Bookshelves for <$250

S

Soodey

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
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150
First off, I can probably stretch as high as $300 if needed.

I'm putting together a little 2.1 system. I already picked up a Bic F12 subwoofer and I plan on using this old Sony Stereo Receiver that I currently have hooked up. I figure I can upgrade the receiver/amp down the road if I want, but its good enough for now.

I'm really open to any and all suggestions. Needs to be somewhat reasonably sized as it will be sitting on a desk and preferably pairs well with the sub I already have.
 
I'm looking at the Alpha B1's and they seem to come highly recommended for the price. Is it worth shelling out the extra cash for the new pair? What can I expect with the B-Stock; is it just opened/returned?

Any other recommendations or opinions?
 
@Soodey

B stock usually has some kind of physical imperfection. I have a friend who bought a B stock pair from DMC and we couldnt find a problem with them. Unless you want to spend a lot more money the alphas are your best option
 
Agree with psb. You will need space though. Do not expect to get the most out of them in a neardield setup. At least 3' apart and 4' from your seat. Ideal is 6' apart and 7' away. The sound needs room to develop. Otherwise it will sound compressed.
 
And this is why I love Hardforum. You may come here looking for some 2.1 speakers, but you leave wanting a [H]ard 5.1 dolby digital speaker setup with crystal clarity.
 
sn_85 said:
Emotiva is also running a good deal but these might be a little too big
http://emotiva.com/erm62.shtm
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This is just single speaker though, correct? It's going to be a tad out of my price range to grab two of them :p

I'm probably going to go with the alphas and probably the B-stock. Hey, it's $60 cheaper, why not?
Thanks for all your help, guys.
 
Im saying that the psb audio has to put money into looks, while the behringer is a no nonsense design that goes for as much bang for the buck as possible. Is the psb bad? no, but its nowhere near as much speaker overall as the behringer
 
How about the Klipsch B2's? I couldn't find B2's, but I did order some B3's coming my way. Sounds like your budget is about the same as mine. I got a lot of great insight and advice from my forum thread here.
 
the klipsch synergy series 3 speakers you speak of are nice.they have spot on imaging,and a very clear overall sound.keep in mind horns are very revealing.sobe sure your source is lossless,and feed em clean power.if you do that you will be happy with them.
 
Yamaha NS6490's here and those things are the best bang for your $ you are ever going to get. Acustically sealed and if you sub has a variable high cut filter you can match them up perfectly... I have a set from 1990 and they are still kicking even after 21 years of constant use
 
Those are really cheap drivers and $150 for a pair for a reason.
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
yeah cause paying more money always equals better quality :rolleyes:
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not always a prime example being bose.now after reading a bit about 0055's suggested speakers.they might be really awesome they are a waveguide type tweeter.i know the legendary zilch at audio karma was building some waveguide speakers.that were supposed to be totally awesome.
 
those Yamaha ARE good for the price, but there are better as you move up to $200-$250. 0055s suggestion are really good speakers.
 
Procyon12 said:
those Yamaha ARE good for the price, but there are better as you move up to $200-$250. 0055s suggestion are really good speakers.
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Just the point i was making they are an incredibly great sounding speaker for the price. A BIG plus is that they are acustically sealed and you don't get any of that exagerated/muddy punch at the low end from the "port" as most manufacturers don't actually do a good job with port design especially on their sub $250 speakers (subwoofers excluded as those actually work really well with a properly ported design)


OP, unless you are wanting to really spend $200-250 I would not bother with anything else besides the Yamaha's they are really the best choice below the $200 mark and you can still get them for <$100
 
^ yup. not to mention, they are probably one of very very few sub $150 speakers you can get by without a subwoofer.
 
Theres no measurements so we dont know what their F3 is, its probably not that impressive. Sealed kills a lot of extension in bookshelf speakers. Ports are not evil, behringer designed a studio monitor designed to measure flat, its to give that extra extension. one note boominess comes from a smaller box than required for the parameters creating a +3db (or more) hump at the tuning point.

http://www.zaphaudio.com/blog.html

zaph took a look at the b2031p. theyre solid

if you have a sub theyre even more solid
 
Alright so apparently it's coming down to Behringer B2031P vs. PSB Alpha B1. The B2031's are bigger, but not much so size shouldn't be an issue. I also like that they're cheaper, but if I tried B-stock on the Alphas they would be cheaper still.

The main fault with the B2031Ps is the lowend which is said to be easily fixed with a sub (check). It probably will come down to matter of opinion at this point but are the Behringers the better speaker, at least paired with a sub?
 
One thing to keep in mind is Behringers are cheap copies while PSB has been desigining their own speakers for a long time. Never listened to either but just food for thought.
 
Food for thought, I would go PSB bookshelves route: gives you option to get matching floorstanders like PSB T6 and center channel down the road.
 
Soodey said:
Alright so apparently it's coming down to Behringer B2031P vs. PSB Alpha B1. The B2031's are bigger, but not much so size shouldn't be an issue. I also like that they're cheaper, but if I tried B-stock on the Alphas they would be cheaper still.

The main fault with the B2031Ps is the lowend which is said to be easily fixed with a sub (check). It probably will come down to matter of opinion at this point but are the Behringers the better speaker, at least paired with a sub?
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Yeah the b2031ps are huge, i forgot these are going on a desk. Ive listened to the b2030ps in person and the bass was pretty nice. Thats a 6.75" woofer in a significantly smaller cabinet. those are specced at 75hz, the 8.75" at a full 20hz lower (55hz). Were the b2030p as good as my active krk rp6g2? no. But i have a feeling the 2031p are similar to my rp6. Zaph is saying for the size the bass is a little ho-hum, but considering that ive heard the 6.75" 2030p i can safely say the 2031p should be very good for nearfield bass. Even though the cabinet may not be tuned that low, the size of the woofer means the bass will be present even if you turn it way up, instead of small bookshelf speakers which have great bass UP UNTIL you ask too high of a volume level and they start to bottom out like crazy (microbe XTs do this). One thing to consider is frequency responses dont take into considering compression at high volumes. Turn a small bookshelf up to 105db-110db (in nearfield thats easy) and it no longer extends to its specs... turn a large bookshelf up tuned high and it will have the same f3 as it does at 90db.

heres a very nice rythmik fv15hp

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/...5HP 2 ports/fv15hp2portscompressionsweeps.jpg

check out how it hits its reported specs (f3, or 3 decibels down, at about 16hz), then as you turn it up to hit max spls its bass capabilities recede and suddenly its f3 is at about 23hz, while the rest of the woofer response stays the same. hope this make sense. small ass psb alpha at 80db? reaches down to 65hz (as the specs say). 110db? f3 of maybe 80hz.. maybe. 2031p big ass monitor at 110db? 55hz same as it is at 80db.

D-EJ mind informing us what the behringers monitors are copy of? youre thinking of their power amps which copied crown or qsc amps...

Vexerz got it wrong, matching surrounds dont really matter as long as theyre level matchedwith receivers auto EQ to the fronts (what people forget and thats why their surrounds always stand out,because theyre a different sensitivity on top of being much closer, resulting in sounding twice as loud as the fronts)
 
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0055 said:
Completely different approach to loudspeaker design but theyre really nicely built..

http://audiophilereview.com/afforda...r-the-best-150-desktop-speaker-ever-made.html
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544375712/mirage-omd5-rosewood?SSAID=101512
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For that price I would put Mirage on the short list. Besides the Best Buy Magnolia stores sell them you could probably get a decent listen to them.

The Behringers should be at most guitar centers or pro recording shops.

Go to PSBs site and find alocal dealer.

Then go listen to all three and see which one you think is worth the money
 
I probably will head over to one of the local PSB retailers and try to give everything a listen. Thanks.

Quick question, what's everyone's opinion of the PSB Image B4s. It's the cheapest model in their line above the alphas. I'm a little hesitant because while it has a larger (and I imagine better) tweeter, it's got a smaller woofer and the speaker as a whole is smaller than the alphas. Reviews seem to indicate its a great speaker who's bass is easily fixed with a sub, but I haven't found any direct comparisons between the alphas and the image B4s
 
A decent dealer should have both for you to a/b in a listening room with and without a sub. Unless you hear an obvious difference between the two I would say go with the alphas.

While you are there you might want to listen to the more expensive lines for comparison purposes. The Imagine B is a nice bookshelf but I doubt you will hear that great a difference unless you know what to listen for. Defiantly listen to the Synchrony One B and the tower version. You will hear the difference there just don’t look at the price.
 
If the B2031P are too big, take a look at the B2030P.

Also consider the Infinity P163 and Cambridge S30 in addition to the other quality recommendations you've been getting.
 
Soodey said:
I probably will head over to one of the local PSB retailers and try to give everything a listen. Thanks.

Quick question, what's everyone's opinion of the PSB Image B4s. It's the cheapest model in their line above the alphas. I'm a little hesitant because while it has a larger (and I imagine better) tweeter, it's got a smaller woofer and the speaker as a whole is smaller than the alphas. Reviews seem to indicate its a great speaker who's bass is easily fixed with a sub, but I haven't found any direct comparisons between the alphas and the image B4s
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thats truely your best bet go have a listen for yourself.what sounds good to me may sound terrible to you,and vice versa.
 
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