Amazon Basics 80W Review (Bookshelf Speaker)

[fredoamigo]

Considering the price , it would have been interesting to do a quick disassembly of this speaker.
I am astonished, appalled, to know that it is sold 340 usd and that they manage to find a correct profit margin with active speakers of this size and not very unpleasant to the eye .

 

[respice finem]

I checked for that and did not hear anything. I had read that review and it must have been some noise from the source/ground leakage.

Only a "loose thought": It might be an OEM building the amps from what is available ATM...
The availability of many chips / parts in general is currently "underwhelming".

 

[MZKM]

Note: Rating for far-field listening

Preference Rating
SCORE: 3.2
SCORE w/ sub: 5.2

Frequency response: +/- 21.9dB 20Hz-20kHz ; +/- 5.2dB 80Hz-20kHz

​

 

[Guenselmann]

With the slanted front and wooden side panels, these kind of remind me of the Swans m200 that are sitting in my basement (600€ in 2010 I believe).
For 50$ these should easily beat the often recommended Edifier 1280. Don't seem worth 340$ though.

 

[Vict0r]

Great for $50! Not terrible for the current price, though. Thanks for the review, Amir.

 

[NYfan2]

Well, I had a good laugh at the end of the review.
Reading the measurements, the in-room response etc. I was sure this was a bad loudspeaker. But no, Armir has put it on the recommended list.
Thanks for the review, Armir.

 

[PeteL]

Only one question remains: is te better than the Wilson?

Considereing that the Wilsons where preferred against Revel M106, I think this question is quite cynical. and the M106 was revied at the time as “ the most perfect bookshelf”.

 

[thewas]

$50 Amazon Basics 80W

Preference Rating
SCORE: 3.2
SCORE w/ sub: 5.2

$10000 Wilson TuneTot

Preference Rating
SCORE: 2.6
SCORE w/ sub: 5.6

Must say, only audio can be so fun.

 

[alex-z]

How much do the various resonances improve if you plug the port?

If they can be brought under control, that bodes well for the passive version paired with a cheap sub and TPA3255 amplifier.

 

[respice finem]

$50 Amazon Basics 80W


$10000 Wilson TuneTot


Must say, only audio can be so fun.

...and the Wilson needs an amp.

 

[abdo123]

$50 Amazon Basics 80W


$10000 Wilson TuneTot


Must say, only audio can be so fun.

Honestly this aligns with my own observations too.

cabinet resonances > tuning > directivity > distortion.

 

[Jimbob54]

BTW, not present @amazon.de - or I'm too stupid to find it, the search results there are sometimes awkward.

Not at. Co. Uk either. Assume US only atm.

 

[RobL]

$225CAD on amazon.ca at the moment. Idk, seems not a bad price, really.

 

[bbrrtt]

With the slanted front and wooden side panels, these kind of remind me of the Swans m200 that are sitting in my basement (600€ in 2010 I believe).
For 50$ these should easily beat the often recommended Edifier 1280. Don't seem worth 340$ though.

I had another memory...

 

[YSC]

Is there any research of larger speakers delivering a larger image?

Same question here

 

[Crosstalk]

Final price to central Europe, only 10 times the initial US deal
View attachment 174358

..btw. I read "tweeter hiss" at some Amazon user review.. Also worth noting it is 80W a pair, 40W power for single speaker.

You can buy the micro lab b77 and do eq to get a similar experience. It destroyed my spendor after Eqing. You can pick it up used, sometimes even for free in Germany. I got mine for 5 euros . Got it to do some diy. But eventually ended up enjoying it more than my main speakers

 

[Lambda]

I purchased it for just US $50 (pair) but current price is $342.

For 50$ the are fine. but more then 150$ is a joke.

Thanks for reviewing more Objectively priced gear.

 

[pjn]

Interesting example of Amazon's pricing algorithms - it is quite an education to read the reviews sorted by newest (i.e. people who paid around $350). There do seem to be some serious usability issues, not related to acoustic measurements. Notably shutting off and not restarting on "pause".

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Subjectively more attractive than the grossly overpriced Wilson, but I'm sure the build quality isn't as good.

 

[Dj7675]

$50 Amazon Basics 80W


$10000 Wilson TuneTot


Must say, only audio can be so fun.

It is interesting that with EQ though the Wilson goes to a scores of 7.5 to 8 with EQ (with sub)