most overpriced but popular speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Hitchman]

Yeah, I do think when looking at at least the outside box fit 'n' finish of a speaker for the money the B&W's are a bit overpriced, however they can sound very good.

I'd have to say that the most overpriced line in the B&W catalog has got to be the CM. DM's are overall very good for the money, and so are most of the CDM NT's and up into the Nautilus range. The CM's are clearer slightly than the DM's, but crap out on the bass and they can't handle large amp power or slightly elevated volumes for sh*t.

Polk speakers are also overpriced across the board, as are the newest Jamo lines (they've really lowered their quality on the low and mid tier speaker models).

Bose should be brought up on charges of consumer fraud.

Dan

 

[Bolivar G]

Focal Grande Utopia's
A bit overpriced or maybe I just wish they were priced in my range:b

 

[JasonWUC]

Krell Master Refrence Subwoofer.
I can't imagine having a speaker that costs the same as my truck.
BTW. I love my DefTechs. They sound great for Movies. I will admit, however, that they are pretty pooor music.

 

[Jason_Me]

Any brand with a distributer, and B&M retailer is overpriced

 

[Luke_R]

Klipsch reference and B&w 600 series both are terrible sounding speakers for the price you pay, now when you get into the nautilus line of b&w

 

[Randall Duncan]

Awww, I was hoping for a Bose-bashing thread. :frowning:

 

[Rory Buszka]

never mind, I don't want to get sued by Bose.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Cerwin Vegaes by far imho, harsh, boomy, and definitely not accurate. To me just an over glorified KLH.

 

[Steve Adams]

Infinity, Polk and mirage for sure. they are second to bose when it comes to riding the "name wave". I have'nt heard a good set of speakers from either of these companies yet. At least Infinity and polk make their speakers look good. Mirage just use the crappiest drivers they can find and mask them in a nice tower....see one of the magazine articles on them. they look like they were designed by the same company that design Pulsar speakers for cdn tire! 1 little driver then a big slab of cheap wood!

Whoever said B&W, LAY OFF THE CRACK PIPE!

 

[JessPrice]

Would paying $480 for a pair of new A-stock B&W DM602-S3's from an authorized dealer be considered overpriced?

 

[Eric_Strickl]

Now let’s talk about $100.00/foot speaker cable

Just because you can’t hear a difference doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference. People seem to have issues with things that are beyond their perception. The same people also seem to think that everyone has a trained ear.

 

[mark alan]

Just because you can’t hear a difference doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference. People seem to have issues with things that are beyond their perception. The same people also seem to think that everyone has a trained ear.

yea, for my ~100' of speaker cable I have used, I have about $9,950 dollars left in my pocket. That is the only difference between 12 guage wire from Home depot and the overpriced junk being sold to suckers.

 

[RobertR]

Wilson Audio is what came to my mind first, too. If you're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a speaker, the drivers should be the best money can buy, yet they aren't in the case of Wilson.

 

[Edwin_C]

mark, no the difference is intention. the 12 gauge wire that you got from home depot, what is it supposed to be used for? i'm guessing it's general electrical wire. which has no need for signal purity, nor does it need to be able to cope with magnetic fluxuations. the engineering behind the wires has to do with electromagnetism. read up on gauss', ampere's, faraday's law.. and most importantly, mutual inductance. then you'll understand why some speaker wires are more expensive then others.

also - to whoever argued the case of george lucas' using b&w's... one's choice of speakers has nothing to do with the fact that it may be overpriced. a speaker could cost 2 million dollars, but not be that much better then a pair of 5000 speakers.. but that speaker could quite possibly be the best pair of speakers you've ever heard. if you had the money, you would get them. with the money that george lucas has, it's not about being rational.. it's about getting what he thinks is the best.

 

[RobertR]

the 12 gauge wire that you got from home depot, what is it supposed to be used for?

It's sold as speaker wire, and there is no electrical basis for using the exotic "high end" wire instead.

 

[Eric_Strickl]

That is the only difference between 12 gauge wires from Home depot and the overpriced junk being sold to suckers.

Mark your statement only reinforces my point. The only difference you see is price so there must be nothing more to it since you say so. People like you kill me! You seem to think that people have nothing better to do with there money than just blow it on nothingness! I currently do not own super expensive cable (I am using madrigal cable) but I have done some dealer demos and I can honestly tell the difference. I live in an apartment that cost around 550.00 a month and I don’t even own a car. If I honestly could get a good sound out of cable that cost a penny a foot I would buy it because I need all the money I can get! Money has no relevance when it comes to my love for music. To you this may sound silly but to my ears it doesn’t and my ears get what they want. I am an audiophile through and through on the search for the ultimate sound where money or personal suffering are no object.

 

[RobertR]

I can honestly tell the difference.

Can you tell the difference if you don't know which wire is being used?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Let's see, here is a list of bad speaker values:
Polk speaker before the LSi series
Bang & Olufsen
B&W after around $5K. The DM series is a particularly good value.
Klipsch (honky as hell)
Definitive Technology (anything but definitive)
Bose (given)
JBL
Pioneer Elite
Boston Acoustics
Westlake Audio and most other "professional" monitors
AvantGarde horn speakers (I have never heard these sound good even with a $100K of electronics)
I disagree with Paradigm and Thiel since they have great sound and Thiel's are very well constructed. The new line is the first line I have really liked but it is superb.
So as to not be totally negative here...
Speakers that sound great for the money:
Magneplanars (I have these and they are wonderful value but perhaps I am biased )
Paradigm Reference (not real expensive but sound great)
Thiel 1.6
Spendor (just about anything but the new S3/5 is excellent)
Reference 3As (one of the best monitors and a great bargain for the quality)
Monitor Audio Bronze two ways are very nice
NHT speaker line is generally always a great bargain (ST4 is $1K)
PSB Image 5T
Paradigm Monitor 5
JM Lab 906 is a great two-way (the Utopias are very expensive but I can't comment on value since I have not seen the manufacturing process and heard them in my room)

 

[Edwin_C]

It's sold as speaker wire, and there is no electrical basis for using the exotic "high end" wire instead.

run a strong alternating pole magnet next to your cheap speaker wire, then run it next to a more expensive speaker wire.. then tell me that there is no electromagnetical basis. run 20 feet of your speaker wire.. tangled up in a coil, then run 20 feet of high end speaker wire.. tangled up in a coil. then you tell me that the laws of electromagnetism isn't a basis for high end speaker wire.

both of those tests are extremes for the problems that high-end speaker wire tries to reduce. the first test is magnetic flux which occurs everywhere there is electronics.. the second test is mutual inductance.

everything that's more expensive then other things is that way for a reason. all the expensive speaker wires that you say are no different then the cheap wires are more expensive for 1 reason.. signal purity. if you don't understand electromagnetism, don't even bother trying to argue.

 

[RobertR]

both of those tests are extremes for the problems that high-end speaker wire tries to reduce.

And what is the actual change in any audible parameter (frequency response, distortion, noise, etc.) that this makes? What if I don't "tangle up my speaker wire" in a coil?