OT: home stereo speakers advice

[Tz779]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

The specification you are looking for is Sensitivity




At your budget, not necessarily. The hardest part of a speaker design to get right is the crossover network, the components which divide the frequency spectrum into 2 or 3 (or 4, or...) subdivisions and assigns them to the respective drivers. A speaker with a midrange driver has, by definition, two crossovers (one between the woofer and midrange drivers, another between the midrange and tweeter drivers) and since both of those crossover frequencies are right in the middle of the range of human hearing, any aberrations or shortcomings will be more conspicuous.

In short, all things being equal it's easier to build a good-sounding 2-way crossover than a good-sounding 3-way crossover, especially if one of those Things Being Equal is the pricepoint.

Yes, this is what i am finding from intense research! I would expect KEF to get this done correctly, vs a consumer brand. I will give them a listen.
-Robin

[Tz779]

Originally Posted by sighting

So far, for the price the matched pair of KEF's close to you is your bet/
They are a bit bright and need some help down low.
Make sure not to place them to close to the wall as it helps opening the mids up moving them a foot out or so

They are pretty easy to drive and really really like a tube amp / pre amp.

Thanks; in a review of these i found, a writer said the very same! I am not a huge fan of booming bass, so these may be ok.

[Tz779]

My current “dump find” speakers are c1980s Pioneer CS-G203 three-ways. I found a good indy stereo repair/sales shop down the street! Well, it popped up in a search, have to do a drive-by to see if it still there with covid and all. Maybe these can be repaired. Having two sets of speakers will require an upgrade in my receiver, tho. Cambridge Audio has some nice 4ohm for $400 - $500.

[TimD]

A bit more than you want to spend, but...

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/ele...256241891.html

Tim

[tuxbailey]

I have Qacoustics and I like them a lot. You can order them, try them out and return within 30 days if you don't like them.

[torelli]

Like others have mentioned the Vandersteens are a great value. Recently replaced my speakers, saw a couple of ads for them regret not spending the extra money to get them. Thiel is another brand worth considering, not really efficient but you can pick up a pair fairly cheaply if you don't mind some wear and tear on the cabinets.

Also check out the websites Audio Mart and Audiogon. Used gear from private sellers and dealers, little bit of everything more so from the former.

[b33]

So I have polk, ELAC and Klipsh

People rag on polk but they are great speakers and at a an awesome price. You can't go wring with them and Crutchfield is a great distributor with great customer service.

ELAC sounds awesome and the price is good - I will say one thing - the finish is a little on the lower side.

[torelli]

Originally Posted by TimD

A bit more than you want to spend, but...

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/ele...256241891.html

Tim

If these were available near me I would be there today cash in hand. Fantastic build quality, made in Germany I believe too. Sorry that would have probably been West Germany back in the day.

[verbs4us]

This is tough call, since speaker choice is highly personal and depends on the acoustics of the room and everything upstream of the speaker. You can do A:B comparisons in a store, get the thing home and realize "...well, that's not what I heard!". In my experience, Japanese speaker tend to be warmer and with a boomier bass. British speakers (B+W, for example) are more neutral since, genetically, many derived from BBC studio reference monitors. Also, the balance and warmth of the speaker can be "tuned" by your room placement. On the floor, you get more bass. At ear-level in the bookshelf, more treble and mid-range. And there is the volume consideration. Some speakers come into their own above 4 or 5 watts of input. Below that, they are just tinny.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

The specification you are looking for is Sensitivity

Oh I knew the exact technical term, but was just adding some clarity to a reply from this comment:

Originally Posted by pjm

I don’t know how much power your receivers have, but take a look at the efficiency specs on these speakers. Elac makes very nice speakers, but they tend to be power hungry compared to something like the JBLs you mentioned, which are extremely efficient.

In which case efficiency and sensitivity are understood as referencing the same thing - the amount of acoustic energy produced per amplifier wattage provided

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

At your budget, not necessarily. The hardest part of a speaker design to get right is the crossover network, the components which divide the frequency spectrum into 2 or 3 (or 4, or...) subdivisions and assigns them to the respective drivers. A speaker with a midrange driver has, by definition, two crossovers (one between the woofer and midrange drivers, another between the midrange and tweeter drivers) and since both of those crossover frequencies are right in the middle of the range of human hearing, any aberrations or shortcomings will be more conspicuous.

In short, all things being equal it's easier to build a good-sounding 2-way crossover than a good-sounding 3-way crossover, especially if one of those Things Being Equal is the pricepoint.

Yes cost being the baseline it's easier to design something decent with less parts than more parts, but it's still up for debate whether crossovers have a bigger effect on overall sound quality than driver matching and enclosure design. Also maybe the OP relishes midrange over the highs and lows, so a three-way will provide a better overall experience than a similarly-priced two-way.

2-5khz is the most sensitive human hearing range on average, but if you have a single midrange driver in a 3-way setup that's designed for that range it should provide better overall perceived quality than having to combine the compromised range limits of two drivers.

To the OP - some of the other suggestions of "try before you buy" are very good - might be a better option to see if you can demo some speakers, and then get suggestions for comparables to the ones you like best.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by TimD

A bit more than you want to spend, but...

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/ele...256241891.html

Tim

Classic speakers, wonderful sound. I've got a couple of sets of smaller ADS speakers still in service - L520, L400, L300s...

But at this point a bit expensive for 20-30 year old speakers, with potentially the need to start replacing *lots* of woofer foam...

Most of my speakers now are B&W. I've always had a love for the Magneplanar speakers, but never had a suitable room or electronics. Now I have the electronics (Adcom) and *maybe* the room, but other priorities are higher on the list.

[TimD]

Originally Posted by torelli

If these were available near me I would be there today cash in hand. Fantastic build quality, made in Germany I believe too. Sorry that would have probably been West Germany back in the day.

Actually Wimington, MA. Certain ADS models used cabinets made in Germany, but I do not know if these did.

Tim

[TimD]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Classic speakers, wonderful sound. I've got a couple of sets of smaller ADS speakers still in service - L520, L400, L300s...

But at this point a bit expensive for 20-30 year old speakers, with potentially the need to start replacing *lots* of woofer foam...

Unless they changed something the woofers use butyl rubber surrounds. Both the L700s and the L1290/2s I have are from the mid-80s and they are fine.

I think prices are what they are because there is demand for them.

Tim

[19wisconsin64]

Made in America - Magnepan LRS https://www.magnepan.com/model_lrs

They ship to you. Like the Elac speakers, make sure your amplification can handle the 4-ohm load.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by 19wisconsin64

Made in America - Magnepan LRS https://www.magnepan.com/model_lrs

They ship to you. Like the Elac speakers, make sure your amplification can handle the 4-ohm load.

Planars are fantastic but need LOT of trial and error to sound anywhere near their optimal level. Also that particular model requires an amp that can push good watts at 4ohms - not always possible with most consumer level amps.