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Which “inexpensive” speakers were you blown away by?

Other additions I forgot to mention. Mint KLH 5’s for $225. Sounded ok…. Until recapped. Then Wowzer!!
Boston Acoustic T830. They were advertised for $20. Such nice condition that I gave the guy $40. Refoamed the woofers for $25 and totally impressed. I’m now looking for more BA’s. Maybe 150’s or 400’s. I’ve heard they’re very nice.
 
34dean said:
I understand the word “inexpensive” is very subjective so please feel free to include your own $$$ number when replying with your speaker choice.
I recently picked up a pair of ADS L8e monitors in pristine shape and they sound fantastic!

What was your “Wow!” moment speakers?
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Klh 3 way 8” woofers Best Buy was promoting them for $20 a pair in 2003 ! Bought a set for me and a set for my brother both sets still sound great ! I believe the normal price back then was $99 !
 
Pocked up a set of esm3’s at the thrift store with crumbled foams but otherwise looked ok. Missing one “badge on a grill and that was about it.

Re-foamed them with their “special shaped tapered” foams and hooked them up to my main system.

They sounded….meh. Not bad sound but nothing overly special. Seemed very “boomy”, which I was accounting to the large port below the woofer. Just didn’t seem like my kind of driver.

So I moved them up to the loft where I do some of my hobby stuff, connected them to the pioneer sx680 I keep there and……

Wow. These can’t be the same speakers…can they?

Detail, image, bass, soundstage…wonderful sound. From “bookcase” speakers. Easily a match for my ar4x’s and thats saying something.

Seems like they just needed a larger room to get their elbows up and swing.

They’re keepers.
 
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€239 a pop for these "the box PA 252 ECO MKII" PA speakers (double 15" woofer/1" compression {at throat exit} driver) new is a ridiculous price considering size, weight and cost of materials + manufacture. And imagine the price of these used..
But what can be achieved with decent DCP correction before amplification (A DBX unit that admittedly costs €483) blew my mind recently.
I much preferred listening to nails scratch across a chalkboard than to bottom of the line PA speakers in the past, but this sounded coherent and actually enjoyable.

I have zero need for massive units like these speakers are, but how they sounded kind of makes me want to experiment with them.
And more than anything get into DSP correction/crossovers.

The-box-252-eco-mkII-2.jpg
 
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Years ago I'd sold my speakers and was looking for a cheap stop-gap. Was in a catalogue shop getting something else. They had dabbled in selling hi-fi separates but had decided to discontinue and were selling off what was left cheap. They had these Wharfedale CRS3 reduced from £120 to £60 so I bought them:



Not expecting much for the money but couldn't believe how good they were. No real bass as they were tiny, I think one of the reasons they were so good is they didn't really attempt to do any proper bass. But you could hear the rivets on the cymbals (or at least that was the impression).

Had a pal staying with me while he was at college. He was used to a fairly constant stream of equipment coming and going. He sat down for a listen and after a bit says to me 'What are these? They're bloody brilliant!' He didn't believe where I got them from or how much I paid, had to show him the receipt.
 
I have had two pairs of Rectilinear III Highboys, each pair was picked up for $100. Should have kept the second pair as they looked new after refinishing. The imaging was quite nice. New caps, cloth, and Tung oil.
 

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Until shortly I always felt the infinity kappa 5..1 was the red headed stepchild in that series. The 8.1 is a phenomenal speaker. And I used the 5.1 for YEARS as my rear channels..

By faith, I had to switch out my speakers in my secondary (tube) set up for the 5.1 which was supposed to be a temporary switch. Until I got my speakers restored that were on it.

Long story short, the 5.1 absolutely destroyed the speaker that was there in its place. It since then became one of the best matched systems I probably ever done.

It was a bob ross moment "a happy accident"
S. Pupp said:
For under $400 - hearing my new-to-me Celestion SL6S speakers for the first time, I was surprised to hear myself shouting at them above the music: “HOW THE %#*^ ARE YOU DOING THIS??!!!!” The imaging was on par with my Apogee Centaurus Slant 6, and the bass was MUCH better defined, if not quite as deep. It made no sense to me that such incredible sound was coming from these two compact boxes. They don’t go as loud as the Apogees, but they are damned good speakers for the $350 I spent.

For under $50: Celestion Little 1, used as computer speakers. Great little satellite speakers, these are. They put the Minimus 7 they replaced to shame.
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Its simple.....

Circumstances, your ears don't care about what you paid for a speaker or component. If something meshes really well. You get synergy, right room acoustics , better fitting sonically qualities with said room. Equipment that is on point with what you hang on it

Here you go ...

I had a $899 set of speakers bump my $5000 set of its throne. It was just a way better match with the room and equipment.

Synergy
 
Jakeabean said:
Other additions I forgot to mention. Mint KLH 5’s for $225. Sounded ok…. Until recapped. Then Wowzer!!
Boston Acoustic T830. They were advertised for $20. Such nice condition that I gave the guy $40. Refoamed the woofers for $25 and totally impressed. I’m now looking for more BA’s. Maybe 150’s or 400’s. I’ve heard they’re very nice.
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I actually own their flagship the Lynnfield 500l , Boston acoustics always made decent speakers.
 
Probably the Infinity Reference E-L speakers that I bought in 1992 to replace the overkill for the room JBLs. More detailed, and better for a smaller space.
 
Literally blown away by my JBL LX44 coupled with my McIntosh 504 pre and 754 power amp.
The LX44 were 100€ (same in dollar) and they have a bass to die for. This combo gets more playtime than my main system. I think this is the best bang for the buck you can get used.
But they also sound great with any other amp, just with the macs its brilliant.
 
ohm470k said:
Finally a post that fits the title of this thread
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Yes, but 34 hasn’t concerned himself with this thread in at least a handful of months, maybe almost a year. (34 doesn’t keep us posted as much as other akers do on the changes he makes based on the responses to his questions.)

There is another but, it is a good thread for those wanting to find small/inexpensive speakers. So it keeps going with more additions and it’s all good.

The Bostons were great for apartments where the box needed to be pushed back against the wall. Nephew has A70 and when he lived in Brooklyn with space at a premium, pushed back on the shelf and good tunes.
 
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peterp1 said:
Not sure what you mean -- the vast majority of the posts seem to fit the topic and original post (unexpected sound quality at reasonable prices).
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It seems like many of the speakers posted are hundreds of dollars and already audiophile quality, rather than inexpensive. I guess I'm cheap. Thought I saw a mention of Magnepans at one point. Rectilinear III Highboys are listed. One post on page 2, I think it was, lists $6500 speakers. I know cost is subjective, but I would think that most of us can't afford such things. Idk? Skimming through again I see some Polks and Boston Acoustics. Those I think belong here since to me they are expensive. But Maggies and Highboys? Those are inexpensive and would be expected to blow me away.
 
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ohm470k said:
It seems like many of the speakers posted are hundreds of dollars and already audiophile quality, rather than inexpensive. I guess I'm cheap. Thought I saw a mention of Magnepans at one point. Rectilinear III Highboys are listed. One post on page 2, I think it was, lists $6500 speakers. I know cost is subjective, but I would think that most of us can't afford such things. Idk? Skimming through again I see some Polks and Boston Acoustics. Those I think belong here since to me they are expensive. But Maggies and Highboys? Those are not inexpensive and would be expected to blow me away.
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I think the context though is what those speakers can be bought for today though. There are some speakers mentioned that were very expensive when new, and now are very inexpensive to buy today. Those expensive vintage or older speakers that are cheap to buy today, and also sound good today, are great values. That's most of what I've seen posted.

I guess the other interpretation of the thread is speakers that were inexpensive when new (whenever that was) but sounded better than expected. That's a somewhat academically interesting discussion, but it doesn't have much use for people actually looking to buy speakers (new or used) today.
 
Guy was selling a pair of DCM TW V10s for $100 on FMP. I kept messaging with no answer. He dropped to $80, I kept messaging. He finally responded, and I got a pair of amazing rare speakers that continually blow my mind.
 
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