looking for cheap speakers

[jcolley]

I am looking for a decent pair of speakers in the $300 or less range. I would prefer bookshelf speakers since it is for a small bedroom (10x14) and there is not a lot of empty room to put some towers in there. The current speakers in there reach about 100dB for their RMS and I am looking for something that will come close to that (preferably higher but that might be hard to find). I will be running them with a 500 watt by 4 channel (2000 watt total) integrated amp so I will have plenty of power and I know that there are not any speakers in this price range that can take that and sound good so I am not expecting to be able to turn the amp up just saying it so that you know i have enough power for most anything. I realize that this is a lot to find so I hope that nobody here gives me any name brands since I find that they are overpriced and the off brand speakers ussually have higher end speakers (for the brand) that can compete with the lower end name brand for less. Also, I would like to have something that have a frequency response of around 60hz-18Khz +/- 3dB. If anyone has anything that might fit this, thank you but if not then i realized it was a very long shot from the start. One last thing, I don't particularly like ported enclosures. Thanks for any help!

[basite]

what do you understand as 'name brand'?

and what amp would you use? I can hardly believe a 500watt 4 channel integrated even exists. Surely something went wrong here in the power ratings...

and hardly any bookshelves will even come close to a 100db without blowing up themselves...
60hz - 18khz at -3db looks like your regular cheap boombox speaker's frequency spec, nothing special, almost every decent speaker built today will do better. (unless of course you think sony is good...)

What do you have now (names, no specs...)?

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[audio amateur]

Jcolley, 99% of speakers these days are ported.
Basite, many bookshelf speakers can do 100dB+ at maximum output. That's not saying they wont distort at that point, but they can do it.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Welcome to our little corner of the world jcolley.

Check out the Infinity Beta deals hear

http://theaudiovideosource.com/1BetaSeries.html

These are great little speakers for Rock, Blues etc if that's what your into. Cheers LDB

[basite]

Jcolley, 99% of speakers these days are ported.
Basite, many bookshelf speakers can do 100dB+ at maximum output. That's not saying they wont distort at that point, but they can do it.


yeah they can, but not with every music they can...

at a 100 db (at a normal listening distance, of course...) the small woofers will most likely crap out when a little bass comes through, and yes, they will disort at that point :cornut:

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[jcolley]

thanks for the advice, the comments posted to my initial entry were actually a bit less critical than i expected. as for my amp, it is a technical pro that isn't in production any more and for the rating, it is true that something went wrong. i can only get about 400 watts clean out of it per channel and even then it isn't all that clean. current speakers are SDAT HD-380's which are again, not in production any more. for how many dB's they will put out I was going by the standard of 1m, not normal listening distance since that would be a lot harder and I had a typo with that, it was supposed to be 110 not 100. That is another part where I am guessing that the specs were manipulated but I am not sure as to how much. Thanks again.

[SlumpBuster]

SDAT was a brand of "white van" speakers. Not really very good. "Technical Pro" I've never heard of, but it sounds like swapmeet stuff to me. Here is what you do, start from scratch:

Get one of these,
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-RX-570-Natural-Sound-Receiver_W0QQitemZ120215102340QQihZ002QQcategoryZ3 279QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
And a pair of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/INFINITY-SM-82-Monitor-Speakers-Awesome-sound_W0QQitemZ330207591308QQihZ014QQcategoryZ1499 1QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Or a pair of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BOSTON-HD8-High-end-audio-A-V-Speakers-speaker-NR_W0QQitemZ120215717842QQihZ002QQcategoryZ14991QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know the sound that you're looking for and either rig will give you a chubby. Trust me. You can always add a subwoofer later.

[RoadRunner6]

Suggest you check out the Axiom smaller bookshelf speakers. They have a great price because Axiom sells direct to the user. The M2 goes for $296/pr and the M3 for $330 (no shipping charge and no tax). I own the M2's and they are a very high quality speaker. They are very neutral, low distortion, wide dispersion with smooth highs, excellent enclosure design and very high quality/high power handling drivers. If you want a warm boxy sound with boomy bass look elsewhere.

The Axioms go down to about 60-70hz at -3db with low distortion. You can add an excellent smaller sub later for about $300 that will make a dynamite sounding system. The Axioms sound very good against the wall (due to their port and enclosure design) if you want to wall mount them with the included brackets. Don't be put off by the port design. The modern port designs are excellent and have many advantages over the sealed designs. These two speakers use the same exact tweeter as their top of the line floorstanding model.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/bookshelfspeakers.html

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfm2.html

RR6

[blackraven]

Check out NHT classic 2's. Wharefalde Diamond 9.2's and infinity beta 20's if you like to play music loud. Check out the budget component reviews at www.stereophile.com

[drmarkou]

I have the smaller Axiom Millennia's M1's and RR6 s on the money with his thoughts.
Check them out.

[jcolley]

thanks again for the help. i have been looking around basing my searches on your suggestions here. the infinity primus 162's keep catching my eyes. on paper, as far as i can tell, they seem to be slightly nicer than the beta 20's and i found them for 75 dollars each plus whatever charges there are (shipping, tax, that sort of thing). are these speakers any good? i know that it is all a matter of oppinion as to what i will like the most but since i live in the middle of nowhere and don't have access to any stores in order to go in and listen close, i have been trying to narrow down what i will be looking at when i do have the time to make a trip into town. thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

[RoadRunner6]

Infinity Primus and Infinity Beta are basically the same speaker. The Primus is the previous now discontinued entry level series in the Infinity line. That is why the deep discounts. Beta is the current series except not as many different models as the Primus series. They have different looking cabinets and that is basically it. They have low cost cabinets and drivers but are actually very decent sounding. Harmon Kardon owns both Infinity and JBL. The JBL Venue speakers are the same as the Infinty Beta but in different clothing. Same with the JBL Northridge series and the Infinity Primus.

$75 is a great price as long as they don't zap you too much on shipping.

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/542120815?v_c=CI&srccode=cii_15531812&cpncode=10-65509243-2

RR6

[nightflier]

I've had Primus speakers myself, and while my tastes have changed considerably, at the time they were an excellent value for the money. I also like NHT's sound, their speakers are close-cabinet and have a very lively presentation. They are often discounted on sites like Audio Advisor. To my ears, the NHTs have a better, more coherent sound than the Infinitys.

Another speaker you might try to find is the Polk LSi7. It's expensive new, but on the used market it can usually be found for not too much above $300, especially if the cosmetics are a little less than perfect. The tweeter on that speaker makes that an incredibly good value. It is ported, but on the front, so you could place them on a "bookshelf" without too much trouble.

[GMichael]

I have the Infinty Primus 150's as well as the JBL E-10's & E-20's. They do have a very good bang for the buck sound. You can get any of them for well under $300/pr now.
The Infinity's and the E-10's are easier to place due to being front ported. The E-20's can give a little more base even though they are smaller than the 150's because of the rear ports. But you have to place them away from the wall more.

[RoyY51]

Although I have recommended them a few times already on this forum (after all, I own them) I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Monitor Audio Bronze bookshelves. Frequency response is 42 hz to 20 khz, and they sound wonderful! I have never had them even close to breaking up at normal to not-so-normal listening levels. I purchased them from DMC Electronics in G.G. Calif. for $300.00 (cash). I believe that they also sell over the internet.

Happy Hunting!

[jcolley]

With looking around I think that i am probably going to go with the Primus 162's ($188 total) and use the money i saved from what i was willing to pay if necessary to go towards a new reciever. I have been looking at the Teac AG-D9320, would this work out for me? I realize it is a speaker forum so that's the only time I will be mentioning non-speakers items here. Thanks again everyone for all of your help. It's really made this a lot easier for me.

[blackraven]

The Primus are not discontinued and the Beta line is not the same speaker and they sound totally different. The infinity primus 162's just came out to replace the 160's. The Primus have a brighter sound than the beta's. The beta's have a warmer sound and are less transparent sounding. They have a very flat freq. response. I prefer the sound and looks of the Beta's. I bought the Primus 160's for my daughter and they are a great speaker for the money. I don't care for the looks of the new 162's compared to the 160's.
The Beta 20's would be my preference over the primus.

I'd go with the NHT classic two's over the infinity's. Much better sound but will cost a little more. You wont be disappointed. Spend more money on the speakers over the receiver.

[RoadRunner6]

Thanks Blackraven for correcting the bad informatiion in my post on Infinity Primus and Beta speakers. I really goofed on that one. I must take more "Focus Factor."

I had posted on the JBL Nothridge and Venue line at a different forum a year or more ago. I'm sure the Venue series was the new updated replacement for the Northridge. Somehow I had it in my hollow mind that the Infinity Primus and Beta series were the same situation.

Sorry for the incorrect information in my post. I'll get down and do 50 pushups!

RR6 :confused5: