I am in the midst of putting together a nice little stereo system for a friend who loves music but doesn't have the discretionary income to afford anything.
She doesn't want large speakers, so I was going to use a pair of Boston A60s that I recently got in trade for some repair work...new foams, recapped, good condition. I have an extra set of stands that are perfect for them.
Anyway, last weekend I saw a listing on CL for a pair of Boston CR75s nearby, for $30. I was going to be in their part of town later that day anyway, so I called and arranged to pick them up. I thought if they were ok-sounding, I might keep the A60s and give the CR75s to my friend instead.
Brought them home and hooked them up in one of my secondary systems. Wow...for little boxes, they sound almost shockingly good. I'm sure my enthusiasm is based to some extent on the price/performance ratio, but still, they are quite nice. Detailed at the high end, nice midrange, and they do a good job at giving the impression of a solid low end. They are ported, but not overly boomy unless you start pushing them to the edge of their capabilities.
These are not concert-volume speakers, but in a smaller living room (like at my friend's house), they would probably satisfy many folks.
I think these were marketed for use as rear channel speakers in a home theater system. I'm usually pretty dismissive of speakers marketed as good for the rear channel, assuming that this means they are not suitable as a primary pair of speakers. Glad I didn't know that before I bought them!
I really like them. They are now connected to my trusty Marantz 1060 in my workshop, playing some Dylan. Very nice! I suspect I will end up keeping these and let my friend have the A60s.
While not nearly in the class of my better gear, both these speakers remind me how how little you need to spend to get a set of speakers that you can enjoy listening to, and that you could live with for a long time if you had to.
I know that lots of folks think well of the Boston A40, A60 and A70 (heck, of the whole A series), me included. There is plenty of info and love for that series, and even for the earlier CR and HD bookshelf speakers, out on the interweb.
However, there is next to nothing about the CR75 and its big brother the CR85. I think there were some even smaller versions as well. Perhaps by the time they came out, Boston's status as a speaker company had declined quite a bit.
Anyway, just wanted to put this out there..if you see a pair at a good price, I think you might be as surprised as I am by them.
She doesn't want large speakers, so I was going to use a pair of Boston A60s that I recently got in trade for some repair work...new foams, recapped, good condition. I have an extra set of stands that are perfect for them.
Anyway, last weekend I saw a listing on CL for a pair of Boston CR75s nearby, for $30. I was going to be in their part of town later that day anyway, so I called and arranged to pick them up. I thought if they were ok-sounding, I might keep the A60s and give the CR75s to my friend instead.
Brought them home and hooked them up in one of my secondary systems. Wow...for little boxes, they sound almost shockingly good. I'm sure my enthusiasm is based to some extent on the price/performance ratio, but still, they are quite nice. Detailed at the high end, nice midrange, and they do a good job at giving the impression of a solid low end. They are ported, but not overly boomy unless you start pushing them to the edge of their capabilities.
These are not concert-volume speakers, but in a smaller living room (like at my friend's house), they would probably satisfy many folks.
I think these were marketed for use as rear channel speakers in a home theater system. I'm usually pretty dismissive of speakers marketed as good for the rear channel, assuming that this means they are not suitable as a primary pair of speakers. Glad I didn't know that before I bought them!
I really like them. They are now connected to my trusty Marantz 1060 in my workshop, playing some Dylan. Very nice! I suspect I will end up keeping these and let my friend have the A60s.
While not nearly in the class of my better gear, both these speakers remind me how how little you need to spend to get a set of speakers that you can enjoy listening to, and that you could live with for a long time if you had to.
I know that lots of folks think well of the Boston A40, A60 and A70 (heck, of the whole A series), me included. There is plenty of info and love for that series, and even for the earlier CR and HD bookshelf speakers, out on the interweb.
However, there is next to nothing about the CR75 and its big brother the CR85. I think there were some even smaller versions as well. Perhaps by the time they came out, Boston's status as a speaker company had declined quite a bit.
Anyway, just wanted to put this out there..if you see a pair at a good price, I think you might be as surprised as I am by them.
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