What are the best value for the $ new floor standing speakers below $500?

To the OP, unless I’m seeing it wrong, the Polk RTI A7 are not the same price as the Onkyo speakers. The Onkyos are $300 for the pair. The A7s are $300 each or $600 for the pair. I’d definitely go for the Sonys linked over the Onkyos. Sony has made some awesome speakers, as has Onkyo, but not recently and not released in the US. Obviously the monitor audio and Elacs are good choices too.

Dan
 
Black Friday is coming soon.
What are the best value for the $ new floor standing speakers below $500? They will be in the living room of a rather large house.

I'd add a bit more money and buy Magnepan MMGi's for $650. They come with a 60 day in home trial and represent a bargain in the audiophile world. There really are not good new floor standers available at your price point IMHO.

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMGi
 
Maggies are an interesting thought.
Assuming OP has the space and the blessing of the Mrs to give up the necessary real estate for them to work their best
 
Pretty much every model recommended so far in this price range (below $500 for a pair of speakers) is "good" when you read reviews but still has some serious imperfections - either high frequencies are no good or low frequencies handling is bad or things do not sound well when you turn up volume too high. Except for Onkyo 4800. Nobody said it's a top model, of course, it's pretty cheap, but I have not seen anything negative about it anywhere.
 
I haven't heard any new speakers under $1300 that I thought were any good. By any good I mean that to my ear the speakers are so accurate that you get the illusion of listening to a live performance and get no sense that you are listening to speakers at all. In my opinion if you have a budget of $500 and want speakers like that, you can get them but you have to buy used. For a lot less than $500 you can get DCM Timeframe 700's or 1000's that will blow you away with how good they sound.
 
Pretty much every model recommended so far in this price range (below $500 for a pair of speakers) is "good" when you read reviews but still has some serious imperfections - either high frequencies are no good or low frequencies handling is bad or things do not sound well when you turn up volume too high. Except for Onkyo 4800. Nobody said it's a top model, of course, it's pretty cheap, but I have not seen anything negative about it anywhere.

Well it sounds like you’ve already made your mind up, it seems you’ve had your heart set on the Onkyo set the whole time. Though it does look like the Sonys, JBLs, and the Monitor Audio all out perform the Onkyos in frequency response. The Maggies are also an excellent choice as long as you can fit a subwoofer in the future. I would buy any of those 4 before I’d buy the Onkyo pair.

Dan
 
I haven't heard any new speakers under $1300 that I thought were any good. By any good I mean that to my ear the speakers are so accurate that you get the illusion of listening to a live performance and get no sense that you are listening to speakers at all. In my opinion if you have a budget of $500 and want speakers like that, you can get them but you have to buy used. For a lot less than $500 you can get DCM Timeframe 700's or 1000's that will blow you away with how good they sound.

Right, not sure why you’re turning away used. You could really do well with that budget on the used market.

Dan
 
THAT is the subject of another thread. The OP said new, let's respect that.

It’s not that I don’t respect it. The OP hasn’t given a reason why he wants new, he came here to be driven in the right direction. If someone came to you and said I want to spend $30k on a brand spanking new Ford sedan, it would be a shame if someone didn’t point out the $30k Lexus that’s better in every single way with only 6000 miles on it.

OP, just throwing this out there, but in your area on CL there is a pair of Vandersteen model 3s and a much newer pair of JBL studio 590s. The JBLs are fairly recent and are supposed to be awesome. You could get each pair at $500 with some talking and either would squash the Onkyo.

If you absolutely only will look at new then my opinion of what has been suggested thus far is a few posts up.

Dan
 
The OP has no reason to justify his request for "new speakers". You should honor his request. If you can't do that you shouldn't post to this thread.
 
I am not really set on Onkyo and am trying to be objective. In fact I would prefer JBL Arena 180 to Onkyo because I already have a very positive JBL bookshelf speakers ownership experience. Should I care for $250 difference? Probably not. Polk has plenty of sales and models are very good looking but reviews of their products at that price level are not that great. I couldn't put any Polk model on my shopping list. Is a low end model of Klipsch worth considering?
 
In honor of the thread - cops working overtime, visit a Best Buy as they have decent return policy on new speakers - such as the well reviewed Sony Cores.
 
I am not really set on Onkyo and am trying to be objective. In fact I would prefer JBL Arena 180 to Onkyo because I already have a very positive JBL bookshelf speakers ownership experience. Should I care for $250 difference? Probably not. Polk has plenty of sales and models are very good looking but reviews of their products at that price level are not that great. I couldn't put any Polk model on my shopping list. Is a low end model of Klipsch worth considering?
Most speaker companies low end products are just that...low end. Don't expect great sound from the low end of the spectrum. There are some fabulous exceptions though. I see that Wharfedale Diamond 225's are much better than the price ($449pair) might indicate but they are standmount speakers and would need subwoofer help to give you what you want. Check out - Musicdirect.com
 
I am not really set on Onkyo and am trying to be objective. In fact I would prefer JBL Arena 180 to Onkyo because I already have a very positive JBL bookshelf speakers ownership experience. Should I care for $250 difference? Probably not. Polk has plenty of sales and models are very good looking but reviews of their products at that price level are not that great. I couldn't put any Polk model on my shopping list. Is a low end model of Klipsch worth considering?
The JBL Arena F27 are the same as the 180 -- the difference being in the outer grill design -- price each
https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Arena-F2...pID=31tWDV0sFDL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I have not listened to the Onkyo 4800 towers -- however, I have not listened to an Onkyo speaker that I like yet -- when you cut through the surface you will find in the reviews that they are lacking in detail and definition, and that is what I pick up from the other Onkyos that I have listened to.

I have owned the Arena bookshelf speakers and they are decent/nice for the price -- however the Sony Core is better in the detail and definition department. All in all it is your call, as no one can speak for your ears.
 
A little over budget at $710 but I've heard good things about the Tekton Mini-Lores. Cool thing is that they play well with tubes.
 
I do have a subwoofer but Wharfedale Diamond 225 look more like bookshelf speakers, at least in shape.
They're stand mount speakers, I said that. They are not designed to perform as a "bookshelf" speaker, there is a difference. :)
 
OK...Prices are getting interesting. Best Buy has a plastic SONY Core on sale for $99.99 a piece now which is less than a wooden JBL Arena 180 or it's cheaper equivalent. Price difference is still negligible but the question remains - SONY or JBL ? Which one sounds better?
 
They are the typical fake-wood construction veneered in Black Ash, hand-culled from the dense Black Ash vinyl forests of China.

BestBuy has a decent return policy, you can at least try the Cores - never read a bad word about them for the price.
 
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