• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Anyone recommend good value $peakers

Gang-Twanger said:
Wharfedale W60D's and W60E's go cheap on the 'bay quite often. Find a pair, recap them, and give them adequate power from a warmish, tubelike source (or a real tube amp), and they'll put out some serious sound for very-little money (You can stand them upright or place them on their sides... They were designed to do well with both, but side-placement works best IMO, as long as the tweeters are still at eye-level, which means having them raised off the floor quite a bit). I've even seen the big W90's going for as low as $150 (That's a LARGE speaker though). You can also look for the Wharfedale E50 or E70. A more-modern sound, but still very-smooth. All these old Wharfedale models tend to fly under the radar (despite the $40,000 a pair price tag on the modern Airedale Heritage, which is a reissue of the old, early '60's Airedale).

There's also Epi. The M100, M150, and M250 are all worth a try. And someone already mentioned KLH.
Click to expand...

Will take a look see on the web "buy" sites. Thx
 
Wharfdale W - look see

Gang-Twanger said:
To the OP: With a room that large, you might want to consider a larger pair of speakers (I'd love to try my W90's in a room that large... A pair of the ported, 3-way W70's would sound delightful in that room, and they can quite-often be found for $150-$200). There are lots of large sleeper speakers out there that sound incredible despite selling for peanuts on the used market. Budget is always a concern for me, so I've always stuck with the low-flying gear.
Click to expand...

Thanks - gonna look on the bay for these models an research them too.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
To the OP: With a room that large, you might want to consider a larger pair of speakers (I'd love to try my W90's in a room that large... A pair of the ported, 3-way W70's would sound delightful in that room, and they can quite-often be found for $150-$200). There are lots of large sleeper speakers out there that sound incredible despite selling for peanuts on the used market. Budget is always a concern for me, so I've always stuck with the low-flying gear.
Click to expand...

Will check out the "Dales." Thx
 
There is a pair of DCM TF-600's for sale in BarterTown right now.

I own a pair of ADS L570/2 and TF-600's and in a larger room there is no comparison. The ADS's sound like speakers in a room, the TF-600's just disappear in the sound. Bass is much better and staging/imaging is amazing.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 570's and in a smaller space they would be my choice but in a room that size the TF-600 is tough to beat for the price.
 
Last edited:
If you decide on the small advent, just know they are somewhat power hungry and will push your 535 a little.
 
wmgwizard said:
There is a pair of DCM TF-600's for sale in BarterTown right now.

I own a pair of ADS L570/2 and TF-600's and in a larger room there is no comparison. The ADS's sound like speakers in a room, the TF-600's just disappear in the sound. Bass is much better and staging/imaging is amazing.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 570's and in a smaller space they would be my choice but in a room that size the TF-600 is tough to beat for the price.
Click to expand...

I can see that actually. The TF600's seem like some room-fillers for sure, and they can be found quite-cheap. Just a damn-good design, I guess, for the money. So, nobody ever feels the need for a sub with those? I've never owned a pair, but I understand it's lineage and all that. If I were gonna' go with the TF's, I'd probably go with the TF600's first (but that's me).
 
vtskiman said:
Thanks - gonna look on the bay for these models an research them too.
Click to expand...

Check out the URL that's posted below in my signature if you want to see the W90's I have. These are ported and have alnico drivers, as do the (also ported) W70's I mentioned. There are later W70 models (W70C, W70D, and W70E), but these are a different design (Sealed, not ported... Still good speakers though).

I should give you fair warning that I'm talking about some pretty-old speakers. I just happen to really-dig the sound. They're ultra-rich-sounding, extremely-musical, have wonderful bass (especially the upper-bass), outstanding separation and dynamics, and they kick out a soundstage like nobody's business. Plus, they come with these...
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/super3_files/Super3-1.jpg

But like I said, they're big and they're heavy (115lbs each, according to the specs I read... Need two people to carry them). I was able to fit ONE of them into the rear hatch of a 2007 Mini Cooper S (Had to make two trips). The W70 is the better-looking of the two models (IMO), but the W90 is the better performer (The W90 was their TOTL model at the time... It was introduced around the same time they stopped making the TOTL Airedale). But the W70 is also an excellent speaker. There's a fellow AK'er who has the W70's as well as the Bozak 302a's, and for what it's worth, he likes them both equally. The woofers on the W70 and W90 have cloth surrounds, which usually holds up well over a long period of time (Like I said, the drivers on mine are all original). Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads-up on all that so you know what you're getting into.

Here's mine in case you want to see them...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49yUX-f-S1g
 
Last edited:
A room 25 x 20 is pretty big and you may find that regular speakers are not satisfying at your listening position.

You should consider getting an SPL meter like this one http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...tm_content=Exact&utm_campaign=PLA&cagpspn=pla
and making sure you can get about 90 db at your seat without clipping on your amp.

Unless your room is really full and has some kind of wall coverings, you may want to hang some acoustic panels and/or quilts to control echoes and reverb.
 
personally before speakers I would look for a better power source. a bottom end reciever is a bottom end receiver. you have a fairly large room and a 20-30 watt reciever that begins to distort whatever speaker you're driving at volume should be a concern
 
If you are concerned about your budget, consider using the highly rated Behringer A500 amplifier. If your receiver does not have pre-outputs you can use a proper adapter. In the past I've used the PAC SNI-35 Adjustable 2-Channel Line Out Converter - it allows you to connect speaker level outputs to your amp inputs with minimal loss of quality. Just make sure to ground it properly to avoid any noise. At this point you should have plenty of headroom.
 
kbott said:
personally before speakers I would look for a better power source. a bottom end reciever is a bottom end receiver. you have a fairly large room and a 20-30 watt reciever that begins to distort whatever speaker you're driving at volume should be a concern
Click to expand...

He's got a point. Speakers are important, but equally-important is the gear you use to drive them. And that doesn't have to cost much either. I've been sticking with large, yet efficient speakers because they don't need much power, plus there are lots of very-well-built, vintage amps and receivers out there that can be had for a song (I paid $55 for my main receiver... Coulda' found one for $40, but this one was in beautiful shape). You just need to know which ones have the kind of voicing you want (flavor, sound-signature, etc.) and which ones are known to be dependable and easy to work on/find parts.

I wish I had a big room like the OP's. My system would sound much-better than it does in the room it's in now (I'd love to have the room to crank my receiver up to 10:00-11:00 on the volume knob... That would really get some air moving). You'd be surprised what 30 to 35 watts can do with some big efficient speakers.
 
wmgwizard said:
There is a pair of DCM TF-600's for sale in BarterTown right now.

I own a pair of ADS L570/2 and TF-600's and in a larger room there is no comparison. The ADS's sound like speakers in a room, the TF-600's just disappear in the sound. Bass is much better and staging/imaging is amazing.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 570's and in a smaller space they would be my choice but in a room that size the TF-600 is tough to beat for the price.
Click to expand...
Never heard of Bartertown. Looked it up, went there, and have no idea where I'd look or find speakers for sale - or barter I guess.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
Check out the URL that's posted below in my signature if you want to see the W90's I have. These are ported and have alnico drivers, as do the (also ported) W70's I mentioned. There are later W70 models (W70C, W70D, and W70E), but these are a different design (Sealed, not ported... Still good speakers though).

I should give you fair warning that I'm talking about some pretty-old speakers. I just happen to really-dig the sound. They're ultra-rich-sounding, extremely-musical, have wonderful bass (especially the upper-bass), outstanding separation and dynamics, and they kick out a soundstage like nobody's business. Plus, they come with these...
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/super3_files/Super3-1.jpg

But like I said, they're big and they're heavy (115lbs each, according to the specs I read... Need two people to carry them). I was able to fit ONE of them into the rear hatch of a 2007 Mini Cooper S (Had to make two trips). The W70 is the better-looking of the two models (IMO), but the W90 is the better performer (The W90 was their TOTL model at the time... It was introduced around the same time they stopped making the TOTL Airedale). But the W70 is also an excellent speaker. There's a fellow AK'er who has the W70's as well as the Bozak 302a's, and for what it's worth, he likes them both equally. The woofers on the W70 and W90 have cloth surrounds, which usually holds up well over a long period of time (Like I said, the drivers on mine are all original). Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads-up on all that so you know what you're getting into.

Here's mine in case you want to see them...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49yUX-f-S1g
Click to expand...
Series size magnets! W90's would be a wee bit too large. Gonna investigate the 70's. Thanks.
 
kbott said:
personally before speakers I would look for a better power source. a bottom end reciever is a bottom end receiver. you have a fairly large room and a 20-30 watt reciever that begins to distort whatever speaker you're driving at volume should be a concern
Click to expand...
Thanks. Down the road, after I clean up the SX-535 and the Marantz 2226B, I have a keen interest in a Marantz 2245.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
He's got a point. Speakers are important, but equally-important is the gear you use to drive them. And that doesn't have to cost much either. I've been sticking with large, yet efficient speakers because they don't need much power, plus there are lots of very-well-built, vintage amps and receivers out there that can be had for a song (I paid $55 for my main receiver... Coulda' found one for $40, but this one was in beautiful shape). You just need to know which ones have the kind of voicing you want (flavor, sound-signature, etc.) and which ones are known to be dependable and easy to work on/find parts.

I wish I had a big room like the OP's. My system would sound much-better than it does in the room it's in now (I'd love to have the room to crank my receiver up to 10:00-11:00 on the volume knob... That would really get some air moving). You'd be surprised what 30 to 35 watts can do with some big efficient speakers.
Click to expand...
I guess that's my main focus now - efficient speakers, reasonably priced with damn good sound. I am far from an audio connoisseur. I do though, and have always have - loved to listen to music EVERY DAY. This savage beast (as the saying goes "Music soothes the savage beast), almost every night of the week - wherever I am - puts on thin-styled headphones and listens to my favorites playlists or Pandora, to mellow out. Others may read, I merely listen....
 
vtskiman said:
Never heard of Bartertown. Looked it up, went there, and have no idea where I'd look or find speakers for sale - or barter I guess.
Click to expand...

Bartertown is a subscriber only forum here on AK. For a $25 annual subscription you get a bunch of perks like increased PM and attachment storage, the ability to delete your own posts/threads, and access to a handful of new forums which include Bartertown. Not to mention you're supporting AK. BT is a place for the AK community to buy, sell, or trade stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom