What budget speakers you like to see reviewed?

[amirm]

I would like to see the Presonus Eris 3.5 getting reviewed.

I have already bought the PreSonus Eris E5 XT. Is that one the smaller version or something?

 

[fredoamigo]

the 3.5 is smaller and cheaper I got it at home ...subjectively good...

 

[q3cpma]

I have already bought the PreSonus Eris E5 XT. Is that one the smaller version or something?

By the way, could you measure (or maybe mention in the listening test) any kind of residual self-noise/hiss at 1m? Since most of these are made to be used in a near-field situation, this really makes sense.

 

[MZKM]

By the way, could you measure (or maybe mention in the listening test) any kind of residual self-noise/hiss at 1m? Since most of these are made to be used in a near-field situation, this really makes sense.

Didn’t he say he only gets like 50dB of range? These hisses are usually >70dB down.

 

[q3cpma]

Didn’t he say he only gets like 50dB of range? These hisses are usually >70dB down.

Well, I meant with a measurement mic. Since I think it's already used to calibrate the volume, it shouldn't be too much effort. Either way, I'm sure this is something A LOT of people want to see; because a great monitor might be rendered completely unwanted by hiss.
If the mic doesn't have enough sensitivity, doing some measurements nearer to the tweeter should be easy.

 

[MZKM]

I have already bought the PreSonus Eris E5 XT. Is that one the smaller version or something?

Should‘ve also bought the $20 cheaper non-XT model (looks like only difference is the XT has a waveguide) to compare.

 

[mhardy6647]

A 3-way Acoustic Suspension design for $130/pair:
Yamaha NS-6490 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers Finish (Pair) Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00018Q4GA/

'Manual' attached for more detail.

My guess is that these are the modern version of the truly execrable (IMO) NS-A635(A) (a/k/a its Radio Shack morph, the Optimus STS-100*). Truly horrible loudspeakers (and I have a pretty low bar for cheap/free loudspeakers... my pair were dump finds, as was the CR-220 in the photo below). The crossover consists of two NP electrolytics (one for the MR, one for the tweeter) -- which likely doesn't help.

dumpyamahae by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

s

source: http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1994/hr013.html

 

[Standing in the rain]

Elac b6 would be good, I would like to see what all the fuss is about.

 

[escape2]

Another high priority recommendation IMO should be the Chane A2.4. This has been an internet darling for several years with a religious like following in frequency of recommendations, but AFAIK no one has done real measurements of any of their models.

Another one making the rounds on various AV forums is DCM TP160S. A lot of praises sang there, comparing them to much more expensive speakers.

To me, they're a bit too bright, although that's easily fixed by adding a 20 Ohm resistor.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-5-Booksh...789735?hash=item2ad3c8f827:g:bZ0AAOSwK7xdcUuZ

They were under $80 shipped, last year.

 

[EPIC]

Go ELAC Debut 2 B52/62

 

[mhardy6647]

Elac b6 would be good, I would like to see what all the fuss is about.

There are so many ELAC loudspeakers, at so many price points. By "b6" Do you mean the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2?
If so... yeah, I'd like to see it in the cadre of loudspeakers tested here.
I have a pair, and I, too, am likewise (still) wondering what all the fuss is about.
They definitely do some things fairly well (quite well given the on-sale price for which I got them, back in 2018) -- but they also seem quite picky about placement and amplification. More picky than I am used to, at least.
I have yet to hear them sound great -- which is about all that I can vouch for.

DSC_3815 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(a particularly nonoptimal trial )

 

[Shazb0t]

I believe he means the original b6. They were a big deal for a couple years when they first started showing up at their price point.

 

[mhardy6647]

I believe he means the original b6. They were a big deal for a couple years when they first started showing up at their price point.

Ahh, that's right. Sorry.
I've actually never heard the original morph -- they had a reputation for being rolled off in the treble, if memory serves(?)

EDIT: Heh, just (re) read the Stereophile review of the B6.
As Dan Quayle once said, "It's a terrible thing to lose one's mind"

Here's the FR data from the above mentioned review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-debut-b6-loudspeaker

Fig.3 Elac Debut B6, anechoic response on tweeter axis at 50", averaged across 30° horizontal window and corrected for microphone response, with nearfield responses of woofer (blue), port (red), and their complex sum (black), respectively plotted below 300Hz, 850Hz, and 300Hz.

I'll let JA speak for himself

The top octave rolls off a little earlier than usual, and coupled with the fact that the B6's lateral dispersion narrows significantly above 7kHz (fig.5), the Elac might sound lacking in top-octave air in medium-to-large rooms or in rooms that are heavily furnished. Herb's listening room is both small and relatively undamped, which is probably why he was not concerned by the speaker's somewhat muted anechoic output in the high treble. In the vertical plane (fig.6), a sharply defined suckout in the crossover region develops more than 15° above and 10° below the tweeter axis.

 

[Shazb0t]

Ahh, that's right. Sorry.
I've actually never heard the original morph -- they had a reputation for being rolled off in the treble, if memory serves(?)

EDIT: Heh, just (re) read the Stereophile review of the B6.
As Dan Quayle once said, "It's a terrible thing to lose one's mind"

Here's the FR data from the above mentioned review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-debut-b6-loudspeaker

View attachment 51471


I'll let JA speak for himself

An interesting thing is a lot of reviews claimed they were a clear step up over the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR, particularly in the treble. Since the Pioneers measured so well on the Klippel, I'm really curious what the B6 spin will look like. There's also bound to be a ton of B6's out there due to their popularity and supposed price point shattering performance of the time.

 

[spacevector]

A few more contenders if not already mentioned.

Wharfedale Diamond 220 ($200)
https://www.amazon.com/Wharfedale-5025941156901-Diamond-220-Walnut/dp/B00TYN3EUC

Fluance SX6W ($150)
https://www.amazon.com/Fluance-Definition-Two-Way-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B00067OS0A

Dayton Audio MK402X ($60)
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-mk402x-4-2-way-bookshelf-speaker-pair--300-465

 

[Thomas_A]

I am a bit stubborn perhaps, but IKEA Eneby 30...

 

[taisho]

Boston Acoustics A-25 and Mission MX1 have a lot of good reviews, I would like to see this verified. Whether it's "good" or "for such pennies it's quite good".

 

[AnalogSteph]

Ah, I used to have a Genelec 1031A. Gave it to my son to use in his room many years ago. I can ask him next time he comes over so I can measure it.

That would be really interesting indeed, especially with some B2031As to compare them with. (Certainly someone would have a pair of those kicking around? Over here they're just about the cheapest 8" active monitors you can buy, at sub-€300 a pair. Save for some hiss that isn't much of an issue at typical distances and a dubious bass response, they seem to be hard to beat.)

Someone mentioned Mackie HR624s - the grapevine said that the current '524 is supposed to be very low in noise, so one has to wonder whether dispersion is on par with that. Finding inexpensive monitors that aren't perceptibly hissy tends to be a real challenge for folks with short listening distances / low volume. This has been an absolute must for me. As good as e.g. LSR305s may be in terms of dispersion, low noise is not one of their particular strengths.
In this class, audible hiss comes up as a complaint again and again and again. Presonus, KRK, you name 'em. That's the crux of having a tweeter in a waveguide directly connected to a power amp - passive XOs will often drop tweeter level substantially as they are that much more sensitive. Dave 'EEVBlog" Jones ended up tracing tweeter hiss in some KRK RP6 G2s to the power amp itself, which did surprise me as I would have expected it to be a crossover issue.

 

[rajas]

A vote for the PSB Alpha Series - the Alpha P5 and the Alpha P3. P5 reviewed here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-alpha-p5-loudspeaker

 

[amirm]

A vote for the PSB Alpha Series - the Alpha P5 and the Alpha P3. P5 reviewed here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-alpha-p5-loudspeaker

Ah, didn't realize PSB had gone so low in price. Bought the P5 on Amazon. Given their NRC research tradition, hopefully it won't be a terrible speaker I get stuck with!