[twitch54]

Ok, you guys have given me some good ideas for inexpensive phono-pre's now I'm asking for thoughts on $1000 or less pair of speakers. My thoughts are leaning towards two way bookshelf with stands but I think my sister and brother in-law would consider towers. Elac and Warfdale come to mind, others ?

[Mr Rick]

Depending on electronics used, KEF LS50s are on sale for less than a grand.

I'm also partial to Elac B6 and F6. Good sounding for not a lot of money.

[twitch54]

in so far as electronics, for starters they will be utilizing a Pioneer Elite receiver, forgot the model number but I believe it to be 75 watts into 8 ohms (2 channels driven). Not sure if it's  capable into 4 ohms.

[WC]

JBL has their Studio 530’s and 580’s on sale. A pair would be significantly less than $1000.

[thorman]

 Since  your on a budget and are limited to  $1K why not buy used. It requires the same amount of Homework, but with used you will get much more Bang for Buck ( in my mind ) ...This Forum can certainly help you just as much with used Gear as new.....I would focus on Speakers in the 1 - 5 year old category....Maybe not all will agree with me, but that is my feeling.........Either way good luck

[zieglj01]

DCM TFE100 towers on close-out pricing

[Wind Chaser]

Some speakers are better suited than others depending on the music.

The cost of stands might be better spent on floor speakers. 

[twitch54]

Gents, thanks for your reply, I'll converse with my brother in-law over the weekend and see how he feels about buying used. As far as the added stand pricing, understood  ... 

[JackD]

New Wharfedale Evo models from Music Direct and stands from Monolith.

https://www.musicdirect.com/speakers/Wharfedale-EVO-42-Bookshelf-Speakers

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24794

Another option is the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 or for a little more the Sierra 2

http://ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

[Russell Dawkins]

New Wharfedale Evo models from Music Direct and stands from Monolith.

https://www.musicdirect.com/speakers/Wharfedale-EVO-42-Bookshelf-Speakers

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24794

Another option is the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 or for a little more the Sierra 2

http://ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

Interesting recommendations JackD. Have you had the opportunity to hear the Wharfdales or the Ascend Sierra 2s?

I am a recording engineer and have a client (Colin Tilney) who is a harpsichordist with excellent hearing who, after hearing my studio speakers realizes that his speakers are lacking in tonal accuracy and is now looking for an improvement.

He has a pair of Reference 3A MM de Capos which I have always held suspect in terms of tonality—I think they're plain wrong—and I'm trying to find some affordable alternative for him. The Wharfdale Evo 4.2 looks promising acording to a couple of reviews I saw in Audiokarma on this page:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-wharfedale-evo-4-2-my-new-reference.886852/

[JLM]

Have owned Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's for nearly 20 years and still love them.  Very musical, magical imaging, nice level of detail/bass, an old school kind of sound.  Of course the Sierra's would be a big step up.  Don't know about the current CBM-170 model.

But as Russell alluded to my low cost favorite is the JBL 305 Mk2, active monitors.  Very affordable, room filling, dynamic, good imaging, and musical.  An easy speaker for many to be completely satisfied with.  Just add a DAC with volume control and you're done.

Monitors are less efficient, offer less bass, and are easier to pack/ship (pluses for a small space or apartment living).  Floor standers offer more bass per square inch of floor area and are less tipsy, but can bass overload a small space and can be the wrong height (tweeter not at ear height) for good imaging.  Adding a sub to monitors allows for the bass to match the room/taste and be generated in the optimum place.

[Doublej]

Danny Ritchie has a few options for completed speakers.


http://gr-research.com/completedspeakers.aspx

[rollo]

 ELAC, IMHO the most bang for the buck.


charles

[Wind Chaser]

Danny Ritchie has a few options for completed speakers.


http://gr-research.com/completedspeakers.aspx

Oh yes, there isn’t anything that can compare with the CST-1 at $900 or even at $2000.
And they are very capable of playing all types of music equally well. 

I am a recording engineer and have a client (Colin Tilney) who is a harpsichordist with excellent hearing who, after hearing my studio speakers realizes that his speakers are lacking in tonal accuracy and is now looking for an improvement.

He has a pair of Reference 3A MM de Capos which I have always held suspect in terms of tonality—I think they're plain wrong...

I spent a day with the de Capos after a year with the CST-1’s. In addition to being plain wrong, they are ghastly atrocious. 

I promptly returned them to the seller. Interestingly enough Reference 3a only specifies the range of the FR. They don’t mention the +/- part for a good reason. 

Here’s what Stereophile found...     

[Russell Dawkins]

But as Russell alluded to my low cost favorite is the JBL 305 Mk2, active monitors.  Very affordable, room filling, dynamic, good imaging, and musical.  An easy speaker for many to be completely satisfied with.  Just add a DAC with volume control and you're done.

For the record, my current monitors are iLoud MTMs, HEDD Type 20s, Yamaha NS1000s, Eve Audio SC203s (small, for playback when recording on location), a pair of early serial number (lower Fs) AKG K-1000s and Etymotic Research ER4S. I had and sold a pair of JBL 705Ps which sounded almost identical to my MTMs but went much louder and were 4X the price. The MTMs are surprisingly accurate, tonally, and come with a calibration microphone for about $700 USD the pair.
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iloudmtm/

If I were on an extreme budget I would be looking at Kali Audio LP6 or LP8s, designed by the same guy who was the acoustic design engineer on the JBL 7 series, Charles Sprinkle.

[Wind Chaser]

Kali also has a new three way... https://www.kaliaudio.com/independence

[Delta77]

I really only have experience with Tekton's,
Eric has a few in that price range..

Lore  -- $1,000 pair delivered..
my choice would probably be the  ​Enzo XL for around $1500
or The Perfect Set -- $1800..

There are a few other choices under $1,000..

[dB Cooper]

This is an interesting coaxial design and right in your price range:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/ccb-8.html

[Russell Dawkins]

The Hsus are interesting indeed. I have a lot of respect for this company, having bought a pair of their original subs (in sonotubes) back in 1994. Flat to 18 Hz and only 6 dB down by 13Hz, or something like that. I haven't been watching them recently, though, so was unaware of these. I'm especially interested if the HF driver is at the back of the woofer pole piece with the pole piece forming the HF waveguide throat, like the Tannoys, because I value headroom and compression drivers give it.

update: I just got this reply to the same question from Hsu (they answered my query in 5 minutes!)

The CCB-8 uses a hollowed out pole piece to form the throat and the
cone is molded to be the flare of the horn.

Audioholics did a review on the CCB-8's where you can view the
response curves, etc.

https://www.audioholics.com/bookshelf-speaker-reviews/ccb-8-bookshelf/measurements

Now I am really interested. Thanks, dB Cooper!

[Doublej]

I think Don Keele had a had in the design of the Hsu CCB-8's. Don't forget about the other Hsu's, the HB-1 Mk2.  Under $350/pair. From their webpage:

"It was involving and immersive. It drew you into the music. Yes, more than the Kondo system did ($350,000). There was no tiny sweet spot. Classical, jazz, vocals - everything sounded good, emotional & expressive."

James Darby, Stereomojo.com