inflation calculator comes out to something like $1800-3000 range. Example that comes to mind is the JBL L100 which retailed for about $550 a pair when I looked back then (and went with Advent instead due my budget at the time); their new model of the speaker is $4k the pair with some modernization.

 

[TankTop5]

The BIC’s look awesome but too big. I’m also guessing Klipsch horns may not sound very good with poor placement and tons of surfaces to bounce off. There are a couple Hi Fi stores that sell used equipment with a return policy, may go that route.


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[shadyJ]

The BIC’s look awesome but too big. I’m also guessing Klipsch horns may not sound very good with poor placement and tons of surfaces to bounce off. There are a couple Hi Fi stores that sell used equipment with a return policy, may go that route.

Surfaces will adversely affect any sound in terms of acoustics. The horns won't affect that, and in fact might be better since the controlled dispersion means a bit less reflections compared to wide dispersion designs.

 

[lovinthehd]

The BIC’s look awesome but too big. I’m also guessing Klipsch horns may not sound very good with poor placement and tons of surfaces to bounce off. There are a couple Hi Fi stores that sell used equipment with a return policy, may go that route.


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Rather than a store selling used gear, what are the craigslist offerings like in your area? Can be a good way to go if you're patient and keep an eye out for what's available for a period of time, especially if you're in a large metro area. Even thrift shops can have good deals. Be sure to test anything before buying, tho.

 

[davidscott]

Maybe some slightly used Infinity Primus 363 or 362 towers. They received a pretty decent review here, play loud, and are almost full range. I have a pair in a small apartment and they play plenty deep and loud enough for me.