$29 speaker makes cnet's top ten under a grand!

[markw]

Swapped them with my basic li'l speaker, Sound Dynamics RTS-3, which will be my baseline for comparisons.

Keep in mind that the RTS-3's cost about 10x what these did. I sure will.

Initial impressions: They are sealed,and about 2/3 the size of the RTS-3's. They look well finished, even with push-to-insert terminals, but it's obvious by handling them that they aren't made of thick MDF, maybe 1/2" at best so they are light. They do have a nifty key-hole hanger in the back for wall mounting, which seems to be a natural for these.

Sound-wise, they are clean a bit peaky in the mid-range/presence area. I'm hoping this mellows out soon. Bass is so-so and a touch boxy but considering the size and price, not too bad when given enough power. IOW, ya gotta turn them up a bit to get good sound. They do have enough manners to know when they should stop trying to do bass. I guess you could force 'em to fart out, but under normal conditions at reasonable levels, I had no issues here.

At low levels they loose any dynamics and lows. They seem to like moderate, not low, loudness levels.

Final initial impression: I was hoping for a more "musical" speaker but all things considered, I'm not regretting these. They are well worth the asking price, and then some.

Off hand, they are naturals for a HT system. Get a sack-full of 'em, add a small powered sub that crosses over around 80 - 1000 hz or so, and you''ll have a VERY cost-effective HT system for small/medium sized rooms. Dunno if they are shielded, but with CRT's going the way of Oldsmobile and the Dodo, I think it's pretty much a moot point anymore.

So, that's the first 45 minutes of ownership. I'll continue to use 'em in the bedroom system for the foreseeable future to see if "break-in" makes much of a difference.

To be continued soon, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

[edit, day 2]Listened to 'em last nigh on Comcast's classical music channel while going to sleep. Boosting the bass and cutting the treble helps a lot at lower levels. They do like rock, swing, and blues.

[JoeE SP9]

Thanks Mark. I was thinking of ordering a pair to replace the Minimus 7's in my bedroom system. You're recommendation has sealed the deal.
For the price there really isn't much to loose.