Budget floorstanders under $500 ?

The Mission M72 is a much better speaker in regards to your observations of bass. I took a pair and Frankenstein-ed them with Auricaps, Audioquest Type 6 wire and rope caulked all of the corners and they were monsters considering I only paid $200 new for them. You might look for those or Frankenstein your M71s although I think the bass would still disappoint.

I just re-read your post, and noticed that you're driving the speakers with a Jolida 102b. That's a 25W amp.

Given that, I would consider Coincident Triumph UHS (monitor speakers). They're available used on the high end of your budget, maybe slightly higher ($600). But they have the sensitivity to handle the music you listen to with the Jolida. An alternative would be some used Klipsch speakers (you can find several models under $500 used).

If you sell the Jolida 102b and either upgrade within the Jolida family (ie, 302b) or switch to a high-value integrated (such as the Onkyo A9555 that's been getting a lot of press), then you'll find your options in speakers considerably wider.

Michael

Thanks for all the info. I've been looking into the Kef Q series since Ablang made the suggestion. Accessories4less.com (authorized Kef dealer) has the iQ3s for $300. On paper, I should get more mid bass with those and the price is right. As an experiment, I brought my B&W DM305 floorstanders up into my listening room and hooked them up to my Nuforce Icon. I didn't want to connect them to the Jolida because I've got a bad tube now. The Icon did a nice job driving the B&Ws but I lost a lot of the detail in the midrange and treble. I think I'll stick with monitors for that small room.

Incidentally, I used to own a set of Vandy 1B's. I think they'd totally overpower my small room based on the fact that the B&Ws seem to do so. I recall them being fairly laid back even though I drove them with a big old Carver M500T with 250 solid state wpc.

Take a look at Soliloquy 6.2i speakers . Even though they are now out of buisness the speaker was pretty good for the money . Nice internals , cabinets are so so . Tube friendly , nice bass and worked well in my 10X11 room .

Good luck .

I have owned the Soliloquy 6.2's and I feel they are excellent speakers, but I don't think you could find them for $500. or less. I have also owned the Mission M71's which are VERY good for the money but of course they don't have the best bottom end because of their size and price. Another speaker I used to own, Castle Stirling 3's, are very good speakers with much better bass than the Mission M71's, not as good as the Soliloquy 6.2's however, and they can be placed close to the wall and are beautifully finished like all Castle speakers. There is a pair on Audiogon right now for $300. which is a VERY fair price. BTW I have no affiliation with the person selling them. Good Luck.