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Budget speaker selection help

I am trying to set up a second system with some vintage components... Sansui 9090 receiver and a Pioneer PL-10 turntable. The music will mostly be classical and light jazz records at low to moderate listening levels.

Anyway, with a $200-300 budget for speakers, I would appreciate any opinions on experiences with the following...

Axiom M3Ti
Paradigm Atom
Athena AS-B1/AS-B2
Epos ELS-3

I have read all the reviews out there on these speakers, but would appreciate some first hand feedback.

thanks.
jwha

Showing 1 response by rar1

rar1's avatar
rar1
1,815 posts
 
Used the EPOS ESL3 with a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver and felt that they sounded boxy.

In your price range and a real winner with vintage receivers are the NHT SB1 (list $300; Audio Advisor has an open box pair for about $150). The key is that the NHTs are acoustic suspension speakers, which have a more natural sounding bass than ported speakers. I used the NHT SB2 with the Marantz and a Music Hall CD 25 cd player and the sound was excellent.

Be careful of the Axiom's as they have a fairly forward sounding treble. Have heard the same about the Athenas.

Regards, Rich
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