the big one: how do you choose speakers? By what features, data?

I went down the single driver speaker rabbit hole after living 2 miserable years with a pair of Klipsch RP600M. Sometimes knowing what you absolutely hate can steer you in a direction. I just don’t want my speakers to sound like the singer is behind a door. The speakers I bought have almost no reviews and nobody cares. I bought them on a whim from a Google ad. 
 

… And I’m pretty darn happy with my decision! I guess I’m just a crazy person screaming in a well. Everyone else is probably going for the Buchardt S400 in that price. 

@grislybutter Closer Acoustics OGY. I love them

@needfreestuff You described the OGY. Really. The midrange is crystal because you have a world class single driver without a crossover to muck things up. The bass is so tight thanks to the transmission line. The cabinet is solid plywood. No MDF. There’s 0 port farting. It’s fast. Sensitivity is 91db. I don’t know how I would describe the highs. The speaker is so transparent.

@grislybutter Over on the local classfields. If it ain’t Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer, Focal, Cabasse or JBL people don’t care or want it. 

These Revival Audio speakers from Daniel Emonts look slick! I'm guessing that they give KEF, Focal and Dynaudio a run for their money. You can tell that the design and craftsmanship are considerate. The prices are very reasonable too.

However, you're paying full MSRP.

Yesterday I bought a Creek 4240 integrated amp for only 130€. I say this because the seller was also putting up a pair of Castle bookshelf speakers in excellent condition with wooden stands for sale around 250€. Castle is a very reputable British speaker brand. So you have a solid amp + speaker combo for under 500€. The equivalent new would be 3000€. Granted, this is 2000s equipment, but it sounds excellent to my ears. I see another local add for Castle speakers for 300€. 

So if you happen to live in France, look for Castle speakers. They're so underrated and underpriced on the used market. Equivalent JBLs would cost like 1000€. 

It's a shame that Americans hype everything up. Vintage gear seems a lot more expensive over there. It's appalling that beatup Klipsch Heresy speakers go for $800 easily. 

I was in the same boat last year. I saved a few grand and splurged. Don't be hasty with your buying decisions. Reviewers only exist to sell you on new product which is priced at full MSRP. In hindsight the older models on clearance aren't much different. This narrows down your choice by a lot. 

@grislybutter 

If you’re clueless and starting out the entry level is more forgiving because the price is low and you don’t need a serious amplifier. Anything from cheap class D mini amp to an old AVR will get the job done. If you just want to fill a small room with music (or watch movies) and are not worried about hearing every nuance (or having the clearest, fastest bass) then just get a pair of Q Acoustics 3020 or Polk R100 or Triangle BR02. To me it’s a no-brainer and everything else is a luxury. 2 channel listening is just awesome. 

@grislybutter  I wish I could help you more. I watched a bunch of reviews, but without the personal experience to back it up I can't stand by my words. I re-read the entire discussion and something stands out to me: you want some punch. So you want full-range speakers. Something like a KEF R3 (non-meta) will seem like an obvious choice at first, but the bass is a bit shy (bookshelf speaker by design). 

My advice: Go to Audiogon classfields. Tick fullrange speaker criteria. Sort by price. There are several standouts under $2.5k: JBL L200, Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand Symphony, Canton Chrono SL, Neat Acoustics Xplorer... But I have no experience with those, just brand recognition. 

@grislybutter I’m afraid that a list of 70 speakers wouldn’t do much for me… I’m not in the market. I just want to hear what other people have…

And I wish you could hear my setup. I mean I have speed, detail and imaging in spades with my OGY. It’s just not the most dynamic. Maybe you could move up the chain and have it all with floorstanders… You gotta try some speakers. 

@grislybutter Sometimes too much information can hurt you, especially in this audiophile hobby. 

If you constantly watch speaker reviews, then you'll constantly be fed the same information. This information shall influence your decision more than you'd like to admit. 

Case and point: the Klipsch RP600M was the best thing since sliced bread back in 2019. It got all of the awards from the press and the online community hyped it up to insane levels. I sort of fell into the trap, only because I purchased them without audition at 50% off. The deal was "too good to pass". When I set them up I was underwhelmed. My dad's Q Acoustics 3020 just sound better in every metric (vocal clarity, bass, smoother highs...). 

It's clear that "you get what you pay for". Honestly, most speakers in the entry-level from big brands like Klipsch, B&W, Focal or Triangle perform similarly. It's just that subjectively some brands sound a lot worse to me than others (Klipsch grrrr...). 

Nothing beats a real audition, and with multiple speakers of different brands in the same room. I was honestly shocked how similar the KEF LS50 Meta Wireless and KEF LS60 sounded. The KEF LS60 just have more bass. 

You gotta jump the shark. Go to audition stuff. 

@grislybutter If you’re gonna spend $2k on small bookshelf speakers, you may as well give the OGY a shot. I’m still amazed by them to this day. They just can’t outperform their size and have bass as deep as full range towers (like the KEF LS60). But the magic is truly there. And it sounds even better when you upgrade amps. I went from a Tripath chip amp, to a cheap vintage Continental Edison A/B amp to a Creek Audio 4240. It just keeps getting better. 

Nobody asked, but a famous reviewer Jay's Iyagi (from Canada) finally took notice of the OGY. I say this because Closer Acoustics is an obscure boutique brand in Poland. He must have read my comments or something. There's no way he would have heard of the OGY otherwise. Yeah, Jay is not the most trustworthy reviewer out there, but I enjoy the validation nonetheless:

Review here

I agree with this review wholeheartedly. To paraphrase: The bass is light but very fast and clear. You should use a sub. Midrange and Treble are flawless, impressive regardless of price. Imaging/soundstage are a great deal better than most 2-way bookshelf speakers.  

I'm just worried that I'll have to bite the bullet and finally buy a decent tube amplifier to get the most out of these speakers. 

I'll confess that it's a bit courageous to order these speakers blind and deal with FedEx international shipping.