Small floor standing speakers under 500

[charger5674]

I'm opening up by saying that I convinced my wife to get floor standing speakers. She was only going to allow on wall /flat panel speakers. I let her listen to floor standing vs on wall and she was hooked. Her only complaint was them being taller than the TV stand (34"). She thinks it looks like rabbit ears. She will not allow more than 38" and that is absolute.

We listened to the pioneer spfs52 and Polk tsi300.

The pioneers were nice but didn't play loud but had more clarity.

The polks sounded much louder but slightly muffled compared to the pioneers.

I found the monitor 65t was short enough. (have not listened to)

We also listened to klipsch kf28 and kf26 and they sounded underwhelming. I don't know if they weren't driven as much but they were not close to the sound level of the others. I thought this strange because they have a higher sensitivity.

Are there any other suggestions for 500 for the pair plus a center?


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[charger5674]

Also I do have a klipsch rw12d for a sub and Denon avr 1713


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[charger5674]

Also see boston acoustic 250 and bic dv 64

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[Jimz711]

I have the Pioneers, and like most people who have them, I think they are good speakers, great when you consider the price. On your list, I think the only other speaker I would consider is the Bostons. If you can handle white, you can get them from Accessories for less for 120 each. Also, A4L has the KEF C7's for 220 each. They are listed at 38 inches. I've never heard the C series, but the Q series is very good. The Bostons are new, the KEF's are open box.

Does the 500 include the center or is the center extra?

The Pioneers never sound loud in store, their sensitivity is definitely on the low side, but when you get them home and in your own listening environment you'll find that they do can go quite loud.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I'm opening up by saying that I convinced my wife to get floor standing speakers. She was only going to allow on wall /flat panel speakers. I let her listen to floor standing vs on wall and she was hooked. Her only complaint was them being taller than the TV stand (34"). She thinks it looks like rabbit ears. She will not allow more than 38" and that is absolute.

We listened to the pioneer spfs52 and Polk tsi300.

The pioneers were nice but didn't play loud but had more clarity.

The polks sounded much louder but slightly muffled compared to the pioneers.

I found the monitor 65t was short enough. (have not listened to)

We also listened to klipsch kf28 and kf26 and they sounded underwhelming. I don't know if they weren't driven as much but they were not close to the sound level of the others. I thought this strange because they have a higher sensitivity.

Are there any other suggestions for 500 for the pair plus a center?


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It seems to me that your comparisons were being thrown off by differences in volume levels. What exactly do you mean when you say that the Pioneers "didn't play loud"? Were you having a dealer switch back and forth between the speakers? If so, you don't know how he had his switching equipment set up. If he had a volume-compensated switching preamp, and had it calibrated correctly, then all of the speakers should have sounded approximately the same in terms of volume. That clearly wasn't the case. So I have to assume he had some less accurate means of switching between speakers. I've never heard anyone say that the Polks were muffled. Every Polk I've heard and measured was tipped up at the high end (as is the Pioneer). And it's very strange that the Klipsch didn't play louder than the Pioneers. Again, if you listened to all of these speakers at the same place, then something was very off with the switching equipment. If you heard them at different locations, then there would be no way to tell whether the Pioneers played louder than the Klipsch.

 

[charger5674]

It was at a best buy and he ran the same db level on all of them. When I say muffled, I meant only to the pioneers. They were clear but only less so than the pioneers. I was really thrown off to the Klipsch though.

He just switched to each speaker and didn't change receiver settings for all.

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[Jimz711]

When I first listened to the Pioneers it was at a Best Buy, with Klipsch next to them. I can say without a doubt that the Klipsch were much much louder, as they use one receiver to switch between all the speakers. Sounds like something funky was going on with the equipment at Best Buy.

 

[charger5674]

Another speaker I was looking at was the Martin Logan Motion 10's. The lower end is at 65hz. Am I going to miss a lot from the other speakers because of this? The other problem is the center. The matching center for these are at least 300! Is there something else that would work?

 

[charger5674]

I have the Pioneers, and like most people who have them, I think they are good speakers, great when you consider the price. On your list, I think the only other speaker I would consider is the Bostons. If you can handle white, you can get them from Accessories for less for 120 each. Also, A4L has the KEF C7's for 220 each. They are listed at 38 inches. I've never heard the C series, but the Q series is very good. The Bostons are new, the KEF's are open box.

Does the 500 include the center or is the center extra?

The Pioneers never sound loud in store, their sensitivity is definitely on the low side, but when you get them home and in your own listening environment you'll find that they do can go quite loud.

Center is in the 500 price budget.

 

[afterlife2]

I had the Pio 52's and Pio center(Drowned in Sandy) and they were fantastic and loud. Just get them and If you don't like them return them.

 

[charger5674]

How does the Pioneer's compare to the Boston A250's? They are 139.99 on a4l

 

[charger5674]

I'm pretty much at....

Pioneer's Sp-fs52 124
Boston Acoustics A250 139
??Polk Monitor 65T/60?? ???
Infinity P253 149

 

[afterlife2]

How does the Pioneer's compare to the Boston A250's? They are 139.99 on a4l

I'm not sure I never owned Boston's. If you are looking for some small bookshelf in the future these are so sweet and our member Jim(Jman) reviewed them: Amazon.com: Nxg Pro 4.1 Satellite Speaker: Electronics

 

[panteragstk]

I've liked most of the boston floor standing speakers I've heard, but I haven't heard your particular set. I do have the Pioneers and I still can't believe how good they sound for how little they cost. I've got three towers up front and my front soundstage has never sounded better.

 

[charger5674]

I'm all up for saving money but if any of the other speakers sound better for a little bit more, I want to get them. I keep hearing "for the money" for the pioneers. I want to hear that they will perform better than the others in the list. If the end result is that the Pioneer's are on par or just slightly less capable than the others than I will go with them.

I hope I don't come off rude in that comment. It's just the "for the money" comment always gives me a feeling to find something else. Does that make sense?

 

[Jimz711]

I honestly do not think you can go wrong with either the Boston A series or the Pioneer. If you could use white towers then the Boston A250's can be had new for 119.99. The Pioneers are constantly going on sale for 100, with the center going on sale for somewhere between 70 and 80. The nice thing about the Pioneers is Best Buy will match the price of authorized online dealers like Tiger Direct. They also have a return policy which I believe was just reduced from 30 days so you'd have to check at your store. Best Buy does list the Boston A series on their web site but I've never seen them in store.

 

[panteragstk]

I'm all up for saving money but if any of the other speakers sound better for a little bit more, I want to get them. I keep hearing "for the money" for the pioneers. I want to hear that they will perform better than the others in the list. If the end result is that the Pioneer's are on par or just slightly less capable than the others than I will go with them.

I hope I don't come off rude in that comment. It's just the "for the money" comment always gives me a feeling to find something else. Does that make sense?

I should clarify. When I say "for the money" I'm merely stating how fantastic they are for how little they cost. I've heard sets that cost 10 times their price that don't come close. They aren't expensive and don't look it, but I'd be willing to bet if you put them in a room with speakers in your price range and have a controlled test you would be surprised at how good they actually are. Best Buy is the worst possible listening environment unless they are willing to drag a pair into the Magnolia room and let you listen. You won't know until you get them into your room anyway.

 

[Jimz711]

When I got my Pioneers, I had an excellent salesperson that grabbed a pair of towers and brought them into the Magnolia room and I can definitely attest to how much better they sounded than on the floor. The very first time I went to listen to the Pioneers at a Best Buy they did not sound good.

 

[charger5674]

I have decided to get the pioneers. What prices should I hold out for?

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[markw]

I have decided to get the pioneers. What prices should I hold out for?

That depends on hw hard you waht them. Keep searching on the net every day or so. You'll get a good idea about their going prices. When they go on sale for a good price, jump on 'em.