Recommendations for hifi speaker choice in the low budget range

[Duskqq]

Hey folks,

I'm sorry in case this post doens't belong here, I couldn't find another place where to put it, but please show me in case I'm wrong.

So basically I'm trying to find some good quality budget speakers for a room that can be (very) roughly schematized as follows:

As of now, I'm pondering the Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 and the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1. Since I'm fairly new (if not to say a total noob) to this huge world of audiophile music experience, I have the following questions and would highly appreciate any sort of answer/hint/information/clarification/etc.

1. Are there any other speakers in a similar price segment that you would suggest even more than the ones indicated for a music experience that approaches hifi quality?

2. Where would you position the speakers in the room above given the premise that the future listener would often listen to them from all different ankles of the room, be it on the bed, the couch, in front of the door or wherever.

3. Are there any equipment requirements that I'm missing other than XLR/copper/x cables and your standard 20V amp (e.g. a Yamaha) in order to properly use the speakers?

4. Would you suggest a different kind of speaker, say for example a floor-standing speaker, if the listener will move more freely in the room?


Thank you all very much already in advance!

Best regards
Duskqq

 

[staticV3]

Hi @Duskqq! Welcome to ASR.

1. Are there any other speakers in a similar price segment that you would suggest even more than the ones indicated for a music experience that approaches hifi quality?

Both the Elac and Wharfedale cost ~350€ per pair in Germany.

At 380€, the DBR62 is not far off.

Though personally, I'd much rather save the money on an external Amp and buy active monitors instead.

Kali, Adam, JBL monitors will give you better bang for your buck.

2. Where would you position the speakers in the room above given the premise that the future listener would often listen to them from all different ankles of the room, be it on the bed, the couch, in front of the door or wherever.

Without a consistent listening position, a stereo speaker triangle IMO makes little sense.

Instead, I'd place a single speaker in the top right corner for good coverage of all positions and enjoy an experience without comb filtering and phasing from a single sound source.

3. Are there any equipment requirements that I'm missing other than XLR/copper/x cables and your standard 20V amp (e.g. a Yamaha) in order to properly use the speakers?

Yes, a measurement microphone and a way to correct room modes

If you have an iPhone, the HouseCurve App is sufficient for measuring the in-room frequency response.

4. Would you suggest a different kind of speaker, say for example a floor-standing speaker, if the listener will move more freely in the room?

Floorstanders increase the sensitivity and bass extension, but do nothing for widening the sweet spot.

The same issue regarding stereo triangle persists.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Without a consistent listening position, a stereo speaker triangle IMO makes little sense.

Instead, I'd place a single speaker in the top right corner for good coverage of all positions and enjoy an experience without comb filtering and phasing from a single sound source.

Are you really suggesting a mono setup?

There will be plenty of comb filtering and phasing due to room reflections, regardless.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Hey folks,

I'm sorry in case this post doens't belong here, I couldn't find another place where to put it, but please show me in case I'm wrong.

So basically I'm trying to find some good quality budget speakers for a room that can be (very) roughly schematized as follows:View attachment 446973

As of now, I'm pondering the Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 and the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1. Since I'm fairly new (if not to say a total noob) to this huge world of audiophile music experience, I have the following questions and would highly appreciate any sort of answer/hint/information/clarification/etc.

1. Are there any other speakers in a similar price segment that you would suggest even more than the ones indicated for a music experience that approaches hifi quality?

2. Where would you position the speakers in the room above given the premise that the future listener would often listen to them from all different ankles of the room, be it on the bed, the couch, in front of the door or wherever.

3. Are there any equipment requirements that I'm missing other than XLR/copper/x cables and your standard 20V amp (e.g. a Yamaha) in order to properly use the speakers?

4. Would you suggest a different kind of speaker, say for example a floor-standing speaker, if the listener will move more freely in the room?


Thank you all very much already in advance!

Best regards
Duskqq

Can you rearrange the furniture?
Something like this:

If not, there isn’t an option that really works for both bed and couch.

 

[Behrelec 37]

Duskqq

Budget class straight to the top of the line in terms of sound quality. This could also be a question. A pair of active speakers. A nice Genelec 8030 C in white.

No! 8030A... No.. B... no X... and nothing else now, just that C model. This is the extreme of the budget class.

 

[staticV3]

Are you really suggesting a mono setup?

Indeed I am.

OP's room layout and listening habits just do not permit a sensible stereo setup.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,
A 'classic' stereo hifi setup works for one dedicated listening position, which you don't have.
Not necessarily a problem for good sound, but a pair of speakers in stereo will be difficult.

I've never tried @staticV3 's suggestion of going mono. Worth investigating.

An alternative would be to get a Sonos multi speaker system. The quality is good and you can turn speaker combinations on and off depending on where you are in the room.

 

[RDoc]

good wireless earphones?

 

[Matt_Holland]

Indeed I am.

OP's room layout and listening habits just do not permit a sensible stereo setup.

I’d rather have two speakers regardless. It will be more room filling.

 

[Duskqq]

Hi @Duskqq! Welcome to ASR.


Both the Elac and Wharfedale cost ~350€ per pair in Germany.

At 380€, the DBR62 is not far off.

Though personally, I'd much rather save the money on an external Amp and buy active monitors instead.

Kali, Adam, JBL monitors will give you better bang for your buck.


Without a consistent listening position, a stereo speaker triangle IMO makes little sense.

Instead, I'd place a single speaker in the top right corner for good coverage of all positions and enjoy an experience without comb filtering and phasing from a single sound source.


Yes, a measurement microphone and a way to correct room modes

If you have an iPhone, the HouseCurve App is sufficient for measuring the in-room frequency response.


Floorstanders increase the sensitivity and bass extension, but do nothing for widening the sweet spot.

The same issue regarding stereo triangle persists.

Thank you very much for this informative response!

Two additional questions:

1. If it turns out to be a single setup, which speaker would you recommend? Isn't the problem with active monitors that their sound distribution is quite unidirectional? I aim to fill the whole room - as much as possible - with sound. Logically it won't sound equally well everywhere, but still.

2. What do I do once I have the measurements from the HouseCurve App?

Once again; thank you! It's greatly appreciated.

 

[Duskqq]

Duskqq

Budget class straight to the top of the line in terms of sound quality. This could also be a question. A pair of active speakers. A nice Genelec 8030 C in white.

No! 8030A... No.. B... no X... and nothing else now, just that C model. This is the extreme of the budget class.

Thank you!

I found an option where I could get a pair of Elacs for around 200 bucks and another option for 300. So the Genelec, thought I've heard only the best, seem to be in another price category. No?

Best regards

 

[Duskqq]

Can you rearrange the furniture?
Something like this:

View attachment 447010

If not, there isn’t an option that really works for both bed and couch.

Thanks! I will consider the rearrangement, that's a good idea actually. Though I assume that most of the time the music will not be listened to from the couch. So it might be okay to leave this one spot where the sound isn't as good.

 

[staticV3]

1. If it turns out to be a single setup, which speaker would you recommend?

What's your total budget for Amp and speaker(s)? And which country are you located in?
Are you interested in adding a subwoofer later on?

Isn't the problem with active monitors that their sound distribution is quite unidirectional?

±45° horizontal directivity is quite common in the studio monitor world and would cover every possible listening position in your room, with the speaker placed in a corner.

If you'd like to instead place the speaker along a wall and still cover the whole room, then you could look into either multi-tweeter lifestyle speakers like the Sonos Five, Google Home Max, Apple Homepod, or a passive bookshelf/center speaker with RAAL ribbon tweeter.

Either option would increase the radiation to ±90° horizontally, again covering the entire room.

2. What do I do once I have the measurements from the HouseCurve App?

Use a hardware PEQ solution to apply room correction. WiiM products are a no-brainer here.

DSP solutions built into speakers exist as well, e.g: Neumann MA1, Genelec GLM, IK ARC, Kali SM-5.

 

[Duskqq]

What's your total budget for Amp and speaker(s)? And which country are you located in?
Are you interested in adding a subwoofer later on?

My total budget is say around 350 euros and I'm located in Germany. A subwoofer isn't necessary I guess since I won't listen to louder volumes and would assume that the bass performance of a speaker is sufficient (but what do I know, lol).

±45° horizontal directivity is quite common in the studio monitor world and would cover every possible listening position in your room, with the speaker placed in a corner.

If you'd like to instead place the speaker along a wall and still cover the whole room, then you could look into either multi-tweeter lifestyle speakers like the Sonos Five, Google Home Max, Apple Homepod, or a passive bookshelf/center speaker with RAAL ribbon tweeter.

Either option would increase the radiation to ±90° horizontally, again covering the entire room.

Am I correct in assuming that by "horizontal" you mean laying down the speaker flat? And aren't Sonos and Google systems worse from a hifi standpoint in comparison to e.g. a pair of Elacs + a Yamaha amp both placed in corners in ±90°?

Use a hardware PEQ solution to apply room correction. WiiM products are a no-brainer here.

DSP solutions built into speakers exist as well, e.g: Neumann MA1, Genelec GLM, IK ARC, Kali SM-5.

Will try to do that. WiiM sounds a bit to high for my budget though.

Thank you very much again!

 

[rsc1]

Kef Q150 with a Fosi V3 (or similar) amp. Good constant directivity from the coaxial so you can move around freely and should sound good in a small room. You will definitely want a subwoofer at some point though, at which point you'll have to upgrade your amp again. It's always better to stretch the budget a bit initially (if you can) so you don't have to keep buying new gear, but this should be a good starting point.

 

[Duskqq]

Kef Q150 with a Fosi V3 (or similar) amp. Good constant directivity from the coaxial so you can move around freely and should sound good in a small room. You will definitely want a subwoofer at some point though, at which point you'll have to upgrade your amp again. It's always better to stretch the budget a bit initially (if you can) so you don't have to keep buying new gear, but this should be a good starting point.

Thank you!

Are the Kefs preferable over the speakers I suggested? And if so, then why? As for an Amp, I thought about getting a used Yamaha A S201, they cost about 70 - 100 euros here.

 

[Talisman]

I agree with those who say that for your needs a good Sonos speaker is probably the best choice.
The Kef Q150 are good speakers but with a total budget of 350 euros they would not be my choice.
For your amount I would go for the M-Audio bx8 D3, they are monitor speakers with excellent bass extension and suitable for close listening, the pair comes to cost about the same as the budget
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m-audio-bx8-d3-monitor-review.43832/

 

[Duskqq]

I agree with those who say that for your needs a good Sonos speaker is probably the best choice.
The Kef Q150 are good speakers but with a total budget of 350 euros they would not be my choice.
For your amount I would go for the M-Audio bx8 D3, they are monitor speakers with excellent bass extension and suitable for close listening, the pair comes to cost about the same as the budget
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m-audio-bx8-d3-monitor-review.43832/

Thanks!

I can get a pair of Kefs for around 300 bucks. Sonos speakers on the other hand, especially the Sonos Five, seem to stretch my budget by far. I don't understand how they can be a good choice, do I miss something?

And also; what motivates your suggestion of the M-Audio bx8 D3 over the Elac and the Wharfedale?

Best regards

 

[Talisman]

Thanks!

I can get a pair of Kefs for around 300 bucks. Sonos speakers on the other hand, especially the Sonos Five, seem to stretch my budget by far. I don't understand how they can be a good choice, do I miss something?

And also; what motivates your suggestion of the M-Audio bx8 D3 over the Elac and the Wharfedale?

Best regards

The Sonos sounds incredibly good for a lifestyle speaker, it is very suitable for casual listening in a small environment, more so than a normal hifi speaker would be.
The M-Audio are active, so you would save on the amplifier, they have two 8-inch woofers that allow them to go much lower than the other alternatives you are considering and they have very little distortion even at high volume, if you read Amir's considerations in the review I linked you will notice that he was amazed by the performance, they also have a horizontal dispersion of 60 degrees, which makes them excellent for covering an entire room as a pair, the price is within the budget and they are easily found on Amazon with all the related return and warranty policies.

 

[rsc1]

There is a couple of things to keep in mind.

You said you want to fill the room with sound as much as possible. Speakers with wider directivity will do that, however, you will also have more (potentially nasty) reflections off the ceiling/floor/walls, which will negatively impact the sound. I'm assuming your room is acoustically untreated and is relatively small. A coaxial speaker like the Q150 is a bit narrower in horizontal directivity (about ±50°), but it has much better vertical directivity than most 2-way bookshelves. That allows you to move off-axis from the tweeter vertically (as in standing up and walking around) but still hear the same sound. Pairing them with the Yamaha amp would be fine. Drawbacks would be that they don't have a lot of bass and will distort when pushed hard without a sub.

I do agree that by going active you'd get a bit more bang for your buck. There are plenty that have decently wide horizontal directivity (about ±60° for the JBL 30xP line). Since you're in Germany I'd recommend finding a used pair of JBL 308P MKii's if you can swing it. They go low, have great linearity and sound absolutely amazing for the money. I have a pair and will never get rid of them.

What kind of music do you listen to?