Markaudio tozzi one vs overnight sensations

[Gleniousmaximus]

Hi everyone, I'm finding it difficult to choose some quality speakers to replace my bose companion 2 series 2 speakers for use with my desktop/office setup. I was looking at things like the kanto ora and the kali lp-unf speakers, but I'm leaning toward building some overnight sensations or markaudio tozzi ones to save money. I realize these are very different speakers objectively, but because I haven't been able to hear them (or any of the other speakers I've considered) myself, I'm wondering what others think about the enjoyability of listening to these? Is one of them obviously more pleasing to hear? I assume there will be substantially more bass from the overnight sensations, but I could be wrong?
I know all of this is essentially subjective. I thought the bose were passable for what they are(but one of the channels isn't playing consistently any longer). I have some 20+ year old klipsch RB3's that I think sound pretty nice.

I don't plan on doing any mixing or professional audio work, just listening to music, YouTube, general computer work, etc.

I appreciate any insight you can provide!

 

[kemmler3D]

Hello, welcome to ASR!

Based on your current candidates, I'm assuming your target budget range is in the $100-250 range or maybe less. If you can go higher or you want to listen at high volume or away from the desk, let us know because there are a lot of options out there.

For a desktop setup the Tozzi speakers might be OK, but there are inherent issues with full-range drivers that make them a little hard to recommend if you haven't heard them. To be fair some people around here absolutely love these drivers, but they basically never have great technical performance on paper. They will probably be an upgrade from the Bose speakers but not as big as some other possibilities.

In this price range you might also want to have a look at the recently reviewed Micca MB42X G2 or the JBL 305P MKII. IMO these two have seriously impressive performance for the money. I would put them in my house with no hesitation if I had a place for them.

Overall I would say that, unfortunately, in 2025 DIY builds are not a great way to save money, especially if you are trying to minimize budget. DIY makes sense for specialty designs and sometimes for ultra-high-end builds, but economies of scale and the relative unpopularity of DIY are such that the numbers don't wash.

So, if you think building speakers sounds cool and fun, go for it, but don't do it as a bang-for-buck thing.

I don't plan on doing any mixing or professional audio work, just listening to music, YouTube, general computer work, etc.

The good news is that there is no real distinction between "professional" speakers and others. High fidelity is high fidelity, at home or in the studio. The main differences (at the higher end) tend to be in what types of connectors they use and aesthetics.

 

[ppataki]

For a desktop setup the Tozzi speakers might be OK, but there are inherent issues with full-range drivers that make them a little hard to recommend if you haven't heard them. To be fair some people around here absolutely love these drivers, but they basically never have great technical performance on paper. They will probably be an upgrade from the Bose speakers but not as big as some other possibilities.

I fully agree with @kemmler3D
I am one of those huge fans of full range drivers here but I admit that those are not for everyone
They beam like hell, they have a different soundstage compared to traditional 2-way speakers, they can produce lower SPL, have higher distortion in the treble range etc. etc.
So before going that route definitely listen to any full range driver - you will know it after like 10 seconds because it is a love or hate kind of relationship

If you cannot listen to any full range driver before buying then it might be a safer bet to go for those 2-way models that were mentioned above

 

[Ktacos]

Full ranges kinda suck, too many drawbacks. The overnight sensations also suck, measure pretty poorly and not even close to the designers sims. Just a flawed design overall. I would not recommend either.

There's some good options around $100 premade, like the previously mentioned Micca. If you just have to DIY something, the cnote kit is a great speaker for little money that is probably the only diy speaker kit that actually delivers performance that is very difficult to find commercially for the same cost.

 

[Selkirks]

You should consider a smaller pair of used ELAC UniFi or Debut.

 

[Selkirks]

I am one of those huge fans of full range drivers here but I admit that those are not for everyone
They beam like hell, they have a different soundstage compared to traditional 2-way speakers, they can produce lower SPL, have higher distortion in the treble range etc. etc.
So before going that route definitely listen to any full range driver - you will know it after like 10 seconds because it is a love or hate kind of relationship

If you cannot listen to any full range driver before buying then it might be a safer bet to go for those 2-way models that were mentioned above

Agreed.

 

[Gleniousmaximus]

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions!

You should consider a smaller pair of used ELAC UniFi or Debut.

I hadn't really looked at elac before, they seem like great speakers! But I think they might be a bit large for desktop (at least a desk the size of mine).

Based on your current candidates, I'm assuming your target budget range is in the $100-250 range or maybe less. If you can go higher or you want to listen at high volume or away from the desk, let us know because there are a lot of options out there.

That is an accurate guess as far as budget goes. The room is fairly small (11x12), but also serves as a hobby room so I won't always be listening at my desk per se and being able to enjoy from different locations in the room would be ideal. I don't anticipate needing them to play at very high volumes given the size of the room though.

Full ranges kinda suck, too many drawbacks. The overnight sensations also suck, measure pretty poorly and not even close to the designers sims. Just a flawed design overall. I would not recommend either.

Not to disagree (as I have never heard them), but I have read so many people claim the OS are some of their favorite speakers. At the same time, I have read similar criticism as yours. What do you think the discrepancy is? Are you judging them on flat response and those who love them on a more subjective feeling? What is it that makes some love these?

In this price range you might also want to have a look at the recently reviewed Micca MB42X G2 or the JBL 305P MKII. IMO these two have seriously impressive performance for the money. I would put them in my house with no hesitation if I had a place for them

Thanks for the recommendations! They both seem great, any reason you would choose one over the other?

For a desktop setup the Tozzi speakers might be OK, but there are inherent issues with full-range drivers that make them a little hard to recommend if you haven't heard them. To be fair some people around here absolutely love these drivers, but they basically never have great technical performance on paper. They will probably be an upgrade from the Bose speakers but not as big as some other possibilities.

Thanks for this, I've had a hard time finding much objective info about the tozzi speakers. It seems like they would be a good one to measure. I'm all about getting something that feels like a big improvement!

o before going that route definitely listen to any full range driver - you will know it after like 10 seconds because it is a love or hate kind of relationship

I believe that the Bose speakers I have are technically single driver speakers. If I have found them to be enjoyable for me to listen to, would you think that might mean I would probably enjoy a full range driver? Would speakers using a full range driver sound better from different seating positions(instead of having a small sweet spot)?

 

[ppataki]

I believe that the Bose speakers I have are technically single driver speakers. If I have found them to be enjoyable for me to listen to, would you think that might mean I would probably enjoy a full range driver

Yes, that is very likely (if that Bose is really a full range speaker)

Would speakers using a full range driver sound better from different seating positions(instead of having a small sweet spot)?

On the contrary, full range speakers sound very bad in other listening positions (I mean other than the main listening position which shall be the tip of the listening triangle)
Full range speakers beam like hell, meaning that anything above like 5kHz will be audible only in the sweet spot. If you stand up or move away from the sweet spot you will be missing all those frequencies

So they are more like a 'one-man show'

For a lot of people this is a deal-breaker
However, I need to add that beaming has one advantage: there will be no to very little reflections (and that is one of the reasons why the sound stage of full range drivers is amazing)

 

[Ktacos]

Not to disagree (as I have never heard them), but I have read so many people claim the OS are some of their favorite speakers. At the same time, I have read similar criticism as yours. What do you think the discrepancy is? Are you judging them on flat response and those who love them on a more subjective feeling? What is it that makes some love these?

OS are many peoples first speaker build, so there is a lot of sentimental value to be had in them that can override their sonic performance. They are cheap kit, most people building them aren't exactly folk with a great frame of reference for speaker performance. You really need to make a speaker super terrible for the average person to complain and the OS aren't quite that.

There is one guy who heard them and didn't like them, and he's the only guy with actual data to correlate what he's hearing, that would be Erins Audio Corner. He has a review on them using Klippel NFS. It reveals one glaring flaw, the response differs dramatically from the designers sims. This means the designer likely did not capture or utilize his data properly. The response provided by the designer and PE is not at all accurate and IMO they should revise the manual to reflect that.

There's no reason to build them when the C-notes exist and perform considerably better and are cheaper.

 

[djw.cloud]

I dont have much time to post right now, but I own both of those speakers, along with the Genelec 8020D and Genelec 7050C.


For general listening in a room, the Mark Audio speakers are not the best choice. However, pair them with the 7050C (or any sub) for desktop use, and now we are talking. Unfortunately, outside of a few posters on this site, you wont get a full understanding of full-range drivers.

That said, the Mark Audio drivers excel in certain areas such as transient response, tonality, and vocal reproduction particularly with specific types of music. If the soundstage becomes too congested, though, full-range drivers struggle to keep up. I listen to a lot of minimal techno on the Marks, and they offer a tonal quality that speakers with a crossover in the vocal range can’t replicate.

 

[Gleniousmaximus]

I dont have much time to post right now, but I own both of those speakers, along with the Genelec 8020D and Genelec 7050C.


For general listening in a room, the Mark Audio speakers are not the best choice. However, pair them with the 7050C (or any sub) for desktop use, and now we are talking. Unfortunately, outside of a few posters on this site, you wont get a full understanding of full-range drivers.

That said, the Mark Audio drivers excel in certain areas such as transient response, tonality, and vocal reproduction particularly with specific types of music. If the soundstage becomes too congested, though, full-range drivers struggle to keep up. I listen to a lot of minimal techno on the Marks, and they offer a tonal quality that speakers with a crossover in the vocal range can’t replicate.

Thanks for the input! Those genelecs must be amazing! (Better be, given the price)

Sounds like you're saying that with a sub and without trying to push them with very complex tracks, they are amazing?

 

[Penelinfi]

Hi everyone, I'm finding it difficult to choose some quality speakers to replace my bose companion 2 series 2 speakers for use with my desktop/office setup. I was looking at things like the kanto ora and the kali lp-unf speakers, but I'm leaning toward building some overnight sensations or markaudio tozzi ones to save money. I realize these are very different speakers objectively, but because I haven't been able to hear them (or any of the other speakers I've considered) myself, I'm wondering what others think about the enjoyability of listening to these? Is one of them obviously more pleasing to hear? I assume there will be substantially more bass from the overnight sensations, but I could be wrong?
I know all of this is essentially subjective. I thought the bose were passable for what they are(but one of the channels isn't playing consistently any longer). I have some 20+ year old klipsch RB3's that I think sound pretty nice.

I don't plan on doing any mixing or professional audio work, just listening to music, YouTube, general computer work, etc.

I appreciate any insight you can provide!

Just note that Bose Companions have some kind of automatic loudness/volume limiting built in, as well as some kind of channel mixing or spaciousness. You may want to have some EQ handy to get more even bass at lower volumes.

There's also some speaker using a single SB Acoustics woofer with a bunch of EQ, forgot the name