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stussyking

budget bookshelf speakers

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How good is good for you? Sound stage? Placement? Extentions of highs and low? What do you acutally term as good? Your vague questions are not helping you at all. Furthermore the thread in head-fi is at least 14 pages long...

Edited by lengcm

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just referring to the insignia speakers at best buy.

 

well good in ur own opinion not mine :) , then i'll check it out for myself . dat's the best i could do . Rather than testing out every pair of speakers in the market.

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just referring to the insignia speakers at best buy.

 

well good in ur own opinion not mine :) , then i'll check it out for myself . dat's the best i could do . Rather than testing out every pair of speakers in the market.

 

My opinion? I did not give any opinion.... Just asking you to be more specific in your post to help you that's all. :party:

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accurate midrange thats sound natural and warm. Powerfull and tight bass. overall neutral no coloration of sound.Extentions of highs if there is, should not be fatiguing.

these are my current preference.

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I think the expectations and the fact that you're looking at budget class components may be near impossible to match. I personally liked the Tannoy R1 (when it was in production) But it's far from having no colouration.

Other budget speakers you should look out for are those from the likes of Mission/Monitor Audio. Not bad but all have colouration.

 

The only bookshelf I have heard that has possiblity no colouration is way way beyond most people's budget - The Magico Mini. So I suggest that you lower your expectations somewhat and look for an "enjoyable" speaker. That is, a budget speaaker that you enjoy. The only way to do that is to bring along a few of your favourite CDs and start listening with your own ears (trust them - they are more reliable than you think). Stick to decent brands. If by budget you mean under 3k then do check out Stirling Audios' version of the LS3-5A. If it's less look to Mission, JPW, Tannoy and a few others to find your solution.

 

Cheers and have a fun weekend.

Edited by Rameish

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accurate midrange thats sound natural and warm. Powerfull and tight bass. overall neutral no coloration of sound.Extentions of highs if there is, should not be fatiguing.

these are my current preference.

 

A super engine but poor tyres can slow down a F1 car and the same would apply to sound systems. Granted having a good pair of speakers that fulfill your wants but paired with a less capable amp and/or source, the resultant sound could be impaired. My point is, look not only the speakers but the whole system. Although there's another school of thought that favours downstream (speakers > amp > source), I personally advocate upstream approach in setting up a sound system. After all it's Garbage in, Garbage out.

 

If you wish to take a micro look at just the speakers, your search for a budget pair of speakers capable of the abovementioned will be equal to that of the Holy Grail.

 

First and foremost, you seek a midrange that is warm. That means coloration unless you're referring to temperature? Afraid not. Therefore, it would render your next requirement "no coloration" moot and it would also contradict "accurate midrange" as extra warmth of the source signal means deviation from accuracy or neutrality? Or unless your measure of "accurate midrange" simply means a woman's voice should sound feminine and man's voice robust. In which case, I believe good budget speakers are able to meet this criteria.

 

What do you mean by powerful bass? Do you mean mid bass boom or deep bass extension? Saying powerful bass reminds me of ghetto-blasters. In addition, your amp is the main factor in regard to having good bass control (tight bass). Therefore, it will have to be considered on how it could compliment and synergize with the speakers. Low frequencies draw more watts from your amp than high frequencies.

 

You simply need to chalk up lots of time in listening experience and try out the different speakers in an intended price range. There are simply no short cuts. However, if your already have a source and amp, we could discuss further with our takes on how the system will sound and you can decide if that particular sound is what you like, but a personal audition is still required.

 

You will learn most makers have particular sonic signature and it's either hate it or love it. Discover your niche with a certain make and then proceed to models as they will sound quite different in terms of presentation but yet maintain its signature.

 

Building a speakers system have a much steeper learning curve than headphone systems but the approach is still the same though. That said, we don't even know what's your budget? To a high end audiophile, budget speakers mean those in the $1-2K bracket and therefore, subjective.

 

As lengcm has highlighted above, start with the likes of Monitor Audio, Mission, JPW, KEF, Tannoy and Wharfedale etc. Most if not all, are available at Adelphi, Coleman Street.

Edited by Mackie

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accurate midrange thats sound natural and warm. Powerfull and tight bass. overall neutral no coloration of sound.Extentions of highs if there is, should not be fatiguing.

these are my current preference.

 

Sounds like my wishlist when I first started my search for a pair of bookshelf. One thing for sure, unless u get the 'huge' bookshelf eg. B&W 602 S3, you can minus the 'Powerful Bass'. And 'No coloration' will point you to a 'Mini Monitor' category of bookshelf speakers. As for the rest of your requirements, warmth, natural, tight bass etc ... depends on the matching of your source+amp+cables etc. Not to forget, your choice of bookshelf will depend on what you used to drive it, ie. your amp.

 

Just some experience sharing:

 

IN THE BEGINNING:

My first home setup was ipod as source, dr amp as the amp and an old pair of MS10i. I was a happy camper UNTIL some 'audiophile' friends came over to 'audition' my el cheapo setup. MISTAKE! :doh:

 

THEN:

These 'audiophile' friends then dragged me along to listen to a number of 'budget' setup ... I will only list some of the bookshelves (that I spend sufficient time with) for reference:

1. Castle Trent (vintage)

- managed to borrow for home trial. Returned because lack bass (ah but then; vintage budget bookshelf)

2. B&W 601 S3

- Nice and warm ... but not exactly without coloration. Normally use in a home theatre setup

3. B&W CM1

- Lovely Lovely ... but a monster to drive for a mini monitor. MONSTER = $$$$$ :cry:

4. Quad 11L

- Lovely ... lots of details, tight bass .... but not as lovely as the CM1 (my humble opinion :blush: )

5. B&W 805S

- WOW WOW WOW!!!!! :shocking:

6. MS 902

- affordable and quite nice for its price ... but my 'ears' went up a notch .. fault of those audiophiles

fiends ..... I mean friends :P

 

And of course not to mention all those others high end stuffs and floorstanders (MBL, KRELL, Thiel etc etc) ... you could spend your whole life in Adelphi just auditioning. :rclxub:

 

FINALLY:

The realisation was my 'al cheapo' setup would not be able drive or do justice to any of the above listed bookshelf (maybe ok with the MS10i) ....

 

so there we go ... bought an award winning CD player, a 2nd hand AMP (still resisting the temptation of the matching award winning amp) ... before I finally decided on the Quad 11L (after a home trial) with the 'new' setup. Just right for my small room :rclxms: .... for now ;)

 

... and of course after struggling with a lot of will power (read 'wife approval in a married man context') :bash: .... BUT still dreaming of the B&W805S + the 'awarding winning amp' :helpsmilie:

 

And not forgetting many many nights of research on the web and from those glossy hifi magazines. :yawn:

 

And don't neglect the cables .... Interconnect, Speaker Cables, Power Cables, Power Strips etc .... And isolatiion ... And sound damping ... And how about a new house with dedicated listening room :wacko:

 

LESSON LEARNT

Be happy with what you have and avoid 'audiophiles' if you just want to enjoy 'your music' and have a healthy bank balance :D

 

 

ERRR SORRY ... was this post about what budget bookshelf speakers to buy :grin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ok lets start with what i have,

current speakers are missions and a kef as a center speaker.

 

 

i cant read the mission speakers model .. will borrow digicam n snap some pics asap

 

as for the kef : http://i9.ebayimg.com/04/i/08/5d/7e/8c_1.JPG

 

its a old reference model 90

cant find any specs on google nor the kef website

Edited by stussyking

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Ahem,

 

Your source and amplifier and budget (as in who much you wanna spend). Otherwise the answers you goona get will be of very little use to you and this thread would be going around in circles.

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source : intending to get oppo player the one with sacd n hdmi , www.oppodigital.com

 

amp: getting budget SET amp Original Zen Triode model SE84C fr decware,com

 

budget below $1k for 2 speakers.

Edited by stussyking

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In which case, you will have to select speakers that have an 8ohm impedance and sensitivity of at least 88 and above for your tube amp. Since it's a 2 channel system you are after, the KEF center speaker is no longer in the equation. Not unless you are thinking of expanding to a multi-speaker home theater cum audio speakers system, as the approach will be entirely different. Later on that.

 

I suggest you start with Monitor Audio speakers as the shop that sells this brand also deals in Spark/Cayin tube amps. You could simply listen for yourself if these speakers will partner tube amps well.

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If you want to use Decware SET SE84C amp, why don't you ask Steve Dekert on what "budget" speaker that his amp would happily to drive?

 

From what I read SE84C is different then normal SET amp... which prefer stable 8ohm impedance...

SE84C can drive 2 ohm safely... (at about 4WRMS..., since at 8ohm it can only deliver about 1WRMS)

 

Speakers with >= 89db sensitivity usually come from: Tannoy (M2, M3), KEF (check Q1, Q3), JM Lab, Triangle, some B&W, JMR (Jean Marie Reynaud), etc...

 

SET is not for: Revel & Dyanudio

 

check AHFartaudio, he has Fostex horn...

 

Regards,

---

David

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