Best Speakers below $1000

[trivik12]

What are the best speakers between 500-1000.
This should include receiver and hopefully 5.1 sound

[SAPSEC]

BW 601 or KEF Q1

[evac311]

Give Infinity a look. I have their 1990's reference series. They have great bass, playing down to 35hz. My former place of empoyment carried Infinity's newest lines of tower speakers, the Intermezzo, and Beta (comparable to my reference series in price/performance) so I had the chance to extensivly test them. The new beta series does play more accuratly, particullarly in the higher frequencies. They handle more power (250 watts) in large part due to their newer driver technology called CMMD, which makes the driver more rigid and effecient at 91db sensitivity.

The betas can be had for around $500 a pair.

Also, I have read great reviews about the Infinity Kappas which are about $700 a pair.

Great speakers with good bass response, high power handling and effecient enough that they will make the most out of the power your amp gives them.

Just an aside- I tested my RS-5's a/b versus my friend's b&w dm604's. To give you an idea, the B&W's ($1600) retail for twice the price of the Infinities and both of us prefered the sound of the Infinities in midrange and bass. I thought the b&w had more accurate treble, but considering the beta and kappa both have better tweeters than mine, you can rest assured that your system would sound pretty killer.

Hope that helps.

[Shwamdoo]

I had a $1,000.00 (Ish) budget for speakers. I shoped around for about 3 months auditioning and researching. I ended up buying the Quad 12L bookshelf speakers. I recommend the following speakers:
-Quad 12L
-PSB Mini Monitor
-Cyrus CLS 50
-Focal Chorus 707S
-Epos M12.2
-Dynaudio Audience 52
-Monitor Gr10

I would recommend bookshelf speakers because you can get more for your money at this price level. However, if you have a large room you may want to consider larger speakers.

Companies worth auditioning include:
-Rega
-Wharfedale
-Paradigm
-Polk
-B&W
-Vandersteen
-Totem
-Era
-Magnepan
-Epos
-Quad
-PSB
-Cyrus
-Focal
-Dynaudio
-Monitor
-ProAc
-NHT

Goodluck!

[Florian]

VMPS 626 www.vmpseurope.com
Maggie MG12 www.magnepan.com or used www.audiogon.com

[Jimmy C]

What are the best speakers between 500-1000.
This should include receiver and hopefully 5.1 sound

...to get all five speakers, sub, and a receiver for the money? If so, I would look at PartsExpress.com. They make EXCELLENT (for the $$$) D.I.Y. speakers and you could add whatever receiver you wanted. I can't think of any other way to do it.

Now... if you mean a pair of speakers now, and be able to upgrade later, MY favorite between $500 and $1K would probably be the Dynaudios. PSB is another brand to check out - they come in at a bit less money relative to the Danes.

Another speaker you might want to look at would be less expensive models from Boston Acoustics... these have absolutely no "audiophile" cache, but I think their sound is pretty good! You have to go with the wallet, as well as the heart.

Come to think of it, all of these have a bit in common - generous bass (albeit slightly loose), decent dynamics, and a smooth top end. I doubt any of these would ever be fatigueing.

Not the most "open" or transparent speakers, but "sins of ommission" are almost always preferable, especially at this pricing tier.

Looks like you have a lot of listening to do, keep us posted on which are your faves!

[drseid]

I doubt you will be able to find a receiver, subwoofer and 5 monitors (not to mention stands) for under $1000 with *any* of them... In a couple cases, you probably could not afford even 1 *pair* of speakers without blowing the lid off your $1000 maximum budget.

My advice is that if you have $500-$1000 to work with for the whole system... Then skip buying the complete 5.1 system for now, and focus on a low-priced good quality receiver, coupled with a pair of speakers and maybe a sub.

To that end, you may want to give the Athena brand a listen at your local Best Buy, or elsewhere... A pair of Athena mini-monitors (plus stands) might go for $300. As for a receiver, I would look at entry level receivers from Denon, Marantz or Yamaha. Those will probaby run you $300 as well.

For a sub, maybe the Adire Audio Rava would be a good choice in your price range (online sales only). It costs $400.

As for the Center Channel and the rears, I recommend buying them later on when you can afford them (probably another $500 investment will be needed).

Bottom line is that you can buy a mediocre (at best) sounding full 5.1 system (including receiver) that is the "best" under $1000 right now, or you can buy a very nice sounding "incomplete" system that you can add onto later... Your call.

BTW: One other option to consider is buying used (audiogon.com is a great place to look)... In the used market, you may be able to squeeze everything in under 1K... It will be tough, but doable. Most items on the used market can be had around 50% off list (except recently purchased items that are new to the market).

Good luck,

---Dave

[Rock789]

check out Focal JMlab, they sound great!

Chorus 705 S = $349/pr
Chorus CC 70 S = $299

I went with the Chorus 716 S for my fronts and surrounds...

if you could flip a couple more hundred,
Chorus 706 S = $449/pr
Chorus CC 700 S = $399

I listened to many speakers, and the 716 S were the best sounding... The 706 S is the 2way version of the 716 S and sounds almost as good...

Goodluck,
Mike

PS. if you want to add a receiver into the total cost of $1000, then perhaps watch ebay for used units, or check the classified on this site...

[Woochifer]

I think you need to go back to the beginning and ask yourself what you want your system to do first.

Is it mostly used for home theater? Or CDs?

What type of sound are you looking for?

Are you looking to buy the whole thing at the same time? Or are you willing to add to the system piece by piece?

Do you need a TV and/or DVD player?

Are you looking at floorstanding speakers or standmounts? Do you want a subwoofer?

Do you have any space limitations?

Those questions all play into the definition of "best" There's a huge gap between $1,000 just for a pair of speakers versus $1,000 for a 5.1 speaker package PLUS a receiver.