As my adventure for quality budget friendly speakers continue - these caught my
eyes on Amazon. They look generic and there was that used auto salesman pitch.
However, they caught my attention and after eating the fish and spitting out the
bones, I ordered them - they were on sale for $69 shipped and sold and shipped
by AV-Express - you can also buy them from AV-Express direct.
The speakers do present a good sense of music that sounds more realistic and less
artificial, compared to the more average cheapy speakers. It looks like that they did
put some thought and engineering into them - and they say, that they do go through
quality control checks. I believe they have been out since the fall of 2014. And based
on their Youtube video, they had some speakers in mind to compete against - and did
present some measurements on the video (do not know all the details of how they
did or were measured).
When you pull out the speakers you notice the budget feel and look - however, they
look better than Dayton and Monoprice speakers and look better than the Pioneer ones.
They are lighter than Pioneer as they weigh around 6.1 lbs - however they have a 6.5"
woofer and 1" tweeter. The grill is removable, however it is hard to pull off - need to
be careful so it will not back fire against the drivers. My main gripe is that they do have
push pin connectors - since they sound nice, I can live with it as they do/will easily out
perform the Bose 201 speakers. They claim a 12 db octave crossover, so I decided that
I would check that - the woofers and tweeters are tight (which is good). After I removed
the screws - I had to knock gently on the back panel to break them loose. The crossover
is 12 db octave on the tweeter, and the woofer runs full-range. The cabinet is 1/2 inch
and may be less on the back panel, as it sounded a little more hollow. I did not want to
push out the terminal cup to check it. The cabinet uses corner block bracing on the baffle
and back panel (good for the regular $79 shipped price) - and they did damp the inside
with thin egg-crate foam. They sounded decent/nice with the foam - however after the
first test run I did pull it out and replaced it with Parts Express 1/2 inch Sonic Barrier to
damp the inside - while not a head and shoulders difference, it did make a meaningful
and noticeable difference.
Now the sound - while not perfect, they are musical and do not really irritate and annoy
me - that is a sign that they put some work in the design.
They to me, do decent with the octave to octave balance for the price. The bass for this
price is tight, articulate and musical - the slot port seems to work well, and Dr. Mushy and
Dr Boom were not invited to the design team. The midrange is open and detailed and clear,
the tweeter is nice and smooth without the added spice for detail, and has no excess ssszzz.
It seems to be rolled off some - and begins to drop after 15 khz - however for me and most
people it is not a big deal. I would rather have it than a hard cheap plastic $1.50 half inch dome
tweeter.
Overall for the price they are nice/decent - more expensive speakers will be more defined and
refined and full. The Sound Appeal due to the price will lack some tonal depth with voices and
music. They are somewhat lively and vivid in the midrange due to a lack of depth, However they
do image nicely and have a good central presence. Compared to more expensive good speakers,
the overall soundstage will be somewhat limited (due to price). At extreme volume levels, they
can get somewhat forward - however, they do not dance on my head or slap my ears and push
me away. They can sound slightly boxy due to the light cabinet - However they performed better
with the Sonic Barrier - worth the $15 with shipping and still keeps the price under $100.
They also held up well for Movies and TV and can take some power. They would benefit well for one
who is looking for some budget friendly surround speakers.
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