[mix4fix]

keeping a good sounding speaker under 5 grand is a great ambition.

I wanted to take this from the Quarantine thread, and further discuss this.

From your experience, do you believe that there isn't any worthy speaker under $5K?

[FullRangeMan]

IMO a merchandising statement, the speakers manufacturers will like it.

[mix4fix]

So, do either of you believe that speakers under $5K are not good sounding?

[Zuman]

There's no question that good-sounding speakers are available for under $5,000...particularly if one includes assemble-your-own products such as those available from GR Research and CSS Audio.
However...
More than 30 years ago, I participated in a week-long ski camp run by Olympic medalists Phil and Steve Mahre. There were fewer than a dozen students - all good skiers - and we were schooled by several of America's best downhill skiers, including the Mahre brothers themselves. By the end of the week, all the amateurs had improved greatly, and we were excited by our times on the slalom run we skied on the last day of the camp.  Nevertheless, there was still a spread of a few seconds between the fastest and slowest of us.
Then the Mahre brothers and the other pros skied the same course. We were humbled as they handily beat the times of the very best of us amateurs, but the thing that impressed us the most was that there was only about one second between the fastest and "slowest" of them. When you are at the very top end of anything, achieving even small differences usually requires specialization and sacrifice. We know what that means with high-end speakers.
I love my handmade solid mahogany CSS Criton 2TD-X towers, with their upgraded crossovers, solid silver and copper internal wiring, tube connectors, and custom bracing, baffles, and anti-resonance treatments. They certainly deliver "good" sound, but I am under no delusion that they are Magicos or Wilsons.

[JLM]

Defining "good sounding" is tough.  Highly accurate destroys poorly recorded good music.  But highly forgiving hides the details of well recorded music.  Having a decent listening space/setup is vital too.  And matching the loudspeaker to the room is important as well.  Most "serious" audiophiles have poor listening rooms compared to their gear. 

One of my best sounding loudspeakers were $300/pair Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's (20 years ago and still in production).  They're small ported 2-way monitors, so only rated down to 58 Hz anechoic but +/- 2 dB 100-20,000 Hz.  They image like crazy, and make music in a most delightful way.  They've spoiled me for other loudspeakers, have only had two pair since and still use them in my AV system. 

[Early B.]

Defining "good sounding" is tough.

Yeah, a $20 speaker can sound good, so you need much better criteria. Perhaps what the OP is asking is if you can buy or build reference speakers for under $5K. This speaker would be:

-- full-range
-- exceptional drivers
-- medium or high sensitivity
-- boutique crossover parts
-- aesthetically pleasing
-- built like a tank
-- measures good
-- audiophiles rave about how awesome it sounds
-- good customer service from a reputable company
-- high resale value

I realize this definition may not suit everyone, but we gotta have one. For instance, some people, including me, don't want or need a full-range speaker because we prefer using subs. However, if you're willing to drop many thousands of dollars on a pair of speakers, it ought to do everything, including cook your breakfast and trim your toenails.

Now back to the question of whether there are worthy speakers under $5K -- absolutely! You'll probably find them mostly on the used market or available DIY.   

[JCarney]

You have to look no further than this forum to answer that question. Klaus, Jim, Danny, Louis, all have offerings that punch out of their weight class, and most well under the $5000 mark. Klaus will sell you a system that is under 5 grand, and it sounds awesome. So yes, sub $5000 speakers are available that sound very good and have top notch drivers, designs and xovers if applicable.

JCarney

[planet10]

There's no question that good-sounding speakers are available for under $5,000...particularly if one includes assemble-your-own products such as those available from GR Research and CSS Audio.

This hints at how you get a speaker that would cost >$5k, even much more at the shop, you can build one for a fraction (lets asy a tenth) the cost if you pick the right one. To design you own does take significant effort.

I drew up one of the CSS designs, haven’t heard it, GR Research is popular. But there are lots more. Really good flat-paks can be had at Big Wood studio,

diyAudio has a mind-numbing number of proven designs. Cost of the ones i am currently listening to was <$3k, comapres with speakers at the local shop well in excess of $20k.

And even in store-bought loudspeakers there is a huge range of value.

dave

[Freo-1]

Sure, especially if used. 


Case in point:  I have a Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature Floorstaning speaker I bought about two years ago that was less than two years old when I bought it.  The speakers have 2 8" SEAS Excel woofers, 2 SEAS Excel 7" midrange, and a SEAS Millennium tweeter.  It also had 1k worth of upgrades with internal wiring and crossover parts.  Was able to get it for a little over 3K shipped to my house.  The drivers alone cost more than what I paid for the speakers.  The cabinet work is excellent as well.  They sound great.   Don't think I could find a better sounding set of speakers at anywhere near the price.


Used speakers are a good option to me, as they just don't seem to hold value as much as other components in the chain. 

[FullRangeMan]

There is some inexpensive items that increase the sound quality very much and are not used by manufacturers.
= How much cost an mate black spray can to paint inside the enclosure?
= How much cost dont use an crossover?
= How much cost an Lii Audio F15 driver?  $399usd pair, pair not each.
= Internal thick hard wiring awg12.
= Eutectic solder not bayonet connectors.