Speakers that sound like many times their cost (and ones that don't) (1 Viewer)

[RichardH]

Have you ever noticed how common it is to see in speaker reviews (magazine or online) "you'd have to spend at least twice the cost to get similar performance" or "competes with speakers costing up to 3 times the price," etc, etc. ??? I started to wonder if so many speakers perform above their cost, then what are the speakers with lower bang for your buck? Clearly not every brand can perform many times above its cost from a logical standpoint.

First, Bose is off limits; everyone here should know they are the undefeated champions of terrible price/performance. No one else even comes close.

Inevitably, people will be offended if they own a particular brand that someone else says is not so great price/performance wise, so let's keep things civil. That being said, let's hear it! What are some brands you think have average or not so great price/performance?

EDIT: Let's split it up between Internet brands and traditional brands? (DavidGold makes an excellent point). i.e. What are the lesser bang/buck Internet performers? What are the lesser bang/buck traditionally distributed performers?

 

[DavidGold]

I would think that most of those comments refer to brands sold at brick-and-mortar stores being more expensive than internet brands of near equivalent quality. Brands sold in B&M stores have to pay for advertising, marketing expenses, etc. while the internet brands don't, thus cutting out the middleman and passing the savings on to the customer.

 

[Chris Quinn]

I sure see a lot of advertisement on the net for Axiom and Aperion.

 

[mackie]

Man, you can open up a can of worms with this one, but I'll bite. Also need to consider some lines offer more value than others. The B&W 600 series is a good value. While I really like the B&W 800 series, I have to ask if the cost difference between the two are worth it. The Paradigm Studio 20 at $800 is an amazing bargain.

IMO ones I've heard:
B&M Value - Paradigm

B&M good speakers that you get what you pay for - Boston, Energy, B&W, Klipsch, Definitive Technology. I like most speakers I hear and try to pay attention to the things they do right. I just like some more than others...



B&M Overpriced: Vienna Acoustics, JM Labs, Sonos Faber, Monitor Audio Gold

Internet direct brands.

Speakers:
I've only heard the ones I won which are the Swan 4.1s. While they are worth what you pay for them, I don't feel they are that great a bargain.

Equipment: Outlaw - great value!



Some of the big guys can offset each unit's cost based on the scale of manufacturing. They sale more, produce more, ship more which brings the unit cost down. It is true with some of the smaller companies, but it's not always as simple as this.

 

[Alan Pummill]

Magnepan 1.6/QR (retail $1725)
(Will out do speakers costing as much as $5,000)

 

[ColinM]

I spent $40 on a pair of large Advents...'70s. Kills anything at twice the price.

Ha Ha.

 

[Alan Pummill]

You mean it beats an $80 a pair speaker?? Must sound wonderful!!

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I'd say used, beats speakers costing twice as much.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

my thoughts exactly!

 

[eddieZEN]

sounds like many times their cost: Ascend Acoustics internet-direct speakers

costs an arm and a leg but easy to see why: Martin Logan Aeon electrostats, $3400 at Tweeter.

costs an arm and a leg but not sure why: Focal 1027 floorstanders, $4000 at Tweeter --- not bad by any means, but couldn't figure out where on earth all that dough was going, besides a cool-looking cabinet design.

 

[RichardH]

Yeah, seems like those speakers with the fanciest cabinets are going to be less performance/dollar. Sonus Faber comes to mind, as someone else has mentioned.

And those mega-buck Krell speakers can't be worth their price from a performance standpoint.

 

[Westly T]

I would think as a general rule, the more high end, the less bang for the buck too. You can get most of the way to near perfection cheap; it's those last few percent that are soo hard to come by. It takes extreme measures and many times the cost to get just a little closer to that unattainable perfection. Well know names are also likely to boost price.