Best speakers on the market(regardless of type) for up to $10K?

[HooStat]

This has already been done. Search is your friend: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-would-also-be-offered-for-measurement.13437/

 

[Ron Texas]

White van...

 

[Vintage57]

 

[MDAguy]

How smallish is your room exactly? I'm in 12x14 and my bookshelf speakers on stands are more than plenty... don't go too big!

 

[GDK]

What would you say are the best speakers regardless of type (passive or active or active monitors) on the market for up to $10K?

It’s now time to pull the trigger and buy the Genelecs that you already know that you want. You won’t be disappointed, but there is no benefit to delaying the inevitable.

 

[test1223]

Hello,

The listening distance is an important parameter.

Even a speaker which is perfect on paper will sound much worse than a speaker which is designed for a similar scenario.

Since you have a small untreated room I would go with:

1. Very good omni directional speaker in the middle of the room and very short listening distance (you can pull them in perfect position and back for convenience).

2. Speaker like the Genelec. Here I would choose a model with higher beam than you normally do for the listening distance. E.g. the preferred Genelec 8361a will be perfect at about 1.75m listening distance. If the distance is higher go for a speaker which beams more even if it is not as good on paper it will sound better.
At your budget the Me Geithain 901K would be an excellent choice for about 2.25 meter.
If the listening distance is a bit lower (about 1.2m) and you love deep bass go with the Kef R 11.

Use a dsp and room correction in any case.

Best
Thomas

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

This is like asking what's the best ice cream flavor.

 

[Absolute]

In a small untreated room I'd say you want as much directivity control as possible because all reflections will be very early in time, so the smallest speakers like Genelec 8151 and the likes might be massively outperformed by bigger speakers with constant directivity way further down the range.

M2 will be constant directivity down to about 800 hz, Kii and Dutch until about 100 (below Schroeder it doesn't really matter anymore).

M2 you can build yourself/have someone build them for you and have a complete set for around 5k.
Because of greatly superior constat directivity I'd say Dutch is much preferred over say a Genelec 8151.

 

[Helicopter]

Genelec 8340A SAM Raw are cool speakers. Get those or 8330 and a pair of 7360A SAM subs or 7350. And then get carpet, drapes, panels, or whatever you need for the room.

 

[jae]

https://dutchdutch.com/8c

/thread

 

[bigjacko]

M2 will be constant directivity down to about 800 hz, Kii and Dutch until about 100 (below Schroeder it doesn't really matter anymore).

Can you give some insight on why below Schroeder it does not matter? Will there be any difference in room mode between directivity control and control below Schroeder frequency? Thanks in advance.

 

[Valentin R]

Can you give some insight on why below Schroeder it does not matter? Will there be any difference in room mode between directivity control and control below Schroeder frequency? Thanks in advance.

Because modal room/speaker/listener relationship dominates over speaker design

 

[Absolute]

Can you give some insight on why below Schroeder it does not matter? Will there be any difference in room mode between directivity control and control below Schroeder frequency? Thanks in advance.

The best descriptor of how we perceive sound in the room's resonating area is the frequency response of sound energy built up over some time (steady-state), and given that the speakers have stopped producing any sound (and therefore also the directivity control) before all the bouncing around of sound waves in the room to achieve that steady-state, it goes without saying that whether or not there's any directivity control won't matter much.

In typical small rooms this is usually the case, but in larger rooms it may not be an accurate statement. While I don't have it on my phone, I have measurements of Kii vs Phantom and M2 placed about the same place that shows Kii has no advantage over the others until around the Schroeder frequency in my room.

Room decides steady-state response below Schroeder, not speaker.

 

[a|F]

Set aside $1k for treatments. Improved every aspect of my room and the experience. Mid-bass especially.

 

[richard12511]

Definitely agree with setting aside some of the budget for some room treatments(ex: GIK panels). I would bet that 8351b + $2,000s of room treatment would sound better than 8361a with no room treatment.

 

[q3cpma]

The best descriptor of how we perceive sound in the room's resonating area is the frequency response of sound energy built up over some time (steady-state), and given that the speakers have stopped producing any sound (and therefore also the directivity control) before all the bouncing around of sound waves in the room to achieve that steady-state, it goes without saying that whether or not there's any directivity control won't matter much.

In typical small rooms this is usually the case, but in larger rooms it may not be an accurate statement. While I don't have it on my phone, I have measurements of Kii vs Phantom and M2 placed about the same place that shows Kii has no advantage over the others until around the Schroeder frequency in my room.

Room decides steady-state response below Schroeder, not speaker.

From my understanding, it still does something, as the on-axis / omni volume ratio is still a lot greater for those frequencies, meaning less energy "dumped" into the room to achieve the same volume at listening position.
Purely intuition, by the way, so it could be bullshit.

EDIT: a lot of words to just say "sound power should be lower"

 

[Valentin R]

It will be different relation of direct/ first reflection proportion but low bass will be dominated by the modal response

Is this better or just difrent ?

I have herd both speaker ( Dutch 8c and Revel F228be) in the same room to me the biggest diferencie where in the hi frecuency range

One tending to be more open and one more focused

Bass was great on both one could go louder and sounded a bit fuller the Other a bit lower

Both are stupendous speakers and it probably more a de sitios of correct application space

8c do have Dsp which is a very feature

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Problem is you need some super expensive amp for them.

i think kef r3 + 2 x rel t7i + 1k-1.5khz amplifier + mini dsp + miniDSP UMIK-1 USB is all you need
2000+2000+1500+250 is less than 10k

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Set aside $1k for treatments. Improved every aspect of my room and the experience. Mid-bass especially.

How wide is your room? Nice setup

 

[a|F]

How wide is your room? Nice setup

Thanks. 12.5' wide, with speakers 9' apart and to me.