I give Zu a pass as they are meant for tube amps, being >95dB efficient is not an easy task without getting into compression drivers, and speakers from JTR, PowerSoundAudio, DIYSG, etc. certainly aren’t winning and awards for looks. The weak bass of the Zu’s probably also will be a bit better with the boost from tubes. But yeah, if you have solid state amps, no need to even consider them.
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What's the best passive (and preferably floorstanding) speaker one can find for $2,500 or less?
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I give Zu a pass as they are meant for tube amps, being >95dB efficient is not an easy task without getting into compression drivers, and speakers from JTR, PowerSoundAudio, DIYSG, etc. certainly aren’t winning and awards for looks. The weak bass of the Zu’s probably also will be a bit better with the boost from tubes. But yeah, if you have solid state amps, no need to even consider them.
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Look at Stereophile for measurements of more Zu. Also fun to read the reviewers described sound.
Also Zu isn't bad for SS, Zu is bad for anything.
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I've gotten to use LS50s. In my opinion a great bargain, but only if used with a good sub.
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I built my brother some speakers years back. Used an odd 8 inch driver Radio Shack used to offer. 95 db efficient. Whizzer cone, and good response to 12 khz over the center 20 degrees. Full range crossover-less driver. Built a nice transmission line and did some work fine tuning the length, resonances and stuffing density. The low end was good to a bit below 50 hz. I need to pull them out and measure them with REW. The T-line loading and driver made for a very easy load of low reactance. Powered his with a Fisher integrated tube unit purchased for $2 at a yard sale. I did swap the tubes. Mine looked better than this one.
Rated at 18 watts per channel. Would play plenty loud. I bet my speaker bests the performance of that Zu. I only had warble tones and frequency gen to measure response then, but it was actually pretty good.
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(Warning completely subjective impressions. No DBT tests).
At that price range you have a good amount of choice to choose from.
The speakers I've been most impressed with lately have been the Emotiva T-2 running at 1k. My friend and I compared them to the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII which is quite a lot more expensive. In his room it gave little up to the Sonus Faber, actually out doing the much larger speaker in the bass extension. But don't get me wrong the Sonus Faber was a bit better in some specific aspects but not by a large amount. The T-2's are one of the best speakers I've heard. It sounds to my ears more coherent than the impressive Tekton Pendragon and more neutral in tone than the Thiel 1.6, and slightly faster more "holographic" in treble than the Axiom M80. It's not the best speaker but it is darn impressive. Its main weakness is that since its size is small, things are a little bit smaller sounding in overall scale than larger floor standers.
I've not found a speaker that can significantly better my Axioms when driven by my current XPA-1 gen 2 amp. However if you have a large size room, the axioms are going to need subwoofers. But they nail some realistic tone and soundstage, tons of detail, and overall it's one of my favorite in just getting it right. Significantly more expensive speakers can do better in a sense of "Unwavering solidity" and ease in the bass deparment and a slightly larger scale when run full range. In smaller rooms, these are reasonably full range.
At that price range you have a good amount of choice to choose from.
The speakers I've been most impressed with lately have been the Emotiva T-2 running at 1k. My friend and I compared them to the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII which is quite a lot more expensive. In his room it gave little up to the Sonus Faber, actually out doing the much larger speaker in the bass extension. But don't get me wrong the Sonus Faber was a bit better in some specific aspects but not by a large amount. The T-2's are one of the best speakers I've heard. It sounds to my ears more coherent than the impressive Tekton Pendragon and more neutral in tone than the Thiel 1.6, and slightly faster more "holographic" in treble than the Axiom M80. It's not the best speaker but it is darn impressive. Its main weakness is that since its size is small, things are a little bit smaller sounding in overall scale than larger floor standers.
I've not found a speaker that can significantly better my Axioms when driven by my current XPA-1 gen 2 amp. However if you have a large size room, the axioms are going to need subwoofers. But they nail some realistic tone and soundstage, tons of detail, and overall it's one of my favorite in just getting it right. Significantly more expensive speakers can do better in a sense of "Unwavering solidity" and ease in the bass deparment and a slightly larger scale when run full range. In smaller rooms, these are reasonably full range.
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Based on my experience with the NHT C3 stand-mount, I suspect the C4 is very good. The C3 listening window response was ±1.5dB from the 300Hz - 22kHz, and the polar map shows only a little extra midrange energy.
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/bookshelf/nht-c3-bookshelf-speaker-review/
The Tannoy Revolution XT 8F is a tower speaker I've reviewed and measured with an MSRP $100 over the specified budget, but I think worth an audition.
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews...olution-xt-8f-floor-standing-speakers-review/
These measurements are not as high quality as the NHT ones above, because at the time I was unable to measure outdoors. So these were measured in a large room. They did nothing wrong to my ears, and one thing I still don't understand about their in-room performance is their exceptional clarity/resolution at low levels. I was sad to pack them up. If we didn't have a fireplace up front I would have inquired about buying the three of them as my reference.
I've heard the Revel F36 and it sounded very impressive and looked good to. Caveat - Kevin Voecks set them up! Monitor Audio has a nice sounding tower in this price range, too. Used Revel Performa3 towers can squeak under $2500 too.
3A used to be excellent (before they were sold to a Canadian company). They used to make reference monitors like BBC’ one. I have a pair of semi active flat (+/-3dB) to 35hz, they are 30 years old.
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I actually have a pair that were like those tested by Stereophile. Piano black, beautiful speakers. Very efficient. I used them with a Tact unit that corrects the response. Were my main video speakers for a long time. But without correction they were as poor as the measurements suggest. The units had good quality drivers just need some EQ. Lots of jump factor and very clear on voices once corrected.
Any particular reason?
graz_lag
Major Contributor
Much depends by the amp you use to power them up.
I have a Klipsch RF7-II 5.1 system, which is powered by an Yamaha Z7 for the HT, or by an Harman Kardon HK990 for the 2.1, and I do not feel the tweeters are too bright ...
In my opinion, the amp has to have a kind of warm sound.
The Klipsch's are outstanding if you want to hear the "live-performance" type of sound.
Maybe the cross-gabled wood-cladding ceiling of my room plays a role in EQ the sound ?
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Yes Rythmiks are nice. A couple friends use them.
+1 for Rythmiks, I have the F15HP-SE and it works well for creating a balanced low end.
At $999, it's pretty good for that price bracket.
D
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These were 2500 USD incl stands when introduced. Both looks and sounds great, I've partnered them with sub and couldn't be happier. Should be possible to get them second hand within budget.
Edit: Here you go https://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...s-micro-one-monitor-speaker-like-new-monitors
Edit: Here you go https://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...s-micro-one-monitor-speaker-like-new-monitors
I picked a pair of original Fortes on occasion expecting all sort of bad things but frankly what some people describe hasn't been my experience for the most part, especially with the grills on. They can handle a lot of power and damage your hearing with no hint of distortion.
I don't have much experience with their more HT oriented RF and lower series, but the Heritage line is said to be better suited for music.
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The price was too good to pass by and they came with a pair of nice Denon monoblocks and other goodies. The plan was to sell them but they are my daily drivers since. Stereo Review made some measurements back in 1986 and found no big faults, in fact they were petty impressed with objective performance.
AT $1500, there were easily better in the market for that price, but at $1k, it's become very convincing.
