Budget(ish) Speakers

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by The_Audiophile, Oct 10, 2019.

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  1. The_Audiophile

    The_Audiophile Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ireland
    Hi Guy's;

    I'm a STUDENT looking to buy a decent pair of speakers (Speaker Cable) for my Hi-Fi Setup. this setup is located in small to mid size bedroom.

    Ill run through the system I have at the moment, The music I listen to and then discuss budget ETC.


    Amp: Pioneer A-300X

    Turn Table: Audio Technica LP120

    Cassette Deck: Yamaha KX-580 Special Edition

    Cd Player: Marantz CD 52 MKII- Special Edition

    Bluetooth Device: Google Audio Cast.

    (Any comments/Constructive Criticism on above equipment are welcome too!)


    As for my Taste in music/What I listen to; I listen to anything but gear more towards Rock/Classic Rock, 80s pop, Movie Soundtracks.

    As a Student my budget isnt wild it would be €150-€200 although if there are FAR BETTER speakers in the €200-€300 I could save for an extra few weeks/months and get them.

    Im happy with new or vintage as long as there working.

    Obviously doing a small bit of research i have come across the Wharfendale 9.1 Diamonds on amazon with Spectacular reviews; however as average Joe soap adam can put his review up there and have it count I didnt want to assume the quality from that.

    Thanks in advance guys.
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  2. Lots to read up on the Andrew Jones Pioneer and Elac speaker offerings. Tremendous value.
     
    Tim S, bhazen, Vignus and 4 others like this.
  3. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Wharfedale do make excellent budget speakers. So it's a good place to start.
     
  4. arcamsono

    arcamsono Senior Member

    Location:
    MN
    I have a pair of 7,or 8 diamonds.
    Very solid .
     
    CrazyCatz and Tawaun A Williams like this.
  5. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    One issue with some of the Wharfedale models is the rear ports. They can't be too close to the wall or you will get boomy bass that drowns out everything. If you need speakers that can be placed close to the wall, consider a brand/model that has a front port or is completely sealed.
     
    skippy and souladdikt like this.
  6. The_Audiophile

    The_Audiophile Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ireland
    So after abit more research; I think I will go try a pair of Elac 6.1 2.0s

    What are people's thoughts on these? :)
     
    Clonesteak and bhazen like this.
  7. Silverwolf

    Silverwolf Occasional Esoteric Freak

    Hi, not heard the Elacs. But I can recommend Q Acoustics 3020i’s. A friend of mine has them, and what they can do for their size is very impressive. They’re £220 at Richer Sounds at the moment, no idea of cost/availability where you are though....

    Strongly recommend going ‘over budget’ if you can just to get some half decent stands for whatever standmount you get - well worth it! Get a ‘fillable’ stand, pop down to a builders merchant or decent DIY and buy a 25kg bag of kiln dried sand, and fill them nearly to the top. You’ll be surprised at the difference in quality.
    And, if you can afford it, get some cables like this: Van Damme 2.5mm Hi-Fi Speaker Cable UP-LCOFC – Terminated | Mark Grant Cables
    They’ll do an upgrade or 2 at least, not sure which diameter cable best for you, I’m assuming this one, but others may have a better idea. I use the 4mm with my Dynaudios, but they are a bigger speaker and need a bit more...
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  8. Jimmy Disco D

    Jimmy Disco D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Shropshire, UK
    True, but the Diamond 9.1s the OP is thinking about are front ported.

    I had a pair for years (still got 'em in the loft) and they were great value.

    I only recently tried them on stands rather than tucked away on a shelf and was amazed how much better they sounded.
     
  9. hbucker

    hbucker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    I've not heard them... but looking at the Elac's you're interested in, those look like they could be a good match for you: good size, good reviews, very inexpensive, should get you where you need to go for now. Someday they can become surround speakers or computer monitors for you.

    In 5 years (or whenever you have more $$ and space) you can upgrade. As your O.P. indicates, you aren't looking for the Holy Grail of anything. Just something that works for you now. That's a good approach for this point in your life. There will be time for Holy Grails down the road. And there will always be something better and just a little more expensive no matter what your budget happens to be.

    Just get what works for you now. Worry about the future when it comes.

    Good luck!
     
    bever70 likes this.
  10. harby

    harby Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    £50 should be spent on speakers, not 3m of the cables you linked. At this price point 200 + cheapest lamp cord is surely better than 150 plus empty promises.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Klipsch-Reference-R-41M-Black-Price/dp/B07GH5XHZK .... plus later a subwoofer.
     
  11. Silverwolf

    Silverwolf Occasional Esoteric Freak

    Or you can buy 6m unterminated on the same site off the reel for less than £20, as you prefer... it’s the ‘best’ speaker cable I’ve used in my system, and I’ve been given far more expensive cable than that to try out. And yes for me it was much better than cheap copper cable which I’ve also tried. It’s not like I’ve recommended top of the range Nordost cables!
     
    CrazyCatz likes this.
  12. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Is there any feasible way to audition some in-person...moreover "in your home"?
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  13. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    The issue I see with the Grant cables is the lack of shielding. I think if you are going to spend any amount of money on speaker cabling beyond lamp cord, you probably want decent shielding. I would never use an unshielded cable.
     
    JohnCarter17 likes this.
  14. Ken Clark

    Ken Clark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago Suburbs
    Elac's are highly rated and I really like my Wharfedale Denton's though they do like some power behind them, but in a small bedroom it's probably not an issue. If your amp had a loudness button it would help at low levels.
     
  15. Echo's Answer

    Echo's Answer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    The Diamond 200 series are bottom ported and work great in a small room. These are now on closeout at many places in the US and you can get a good prices on them.
     
    Tawaun A Williams likes this.
  16. Encore

    Encore Forum Resident

    We have a pair of small Tannoy speakers in our living room system. They are really good. Forgiving, yet very musical.

    EDIT: I compared them to a pair of Wharfedale 225 that I bought for my godson. I preferred the Tannoys. The Wharfedales had a more detailed sound but also more revealing and not as musical. But of course the Wharfedales were completely new, with no break-in, so my experience with them may not be representative. Doesn't change my recommendation of the Tannoys though :)
     
  17. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I have a friend that bought them, his are on stands though.

    I have the 10.2, which are rear ported and I would not recommend them, or most other rear ported speakers, for small rooms where the speakers might need to go on a shelf or up against a ball.
     
  18. draden1

    draden1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Des Moines, IA
    For the price, they sound great! Another bonus for a small room is that they're front ported, this way you can get closer to a wall. Not audiophile by any means, but again for the price they are really fun.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  19. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    That can be an issue with any rear ported brand, though people make too big a deal about it sometimes. You maybe need 2-3 times the port diameter, which might be 4-6" and less if you toe-in the speakers (since the air blasting out of the port will deflect along the wall). And then we come to
    The boominess is not really to do with the port being near the wall, it's more that due to size/physics and to create an illusion of bass, the ports of these small speakers are tuned higher sometimes making a somewhat boomy speaker to being with. Putting the whole speaker closer to the wall exacerbates that. For the total bass response it doesn't matter where the ports are as long as they don't get blocked. Front ports can radiate midrange from inside the enclosure-that, and aesthetics, is why ports are often put on the back.
    Stuffing that sort of speaker (not next to the woofer cone or blocking the inside of the port) can lower the port tuning and help those kind of problems.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  20. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    The 8.1 and 9.1 are front ported and the 220 and 11.1 are bottom ported the 10 series was rear ported tho...
     
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  21. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    I think you should source the cheapest price you can find on the Diamond 11.1 they are far ahead of the older Diamonds and anything else in this pricerange, they are very Very special at there old price and rediculous at their new price. More importantly they scale very very well which means when you get a better frontend they won't be a weak link...
     
  22. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    I would contact this guy and try to get two of the fouyr he's selling, that's a great price for Totem Dreamcatchers.

    https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...am-catcher-4-speakers-shipped-for-575.878389/
     
    Tawaun A Williams likes this.
  23. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    On a tighter Budget I'd get the Wharfedale D320 they are basically a scaled down Diamond 11.1 without the curved and multilayer cabinet but with the same awesome drivers...
     
  24. Tawaun A Williams

    Tawaun A Williams Forum Resident

    bhazen and unclefred like this.
  25. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    They image so well for little guys and have great tone. I just noticed he's in Ireland.
     
    Tawaun A Williams likes this.
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