Advice on Budget Speakers; Best bang for the buck? (1 Viewer)

[Shane]

Would like your guys help on some cheap speakers. really prefer floor or tower speakers....The wife went to circuit City and got me 2 Pioneer tower speakers for Christmas. Music sounds real good for the price of these, but DVD 5.1 DD and DTS seems to be lacking. They were only 100 dollars a piece and I realize I am not going to get a 1000 dollar speaker for 100 dollars, but thought you guys might be able to point me in the right direction.........A list of review websites and websites that I can purchase from would be great...........Thanks in advance!

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I have the JBL NSP1 set and I really like it. You can find it on the web for between $250 and $300. The set consists of two pairs of model N24 speakers and one N-Center speaker.

 

[Shane]

I will check out the JBL's....I am on the bestbuy.com site right now looking at some Yamaha's. Model #NS-A100XT

Anyone know anything about Yamaha speakers? They have sounded pretty decent when I have listened to them at the store in the past but it's been a while....

 

[Mark Austin]

The first thing is get rid of the love of towers, for now. For like dollars you will get more speaker for your given dollar by going with a bookshleves. The options are limitless. Paradigm, Phase Tech, PSB, Home Theater Direct, etc..

Personally, I don't think towers come into play until you are at the $1500+/pr. price range. JMO.

 

[Dan Hine]

Shane,
I would keep an eye open at Circuit City for any open box speakers. I had some polk RT600i's and was able to upgrade to the 1000i's for $47 as they were lowered to $317 each. And you can have the hired help hook them up for you and listen to them all day to make sure they work. I know that still might be a little high (I'm not sure what your budget is) but with CC's upgrade policy it would not be unlikely that someone would trade in some Polk or Infinity bookshelves allowing you to get a killer deal. Just a thought... Best of luck.
Dan Hine

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Yamaha is known for electronics, not speakers. stay away!

i agree with JBL and Polk. both are excellent 'bang-for-buck' speakers.

 

[Philip J]

I agree with Mark. You should look at a decent set of bookshelf speakers. The Paradigm Titans are a good recommendation.

IMHO, you will want to stay away from Japanese speakers in general. They make great electronics, but their speakers are usually overpriced and marketed for people who want to be brand loyal.

 

[Dustin B]

If you have access to some tools, seriously consider DIY.
http://www.speakerpage.com/K08T21.htm
This kit can be had with assembled crossovers, a nice cloth sock to make finishing easier and a pre-cut baffel for $235. Add to that some MDF (which is cheap) for the rest of the box and a couple small pieces of hard wood for a base and top and you'll have an excellent looking speaker that will compete with $1000+ commercial towers.
If you can assemble the crossover yourself knock $15 off that, if you can cut the front baffel yourself knock another $15 off, and if you can make the sock yourself knock another $25 off.
Bottom line, is even if you buy all the options, you should be able to finish the speakers for $260-$300.

 

[Jeff Sch.]

Go grab 2 JBL N38 ($150 each) floor speakers from JandR.com Right now they have free shipping on JBL stuff
Believe me if your on a budget these sound really nice and dont empty your wallet either
Review here
http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/S...ct_45706.shtml

 

[ScottK]

I give a vote for the Paradigm Titans. They are about $100 each and sound great. You can always add a sub and more speakers later on for the full effect. You have to goto an authorized dealer to get them, but any speaker is worth a listen before you buy anyways!

 

[DonnyD]

As everyone is pointing out,there's some pretty good options in speakers that will surprise you with their sound. The JBL N series are certainly worth a look as some have said and I will attest to that. I have a set of N26 for rears and last year bought a whole set of the highly acclaimed Monitor Audio 5i,3i,center and sub.... even after break in, they simply did not touch my old system. That surprised the heck outta me since I was spending a WHOLE lot more money......Several of us were listening as we a/b'ed several options. The N series are apparently very efficient.... they were much louder at a given volume.

I've also tried other brands but still have the N26 as rears, L100 as mains, and an S center.

 

[Mike Burke]

I would strongly recommend checking out Cambridge Soundworks at www.hifi.com I have owned them for 7 years and they are excellent performers in their price range! They offer a 10yr warranty and have a 45 day in home trial period!
Michael

 

[Rich G]

It is going to be tough in that price range. I agree to stay away from electronic mfgs speakers. You may want to consider a subwoofer. This should help a lot for HT. Think of this: a floor stander is more expensive to make and ship vs. a book shelf. So if you spend $200 on a bookshelf you are likely to get better drivers etc. If you have a sub in the mix the lows will be handled by the sub. This leaves the mids and highs for the main speakers which any listed bookshelf should be able to handle.

 

[John Fishburn]

Read this I havent tried the mod on my f600h yet but i will soon.
http://www.epinions.com/content_16233827972
I think these are definately bang for the buck speakers. I have the newer f600h model with the 2 8" woofers.

 

[Bert D]

JBL NSP1 set and a Sony Wm40 sub. Should be do able for $400 total. IMHO , for new stuff , you can not do better.

If you want towers, JBL S310's for $400 or so on the net, the Sony woofer,@$150 or so, and JBL S26's and S center for around $ 350. for a total of $900. IMHO

 

[Ryan_K]

HomeTheaterDirect Level 3 speakers. I have their mains and their sub and they sound GREAT for their price. I love them and everyone that hears them loves them. I'm not sure if you'll find anything better in the price range.
www.hometheaterdirect.com

 

[DanielKim]

I know a guy that can get you NHT SuperOne's for $199. Go to www.audioreview.com and check out some reviews done on these speakers.
Dan

 

[Phil Iturralde]

I 2nd Todd Terwilliger & Bert D NSP1 recommendation (pair of N24's for a music-only application), though adding a powered sub will cover the entire sound spectrum found in music CDs & DVDs.
I own the NSP1s and for CD music listening, I just use the Front R&L speakers w/pwr'd sub. Most friends that come over are always amazed on the clarity and dynamics that these speakers offer!!! Brent Butterworth wrote about the JBL N24 for the now defunct eTown (now with Dolby Labs)

. . .

For more JBL NSP1 (& other JBL Speakers) INFO, see my website Why you should add JBL N & S Series to your audition list!
Phil

 

[James Miller]

All,

I have a set of Vandersteen Model 2 "tower" speakers for my two channel listening. (over a decade old) As I am looking to upgrade to DD/DTS I am looking for opinions on what speakers will match best with the Vandersteens. (I don't want the Vandersteen center channel because it is basically subwoofer box size)... I want Center and Rears in bookshelf or even mini size... Cambridge SW, Polk, JBL, Paradigm? Thanks for your help!

 

[mctague]

Hey James,

Have you seen the Vandy centers in person? While I'll agree they may look subwoofer-ish on the internet, I think thats more of a function of its squarish proportions. My Dad got the center when he got his 2CEs back in the pro-logic days, and big they are not. Their website reports 12 1/8" wide, 9 1/4" high, 10 1/8" deep. That box is alot more subtle than my JMLab center, thats for sure.

ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, just spotted a new VCC-5 on their website. That what your talking about? I think my Dad has the VCC-1.

BTW, he's got PSB alphas for the rears........