Mid-size speaker recommendation

[valnar]

After googling enough, I found the speakers I had 20 years ago that I loved! They were the Boston Acoustics A120's. I'm not sure if I should find them again because time was probably not kind to the foam surrounds, but I remember liking that "sound".

[harley .guy07]

I also would say the Dynaudio are well worth the consideration. I own the Audience 60's and while I started using them when I did not have as good of equipment as I have now the higher end preamp and amp that I have put with them since have not brought up any shortcomings or made me feel like I immediately need to upgrade. Dynaudio's are like that. each series up is an upgrade but the steps are much smaller than say Paradigm which their monitor series is a huge step down from their studio series. With Dynaudio each series take much smaller steps in sound upgrade due to the fact that Dynaudio speakers start at a very high level of sound quality with their least expensive speaker and then just go up from there and that is why the retail price of even their "affordable" speakers are still much higher than Paradigm or PSB. I really love my audience 60's and I will most likely upgrade to a bigger pair of Dynaudios within the next year it is mostly because I want more low end and I would like to go to the next level with my system but in saying that I have heard a lot of systems out there that can't hold a candle to mine as it sets right now with the preamp and amp I have"see signature" and the audience 60's, they really are very good for the price especially used.

[Mr Peabody]

I remember liking the A120's and that series back in the 80's, it would be interesting to see if I still like them or how they compare today. I will say the product Boston has today I did not like as much as the Paradigm, and neither come close to Dynaudio IMO.

I would recommend going and listening to different brands and if your selection is limited many online retailers offer a 30 day return. If you aren't sure what you like or want buying used could put you on quite a merry-go-round of buying and selling.

[frenchmon]

The Dynaudio Xcite X12 are great speakers as well, but dont know if they are the correct height you want.

[harley .guy07]

The Dynaudio Xcite X12 are great speakers as well, but dont know if they are the correct height you want.

That might not be a bad idea to try the excite series, they are one of the more affordable series that Dyn offer and I have heard that they are a little easier to drive than the other series of Dyns out there in fact someone told me that they have talked to people that have run them with lower powered tube amps and they did well so a solid state receiver should have no problem powering them.

[Mr Peabody]

Excite sort of took the place of the Audience line, they now do have a DM series which is the entry and the drivers have been redesigned to be driven by good quality receivers.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Excite sort of took the place of the Audience line, they now do have a DM series which is the entry and the drivers have been redesigned to be driven by good quality receivers.

Hey Mr. P, do you ever wonder what your Contour T2.5's would have sounded like with your Pass Labs gear?

[dingus]

After googling enough, I found the speakers I had 20 years ago that I loved! They were the Boston Acoustics A120's. I'm not sure if I should find them again because time was probably not kind to the foam surrounds, but I remember liking that "sound".

depending on your location, craigslist could be the place to find BA A120's and other vintage speakers of that ilk. i see them come up fairly often in my area.

as for deteriorated surrounds, they are an easy fix that can be done cheaply in an afternoon.

[Hyfi]

depending on your location, craigslist could be the place to find BA A120's and other vintage speakers of that ilk. i see them come up fairly often in my area.

as for deteriorated surrounds, they are an easy fix that can be done cheaply in an afternoon.

Good suggestion for local CL if OP really wants vintage.

As for redoing surrounds, yeah anyone can do it but after speaking to the owner of Miller Sound, who does this all day every day, you will more than likely never get the speaker to sound exactly as you remembered it.

If the exact replacement surround is not used, and or a slightly different tension or non perfect placement and glueing happens, then you will change the sound of the speaker from it's originally intended sound.

There are so many great sounding new speakers in every price range that come with a warranty and intact unless getting some outrageously good speaker for real cheap, why bother? There are also plenty of Used (but much newer) good speakers out there too. The other option is the DIY but I am unskilled in woodworking and lack the tools and space.

[valnar]

I remember liking my original BA 120's (before I sold them for a home-theater setup) because they were a decent size without being intrusive in the room. Since they were sealed, I could also put them right against the wall. For my secondary music system that I'm building for a finished basement, both those factors are important. It's also not going to be used for 'critical' listening, so something generally pleasant is preferred. This will be a pool-table + Bar kind of room.

Part of me also wants to rebuild my vintage music setup that I had long ago. In that vein, I also just purchased a Nakamichi AV-10 receiver off eBay. A fine receiver and amplifier section in it's own right, and it still holds up today. The downside is I have to stick with 8-ohm speaker options which removes a lot of good choices. I used to own an AV-8 many years ago because I couldn't afford the AV-10. All I need to do now is dust off my old Denon tape deck and Dual turntable which I still own.