Speakers for under 350

matteos said:
Those P363s dip at 4ohms plenty of times, I don't think a T-amp will be able to handle them.
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If that's true then you may be right. Tripath is not one of the better performers at low impedance. Distortion likely to be notably higher at 4 ohms than 8 with Tripath. Could even be unstable. Many Class D amplifiers have stability that varies a LOT more than Class AB does over different impedances. Personally I like Hypex UcD. Relatively stable.
 
They do, even dip below 4ohm at around 100hz. The dip at high frequencies is not a big deal, but at low it kind of is
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Wow. Yeah. That is not an 8 ohm speaker. That's EASILY 'bad' enough that it is a '4-8 ohm' speaker. My already-low opinion of Infinity has just gotten a little lower still.
 
Alright guys budget 400 dollars, two speakers (size is no issue) and an amp that will use my sound card as the source.

100dB is plenty loud think small party (around a dozen people)
Used is okay, priority on mid and low bass response (willing to sacrifice the highs if needed)
 
The T amp will get you to 100dB and somewhat beyond with almost any pair of speakers no problem, as long as they are 8 ohm speakers, not 4. Small satellite speakers possibly not, but 95% of 8-ohm bookshelf and tower speakers will definitely do >100dB with it.

Personally I am a Paradigm fan but they are hard (if possible at all) to find online. Go check out the Atom and Mini Monitors at a local dealer if possible, IMO.

PSB Image B4 would be in your budget though they have 4" woofers, not the 5.25" that I usually recommend. The Image B5s are $450 on the same site. While I'm on that price, Dana 630i from The Audio Insider is $450 if I remember correctly, another great option (not really a well known speaker brand but they use Peerless drivers which are great and a well-known brand).

There are a good amount of options for $350-400, and even more (at least from what I am finding, haha) for $400-450 (not saying you need to buy $450 speakers, but the recommendations I keep thinking of and looking up the price for keep coming out to $450, heh)

You may like those Infinity speakers.. just don't use them with the T-amp (of any brand). Use them with a Class AB amp (more traditional, will be larger, though doesn't have to be receiver or pro-audio sized). I still don't like Infinity, but that is a personal preference of mine. You may.
 
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dandragonrage said:
Wow. Yeah. That is not an 8 ohm speaker. That's EASILY 'bad' enough that it is a '4-8 ohm' speaker. My already-low opinion of Infinity has just gotten a little lower still.
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Yeah it's ok to put out a 4ohm speaker, mine are 4ohms, but you can't say they are 8ohms.. That is just shady
 
Sowexly said:
Alright guys budget 400 dollars, two speakers (size is no issue) and an amp that will use my sound card as the source.

100dB is plenty loud think small party (around a dozen people)
Used is okay, priority on mid and low bass response (willing to sacrifice the highs if needed)
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what area do you live, I could have a quick look through craigslist to see if somethings nearby..
 
How about the Pioneer SP-BS41-LR speakers? I picked up an indeed ta2021 t amp a while ago, and sounds nice. But, like others have said if you want it loud, skip the t amp. an audio source amp100 can be had for 60-80 during sales, not a bad amp there either IMO.
 
Thanks for all the info guys I'm gonna wrap up this thread and go with the speakers I was looking at originally, I don't wanna get into stereo gear just yet (can't afford to get addicted).
 
The sp2500s are not good, Well not to me at least and if you get them and play any songs with low bass you will be disappointed.
 
mannyman said:
The sp2500s are not good, Well not to me at least and if you get them and play any songs with low bass you will be disappointed.
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I got a deal going so if I don't like them in the first week the local computer shop will pay me the full price for em.

Might as well try them out :D
 
I guess, I hope you enjoy them.

My biggest problem is that the subwoofer seemed to start unloading pretty hardcore at 50hz and below.
 
We'll see how it goes I don't mind getting them on sale for $200 with a $20 MIR
 
it is up to the op but it is a shame if the going bookshelf and small amp route got made to seem to complex.


having heard the corsair's blah.. (sorry personal opinion...but yuck...I didn't care for them)


my set up (one of them anyways) is a pretty straight forward and inexpensive 2.1 setup consisting of

Polk T15 ($50~ on sale)
Polk PSW10 sub ($89 sale)
SMSL SA-S3 t-amp ($60 shipped -ebay)

now some are likely to dogpile my sub and bookshelf speakers but meh... i am using them because they are compact sized for bookshelf speakers and the sub itself while not a block shaker sounds good with my music and is not too big.

and even those that might be inclined to poo poo my speakers would be hard pressed to deny they will kill that Corsair SP2500 speakers.


if i had room on my desk I would have my Polk monitor 30's instead but I don't.


the main point being modest priced (under $100 on sale polk / Pioneer ...etc) bookshelf speakers + T-amp are going to be much better sounding than the Corsair speakers especially for music and whatnot. Additionally if you reconsider and go T-amp + bookshelf + Sub (optional) if you find a killer deal on a new component later (say you see nicer speakers for very little money) you can swap one piece at at time, whereas with those corsair speakers should you come to decide these are not good or should they fail out of warranty or something not much to do but ditch the lot and start over.
 
I'll give them a week and see how it goes, I'll keep my eyes open either way.
 
Sowexly said:
Eau Claire, WI is the closest to me I could travel further if the deal was fantastic.
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There's not much in your area.. This is a possibility

http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/ele/3581564887.html - $170 it is THX certified so it should be fine with a 4ohm load... - $170

$240 for the Primus speakers will put you a little over your budget at $410, maybe you can negotiate the price on the pioneer... But that should be a killer system.
You could always get the Primus bookshelves to start with, $50 each, then later add the towers.. They're always going on sale.. eventually you can piece together a surround sound system.
 
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I got a desktop tube amp + audioengine a5's

The sound is unreal, price was around $300 for the speakers I think.
 
Guessing that amp ran you a good 100-200 though...
I will see how the Corsairs run around Wed, if I don't like them I'll be back to looking for a setup.
 
I tested the SP2500s and they lack a mid-range once the bass is to the level I want, decent enough for an out of the box setup.
 
my polk 75T's are coming today.....pumped to test them out.

my previous set were Energy CB-20 bookshelves with 6.5 woofers. Very good speaker if you can get a deal on it.
 
Although I did enjoy the sound quality coming from some irk rp6g2s, a pair of swan m50w won out based on convenience and the addition of a sub all whilst keeping a low profile on my desk.
 
Sowexly said:
I tested the SP2500s and they lack a mid-range once the bass is to the level I want, decent enough for an out of the box setup.
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Yeah, because it has two 3 inch drivers for midrange...

SP2500 is crappy, now you know.
 
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