Used Speakers. Best bang for the buck <$200

Piecing together am analog system for my dad from random leftovers I have laying around the house. System will be in a small bedroom. 10x10. I picked up a pair of mint JBL HP8B however I feel that they may be a little overwhelming for such a small room. Have not tried them out but they look a little large and out of place in the room.

System:
Amplifier: Scott 222c
Phono stage: Clear audio Nano V2. Onboard phono stage is noisy
Turntable: Thorens TD160 Shure V15 Type 5 with Jico/SAS

Speaker qualifications:
Over 90db sensitive
Towers to save on stand cost and footprint size.
Abundantly available (not looking for that hens teeth, once in a life time score) with a local craigslist search or cheap enough new on Amazon

 

Vandersteen 1B might be had for that price.

 

If it was me (and hopefully will be soon!), I'd go with the ELAC B6 Debut Series 6.5" Bookshelf Speakers by Andrew Jones, which are a little more ($279 for the pair), but from all I've read, it sounds worth the extra money. YMMV.

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B014GSEQ06/

(And if you use the smile.amazon.com link rather than just amazon.com, some of the purchase will go to benefit a non-profit agency like the wounded warrior project or whatever you choose from a list.)

 

Q Acoustics 2010is or 2020is would do nicely.

These have recently been discontinued and you might even get a new pair at the right price.

Beautifully voiced mid-range, and the bass is nice and solid when given a little wall reinforcement.

 

RHB, Elacs, Chane, Wharfdale etc. A ton of GREAT speakers for just a little cash...

...it's a great time to listen to music!

 

The Music Hall Marimbas, originally $350 a pair, they can now be had for $179 (best price I know of):
http://hifiheaven.net/shop/Music-ha...currency=USD&gclid=CKyFr72W6soCFQiUaQodyxUFQA
(*I bought mine from this vendor)

I've owned them for nearly two years and am planning on buying another pair for when I work on location. They excell at vocals in particular, and offer a nice wide soundstage belying their small size. The bass is quite good, I"ve used them both alone and now with the addition of a used M&K 125v subwoofer which compliments it beautifully (and only cost me $150 on EBay).

Here's a review:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/music-hall-marimba-loudspeaker#G5SMf8g2xLRevzkY.97

 

You could probably go down to 86db with a room that size. I'm running a pair of NHT SuperOnes with a Scott 299 in a slightly larger room and still have plenty of volume. The Marimbas are a good choice as well, although I have a preference for the NHT's.

 

theres a new polk tower that is suppose to be amazing for the price.

 

Try and find a pair of Rogers LS6a speakers. A superb all-rounder. Very natural sounding.

 

Used PSB Alpha B1's are an amazing value. A pair of cheap stands and you are on your way.

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/507psb/#me7UjIoP8eqEbk4J.97

 

How about a new pair of the Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers?

 

Here's a pair of Rogers. You wouldn't regret getting a pair of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rogers-LS...0b58d74&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=252277005787

 

Try these http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html. I have a full 5.1 system for my HT and a pair for 2 channel listening with a Yaqin MC-10T integrated and they sound superb.

Happy listening.
Bill

 

The Large Advent Loudspeaker.

 

I run a pair of Dynaco A25s with my Scott 299. They were $15 in great shape at a yard sale, and easy to find for $200 or less on eBay. This makes for a nice, warm, vintage setup.

 

I have bought several nice pair of *used* Polk, Sansui, JBL, Infinity speakers over the years for under $50 a pair.

New speakers? The Pioneer BS22 or the biggest AJ designed ELACs you can afford.

 

ELAC B5
Brand new $229, might be a way to go.

 

Oh my goodness! Did nobody read the part where the OP said

that's spelled
T - O - W - E - R - S
Sheesh!

Why? Because tiny little cabinets make tiny little bass. It's called physics!! A tower uses the space "underneath" and you can get...more bass! From the same space! (well, footprint anyway). And at this budget, stands will eat up a big chunk, what a waste.

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-FS52-LR-Designed-standing-Loudspeaker/dp/B008NCD2S4
a bit more than your budget, but $200 will be really hard unless you get lucky on Craigslist. Stick to Polk or some other good brand. You'd be better off doing a Craigslist search to find anything likely and then start a different thread asking "is this good?!?"

http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Primus-Three-way-Floorstanding-Speaker/dp/B0046A8R3M
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-T50-Tower-Speaker/dp/B013LIN5W2
http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-T652-2-Way-Speaker/dp/B00Q3MG05S
(Dayton Audio is actually from Parts Express)

You could also look at kits on PartsExpress.com
http://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-kits/286?N=19888 4294967118 4294962512&Ne=10166&Nrs=collection()/record[endeca:matches(.,"P_PortalID","1") and endeca:matches(.,"P_Searchable","1")]&PortalID=1
again a bit over your budget but that MTM is probably pretty nice.

Not sure about the sensitivity. I suspect anything at that price range will not be *quite* that sensitive.

 

Thank you for all the input. I would love to hear the new Pioneers. Anyone heard them?

 

"Used" and your imagination will take you a long way. Why don't you spend two hours researching the best-reviewed speakers in history and then what they are selling for used. That's going to be a fabulous time!

 

You got my vote.

 

Paradyme Prestige series 75 F. They are towers with the footprint of a bookshelf and they sound great. Probably more money than is needed here but the space and price/quality ratio is there.

 

Another vote for Paradigm. They made a lot of different towers at different price points. Most were exceptional values, and since there are lots of them around chances are some will pop up on craigslist.

FWIW I have some Paradigm 5se's that sound great for the $50 I paid..

 

I owned a pair of them for about 23 years - they also work well in small rooms.

 

Music Direct has a couple pairs of Wharfedale Diamond 10.1's that were demos for $225. I think these speakers sound amazing, and all the reviews I have seen have great things to say about them.