What budget speakers you like to see reviewed?

[amirm]

The Presonus Eris XT5 or XT7 and the M-Audio BX5 D3 would make a nice test subject in the 'budget' class.

I have bought the XT5 and is waiting in line for testing.

 

[amirm]

Infinity r162 sets are on sale for $160 right now at harman audio.

I bought the 253 just now since I have measured a lot of bookshelves already.

 

[amirm]

JBL Studio 530 . These used to be part of the Synthesis line also.

I have purchased them but they have yet to arrive.

 

[Putter]

See link below for my old measurements of these speakers:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ics-cr57-bookshelf-speaker.11943/#post-346174

The CR57 is no longer available new. I have the CR67 which has the 5.25 inch woofer which I loved until I saw a comparative review that liked them, but mentioned sharp ESSS' sound which of course I listened for and drove me crazy. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. For example I can't listen to most modern pop records because they're so compressed including ones I used to like, Raising Sand by Alison Krause and Robert Plant for example.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I bought the 253 just now since I have measured a lot of bookshelves already.

Awesome!

 

[gr-e]

Infinity r162 sets are on sale for $160 right now at harman audio.

Looks like the whole line is on sale.
These things gotta have a very interesting sound field:

 

[Xulonn]

I received my pair of 9.25" tall Q-Acoustics 3010 ($200) loudspeakers two days ago, and the "improvement" over my tiny Yamaha NS-A325 plastic-case monitors for desktop use is drastic - as expected. I primarily wanted more bass and a "bigger" sound - and I got that plus an added bonus of better dynamics at low volumes. Going from speakers rated at -3dB down at 150Hz vs. the same at 68Hz is an obvious and drastic change. Since I also use these for a "portable" system, I went for the slightly smaller and lighter 3010's rather than the 3020's, and only lost 4Hz at the -3dB bottom end.

Definitely hoping that @amirm will be testing the Q-Acoustics 3010 or 3020 monitors soon.

 

[tecnogadget]

The CR57 is no longer available new. I have the CR67 which has the 5.25 inch woofer which I loved until I saw a comparative review that liked them, but mentioned sharp ESSS' sound which of course I listened for and drove me crazy. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. For example I can't listen to most modern pop records because they're so compressed including ones I used to like, Raising Sand by Alison Krause and Robert Plant for example.

I have both CR 57 (for rear-projection) and CR 67 (surround) in my previous 7.1ch home theater. Most blessed people (not audiophiles) who enter my dedicated room would think that the bigger ones should be better... But as you have already experienced, the CR67 only goes down in extension giving you lower and better power handling, at the expense of worse frequency response. Anyway, I have never noticed discomfort listening to the CR67, but my use has been for movie soundtracks in a room with full acoustic treatment and PEQ applied to them resulting in a response similar to the "in-room" from Amirm's graphs. On the other hand, the CR57 raw response sounds really good for the $100 I paid in 2009.
The small 4.25" woofer and smaller/different ratio cabinet makes for the better recipe.
WARNING: Whenever I recommend both speakers or any other type of bookshelf I do so with the consideration that they will be crossed with a subwoofer.

 

[GXAlan]

More out of curiosity than actual purchase decision making, the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 has been in continuous production for almost 20 years. It would be interesting to see how these measure to see how subjective measurements and objective opinions overlay.
The Sony MDR-7506 is a headphone that has been in continuous production for a very long time and recently has been shown to fortuitously come close to the Harman target for headphones. Maybe the Klipsch does something fortuitously.

 

[bobbooo]

I received my pair of 9.25" tall Q-Acoustics 3010 ($200) loudspeakers two days ago, and the "improvement" over my tiny Yamaha NS-A325 plastic-case monitors for desktop use is drastic - as expected. I primarily wanted more bass and a "bigger" sound - and I got that plus an added bonus of better dynamics at low volumes. Going from speakers rated at -3dB down at 150Hz vs. the same at 68Hz is an obvious and drastic change. Since I also use these for a "portable" system, I went for the slightly smaller and lighter 3010's rather than the 3020's, and only lost 4Hz at the -3dB bottom end.

Definitely hoping that @amirm will be testing the Q-Acoustics 3010 or 3020 monitors soon.

View attachment 53500

Agreed, although the 3010 has at least been measured by Sound and Vision 'quasi-anechoically' as part of Q Acoustic's 5.1 system here (purple curve), whereas the larger 3020 model (5-inch woofer) has no proper measurements at all yet, despite winning Wirecutter's double-blind best bookshelf speaker listening test last year and receiving pretty much universal acclaim elsewhere. For just a bit more at $229 a pair I think they would be the better choice to measure.

 

[QMuse]

I received my pair of 9.25" tall Q-Acoustics 3010 ($200) loudspeakers two days ago, and the "improvement" over my tiny Yamaha NS-A325 plastic-case monitors for desktop use is drastic - as expected. I primarily wanted more bass and a "bigger" sound - and I got that plus an added bonus of better dynamics at low volumes. Going from speakers rated at -3dB down at 150Hz vs. the same at 68Hz is an obvious and drastic change. Since I also use these for a "portable" system, I went for the slightly smaller and lighter 3010's rather than the 3020's, and only lost 4Hz at the -3dB bottom end.

Definitely hoping that @amirm will be testing the Q-Acoustics 3010 or 3020 monitors soon.

View attachment 53500

Few months ago a friend bought 3050i and asked me to do room EQ for him. I was pleasantly surprised with both, sound and measurements.

 

[pozz]

More out of curiosity than actual purchase decision making, the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 has been in continuous production for almost 20 years. It would be interesting to see how these measure to see how subjective measurements and objective opinions overlay.

I'd agree here.

The Sony MDR-7506 is a headphone that has been in continuous production for a very long time and recently has been shown to fortuitously come close to the Harman target for headphones.

I'm not sure I'd go that far given how far the highs are above the target (oratory1990) but they are good a example of what you're getting at.

 

[Xulonn]

For just a bit more at $229 a pair I think they [the 3020] would be the better choice to measure.

Agree about preferring to have the 3020 tested - unless someone happened to loan Amir a 3010.

I bought the smaller, lighter 3010's because I will take them to an outdoor (terrace under cover) arts and crafts event every Tuesday morning along with an Aiyima ChiFi 24v mini amp, Cayin portable DAP and a TalentCell 5-12-24vdc, 2980mAh powerbank. (This system will replace my Yamaha NS-A325 speakers, Lepai 10wpc T-amp, and a 12v SLA battery.)

Since the speakers are up close to a wall on my computer desk at home, and the rear ports face an open outdoor space at the market, I am using the provided foam plugs.

 

[Johan Liebert]

I would like to see certain Passive and Active near field budget speakers/monitors reviewed. Particularly

Kali LP-6
Mackie MR624
Adam T5V
PSB Alpha P5
Paradigm Monitor SE Atom
JBL 306P

Or any other under 500 dollar near field setups that would rock.

 

[Xulonn]

...the 3010 has at least been measured by Sound and Vision 'quasi-anechoically' as part of Q Acoustic's 5.1 system here (purple curve)...

Interesting that the Q-Acoustics spec for the 3010 is -3dB at 68Hz, and Sound&Vision measured them at -3dB at102Hz, and -6dB at 66Hz.

That is still pretty good bass response for such a small speaker, and my excellent little I.AM.D. v200 DAC/Amp (TI-TAS5614LA-based, probably ~40wpc with a 24v power supply) drives them nicely. I suspect that my Aiyima A04 ChiFi amp only (TI-TPA3251-based, ~40wpc & no DAC) for my outdoor market use will drive them similarly.

 

[QMuse]

Interesting that the Q-Acoustics spec for the 3010 is -3dB at 68Hz, and Sound&Vision measured them at -3dB at102Hz, and -6dB at 66Hz.

Sound&Vision measuremetn was probaly made with speaker away from any walls.

 

[Putter]

I have both CR 57 (for rear-projection) and CR 67 (surround) in my previous 7.1ch home theater. Most blessed people (not audiophiles) who enter my dedicated room would think that the bigger ones should be better... But as you have already experienced, the CR67 only goes down in extension giving you lower and better power handling, at the expense of worse frequency response. Anyway, I have never noticed discomfort listening to the CR67, but my use has been for movie soundtracks in a room with full acoustic treatment and PEQ applied to them resulting in a response similar to the "in-room" from Amirm's graphs. On the other hand, the CR57 raw response sounds really good for the $100 I paid in 2009.
The small 4.25" woofer and smaller/different ratio cabinet makes for the better recipe.
WARNING: Whenever I recommend both speakers or any other type of bookshelf I do so with the consideration that they will be crossed with a subwoofer.

I tend to rotate speakers in and out and will probably try them again.

 

[GabrielZM]

Oh boy I wish I was living in US. What a bargain for those infinity speakers:

https://www.harmanaudio.com/loudspeakers/REFERENCE+RC263.html

and some interesting resources for this line up:

https://speakerdata2034.blogspot.com/2019/06/harman-consumer-brands-spinorama-data.html

 

[GXAlan]

I'm not sure I'd go that far given how far the highs are above the target (oratory1990) but they are good a example of what you're getting at.

https://www.soundstagexperience.com...nes-and-what-they-say-about-what-matters-most

I am just going by this article. Perhaps the made in Japan versions are different from the newer ones?

 

[StevenEleven]

Infinity r162 sets are on sale for $160 right now at harman audio.

I hope they don’t measure like this. . .

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/infinity-reference-r162-speaker-system-test-bench

but they probably will.

I‘ll keep my Primus 150s, thank you (though my son uses them now in his bedroom, but yeah, they’re pretty good. . .)

https://www.stereophile.com/content/infinity-primus-150-loudspeaker-measurements