Acoustic Research AR 7 was the smallest, cheapest, and most amazing speaker that they ever made. I had them on top of a roomates out of commision much bigger Altec Lansing speakers. Everyone would always think the larger set was playing. Only when I would convince people to walk up to the speakers, would they realize that the AR's, and not the Altecs, were playing. Amazing sound from a 6" woofer and a 1" tweeter. I wish I still had them |
ADS l710 to me were better than a pair of LSA statements. |
|
The JBL-L7 speakers from 1992, just take the stock Bi-amp plate off and insert some quality Bi-amp speaker cable jumpers, It is a Huge difference in sound quality jump, everything possible is much,much, better, or run extra speaker cables for bi-amping,The stock plate is terrible for sound!, cheers. |
I'd have to say I will never part with my Snell Type J speakers I found on Craigslist for 150.00. |
Although a budget mass consumer product in the early 90s...Jbl j830m seems like a dinosaur in today's mini monitor world..large, three way standmount with 8" driver=real clean bass(ruler flat)...surprising open but slightly forward midrange...these compare favourably to my Snell type J standmounts...seems like there is a common thread as several votes for 90s era jbl for budget seekers... |
KLH-17 ,Henry Kloss at his best.Dynaco A-25 a close second |
Anybody familiar with JBL 830/940T series from late 80s?... |
Older OHm Walsh models can be had for teh price of many "cheap" speakers but are good all around performers capable of delivering very big sound to compete with most anything with the right amplification. |
Also..B&w 610 or older 6xx series from 90s..these are kind of old school 2-way 8 inch models...large by today's standards...but I always have like the full sound/scale of this design...they do require stands...and are unbeatable on the used market
.. |
I 2nd the Sound Dynamics 300ti. A great speaker if one could find a pair. I regret selling mine. |
Floorstanders: JBL L-100T or L-80T, ADS L710,L810, L1090 or L-1290. Best "big sound" for the $. Spica TC-50 or 60, Tyr Rauna or AAD Silver for standmounts. |
the pioneer BS22's and cambridge audio S30's (discontinued) are silly good for the money. both around $100 a pair or so |
I have two of them- 1981 ish Polk 10A I bought for 200$ in 2010, and 1998 Vandy 2CE for 600, with stands, in 2012. The Polks are used all-purpose, TV, Theatre, and 2/5.1 channel. Love the new 5.1 remixes of King Crimson played on a 99$ blu-ray.. But the Vandys are 2 channel only, in a 12x12 room, hooked up to a big parasound amp and a Rotel pre. Imaging and lushness for days, but some definite bass overloading. Saving for a bigger house, or a house with a yard big enough for me to build a listening room. |
If you have a good ear and a prepro with a lot of eq band options. Cant beat Klipsch klf 30 with crites titanium tweeter upgrade for 800. Magnepan 1.6's might sound a bit better with a sub, but for full range, and all they do, cant beat them until you go up to 2k used range IMO. Sadly most wont be able to eq them to reach their potential(add weight to upper bass, lower mids). As a sound engineer it suprising so many dont understand eq is key to maximising your speakers tonal sound. |
I third the Sound Dynamics 300ti. Regret selling them. I bought them for the close-out price of around $250 circa 1995-1996, if memory is correct. They sounded really good across the board and the bass went cleanly down to approximately 34hz. Probably cost about $2,500 today with a nice wood veneer and couple of tweaks, perhaps more. |
|
Any ELAC; Any Q acoustics
- Own ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 - for about $500 these are super speakers (although need a bit of amp to run them well)
- Own Q3050 for use by my wife in her office - they also sound super
And yes, we have a rather good (Revel Ultima Salon 2) running and the above do well despite the comparision. Also, yes I do understand the Revel's are not the ultimate in staging and macrodynamics, but they are good for purpose and room we have. |
