Desktop speakers $250 - $350 range?

[mtaz]

I made the mistake of buying cheap desktop speakers (Neumi) because I had been using headphones exclusively for listening to YouTube videos, and casual music listening. The Neumis sound awful IMO.

I still use headphones in my office for serious listening, but I really need to upgrade the speakers for everything else. I don't want to spend more than around $350. After doing a bit of research, I'm looking at the Triangle Borea BR02 (a couple of reviewers said that they think these sound better than the BR03) and the Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-500M II. The Triangle are currently $290 on Amazon and the Klipsch are $350.

I can get the speakers up to 6" or so from the wall. Amp is a Fosi ZA3.

Does anyone have experience with either of these speakers? Is there a better value pair of speakers that I've missed?

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[BDWoody]

Maybe a pair of the JBL 305s or 308s could be thrown in for consideration.

 

[a4eaudio]

... and the Klipsch are $350.

I have not heard these, so not making a recommendation. But I searched "Bookshelf Speakers" on Amazon, filtered to be under $350 and sorted by customer review. The Klipsch came up #1 and are on sale for $269.

 

[VMAT4]

We don't know about these yet, they haven't been reviewed here. But the Adam Audio D3V, $300, may fit the bill, they are powered.
In general, if you are doing near field listening then, near field monitors will sound better.

 

[staticV3]

The new Adams or the Kali LP-UNF would be what I'd choose.

Triangle don't really care about accurate and faithful audio reproduction, so I in turn don't care about them: https://www.spinorama.org/?brand=Triangle&page=1

The Klipsch is alright, but not without issues: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klipsch_rp_500m_ii/

 

[Blumlein 88]

Maybe a pair of the JBL 305s or 308s could be thrown in for consideration.

I concur with this. There are also the LSR 306 for an in between size. All have been reviewed here.

I'd probably go the few dollars more for the LSR 306 (about $300/pr) over the 305 ($240/pr) unless the size is too much. If you have the room, and from what you are considering you must the 308s are better still though about $400/pr.

The Klipsch RP-600m was reviewed here and the results were quite poor. I would expect similar results from the RP-500m

Do note the JBL LSR series are self powered so you don't need a receiver or amp for them.

 

[mtaz]

We don't know about these yet, they haven't been reviewed here. But the Adam Audio D3V, $300, may fit the bill, they are powered.
In general, if you are doing near field listening then, near field monitors will sound better.

Those look very interesting... AMT tweeters and room correction

Not much in the way of reviews out yet though.

 

[mtaz]

I concur with this. There are also the LSR 306 for an in between size. All have been reviewed here.

I'd probably go the few dollars more for the LSR 306 (about $300/pr) over the 305 ($240/pr) unless the size is too much. If you have the room, and from what you are considering you must the 308s are better still though about $400/pr.

The Klipsch RP-600m was reviewed here and the results were quite poor. I would expect similar results from the RP-500m

Do note the JBL LSR series are self powered so you don't need a receiver or amp for them.

It looks like the LSR series is discontinued; the replacement appears to be the 3 Series MkII.

More than one reviewer has said the RP-500m sound better than the RP-600m. However, so many interesting choices have been suggested so far that I suspect the Klipsch probably aren't going to make the cut. Buying speakers without auditioning is frustrating.

I already have the Fosi and I don't have anywhere else to put it, so I could go either way.

 

[Blumlein 88]

It looks like the LSR series is discontinued; the replacement appears to be the 3 Series MkII.

More than one reviewer has said the RP-500m sound better than the RP-600m. Buying speakers without auditioning is frustrating.

I already have the Fosi and I don't have anywhere else to put it, so I could go either way.

Well the reviews are of the 3 series Mk II here on ASR and that is what I had in mind. The Mk II versions were barely different than the LSR series.

The info from reviewers who don't do measurements to be blunt is nearly worthless. Read these two reviews here if you haven't. The RP-500m might be better or not, but it is likely to be similar. While Kali, Adam, and JBL 3 series are some of the best in this product category.

JBL 308P MKII Studio Monitor Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the JBL 308P MKII 8-inch Monitor (powered speaker). I purchased this from a member a few months ago. New, they cost US $249. The 3 series look the same for good or bad: The large plastic waveguide is really in your face. Wish JBL would provide...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Klipsch RP-600M Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Klipsch RP-600M Speaker Review. I purchased them from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. The current cost on Amazon is US $629 including Prime shipping. I however found a refurbished one for $450 I think. It looks brand new in the box though...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Blumlein 88]

Erin does good measurements on speakers too. The Polk XT20 and the Kali Lp Unf mentioned by StaticV3 up thread are Erin's picks here.

BTW, if you must buy without an audition, using speakers with good spin-o-rama results is a big, big, big plus. They'll be at least pretty good. I wouldn't purchase something without the proper measured data without hearing it now that such data is available.

 

[olymind1]

Swissonic A308 - $126 per piece.

 

[Joe Smith]

I still think the Elac Debut series is excellent at this price point.

 

[tw 2022]

At that price point: I'd find used $500 msrp stuff...

 

[Timcognito]

Q150 Bookshelf Speaker

2-way bookshelf The Q150 proves that the best things come in small packages. A Uni-Q driver and CFD port mean it punches way above its weight. Q Series bookshelf speakers excel in small spaces. KEF's Uni-Q driver array plus Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) port tech equals high resolution and...

us.kef.com

Worth some exploration at this price

 

[mtaz]

Update: I've decided that I can increase the budget a bit. For only $100 more ($450), I can get a pair of Elac Debut 3.0 DB63-BK. I think these are now at the top of my list, although I haven't ruled out the KEF Q150s.

I may even decide at some point to put a cheap subwoofer in there, possibly a Speedwoofer... I didn't see much else in that price range ($300 or so). So I guess this raises the question, if I get a sub, am I wasting money by getting the Elac model with the larger woofer? The DB53-BK is $100 cheaper.

The Elacs are pretty new and I didn't see any measurements, but their predecessor measured well.

Are there any other options at this price (up to maybe $800 total) that I should be looking at?

 

[Chokurei]

Philharmonic True Minis may meet your requirements @$380/pair. Reviews are very positive.

 

[bachatero]

Why make it so complicated? The Kali LP-6v2s are flatter and less distorting than the LP-UNFs, just $200 each, and look great.

 

[tw 2022]

Phil audio true mini, hands down the easy choice...better drivers and finish than anything in the price range... And they are very neutral...

 

[mtaz]

Philharmonic True Minis may meet your requirements @$380/pair. Reviews are very positive.

Hmm, these are tempting... the 70 Hz bass extension is considerably higher than everything else I had been looking at, but since I'm thinking about getting a subwoofer that may not be an issue.

 

[a4eaudio]

Phil audio true mini, hands down the easy choice...better drivers...than anything in the price range...

I bet these sound good and are a fine choice for the price. But these are pretty much the least expensive SB Acoustics tweeter and woofer you can get. These drivers sound good and are great for the money, but I don't know that we know enough about the OEM drivers (e.g., Elac, Kali, etc.) in some of the other recommendations to say these are "hands down...better drivers".