[sleepkyng]

hey guys,
  helping my local coffee shop build a small budget 2 channel setup.

here's what I'm thinking:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-383
http://store.pure.com/store/pure/en_US/pd/productID.221628800?resid=TmPk8goBAlcAAF5ikKYAAAA6&rests=1315169522380

That leaves me with about ~$250 for speakers.

Any recommendations?

Need to be highly efficient. They could probably be pushed to $325 for speakers

[Ericus Rex]

You could get Audioengine A5 powered speakers and run the iPod directly into it.  No need for separate amp or dock.  They sound great and are nice and simple!  In regards to your links, you don't really need the dock.  You can plug the ipod into the amp and get good enough sound for background music.  Then you could spend more on better speakers and the improvement will be greater.

[roscoeiii]

Audioengine was my first thought too.

[Doublej]

Highly efficient would be the b stock version of the amp from Parts Express for $50 and then their $30 speakers. Add a ipod headphone out to RCA adapter and you are all in for under $100. How's that for cheap and cheerful.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=309-383&FTR=dta-100%20b%20stock

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652

(Not sure if this is the proper cable http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=240-135 )

Or you go go all out and get a pair of Polks 30s that are on sale for $85 at the moment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290201&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=404255&SID=213116

[JLM]

An option to gain more variety to an MP3 player is using a Squeezebox for internet streaming (every coffee shop has wireless internet).

[neekomax]

You could get Audioengine A5 powered speakers and run the iPod directly into it.  No need for separate amp or dock.  They sound great and are nice and simple!  In regards to your links, you don't really need the dock.  You can plug the ipod into the amp and get good enough sound for background music.  Then you could spend more on better speakers and the improvement will be greater.

I got my girlfriend the passive version of the Audioengines for her place. I wouldn't recommend those speakers without a subwoofer, which I got her as well. With the sub, they're great, IMO

Unless the active ones are of a way different design, they don't make much bass.

They may not have the audiophile vibe being satellites, but I think these are great, I have them in my bedroom, and they rock...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Klipsch+-+ProMedia+2.1+Speaker+System+(3-Piece)+-+Black/9382232.p?id=1218095770265&skuId=9382232

[srb]

I got my girlfriend the passive version of the Audioengines for her place. I wouldn't recommend those speakers without a subwoofer, which I got her as well. With the sub, they're great, IMO
Unless the active ones are of a way different design, they don't make much bass.

The Audioengine P4 Passive is a slightly scaled down version of the A5 Active.  The P4 has a 4" woofer in a 3/4" thick cabinet and the A5 has a 5" woofer in a 1" thick cabinet.  I think the A5 bass would be perfectly adequate for a restaurant setting.
 
Whatever speakers you decide on, you should avoid the cardinal speaker placement sin of retail locations - high up in the corners at the intersection of two walls and the ceiling.  This almost always results in annoying boomy, bloated bass and masking of midrange and treble details.
 
Steve

[WGH]

The A5's have plenty of bass, a friend has a pair and she is more than happy.

Get them through Audio Advisor with the 30 day Satisfaction Guarantee:
"The products offered by Audio Advisor are backed by our exclusive 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee.
Audio Advisor is an authorized dealer for all the products we sell.

If you are not satisfied with a product, we will gladly refund the purchase price of the product or exchanged the item.* Please notify your salesman or our customer service department within 30 days of the receipt of the product, to arrange for a return."

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AUENA5%20%20%20%20BLK

[lonewolfny42]

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0911/aa_chapter_142.htm

[sleepkyng]

Thanks for all the rec's guys - Audioengine's look perfect

Whatever speakers you decide on, you should avoid the cardinal speaker placement sin of retail locations - high up in the corners at the intersection of two walls and the ceiling.  This almost always results in annoying boomy, bloated bass and masking of midrange and treble details.
 
Steve

Regarding this - where might you put the speakers if not in the top corners? Any advice is much appreciated.


God I love these forums.

[srb]

Regarding this - where might you put the speakers if not in the top corners? Any advice is much appreciated.

I would keep them 1 - 2 feet away from an adjacent sidewall and 1 - 2 feet from the ceiling and angled down.
 
Steve

[Noseyears]

Tweeters should be at about eye-level in the most frequent listening location.. You can also try switching positions to see what works for you.

[Ericus Rex]

Get them through Audio Advisor with the 30 day Satisfaction Guarantee:

I say buy them from your friendly local retailer if you have one.  Support hi-fi shops in your own community.  They're dropping like flies.

[JLM]

Tweeters should be at about eye-level in the most frequent listening location.. You can also try switching positions to see what works for you.

For a crowd, I'd think you'd want to locate the speakers slightly above the seated patrons so not to block the highs.

[WGH]

Regarding this - where might you put the speakers if not in the top corners? Any advice is much appreciated.

Place the speakers well away from the public, up high would be best because the Audioengine 5 speakers do not have grill covers. I have a grown up friend who should know better but he pokes first then asks "What's this?" later.

[neekomax]

Place the speakers well away from the public, up high would be best because the Audioengine 5 speakers do not have grill covers. I have a grown up friend who should know better but he pokes first then asks "What's this?" later.

Kevlar drivers though, so bulletproof and poke proof!  Maybe.

[ta71]

I agree about NOT putting them in the corners.  However, for "commercial" applications, loudspeakers ARE best placed high up on the wall, or hung from the ceiling. Think of an intercom system, a concert sound system, or the like.  Now this doesn't mean you CAN'T place speakers in other locations, but for the most even coverage for the most amount of people, then the higher up pointing down toward the audience, the better.

[markie]

Another speaker alternative is a bit pricier, at $400 per pair - the newly introduced, powered Airmotiv4 speakers from EmotivaPro. 30 day trial, 5 year transferable warranty.  Not sure about shipping. People at EmoFest (this last weekend) were saying the Airmotiv speakers were the talk of the show.

http://emotivapro.com/products/powered_monitors/airmotiv4.php

[jeffh]

Another speaker alternative is a bit pricier, at $400 per pair - the newly introduced, powered Airmotiv4 speakers from EmotivaPro. 30 day trial, 5 year transferable warranty.  Not sure about shipping. People at EmoFest (this last weekend) were saying the Airmotiv speakers were the talk of the show.

http://emotivapro.com/products/powered_monitors/airmotiv4.php

I actually heard these yesterday at Emotiva's Emofest.  They sounded very good.

[Taterworks]

I'd like to see Emotiva try to keep the Airmotivs at that price point, given the wacky increases in the price of Neodymium (1600% from Jan to August 2011) which the AMT-style tweeters require in larger quantity due to their large magnetic gaps.

This will seem like heresy, but two nice-looking, nice-sounding, and fairly-efficient speakers that are good enough for background music and can effectively distribute their output over a large area are the Bose 201 and 301. Some comparison listening at a local Best Buy revealed them as the most efficient of all the speakers on the shelf, including the Klipsch. (The Bose 161 won't cut it, though. It would have to be the 201 or 301.) The Bose 201 use treated fabric roll surrounds on their bass drivers, so they wouldn't require refoaming. While they're far from Hi-Fi standards, they seem purpose-built for (and are very popular in) restaurant sound systems, and they sound "ok".