What are the best small, bargain speakers you ever heard?

[Blumlein 88]

LSR 305s are maybe biggest bang for buck, unless maybe LSR 308s are.

 

[Scielienta]

iLoud Micro. Immediately bought it when I heard these little gem.

 

[dufferdan]

Back in the day, and dating myself, the Realistic Minimus 7 was an awesome little gem. Had one from way back, picked up a second at a garage sale in 2000or so and they were my kitchen speakers for several years.

 

[BenB]

Sony CS5 (sometimes had at $80 a pair), with an anti-diffraction frame made out of PVC:
(Spin available from Erin at the following link)

DIY Anti-Diffraction Frame on Sony SS-CS5 with Spin!

Many months ago Erin reviewed the Sony SS CS5 speakers. I had previously developed a modification for that speaker that included a DIY anti-diffraction frame made out of PVC, and a simple resistor short. After discussions with Erin, he agreed to test the anti-diffraction frame by itself. I...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Carlton80@0]

Meridian DSP33 at current pricing. Can be had from $500-$600 a pair. Being active speakers with built in DAC and amplifier. All that is needed is a digital source. One could put together a nice little system with an RPI with a digital hat or something like the Topped D10 for computer audio. Furthermore with it has RS233 for implementing volume and source selection. All wrapped up in a cast aluminum enclosure.

 

[fordiebianco]

I am now in a new job and frequenty have to swap offices (in which I am sitting alone). I would like to have a pair of portable, active, small stereo speakers I can carry around every day and easily plug in today's pc's 3.5mm audio out port. Any suggestions?

 

[paudio]

I am now in a new job and frequenty have to swap offices (in which I am sitting alone). I would like to have a pair of portable, active, small stereo speakers I can carry around every day and easily plug in today's pc's 3.5mm audio out port. Any suggestions?

IK Micro. You can use anything that has unbalanced input. Most monitors will accept a TRS 1/4" in their XLR combo jack. Just need a 3.5mm to 1/4" TRS Y cable.

 

[warpdrive]

IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor was my first thought too.

They even sell a matching bag so you can carry the speakers around

 

[Scrappy]

Fostex PM0.3 for $45. Great super-near fields. Powered/ single-amp. Dunno if much analog EQ is used, but they sound very flat/ “natural.”

 

[fineMen]

LSR305 - when people ask "biggest WOW moment in audio", most answer the usual Salon2, Kef Blade, etc. but, to me, SoTA and high quality at scale are equally interesting. LSR series was definitely a milestone, Kali maybe taken that crown although I haven't heard a LP series myself

For the price they are hilariously good, just nothing to complain. The crux is, they make me long for more in an instant because the view into the recording is spectacular. Once I switch to my grand speakers 12 times as big by volume and cost I understand that not so much was missing, actually. A strange experience ... audio isn't that complicated once a manufacurer does his homework.

 

[Digby]

Surprised by the plaudits the JBL LSR3 series gets. Not heard the 305 ,but have the 308mk2. Prodigious amounts of bass, but sound coloured to me, very boom and tizz in a hi-fi style. Initially impressive, but not in the long run.

 

[AM88]

I thought the focal cms 40 and Krk vxt 4 were outstanding small monitors. They might not of been the most accurate but they sounded the most well rounded without exaggerating any mid bass too much to compensate for their small driver. A pair that DID do that and on reflection were terrible but unbelievably small were the audio engine A2.

 

[this is me]

I still love my LS50 meta.

 

[Tangband]

That is, speakers around the size of Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 and KEF LSX, but sounding like the latter, and costing like the former.

Those are still bargains:

Boston A40
Kef C10
Linn index II
Heybrook HB 1
Paradigm Atom
Jbl 530
AR red box
Genelec 8030c ( expensive I know )

 

[sejarzo]

If you're looking to experiment with PEQ, and maybe add a sub, the Polk T15 are an enticing option. According to Pierre's site, with a good sub and the PEQ profile posted the T15's score between the Kii Audio Three and the Genelec 8030C. This score doesn't take everything into account and it isn't very accurate but still, it's impressive to see the cheap Polks up at the top of the list with all of those expensive high performance speakers.

What confused me about that is the XT15 scores only 4.4 by itself, with the next worst on-its-own score being the Klipsch RP-600M at 5.4, but addition of EQ and a perfect sub could magically transform them into a system that is marginally "better" than either KH80 and KH150 with sub and EQ.

This is the new data summary for the XT15 on spinorama.org, which makes more sense.

 

[music_lover]

JBL Nano K3. I bought them for $150(discounted price). These are tiny '3 speakers that share similar tech with the 305s with an even better class AB amplifier. They blew my mind when I first tried them. I have the HD 800S headphone. They somehow sound more detailed in the treble than my 800s ! Of course they cannot not extend much down low due to size limit, but the sound is breathtaking for such small sized speakers.

 

[MadMaxx]

For almost 2 years I used a pair of iLoud Micro Monitors with my laptop setup and was very pleased... until I saw Z Reviews' take on the Swan OS-10. Gave'em a try and was totally surprised at how much better they sound than my Micros. These little Swans were about $100 less expensive than the Micros, too. I still use the Micros with my M2 Air when traveling because they're smaller/easier to toss in my backpack. At home, however, the Swans are the Duke, the A Number 1.

 

[HeadDoc12]

I don't think Vanatoo gets enough love on ASR. Very well engineered for the size and price.

 

[nerdemoji]

I don't think Vanatoo gets enough love on ASR. Very well engineered for the size and price.

yeah after erin's review they seem to be an excellent choice in the budget range