Looking for Cheap Bookshelf Speakers

xluben · « **on:** 5 Feb 2006, 06:26 am »

I was focusing on getting some floorstanders for under $300, but now I've shifted to bookshelf's to get better sound for the money. I'm looking at:

Energy Connoisseur C-3

OR

AV123 X-Series

OR

Athena AS-B2.2

OR

Athena AS-B1.2

Paired with:

Athena Audition AS-P4000 Subwoofer

I'd probably only be able to afford the sub with the demo AS-B1.2

Right now I'm leaning towards the C-3's because they seem to be a great deal at $250 (they are supposedly a great deal at their normal price of $500). I just hope they have enough bass for me.

bpape · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 Feb 2006, 01:29 pm »

Check out the Ascend Acoustic 170s. Surprisingly good for the size and money. Will outdo a lot of more expensive speakers.

srb · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Feb 2006, 03:36 pm »

Although I have not heard the Athena AS-B1.2, I did have a pair of the AS-B1. I found them honky, nasal and hollow sounding, as if they were missing a large chunk of midrange.

When directly compared to my two other pair of inexpensive speakers, the B&W DM302 and the KEF Cresta 1, it was very obvious how lacking the sound was. The AS-B1.2 would have to be substantially different.

I sold the Athenas for $50. I just wanted them out of the house.

I am curious about the AV123 x-ls, but no one has heard them yet, as they won't be available until sometime in March. I see that Danny Richie of GR-Research designed them, and I own a pair of his higher-end Diluceo monitors. Note that they do not have grilles and are unshielded, if that's a concern.

Hopefully someone who owns the Energy Connoisseur C-3 will chime in.

After my experience with the Athenas, I will probably never buy a speaker from the Energy/Athena/Mirage consortium, although the Energy may very well be a fine sounding speaker. There are just too many other fish in the sea.

Good luck in your search, I'm sure you'll get a bunch of good recommendations on this still young thread!

Bill Baker · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Feb 2006, 03:43 pm »

If you are considering using a sub with this system, how about checking into the Usher S-520 speakers. Amazingly good for the money and when paired with a decent sub, should be all one wold need.
Just another option to consider.

mthomas · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Feb 2006, 05:55 pm »

I'll second Bill's recommendation. I recently bought the Usher S-520 and was totally amazed. I compared it directly to a number of speakers I own including Devore Fidelity's, Von Schwiekert's and Paradigm's in a little shoot-out.

The Ushers blew away the VR-1's and Paradigm Studio 20's. The build quality is top notch. Bass out the this little cabinate is amazing but very tight whereas the VR-1's are thin and the Paradigm was flabby and boomy. The Devore's are on par but four times the cost.

My setup is Channel Islands VMB-1 40 watters and my room is small so I don't know how well they will do in a larger room...

I bought a second set for my home theater and also buying the center channel...

This company is for real...

xluben · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 04:04 am »

I've decided to go the DIY (and cheaper) route and get the Dayton BR-1

I'll probably order them in a week or two.

jimmyp58 · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 04:19 am »

I would have 'third' the Usher 520's

SET Man · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 04:38 am »

Quote from: xluben

I've decided to go the DIY (and cheaper) route and get the Dayton BR-1

I'll probably order them in a week or two.

Hi Xluben,

I see you that you decided to go DIY route. Well, as a DIYer myself I must say that if you are handy with soldering iron and have time you could go a long way with your hard earned $$$.

Regrading the kits speaker. Although I have not heard them. The BR-1 look like a good starter. But one thing from the spec worry me... the sensitivity. At 85dB it could be hard for the amp, but this depend on what amp you will be using with them. I'm not say that it won't work but that is kind of on the low end of the scale.

Anyway, since we are already getting into DIY speaker kit. Here are some more interesting kits that you might want to check them out from madisound... this is where I got my Fostex drivers.

For your budget this might be a good but they do cost more than BR-1.
http://madisound.com/sled.html

a bit more $
http://madisound.com/ar_com.html

This one look great with nice drivers.
http://madisound.com/cygnet2.html

I have not heard all of the above speakers. But the design and the quality of the dirvers look great to me. I think they do give you retrun policy if you don't like them.

Of cause you could forget all of this and just buy a pre-made one. There are lots of good inexpensive speakers out there today then any other time in audio history.

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted on your project.

Take care,
Buddy

PS
You could see my DIY Fostex based Single Driver speaker in my gallery link below. I'm sure you could tell that I'm not a carpenter.

kfr01 · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 04:46 am »

I don't think you can avoid at least considering the Exodus Audio Kit61 when discussing DIY bookshelf designs.

The package of a bookshelf; bandwidth that beats most towers on the market:

http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?cPath=24_92&products_id=539

xluben · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 05:56 pm »

SET Man -

I actually was looking at the second set you linked, but I am favoring the BR-1's for lower cost, because I am in college and have no money. I have built a few CMoy Pocket Amplifiers, so I think soldering to PCB's should be a breeze compared to the generic Radioshack proto-boards I've been using.

Do you think my vintage Marantz Model 2240B will have enough power for 85dB speakers? I was also considering the shielded BR-1's (just in case I want to put them near a CRT), but I've heard online that they're sensitivity is actually only 82.5dB. They will be in a very small room (10' x 6') for at least 6 more months, so getting really loud shouldn't be too big of a deal.

kfr01 -

Those speakers have great response, but they are more expensive for one than the Dayton's for a pair. Plus it is over $150 more for the suggested PE cabinet. I think it's just a little too much for me to afford.

jackman · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 06:04 pm »

Hey,
Where do you live? I have a pair of Dennis Murphy designed two-ways in Partsexpress cabinets with external crossovers. The drivers are Morel MD29 tweeters and Hivi F5 kevlar woofers (shielded and very well made, same ones used in very expensive speakers). The crossovers have some ultra-expensive components like Audiocap Theta caps (the ones on the tweeters are $42 each!) and I have new baffles which are un-cut and in the box. The existing baffles are held on with bolts (see the PE website) and easy to take off. The routing job on the existing baffles leaves a lot to be desired but they are functional. I also installed new ports.

Anyway, these would be a huge step up from the BR1's and would be good candidate for a baby-step into DIY speaker building. I have the speaker connectors but have not installed them on the crossover boxes (plain wood boxes). The speakers sound great and are perfectly functional, I just never got around to making the xover boxes look pretty. If you are in Chicago give me a PM.

Good luck!

J

Mudjock · « **Reply #11 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 08:56 pm »

Your Marantz receiver should handle the BR-1's (or Jackman's speakers which will also have low 80's sensitivity) fine in a small room. The laws of Physics as they relate to speaker enclosures dictate that you have to give up at least 1 of 3 parameters: small size, bass extension, or efficiency. I build my own and have a couple extra pairs of speakers sitting around, too. Mine would go in the $200-$300 range.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #12 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 10:44 pm »

I have been doing this for a while now, and in my professional opinion, nothing is going to touch those X-LS speakers in that price range and they'll eat up a lot of other speakers in even higher price ranges.

Plus, they look great! That ribbon Maple is beautiful.

Zero · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Feb 2006, 11:17 pm »

I will have to wait until March to hear the final production model, but the prototype was absolutely stellar.

This is not a shameless plug to promote av123 or to puff up Danny's chest... this is simply an honest impression.

Forgetting about the build quality and look that surpasses many nice monitors in the one-thousand range... their sound is terrific and engaging. I could drone on about my impressions of the prototype but it would yeild little benefit.

The only caveats with these speakers is that they are not the ultimate in resolution. They are not sheilded. They are big. Otherwise, I could not find a fault with them.

jackman · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Feb 2006, 12:31 am »

Quote from: A6M-ZERO

I will have to wait until March to hear the final production model, but the prototype was absolutely stellar.

This is not a shameless plug to promote av123 or to puff up Danny's chest... this is simply an honest impression.

Forgetting about the build quality and look that surpasses many nice monitors in the one-thousand range... their sound is terrific and engaging. I could drone on about my impressions of the prototype but it would yeild little benefit.

The only caveats with these speakers is t ...

I also look forward to hearing those speakers. They are beautiful looking and I have total faith in Danny's design abilities. Looks like a real winner.

J

pjanda1 · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Feb 2006, 04:01 am »

Xluben: I'm the guy that PM'd you about BR1's and other stuff. The BR1's are many things, but pretty ain't among them. I'd never seen the X-LS's before. I've heard and seen some of Mark's products, and I've heard some of Danny's crossover work. Save up the $200. If past experiances are any indicator, these things will look and sound unbelievable. I think the BR1's are an amazing deal, but these would be in a different league.

I prefer diy fullrangers, but my hemp drivers cost what those finished speakers do. If you are interested in something entirely different, consider a pair of Fostex FE167E's in bass reflex cabs. They're the perfect speaker for a little room.

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=3085209.13265&pid=325

You might be able to build a 2 way that would compete sonically with the X-LS for the same price. Even if that were the case, few people could come close to AV123's finish quality without a significant outlay of tools and time.

xluben · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Feb 2006, 08:03 am »

I'm don't want to offend anyone, but I do not find the ribbon Maple very attractive. I'm much more partial to a darker wood (Cherry), but I don't really mind the plainness of black.

Maybe if I still haven't made a purchase by the time these come out (and people get to hear the production models) I'll buy some black ones.

How would these compare to the Energy C-3's? I've heard they were considered the best budget speaker when they sold for $500, and now they're available for $250 new.

pjanda1 - I have no time/tools available to build my own cabinets, so a kit like the PE Dayton's is my only DIY option at the moment. If I did get the BR-1's I was considering doing this:

http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=pe_br1.html

But I might just do them stock and see how I like them.

If I did have the tools available to make my own enclosures (or even just make holes in baffles) I'd probably try an MTM setup like this:

http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_files/Projects/D3/dayton3.htm

If PE sold a MTM kit like the BR-1 (make the crossover and screw in drivers) I'd buy it for sure. Too bad the only ones they have use the more expensive Dayton drivers.

xluben · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 09:01 am »

Sorry guys, I couldn't wait and orderd the BR-1's.

I think they should be 'good enough' for my first step into the (higher end) audio world, and I'm sure I will enjoy the (very easy) DIY speaker experience.

Hopefully this will someday lead to me designing my own crossovers and making enclosures from scratch.

Right now the speakers I am using are satellites from a Panasonic HTIB w/a sensitivity rating of 79dB. Does this mean that the 85dB BR-1's that I'm getting will be quite a bit louder?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 12:50 pm »

Absolutely. 6dB increase in effeciency will allow these speakers to play much "louder" at any given power level as compared to your old speakers.

jackman · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 01:21 pm »

Quote from: Response Audio

Absolutely. 6dB increase in effeciency will allow these speakers to play much "louder" at any given power level as compared to your old speakers.

Bill is correct. Also, this looks like a fun first project. If you do a good job and keep them in good shape, you can use them in a second system down the road or even sell them for what you paid. Keep everyone posted on your project!

J