Speakers Suggestions Sought

[momo7G]

Haha, I make a SSS title.

As you may have noticed I posted about Edifier E25. Maybe a suggestion post will attract more eyeballs and clicks.

The above is my room and I sit facing the balcony.

I am looking for a pair of speakers, passive or active , something under 500-600 USD with everything considered (cables, amp for passive speakers). For me based in Melbourne, amazon.com is not delivering here yet for third party companies aside from a few chosen one.

I got a DAC with XLR out, carpeted floor and untreated room.

Your awesome wise words are appreciated.

 

[Ron Texas]

JBL 306 or 308 MkII. They are active. Pick up some inexpensive balanced cables in a place which sells to musicians. Otherwise, you are looking on the used market.

 

[Eurasian]

Second the JBLs. I found a deal for a friend on eBay: 306Mklls nib for $185/pr. including shipping. Must have been a mistake, but the seller came through! This was a pro audio store in NY.

Keep your eyes peeled!

 

[maxxevv]

Check if you have forwarding office services for your city that's based in the US. I use them a fair bit over the years for sellers on Amazon or Ebay or even webstores that do not ship to my location.

It will open up your purchase options.

 

[stunta]

JBL 306 or 308 MkII. They are active. Pick up some inexpensive balanced cables in a place which sells to musicians. Otherwise, you are looking on the used market.

^ This. With your budget, it would hard to come up with something better. I think even if the budget were twice that, it would be hard to come up with something notably better.

If Kali Audio speakers are easier to get down under, those should be similar I reckon.

 

[Ron Texas]

Second the JBLs. I found a deal for a friend on eBay: 306Mklls nib for $185/pr. including shipping. Must have been a mistake, but the seller came through! This was a pro audio store in NY.

It may have been a customer return.

 

[soundwave76]

Genelec 8030 active speakers used

 

[Eurasian]

Perhaps they were, but they sure looked and sounded as new. There is another pair up now for $209 including shipping. They are described as customer returned and free shipping only applies to the lower 48 states. They do seem to be willing to ship elsewhere, however.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Freight-forwarding to Australia is not an attractive option since GST (VAT) on imports was extended to small purchases. So the OP is likely to be better off looking at local retailers or the secondhand market.

@momo7G the suggestions so far (JBL and Genelec) are for high-quality, hi-fidelity (i.e. accurate) speakers. What have you listened to, what have you owned before, and what have you liked?

 

[Eurasian]

Freight-forwarding to Australia is not an attractive option since GST (VAT) on imports was extended to small purchases. So the OP is likely to be better off looking at local retailers or the secondhand market.

@momo7G the suggestions so far (JBL and Genelec) are for high-quality, hi-fidelity (i.e. accurate) speakers. What have you listened to, what have you owned before, and what have you liked?

Looks like GST is a manageable 10% of value + insurance. May still be an option if he can find a good deal stateside.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Looks like GST is a manageable 10% of value + insurance. May still be an option if he can find a good deal stateside.

That's correct I think, although it should be 10% of value + insurance + shipping IIUC.

In any case, the OP would then also need to buy a pair of step-down transformers (unless the US product is 230V compatible).

 

[Eurasian]

That's correct I think, although it should be 10% of value + insurance + shipping IIUC.

In any case, the OP would then also need to buy a pair of step-down transformers (unless the US product is 230V compatible).

Wow -- they even tax the shipping! I guess this would tend to favor local sellers.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Wow -- they even tax the shipping! I guess this would tend to favor local sellers.

Yeh, those laws came in a few years ago for exactly that reason. Prior to that, GST and duties were only payable on large purchases (which I think were defined as over AU$1K or so). It's a very different landscape now for consumers now...

 

[momo7G]

Oh, I should've put out more info.

I used to own a pair of Audioengine A2, found them too boomy as I can only placed speakers on desk. The reflection of base is driving me crazy.

When I put on my go to bass track, limit yo your love from James Blake. The base is a treat on the headphone, Fostex T50rp mk3, but annoyingly painful on speakers.

I listen to dance, EDM, and heaps of gaming. JBL and Genelec are both super attractive, especially the small Genelec, I don't need to worry about putting them on stands and switches for EQ.

The Aussie GST situation is a bit confusing to me, as tax is applied on amazon.com.au no matter how much is the product. But when I bought things from massdrop, no tax was charged. I guess it all depends on where you buy from.

 

[andreasmaaan]

The Aussie GST situation is a bit confusing to me, as tax is applied on amazon.com.au no matter how much is the product. But when I bought things from massdrop, no tax was charged. I guess it all depends on where you buy from.

In theory, it applies to just about all imports as of a few years ago. Some sellers who deal frequently with overseas markets will mark packages as "gifts" to try to circumvent GST and duties. This is obviously illegal but may have been what Massdrop did. Or you may have made the purchase before the laws changed...

I listen to dance, EDM, and heaps of gaming. JBL and Genelec are both super attractive, especially the small Genelec, I don't need to worry about putting them on stands and switches for EQ.

Even if you buy Genelecs, I would still suggest putting the speakers on stands if possible. The EQ switches might be able to mitigate desktop placement to some extent, but will not get close to fixing it completely.

 

[LightninBoy]

It may have been a customer return.

I took advantage of the same deal. It was listed as customer returned. However, packaging seemed unopened - the speakers still had plastic covering the fronts and protecting the drivers. I made a joke about it in another thread.

I'm guessing that the 306s aren't selling as well as the 305s - for some reason. I love mine, BTW. I'm surprised more hasn't been said about the tweeters. They are really good at any price and insanely awesome at this price.

One last tidbit - the 3 MKII series won the NAMM 2019 TEC award.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Wow -- they even tax the shipping! I guess this would tend to favor local sellers.

I just looked it up. Not only do they tax the shipping, they tax the customs duties

 

[Ron Texas]

I just looked it up. Not only do they tax the shipping, they tax the customs duties

If you walk a lot, they will tax your feet. It's difficult for us outside of Australia to know what is available there and at what price. I think the minimum premium is 25%, but I have seen some items advertised at over twice the US price. John Darko moved to Berlin because he couldn't get review samples sent to him in Oz.

 

[andreasmaaan]

If you walk a lot, they will tax your feet. It's difficult for us outside of Australia to know what is available there and at what price. I think the minimum premium is 25%, but I have seen some items advertised at over twice the US price. John Darko moved to Berlin because he couldn't get review samples sent to him in Oz.

That's interesting, I'm also Australian and now living in Berlin.

 

[momo7G]

Maybe it is wise to move to germany, even though the VAT might seems high. But if work locally the situation won't be that bad I guess