[Digi-G]

My first 'real' speakers I owned were B&W DM220s.  Bought them around 1990, $450 brand new from an audio store.  I still can't believe what a bargain they were and how great they sounded.

I ended up downsizing and gave them to my best friends adult son about 15 years ago after I bought my B&W 805 Nautilus speakers.  As far as I know he still has them.

[FullRangeMan]

Over the years I already listened some famous speakers in friends rooms, the only speaker that I missing are the big Polks SDA, big soundstage and nice midrange.

[jonbee]

I never discovered a truly cheap speaker that really worked for me, but Spica TC50 or 60, ADS L400, L500, Harbeth HL are quite good, if not cheap in their day. Dahlquist M903, 905, 907, etc. are worth a listen. Any of these can be real bargains, depending on operating condition.
Some classics were quite good, such as L166, L96, L220, 300s, ADS L1090-1590 (especially 1590!) are great to hear, but often not cheap enough to compete favorably with better designs of today.

[Fuse]

Resurrecting an old thread:
I have some quite nice speakers (custom planars, old Goodmans, Linn, etc) but I have been listening to an old free mystery pair for a while (took them out of storage to try with an old amp of unknown condition).
But damn they sound good! I’ve been listening to them all week now, with a $10 CAD (that’s about 32 cents USD) JVC QL-A200 with a nice Empire cartridge strapped on the cheap, plastic-looking tonearm, into a NAD 3020.
I wish I could know what they are. I might take the drivers out to see what they are, but they look like cheap 80s Japanese drivers, assembled in Canada.

[aceinc]

Two which come to mind that I didn't pay a lot for and still have;

Koss CMS 1030, Some of the best sounding "monkey coffin" speakers I've heard. Can't quantify a price as they were part of a largish purchase.
Eminent Technology LFT8b, Original price is not cheap, but I paid $600 for a cosmetically challenged pair.

Both of these are great sounding speakers. I have the LFT8b in a system and have grown to appreciate their sound. As soon as I can get off my rump to build stands for the Koss speakers I will really see how they compare.