Time to upgrade...need bookshelf speaker recommendations

Eric1285

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
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So my birthday is right around the corner, and I'm going to ask for a nice set of bookshelf speakers. I'm sticking with 2.1 right now, since I'm in a tiny dorm room and 5.1 would serve no purpose. I'll probably upgrade to 3.1 before the end of the school year though. Anyways, here's my current setup:

Onkyo TX-SR501 receiver
Velodyne VX-10 subwoofer
2 JBL home theatre in a box speakers from this set: Link
I'm running 14 gauge copper speaker wire to my mains. Receiver says it puts out 65 watts per channel I believe, but I'm only using 2 channels, so I dunno if that changes.

I'm looking for something in the $150-250 range. To give you an idea of what kind of sound I like, I absolutely LOVE my Grado SR80's. That kind of sound is perfect for me. I listen to a lot of music, mostly Beatles, alternative rock, some punk/ska. I do like to crank it once in a while just to impress my friends, but the subwoofer can pretty much take care of the room shaking. I do appreciate good, tight bass as I sometimes listen to jazz and I like to be able to hear the walking bass lines.

Please recommend me a pair of bookshelves that can be ordered online. It's okay if they're a bit over my price range, because I can more than likely find a good deal on whatever is recommended.
 
For about $100.00 a pair or less you could get a set of BIC America 52sbi. These are really a bargain and compete with speakers that are much more expensive. I have 4 of these, and a BIC 52clr center powered with 3 separate NAD 2600A amplifiers and they sound incredibly good. They take a bit to burn in, and the highs can be a little harsh, but you could have the crossovers modified by Ed Frias of EFE technologies for a small fee, and then they will really blow you away.
 
Hm, I'll look into those two. Anything else? I've heard a lot of people raving about Axiom and such.
 
www.partsexpress.com

the BR-1 kit, $140, add $10 for a shielded one.

Given you have to be capable fo good solder jobs to assemble the crossover and do the crimping, but the cabinets are pre-assembled, and the sound quality is excellent. Good bass response for a bookshelf speaker as well. Bonus is the kit is made with components you can buy separately from their website, so if you have a party or something and fry a tweeter, you can get a new one easily. I think the woofers were $15 or something and the tweeters were about $20....so if you do blow one up, it's not difficult or expensive to get parts for either.
 
mustang_steve said:
www.partsexpress.com

the BR-1 kit, $140, add $10 for a shielded one.

Given you have to be capable fo good solder jobs to assemble the crossover and do the crimping, but the cabinets are pre-assembled, and the sound quality is excellent. Good bass response for a bookshelf speaker as well. Bonus is the kit is made with components you can buy separately from their website, so if you have a party or something and fry a tweeter, you can get a new one easily. I think the woofers were $15 or something and the tweeters were about $20....so if you do blow one up, it's not difficult or expensive to get parts for either.


I'm a terrible solderer. Sounds like a nice idea, but for my first pair of bookshelves I think I'll go for something other than DIY.
 
yeah it's a good idea to hold off if your not good yet, but you should practice.

You can save tons of money by building your own.
 
If you like Grado [aka, fairly bright] check out both Klipsch, and Axiom. Axiom would probably be better bang for the buck. Caveats: I've not heard Axiom before, but have heard on very many occasions that they are brighter speakers. I have heard SR80's and 120's, and my friend has a 5.1 Klipsch setup [I think SF2's and an SC2, but I'm not sure on the center]

www.axiomaudio.com
 
Nice find GMC.

Just so you know, the guy who did the review, Curtis, moderates the Ascend forum :D This isn't to say his opinion isn't valid, but it's worth knowing. Either way, I've never heard any of those speakers besides the center channel RSC200 =] His results seem to tabulate well with what everyone else has to say about them.
 
For that amount of money, I would go with something like the klipsch rb-15 or some sb-1.

Regarding axiom speakers, I owned the Axiom M22ti after reading all the good reviews surrounding it. It was an OK speaker, but not the way it was made out to be. If you're like me and you read reviews stating that they are worth much more than they're priced.... take it with a grain of salt. The axioms are worth whatever they are priced at. No more no less. For example, the M22s are probably as good as 400$ speakers get, but not at twice its price as some reviewers would let you believe. :rolleyes:
 
Nice find! The infinity primus was pretty nice when I auditioned them a while ago. Not bad at all! For 120$, it's a steal! ;)
 
Pinipig523 said:
Nice find! The infinity primus was pretty nice when I auditioned them a while ago. Not bad at all! For 120$, it's a steal! ;)

I'm definitely going to go check these out.
 
Eric,
Tell us how the audition goes. I would like to hear your thoughts on the primus. :)
 
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