best speaker brands? bang for buck? (1 Viewer)

[Matt Jesty]

FACTORY DIRECT TO YOU!!!!! SAVE ON RETAIL MARK-UP!!!!!!!!
www.doggdigitalaudio.com

 

[Neil Joseph]

I would say PSB because they are very good and cheaper than Paradigm on average. They have a wide speaker line ranging fom budget to higher cost.

 

[mike_decock]

I upgraded from a pair of PSB Image 4Ts to a pair of GR Research Paradox 1s recently. Ironically the GR Research speakers cost LESS than the PSBs and blow them out of the water in every respect. I can't image more bang for the buck than going for a pair of their speakers.

-Mike...

 

[Joe Casey]

IMO, best value in high end speakers in Magnepan.

 

[Martice]

I sold a pair of PSB Goldi's for the superior midrange and highs provided by the GR Research AV1+'s speakers. I currently have my 15" Tempest sub handling the below 60hz information while the AV1+'s handle everything above. The PSB's are very good speakers and are hard to beat in the bang for the buck commercial offerings. However, I've found that the crossovers, build quality and drivers used in GR Research and a lot of DIY/Turn Key offerings are superior then what's generally offered in similarly priced commercial offerings and usually rival speakers that cost much more commercially.

 

[Javon_W]

i guess ill be the first to say it but HTD are one of the best bang for your buck speakers....i have the level 3's and they sound awesome you cant go wrong with these

 

[Karen Maraj]

Paradigm has a differential pricing policy that makes their stuff extremely attractive in Canada

What's this about? what does this mean?

 

[Sebastien David]

Energy

 

[Jay_Leonard]

Cambridge Sound Works.

On Sale, the price/performance ratio is better than any other alternative I was able to find.

A pair of M-80's will cost you 250-300 bucks they look and sound great.

you could get a third M80 for your center channel or get a dedicated center channel like the MC500 for $250 ish.

Where you run into trouble is the Sub. a good quality sub will run 500 and up and there are a lot of market entrys in that range that may fit your needs.

Unless you like a lot of boom I would stay away from all 2-300 dollar subs.

Auditioning and finding speakers you like is very dificult because generally the best "values" are not available to listen to in your local audio outlet because the retailer can make more money selling us ok speakers or crap for a higher mark up. many of the brands listed earlier in the thread make great products but you will have a dificult time finding a place to actually listen to them.

One of the particularly nice features of the CSW products is the ability to return them for 45 days regardles of use.

J

 

[Colin-K]

This is my take: PSB, Klipsch Synergy Series, Infinity's on Link Removed

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

A forum member named Marc H has an audio shop in Ottawa and has great things to say about Dalquist. They are an older company that was going downhill, but were bought out by a Canadian company and brought back up to speed. Marc also sells Paradigm and Axiom. Do a search and look for reviews. I guess the key here for you Karen is what is a good speaker value in Canada. What have you been finding in the shops in Toronto?

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I can't believe some of the brands I'm hearing but I remember that it's all opinion.

I must agree that a DIY brand such as GR research or Adire Audio blows everything away for the bang per buck. A lot of factory direct speakers can be cheaper than commercial because their prices can be closer to cost.

 

[Matt Jesty]

Chris...
Remember that Bose sells some of it's products "direct" to consumers and they are NOT closer to cost that way...neither are "white van" speakers...to ASSUME you are getting a better deal buying direct is to ignore scams, greed, and "economy of scale" issues that may be in play...I don't assume the 16 year old cheerleader that my friend chats on-line with is 16, a cheerleader, or a woman for that matter ...............

 

[Ron Boster]

Karen: If you take your title and run it through the search feature you'll have five pages of posts...some with the same title.

Good Luck
Ron

 

[Drew Bethel]

Are there any mag reviews on this GR Research stuff? I'm curious!

 

[Bob Wilson]

Karen what was meant by a differential pricing policy is that Paradigms sell in comparatively chheaper in Canada. I believe that this is primarily due to an extra layer of distribution costs in the US. The reverse tends to be true on many US brands sold in Canada. Since most reviews and comparisons that you will see are from US sources the comparisons are against equipment which is not comparable price wise in Toronto.

 

[mike_decock]

Are there any mag reviews on this GR Research stuff? I'm curious!

No magazine reviews that I know of (unfortunately). The way I found out about them was in an article in Listener Magazine, a reviewer reviewing another pair of speakers said they were not nearly as involving as the AVM Solutions A/V1s he had a few months ago. I found out that the A/V1s were manufactured for AVM Solutions by GR Research and found out that they were available in kit form for much less.
I also found a lot of user reviews on Audio Asylum. I always find these more valuable than some magazine article.
-Mike...

 

[Dustin B]

Eaxctly, the vast majority of magazine reviews are useless. How many bad magazine reviews have you read. Everything sounds great and is worth much more than the asking price when compared to their competitors.

The opinion of actual users on forums like these with no need to maintain advertising dollars are infinitely more valuable. Not as individual reviews, but you get to see lots of different opinions. Carefully looking at those many different opinions will get you a lot closer to the truth about a products performance level than a magazine review.

And Matt, notice how Chris qualified that statement with "A lot". He didn't say all. Chris is very much aware that bose and many other places sell online that aren't a great value.

But the offerings from GR Research, Onix Rockets, Adire, SVS, etc do actually compete with normal commercial products costing significantly more.

 

[RandyKudor]

I think some of the Internet direct companies offer the most bang for buck by far..

My personal favorite is Ascend Acoustics and I think they are the leader in this category, behind them maybe Axiom and then maybe those new Rockets.

Home Theater Direct is a good value too but I think spending only a bit more will get you a much better sounding speaker.

 

[Drew Bethel]

>>>Eaxctly, the vast majority of magazine reviews are useless. How many bad magazine reviews have you read. Everything sounds great and is worth much more than the asking price when compared to their competitors.