Best Speakers for a $500-600 budget

Atol · « **on:** 24 Jul 2005, 07:06 am »

Hi all, I just looked at the Best North American speakers for under 500 list and I don't know which one to pick thats right for me. This is going to be my very first big serious buy in home audio, all I ever owned was Sonys, Yamahas, and Bose

. The type of music I listen to is acoustic, jazz, rock, and some hip hop will be played on this system also. I don't have much of a budget and can't go much over my set price (maybe $50 at most). I need a little bass but I'd like detail (Kind of like the Sennheiser HD580/600 if some of you guys here are into headphones).

Right now im looking at the Oddysey Audio Epiphony and the Z 1 Speakers.

This is the equipment that is going to be used with my speakers:
EMU 0404 Sound card SPDIF OUT > Sherwood RD-6108 Reciever > <SPEAKERS>

Thanks in advance

[Edit] Also, I don't mind whether its floorstanding/bookshelf [/Edit]

bikeman · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 01:01 pm »

I auditioned a bunch of speakers over a period of several months both in store and at home. These were my choice. I have no regrets. I use them mainly for listening to CD's but they are the mains in my home theatre set-up as well. Add a small quality sub at a later date if you need to get a bit more extension at the low end.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

David

Carlman · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 01:29 pm »

Make sure you consider stands in your budget when you're looking at monitors. Also, the stand height will be determined by your ear height while seated. If you get 24" stands (a standard size) and a very soft couch, you'll likely have the tweeters firing over your head instead of at ear-level.

The nice thing about monitors and stands is that you do have fine-tuning ability. I haven't heard many small floorstanders but the Odyssey's get great reviews around here. Is there a trial or money-back guarantee on those? If so, that may be the only way you'll know if you like them for sure.

Another thing I'll mention is that ANY speaker will need 200 hours of use at a good volume... like 85db+ in order to be fully broken-in. The sound will change during this period, in some cases quite a lot.

Sorry if you already know a lot of this... just thought I'd mention it.

My favorite $400 speaker is the Usher S-520. You could get it cheaper used and buy a sub if you wanted also.... or use the extra money to invest in other gear... just a thought.

Best of luck... try to audition as much as you can.

-C

WEEZ · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 03:09 pm »

Stretch your budget a little and try to listen to the Nola Mini ($695/pr). You might not need to upgrade for a long, long time.

Maybe you could find a demo pair at a discount. www.nolaspeakers.com

WEEZ

bikeman · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 03:45 pm »

"Another thing I'll mention is that ANY speaker will need 200 hours of use at a good volume... like 85db+ in order to be fully broken-in. The sound will change during this period, in some cases quite a lot."

This is a belief held by some but not by others. So far I haven't seen any evidence other than what's occuring between a listener's ears and that varies tremendously between listeners. I tend not to hear things that aren't measureable. YMMV.

David

PhilNYC · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 04:43 pm »

Quote from: bikeman

This is a belief held by some but not by others. So far I haven't seen any evidence other than what's occuring between a listener's ears and that varies tremendously between listeners. I tend not to hear things that aren't measureable. YMMV.

Speaker break-in, particularly for drivers, is a mechanical break-in process (not unlike breaking in a pair of shoes). I would find it hard to believe the effects are not measureable...

dawkimi · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 04:57 pm »

You may also want to consider Magnepan MMGs. They can be had new for $550 and come with a 60 day money back in home trial. You will definitely need to add a sub for rock/rap, but this will sound great with acoustic and jazz. Also, make sure your receiver can handle a 4 ohm load. I recommend replacing the stock feet with "L brackets" to stand them completely vertical. Good luck in your search.

bikeman · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 05:25 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC

Speaker break-in, particularly for drivers, is a mechanical break-in process (not unlike breaking in a pair of shoes). I would find it hard to believe the effects are not measureable...

What you "find hard to believe" isn't an issue. If you have the data, by all means show the difference between a new speaker and the differences for each thirty second interval up to the claimed 200 hours. I'd be more than happy to eat my words if this data can be provided.

David

Atol · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 06:00 pm »

Thanks for the input everyone

I am going to try to see if I can audition some of the speakers you guys mentioned, especially the Usher S-520 which has my eye at this moment.

doug s. · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Jul 2005, 06:03 pm »

Quote from: Atol

Thanks for the input everyone I am going to try to see if I can audition some of the speakers you guys mentioned, especially the Usher S-520 which has my eye at this moment.

the s520 is a killer speaker, imo - especially for the price. but, when did china become part of north america?

doug s.

Atol · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Jul 2005, 07:53 am »

Hi everyone, me again. Today I just picked up a subwoofer since I know I'm gonna need one in the future to go with my bookshelves anyways. I was looking around and I ran into a used JBL PB-10 subwoofer and thought this would be a good deal for me so I got it for $100.

Anyways, I've been looking around and I have narrowed it down to these 4 speakers, I've read some professional reviews on them but I want to get real peoples opinions before I take the plunge.

Usher Audio S-520
Onix Rocket RS250 MKII
Ascend CMT-340m
Planar Z-1 Bookshelf

Thanks

Bingenito · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Jul 2005, 10:43 am »

If you can pickup a pair of Usher X718 or X719's preowned from Audiogon I would go with that. There was a pair for sale of X719's in Atlanta last week for $600 with stands.

Depending on the size of the room you might now need a sub.

nickspicks · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Jul 2005, 11:12 am »

i'll second the Maggie MMGs.
that is an awesome sound for $550 new.
more like $400 used.

Atol · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Jul 2005, 07:43 pm »

Are the Maggie MMG's hard to drive? My RD-6108 would probably have problems driving them to decent levels (85db) wouldnt it?

doug s. · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Jul 2005, 08:25 pm »

Quote from: Atol

Are the Maggie MMG's hard to drive? My RD-6108 would probably have problems driving them to decent levels (85db) wouldnt it?

i would definitely audition maggies before a purchase. personally, i don't like them at all - overblown, unnatural soundstage - wery diffuse sounding. and, no dynamics. some folk like it, some don't.

ymmv,

doug s.

rahimiv · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Sep 2005, 12:34 am »

If you ever visit Taiwan go to an usher outlet and buy the speaker there... the thing costs like 100US Dollars if you buy it here...

Carlman · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Sep 2005, 12:44 am »

Quote from: rahimiv

If you ever visit Taiwan go to an usher outlet and buy the speaker there... the thing costs like 100US Dollars if you buy it here...

Man, I wish I could do that.

The Usher sound is punchy and lively if you like that kind of thing. The s-520 is a great value speaker... but I agree if you can get a pair of 718's for around 600, you'd be getting a lot of speaker for the money.

-C

Hoots · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Sep 2005, 02:33 am »

Not to take away from the other recommendations but I simply wanted to highlight other options from Onix which is a vendor on your short list.

If you are using $500-$600 range for purchase price instead of "list" then you have more options from ONIX. The popular Ref 1's are on audiogon for that range despite the $1500 msrp (they have been selling bundles with a tube amp for under that).

You can also probably find their floor standing RS550.

They have also introduced the REF .5 for under your price range.

Skynyrd · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Sep 2005, 06:23 pm »

I'll third the Magnepan MMG recommendation! These speakers continue to make beautiful music. Purchased 1998. But they aren't alone.

I have them on top of NHT1259 woofers in 6 cubic foot internal homemade boxes (over 200# per box) on casters, electronically crossed over at about 120 hertz. Giant killer of a system for about $1500 with the crossover and woofers.

Frankly, I never cared for the MMG's (and the older SMG's) until I heard them hung up in the air and crossed over to a decent pair of woofers. Now the MMG/1259 system consistently (but not always) outperforms my Martin Logan Quests and has better deep bass transients and an even larger soundstage than my VMPS RM40's. Overall coherancy goes to the RM40's, though.

MMG's are keepers!

Skynyrd

JLM · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 06:44 pm »

I own the Ascend Ascoustics CBM-170s and love them. Content value is very high. A very musical speaker that images like magic. If you already own a sub, the 340s would be over kill with the 170s available IMO. The cabinet finish doesn't look like much, so minimizing the size would be another plus. I currently use them for HT, and could easily recommend them for a system with a 60 inch screen in a large room.

I'll be buying a 340 for center channel use and a pair of 200s for the rear channels after we move into new digs to fill out my 5.1 system.