Which Speakers ? under $600

[zonik]

Is it possible to find a really good set of 2 channel hifi speakers that are made in the UK, US, Europe for under $600 pair ? I like some wharfedales, and others, but the range I can afford is made in china. Please no lectures about these being good value, etc. I would like to stick to the criteria above. Recommendations ? I have a simple Musicl Fidelity amp B1 35 (strong) watts/channel.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/mf/en.../B1Range/B1Int

Thanks !!

[midfiguy]

There are PLENTY out there, have you looked?

Check out:

-Paradigm Studio 20s V2 or V3 (maybe even used) - actually made in Canada I think
-Cambridge Soundworks M80 (currently a STEAL at $200/pr)
-B&W DM602s III
-Klipsch RB35/75

These are just a sampling, many more out there!

[markw]

How about Magnapan MMGs? These don't exactly suck either.

You might want to check out some peridicals or lurk thropugh the posts here, though.

[topspeed]

Maggie MMG's, Monitor Audio, Energy, Epos, and PSB, all make nice speaks in that price range. My favorite under $1500 are these Von Schweikert VR-1's that can be had here on audiogon or you can try to negotiate like crazy for a new pair with a cooperative dealer.

Oh wait, you don't want any speakers made in China, right? I'm unclear on the logic behind this as you automatically disregard the fact that these speakers are designed and engineered by some of the most respected designers in the hi-end (Albert Von Schweikert & Usher's Dr Joseph D'Appolito). Whatever. If you want place ego above sound quality, who am I to debate with you? It's your money.

[zonik]

Oh wait, you don't want any speakers made in China, right? I'm unclear on the logic behind this as you automatically disregard the fact that these speakers are designed and engineered by some of the most respected designers in the hi-end (Albert Von Schweikert & Usher's Dr Joseph D'Appolito). Whatever. If you want place ego above sound quality, who am I to debate with you? It's your money.

I thought I specifically asked to skip the lectures. I wish to replace like with like. I don't dispute the chinese can wield a screw driver like no other, it has nothng to do with ego, just preference. If I end up with lessor speakers due to this, I don't care. There seem to be options that fill the bill.

I have looked around, the info I found on the web is often contradictory. re Listening, I have shops local with $1500 speakers as entry level and then there is best buy, so I am looking to personal experience on this topic since I might have to buy sound unheard.

Also re Klipsch, I was quite fond of them when they were still hand made in Arkansas. Have they maintained the quality standard having been snapped up by another company ?

The MMG's look good, but it seems they are recommended with a sub and I don't think my Musical Fidelity amp can drive these and a sub. 'Time for a new amp' I hear you say.

midfiguy, thanks for the options.

[Geoffcin]

Is it possible to find a really good set of 2 channel hifi speakers that are made in the UK, US, Europe for under $600 pair ? I like some wharfedales, and others, but the range I can afford is made in china. Please no lectures about these being good value, etc. I would like to stick to the criteria above. Recommendations ? I have a simple Musicl Fidelity amp B1 35 (strong) watts/channel.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/mf/en.../B1Range/B1Int

Thanks !!

If you did I could reccomend several speakers. The Magnepan MMG might be too dynamically limited with your amp.

[RGA]

At the risk of continually being a one note wonder - but what the hell I'm right most of the time then i would suggest the Audio Note AX Two which is $549.US and or the PQ Signiture version of the speaker for $999.00(I have not heard the latter though). The speaker can be used with SS amplification effectively, it is hand made in Denmark using Vifa drivers.

I listened side by side with the B&W 705 and EPOS and interestingly the Wharfedale (side by side I mean one after another) and I did find the Wharfedale's to be good value for money - but it's not exactly God's gift to the speaker world.

The AX Two is 90db easy to drive and unlike most speakers sounds very good at low volumes and doesn;t need to be turned up to make things out. Excellent bass response quality wise to ~50hz but tuneful and bodied for a smallish spekaer.

Dynaudio Audience 42 is my other pick but tough to drive - your amp might have trouble with the 4ohm load however so I would consider it if you can drive them to acceptable levels - very good in the price range. If you ever think to go tubes or SET the AX Two is the one to go for if not the AX Two is still the one to go for because it's cheaper Easy to drive.

Just kidding - AN is tough to find and you may not want to bother - Dynaudio is higher frequency - bigger and easier to find.

Where you are located may make a difference here as well - Some makers really jack the price up depending where you are. B&W 602S3 you may like - I do but I also see why some don't - in the end it's going to come down to auditioning. They build em in China to help compete - it does not mean the speakers are worse or that they are capitalizing on slave labour necessarily.

[zonik]

Audio Note AX

Where you are located may make a difference here as well

Like you I am in Cascadia (those not in the know, that is the new country going to be formed by Nor Cal, Oregon, Washington and BC......, but I am Portland. The Audio Notes seem hard to find, but very interesting. I'm thinking about some KEF Q3s, heard anything ?
Thanks

PS I listen to 'rock'... Muse, XTC, Depeche Mode, Elbow....

[SpankingVanillaice]

I can say I like my JBL S26 that were $400 they sound like a professional studio monitor.

[RGA]

Like you I am in Cascadia (those not in the know, that is the new country going to be formed by Nor Cal, Oregon, Washington and BC......, but I am Portland. The Audio Notes seem hard to find, but very interesting. I'm thinking about some KEF Q3s, heard anything ?
Thanks

PS I listen to 'rock'... Muse, XTC, Depeche Mode, Elbow....

If you can hold off a while I would suggest you bring your family(if you have one) up to Victoria BC on vacation. Go to Soundhounds www.soundhounds.com and then you can listen to the Audio Notes versus the Paradigms and B&W's among others directly against each other. Nice vacation spot and hell no matterwhich speaker you like best at least the curiosity will be over.

I sometimes hate thinking that gee if only I heard that before I bought - there are also 5 or so dealers in California which you're probably closer to. Dave said they;re shipping a pair for him to try out so who knows they might do that for you - and then you can pick up the Studio 20's or 40's (bigger more impressive looking speaker to be sure).

Not everyone hears it the same way - I feel AN is for people not genuinely satisified with what most of the other companies are doing - if you are happy with what the others are doing well you're happy so you don;t need to go look for smaller tougher to find companies. I always get the sense though that people who post on forums are not quite "sold" on the sound quality they hear from the big boys out there. If they were sold on the sound - whcih they should be they would not post on forums other than to find out about the brand's reputation and construction and maybe if they have a good track record.

When you get questions like which should I buy out of these 3 speaker choices - the answer probably should be NONE - if None them spoke to you at a gut level then none is the answer - keep looking.

For me the speaker hit me like a ton of bricks(actually on second audition with the E's). That however for you could be Von Sweikert, or Innersound or a pile of other lesser known speakers - there are tons I'd like to have heard but you're limited by distance and time.

I think the smaller brands are there for when or IF you don't like the usual suspects. I waited so long to upgrade because i was never truly happy with what I was hearing from Paradigm, Klipsh, PSB, B&W, M&K, Monitor Audio, KEF, Energy, Mordaunt Short, Tannoy, Wharfedale, Mission, ML, etc etc (some of these I would recommend from each company) and I "like" speakers from each of them but I always had the nagging guy on the shoulder saying "you know you're probably going to not be happy about X aspect in the long run."

Speakers are something you can keep 20 years+ I would rather wait a full year save money and buy something special than get something that's going to gather more dust than be played because of some treble brightness or that dead dull bass sound that gluts the market.

Perhaps the new PMC's will fall in your budget they too are British.

I generlaly like to recommend a few speakers with different kinds of sounds. For instance the Dane 42 and B&W 602S3 I recommend but I recognise that most will probably really like one and not so much the other because they sound quite a lot different - and then some will like speakers I don't care for particularly like the Studio 20 or the new Studio 100 - for people who tend to like these ones I may suggest the PMC's which I think are terrific speakers (maybe not geared for my taste) but are terrific transmission lines with tight fast bass and terrific analytical sound especially with the Brystons. I just don;t think I can sit back and listen at louder volumes for 8-12 hours non stop like I could on my speakers. But there are plenty of all day listenable speakers - for my needs I prefer those.

[dave123456@mail.com]

At the risk of continually being a one note wonder - but what the hell I'm right most of the time then i would suggest the Audio Note AX Two which is $549.US and or the PQ Signiture version of the speaker for $999.00(I have not heard the latter though). The speaker can be used with SS amplification effectively, it is hand made in Denmark using Vifa drivers.

I listened side by side with the B&W 705 and EPOS and interestingly the Wharfedale (side by side I mean one after another) and I did find the Wharfedale's to be good value for money - but it's not exactly God's gift to the speaker world.

The AX Two is 90db easy to drive and unlike most speakers sounds very good at low volumes and doesn;t need to be turned up to make things out. Excellent bass response quality wise to ~50hz but tuneful and bodied for a smallish spekaer.

Dynaudio Audience 42 is my other pick but tough to drive - your amp might have trouble with the 4ohm load however so I would consider it if you can drive them to acceptable levels - very good in the price range. If you ever think to go tubes or SET the AX Two is the one to go for if not the AX Two is still the one to go for because it's cheaper Easy to drive.

.

RGA,



I actually talked to a AN dealer the other day and hes sending out a pair of ax-two demos for me to audition , and compare to my PSB Stratus Mini's. I look forward to hearing them and will probabaly post my findings on here.

[RGA]

RGA,



I actually talked to a AN dealer the other day and hes sending out a pair of ax-two demos for me to audition , and compare to my PSB Stratus Mini's. I look forward to hearing them and will probabaly post my findings on here.

I thought you were looking at the AZ floorstanders? I'm heading over to Vancouver to hear the Minis and Stratus line as well sometime over the holidays - at least that is my hope.

I have not listened to the AX with receivers - I don;t know what amp you are using - I used a basic Rotel RA 1 or 2 and AN's SET amps and a pretty bad NAD 320Bee. Still this should be less picky than other AN speakers being it's the bottom of the line from the company - They can also be placed free standing so you know - so close to wall or out into the room - I'd be curious where you find the best results - I listened to them in corners of a realtively narrow room about a foot from the back wall or so.

[dave123456@mail.com]

I thought you were looking at the AZ floorstanders? I'm heading over to Vancouver to hear the Minis and Stratus line as well sometime over the holidays - at least that is my hope.

I have not listened to the AX with receivers - I don;t know what amp you are using - I used a basic Rotel RA 1 or 2 and AN's SET amps and a pretty bad NAD 320Bee. Still this should be less picky than other AN speakers being it's the bottom of the line from the company - They can also be placed free standing so you know - so close to wall or out into the room - I'd be curious where you find the best results - I listened to them in corners of a realtively narrow room about a foot from the back wall or so.

Well, I originally planned on auditioning the AZ series, but after talking to a few dealers and exchanging emails with audio note they felt the AX-Two would work best with my small ( 10x10) room and the az series might not work considering my positioning options. Also, dealer isnt exactly close so shipping would be alot more.


As far as using a receiver im not, ill be using a Cambridge Azur 540a which to me sounds much, much better than the Onkyo receiver i was using. And since the AX-two is substantionly cheaper than the az series, if i decide to buy a pair of ax-two's ill be able to try tubes with them. Still, id love to try the AZ-Two's in a bigger room more suited for them.

[G.Dyer]

At the risk of continually being a one note wonder - but what the hell I'm right most of the time then i would suggest the Audio Note AX Two which is $549.US and or the PQ Signiture version of the speaker for $999.00(I have not heard the latter though). The speaker can be used with SS amplification effectively, it is hand made in Denmark using Vifa drivers.

I listened side by side with the B&W 705 and EPOS and interestingly the Wharfedale (side by side I mean one after another) and I did find the Wharfedale's to be good value for money - but it's not exactly God's gift to the speaker world.

The AX Two is 90db easy to drive and unlike most speakers sounds very good at low volumes and doesn;t need to be turned up to make things out. Excellent bass response quality wise to ~50hz but tuneful and bodied for a smallish spekaer.

Dynaudio Audience 42 is my other pick but tough to drive - your amp might have trouble with the 4ohm load however so I would consider it if you can drive them to acceptable levels - very good in the price range. If you ever think to go tubes or SET the AX Two is the one to go for if not the AX Two is still the one to go for because it's cheaper Easy to drive.

Just kidding - AN is tough to find and you may not want to bother - Dynaudio is higher frequency - bigger and easier to find.

Where you are located may make a difference here as well - Some makers really jack the price up depending where you are. B&W 602S3 you may like - I do but I also see why some don't - in the end it's going to come down to auditioning. They build em in China to help compete - it does not mean the speakers are worse or that they are capitalizing on slave labour necessarily.

Has anybody heard the Mission V63? I'm looking at these or B&W 603 s3. I've heard them both through the Yamaha1500 and 2500 Reciever/Amps but not at the same place or time. I want to drive which ever I choose with the Yamaha 2500, 50/50 theatre / Rock, R&B,Blues. My room is 4*8 meters, Concrete roof & 3walls other wall is glass & wood floor. Surround speakers will be my old frounts,-Acoustic Research 308HO which should give me plenty of base at the back with its 10" side woofer.

[RGA]

Has anybody heard the Mission V63? I'm looking at these or B&W 603 s3. I've heard them both through the Yamaha1500 and 2500 Reciever/Amps but not at the same place or time. I want to drive which ever I choose with the Yamaha 2500, 50/50 theatre / Rock, R&B,Blues. My room is 4*8 meters, Concrete roof & 3walls other wall is glass & wood floor. Surround speakers will be my old frounts,-Acoustic Research 308HO which should give me plenty of base at the back with its 10" side woofer.

With the size of the room standmounts are going to have some trouble(well most of them) and it sounds like it could be a vey "live" room. I would probably not want to sit too far away from them - perhaps listen nearfield in which case I might consider PMC(but I would really want to try them at home first). I liked the older Mission line more than the newer V line - I think the new Missions are more geared to home theater - but since that's what you're going to be using them for a lot then that's not a bad thing necessarily. A lot of the speakers like Energy, Polk, Paradigm offer up a largely homogenous sound so it's more a matter of choosing based on price and build and looks than on sound.

For your room I would probably listen at home with spekaers that lean to the bright side (metal tweeters) and I would probably purchase a large area rug and some rugs to hang on all your walls(but that's more experiment.

For home theater try and listen to the whole H/T set-ups - they kinda have you in this regard because you can't do any credible A/B listening session to such systems because you'd have 5 speakers to replace and a subwoofer to adjust and you would have to adjust the time delays for home theater - all of which could take hours to properly do when switich out the B&W's for some other brand.

I think you just need to listen and work out a deal that if you don't like them you can return them.

[CharlieBee]

I would buy Pioneer HPM 100 on ebay for $125 plus $75 ship. Two sets went for this this week. Check the reviews on this site on these. Real wood veneer, 11/4 inch thick sides, super base, weight 60 lbs each. They do not make them like this anymore, here or Japan
. Charlie

[Mark111867]

I would put my vote in for the Cambridge Soundworks M80's. I don't listen to that much rock, but have been as of late, and the M80's sound nice handling rock IMO. If I were to buy a pair of speakers under $600 at this point in time, I would also be very interested in hearing the Monitor Audio Bronze 2, although admittedly I have never heard them. I just think they might be worth looking into. Good luck.

[N. Abstentia]

I'd have to go with Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. Haven't seen anything better for the price.

[zonik]

I'd have to go with Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. Haven't seen anything better for the price.

Thanks I'll try to see if I can find some to eval.

Has anyone heard in person the Klipsch RB75s ?
Lou Reed has..... but I'd like to 'hear' from regular people.

Thanks

[N. Abstentia]

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Site...udioSpecs.html

Thanks I'll try to see if I can find some to eval.

Has anyone heard in person the Klipsch RB75s ?
Lou Reed has..... but I'd like to 'hear' from regular people.

Thanks

[SpankingVanillaice]

I'd have to go with Paradigm Reference Studio 20's. Haven't seen anything better for the price.

Can you show me a link to these speakers since they sound interesting and I would like to research them.

[Kpt_Krunch]

Is it possible to find a really good set of 2 channel hifi speakers that are made in the UK, US, Europe for under $600 pair ? I like some wharfedales, and others, but the range I can afford is made in china. Please no lectures about these being good value, etc. I would like to stick to the criteria above. Recommendations ? I have a simple Musicl Fidelity amp B1 35 (strong) watts/channel.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/mf/en.../B1Range/B1Int

Thanks !!

For $548 US, it's pretty hard to beat Ascend Acoustics CMT340's.


http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...m/cmt340m.html

[bacchanal]

For $548 US, it's pretty hard to beat Ascend Acoustics CMT340's.


http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...m/cmt340m.html

I agree, these are about as much bang for the buck as you can find at this price point, especially if you're talking new gear.

Well worth the time to go for the 30 day audition.

[Stu-r]

Is it possible to find a really good set of 2 channel hifi speakers that are made in the UK, US, Europe for under $600 pair ? I like some wharfedales, and others, but the range I can afford is made in china. Please no lectures about these being good value, etc. I would like to stick to the criteria above. Recommendations ? I have a simple Musicl Fidelity amp B1 35 (strong) watts/channel.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/mf/en.../B1Range/B1Int

Thanks !!

I've owned more than 26 pr. speakers during the past 50 years. Just got a pair of SDAT SB-880s. Rated at 4 ohms. Great clarity, definition, and balance. Good drivers, proprietary surrounds. They have two 8 inch woofers, equivalent to a 12", four 3 inch mid-range, equivalent to a 6 inch, and two supertweeters. The woofers and the mid-ranges are in D'appolito arays, the two supertweeters have phasing disks and are arranged side-by side. The horizontal dispersion is outstanding. The instrumental detail is better than I've heard from anything under $2000. If you like classical music, you'll love these. If you prefer rock, I don't recommend them. They're rated at 91 db/watt, so your 35 watt amplifiers will drive a pair to 109 db. They are large though - 44" tall, 11" square, and 59 lbs. each. Cabinets are solid and well braced. You can get a pair for $265-349 from Mixsonic, Overstock, Essex, and others. Don't let the low price throw you. SDAT is a chinese OEM supplier to other speaker manufacturers. I think that when the word gets out, these will be more expensive.