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Thread: Best value bookshelf speakers |
    
New member Username: Diggs
Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 04:46 pm: |
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new here.. i'm looking to complement my budget 5.1 system with a pair of good sounding - but inexpensive - bookshelf speakers for music and tv. i've been looking at the polk rti4 but would like feedback on this and others in that range. i listen mostly to r&b and some jazz so clean sound is more important than volume.
and btw, my receiver is a 5-6 yr old sony es with entry-level polk surrounds & sub. |
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Bronze Member Username: Dloweman
Post Number: 86
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 08:53 pm: |
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Check out Paradigm, probably the titans will fit the bill |
Bronze Member Username: Rd11
Post Number: 20
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 09:37 pm: |
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Athena AS-B2 |
Silver Member Username: Kano
Post Number: 328
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Monday, February 14, 2005 - 09:45 pm: |
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Ascend Acoustics CBM-170
IMO they're ugly, but hard to beat performance wise for under $400 a pair. |
New member Username: Diggs
Post Number: 2
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 01:17 am: |
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been lookin around these forums.. how would the axiom m3ti compare to the paradigm, athena, and ascend? |
New member Username: Gr1m
Post Number: 7
Registered: Jul-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 02:32 am: |
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I second the CBM-170s, very accurate and neutral is how I would describe them and at 328/pr they're a steal |
Shahrukh Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 07:25 am: |
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Wharfedale Diamonds. Whether it's 8.1 or 9.1 is up to u to decide. |
Gold Member Username: Project6
Post Number: 2743
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 07:38 am: |
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I believe the Axiom M3ti is better than the Athena and stages better than the Paradigm and looks better than the Ascends. Soundwise, it is a hard choice to make when comparing to the Ascends. You have to listen yourself and make the choice. |
Silver Member Username: Frank_abela
Berkshire
UK
Post Number: 346
Registered: Sep-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 09:23 am: |
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B&W DM600, unless you're looking to replace your current fronts with new speakers. If that's the case, then stick to Polk in order to maintain the same voicing between speakers.
Regards,
Frank. |
Silver Member Username: Timn8ter
Seattle,
WA
USA
Post Number: 138
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 01:39 pm: |
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Alegria Audio Ling. $399 per pair. +-3db 50Hz - 20kHz+, real wood veneers. Hard to beat. Plus, if you don't like them after two weeks you can send them back.
http://www.us.alegriaaudio.com/Ling.htm |
New member Username: Dion
Post Number: 6
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 02:36 pm: |
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I bought a pair of Ling with clear cherry veneer. They're beautiful and sound great. I'm not sending them back! |
Gold Member Username: Project6
Post Number: 2749
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 07:51 am: |
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Timn8ter,
Did you design those speakers? |
Silver Member Username: Timn8ter
Seattle,
WA
USA
Post Number: 144
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 08:16 am: |
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Yes. |
jaeelarr Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 10:12 pm: |
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PSB is the way to go... |
edster922 Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 11:44 pm: |
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Clean, neutral sound at a bargain price---Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 hands down! |
Bronze Member Username: Gavincumm
Post Number: 75
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 02:59 pm: |
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take a look at the Paradigm Focus if you must have clean sound with excellent staging, great bass, and OUTSTANGING MIDS!!!
they are around $320 a pair
gavin |
Bronze Member Username: Stealth_c
Dublin,
CA
USA
Post Number: 81
Registered: Jan-05
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| Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 04:53 pm: |
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Gavin- How would you say they compare with the mini-monitors? |
Bronze Member Username: Gavincumm
Post Number: 77
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 05:45 pm: |
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I like the focus almost as well as the minis personally.
The bass in the minis is just a hare tighter, is a few hertz lower, and the highs are ever so slightly cleaner.
They sound very similar. listen to them side by side if you can. You might not even notice a difference.
They are both outstanding, and get a thumbs up from me!
Both speakers have outstanding midrange, have a very smooth, deep soundstage, and will show off your equipment. If you have equipment that adds glare or brightness, these will show you. Unusual for a budget speaker.
Gavin |
Richie Rich Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 10:16 pm: |
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Gavin,
Is there a large difference between the Focus and Titan? |
Bronze Member Username: Gavincumm
Post Number: 81
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 11:26 am: |
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yes there is...
I don't really care for the sound of the titans. I can hear the cabinet resonate in the bass frequencies, and that muddies the mids.
The speaker is all around an improvement IMHO. |
New member Username: Rushwj
Post Number: 7
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 08:00 pm: |
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I'd recommend the Paradigm Atoms ($99 each speaker). Just got them for my brother and he loves the clean sound. IMO much better than the polk RT's. Also, at $99 a pop it'd be easy to flush out rears and pick up the matching center all for a descnt price (since you watch tv with them). My brother has a vary large great room and it fills the room w/ sound very well for a small, elegant speaker. good luck. |
Bronze Member Username: Gavincumm
Post Number: 85
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, February 20, 2005 - 09:23 pm: |
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The Focus is a much better speaker than the atom if you can afford it.
to note... I prefer the atom to the titan. The bass has less boom. |
edster922 Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 10:45 am: |
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Tae,
BTW I forgot to mention, whatever speakers you go with, make sure to budget for some quality speaker stands...I find they make a HUGE difference in terms of opening up the sound of bookshelves!
ac4l.com is a great source of quality yet affordable stands; with small bookshelves you can even go with MDF stands without a problem, esp. if you have a subwoofer taking care of the low end for you. |
