What Budget Speakers Do You Enjoy?

[Matthias McCready]

Audio can be an expensive game, and it can often feel like a race to absurd amounts of money (which this forum is often a breath of fresh air for).
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So for something a little different, instead of your favorite end-all be all speakers, what is a "budget," pair of speakers/or equipment that you have thoroughly enjoyed. You know the type of equipment you can just take in the music on.

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I better define "budget" here as that can be quite subjective; let's say sub-$500, (used is fair game).

 

[darthe]

For many years as went to school my budget setup was 3.1 BIC America Venturi's (later added couple small Bic's as Sats for 5.1) really enjoyed them for movies. Now all sold

Then upgraded to Wavecrest HVL-1 which seemed a modest step up , recently these became my bedroom 3.1 setup

Now have Emotiva setup which by many here is probably considered budget but for me was big leap in cost, only had for 2 months but so far so good.

 

[Doodski]

I used a KEF C25 for several months placed against a wall and they sounded pretty good.

 

[Joe Smith]

I am a budget-oriented guy so all my speakers are budget! And I like them all.

ADS L420/L520
Paradigm Titan series 1
KEF Coda 7
KEF Q 15.2
Polk Audio Monitor 5jr+
Advent 5002
Advent Baby II
Infinity RS225
PSB 30R
And others...but these are the main ones in rotation.

The ADS are my favorite speakers.

But just listening now to the recently-refoamed Titans with the Aiyima A07 amp with source as bluetooth hook to an old iPod Touch - solid, just solid sound.

Oh, forgot my newest ones...the ELAC 2.0 B6.2 in my workroom...they're good too.

 

[MattHooper]

Thiel 02:

THIEL Model 02 (1976)

Blog High-Fidelity Stereo. Vintage Audio and Hi-Fi Equipment, info, specifications, descriptions,

stereonomono.blogspot.com

They were my wife's old speakers (bought for her by her audiophile dad/brother in the early 80s). They were pre "time/phase" coherent designs, a simple 2-way that sold for $350. I inherited them from my wife when we moved in together, they became the first speakers in my "audiophile" set up, and I've held on to them for decades.

To me these speakers are still magic. I can't shake them. I can enjoy listening to music on these as much as any speakers I've ever heard.

 

[Selkirks]

Revel M16 - They can be found around $500 used
Totem Rainmaker
Tekton Lore

 

[stumper3819]

I really enjoy the Infinity r162, recommended by Amir quite some time ago. Outstanding value when they were onsale at Harman frequently for $170 pair. Unfortunately the line seems to be discontinued.

 

[deniall83]

I enjoy Wharfedale speakers. Both the Diamond 10.1 I used to own and the Denton 85, I own now. They seem well engineered for the price.

 

[Bleib]

Canton Karat 20+30, used. They don't sound accurate but sometimes work really well with some type of music.
Sold them though, can't have too many speakers

Dynavoice DM6 also provides a lot for the money when it's on sale. Big sound for a bookshelf

 

[JSmith]

sub-$500

If buying new I'd consider these for a smaller space;

Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)

“…one of the best-selling speakers of all time.” The Diamond 12 series raises the bar for affordable, high-performance loudspeakers.

www.wharfedaleusa.com

Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Review (Speaker)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs US $399 for a pair. The look and feel of the 12.1 is definitely above the budget category: The back is rather pedestrian but...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[Matthias McCready]

When the wife and I were first married I was in school, and we lived across the country from where my "hifi" setup was. So as surprise for my birthday she found me a pair of Mission 761's on Ebay for $85 shipped. It was a fiscal stretch at the time, but we were so glad we did it. A friend was kind enough to loan us his vintage Yamaha amp for a year or two, until we moved back to Minnesota.

The 761's sound quite "bright," but not in a bad way. Those are what we listen to music on quite a bit. They are some sweet sounding boxes.

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In my wife's office she has a pair of M&K S-125's they feel fantastic.

 

[Waxx]

I like my 1976's Goodman Mezzo SL's a lot. I paid 20€ for a pair of mint speakers more than a decade ago. Now they go arround 100€ second hand. My pair is recapped as the old elco's inside were to old (but still working). So a new 4.7uF and 2.2uF elco but for the rest the set is fully original. I did the recapping myself, so there is only +/- 25€ (20 for the speakers and +/- 5€ for the caps) of my money in the speakerset.

 

[Waxx]

Also if you are into diy, the Overnight Sensations or C-Note kits from Parts Express are great. I did build and donated the Overnight Sensations and tested it for a friend who lost everything in the big floodings in Pepinster in Belgium last summer. I had those for a few weeks here (he first needed to find a new house, as his old was totally destroyed) and they sound damm good for the money. The kit costed me 200€ (including the plywood precut) and count a 5€ cooked lineoil (for the finishing), the glue and the solder needed and a 4-5h of work...

The C-Notes i did not build myself, but a friend has them as his workshop speakers, and i spend quiet a few hours there. They are even a bit cheaper than the Overnight Sensation, but sound as good. They were also measured here i think...

 

[coonmanx]

Depends on what you think the word "budget" means...

 

[Chaconne]

To many here, these will be the usual suspects. But I have personally found them to be outstanding:

Adam Audio T5V
Triangle Borea BR02
Sony SS-CS5 (I can't agree with Amir's findings!)

 

[ahofer]

JBL Studio L830s, a decade old or so. I keep thinking I’m going to replace them, but then I listen and go…these are pretty darn good.

 

[stevenswall]

$600 on Ebay, or $700 most places, but the Kali IN-5 is the cheapest speaker I've found that doesn't have any easily audible issues for me.

Vertical and horizontal dispersion are great, it can be used as a center channel, goes loud enough for the rooms in my house without distorting, has balanced frequency response, and no odd sounds when playing bass (no rubbing, rattling, or chuffing.)

Curious if anyone has a suggestion that works better for all of these things? I've tried many speakers and most have issues.

Doing a HiVi DIY 3.1 was satisfying to do, but ultimately left me wanting more. A part of me would rather have just saved an additional $300 and gotten these, though unfortunately they weren't out at the time.

 

[tvih]

PSB Alpha B1. Some EQ might help make the top end more a bit more pleasant, but generally speaking for 225-250€ or so I have considered them a bargain.

 

[Dilliw]

I am a budget-oriented guy so all my speakers are budget! And I like them all.

ADS L420/L520
Paradigm Titan series 1
KEF Coda 7
KEF Q 15.2
Polk Audio Monitor 5jr+
Advent 5002
Advent Baby II
Infinity RS225
PSB 30R
And others...but these are the main ones in rotation.

The ADS are my favorite speakers.

But just listening now to the recently-refoamed Titans with the Aiyima A07 amp with source as bluetooth hook to an old iPod Touch - solid, just solid sound.

Oh, forgot my newest ones...the ELAC 2.0 B6.2 in my workroom...they're good too.

Had my Titans refoamed about 10 years ago and they are still going strong.

 

[usersky]

Elac Debut Reference DBR6.2, Wharfedale Diamond 225, KEF Q350, Monitor Audio Bronze 2.