Sub $500 (Pair) bookshelf Speakers for Music

[drewman73]

Marjen,
I have a pair of Def Tech BP8b towers, and they sound great but they can be bright with certain gear. I use separates now for my stereo rig and I have an older Yamaha receiver for surround use. The Yamaha was $2500 new (I got it used of course) and the Def Tech's sounded good but not great with it, but when I listened to them with my separates (approximately $1600 new) they were juuuuust right. Of course, I am not saying you should run out and get separates, but it sounds like your receiver is the weak link in your audio chain. In other words, a nice integrated could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

 

[TEA FOR ONE]

I recently swapped my Def tech sm350's from my HT,to my 2 channel set up. I placed my PSB B4's in the rear ch.HT. The 350's are being driven by an Adcom 555II. I am super impressed with the sound. They have handled anything I throw at them,and they don't skip a beat. To my ears they are non fatiguing,and image very well. I'm thinking of keeping them for shared 2 channel duties with my EPI 180's.:thmbsp:

 

[Chensel3]

Polk Monitor 40 II, Polk PSW 111 Subwoofer, I love this in my office..... ($500 fot the setup).

 

[matteos]

Kef q100

 

[marjen]

I suppose the receiver could be the weak link but not sure. Tried it with my emotiva lmc-1 although it was connected to an icon amp and it was ok, but on most rock I tried sounded really rough, distorted at times, and this is with low to modest volume. Same recordings through receiver and headphones sounds great.

I might return the speakers and just save up until I can get something much more special. Might try playing around this weekend.

 

[Putterman]

From that frequency graph, I do not see 60-20,000Hz +/- 3dB. It looks like it is down well more than 3dB at 200 Hz where the graph starts. That would not even be good for a surround system. Am I missing something?

Typically frequency response below 200 hz is affected too much by the room be valid. That at least is my take on the graph which that it is arbitrarily cut off at 200 hz. Unmodified the speakers are rated down to 60 hz and all Dennis did was use a different tweeter and modify the crossover to maintain an even frequency response with the new tweeter. More info can be found on this thread http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=113182.0 in the Cheap and Cheerful forum of Audiocircle.

 

[lico]

Well I have had a couple of says to play with the def techs. Right now they are part of the following system:

u-turn audio orbit turntable
emotiva lmc-1 pre/pro
icon desktop amp
squeezebox

I trie a couple different setups with the speakers and so far this one is the best sounding. I do have a pretty powerful pioneer receiver but it does not really perform well for 2 channel.

So far these are a step above the onix x-ls I was using before and the pioneers I tried as well. Not sure about them long term as they seem to be a little TOO bright. I wanted something with more clarity in the upper mids and highs and these have that, but with some recordings they are a little to abrasive. Maybe they will calm down a little as they break in (of that phenomenon is real). I got them from amazon so probably have at least 30 days to give them a swing and see how i feel then.

I am also considering mating them with a yamaha A-S500 integrated amp. The emotiva does not have a headphone jack and I like to use headphones sometimes so that is a bit of a problem. I hear great things about it and I believe yamaha strays a little more on the warm side so they might get along great.

IMO the A-S500 won't change things too much, since that Pioneer receiver is no weak link. I base that on my VSX-1015, it's older than the 1018, but a very good amp even though it's an AVR, doesn't mean it should sound bad in 2 channel. Double check you are running in direct mode (no MCACC) with it first.

In any case, changing the amp isn't going to warm things up for you if you don't like the sound so far - it's either the source or the speakers (in your room). I'd try different speakers (since you can for free) instead of spending even more money on buying a new amp to justify the great deal on speakers you found on sale

Take what I say with a grain of salt though since I've never heard the Def Techs.

I'd still give the JBL 530s or some Monitor Audios a shot, the JBLs in particular if you don't like a bright sound and rock and roll. They are very good.

 

[marjen]

Ok so after about 3 weeks with the Def Techs I think they are going back. There is not a lot of clarity in the sound. I think they are a little too exaggerated on the highs. I want something with clarity in the mids but not too bright.

Just to shake it up, I brought up my Rocket RS 760s from the theater. They sound pretty impressive with music, but a little too laid back. Plus using them going forward would require me to redo the theater. Soooooo back to the drawing board.

I am think maybe look at Chane? Or Ascend? Would stretch the budget a bit if it would make a big difference.