Which speakers to buy?


Hello There,

I am looking to set up a good 5.1 channel setup. I wanted to start off with speakers and buy an amp later (for the amp I am guessing I should post in the amp/receiver section?) So far I have purchased one center channel speaker on a whim. I had heard good things about AudioVector and this was a $1000 center channel speaker I bought for $50 so I thought it was quite a steal: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121079838387 It's not the prettiest thing, and I don't know how much it matters that this match the other speakers I buy exactly, because I will ONLY be using this and the rear speakers for films and only those that had a 5.1 channel soundtrack encoded, otherwise I will be listening to 2 channel audio for music and 2 channel films...

My requirements are something that isn't made in China or outsourced to a developing country and something that is high build quality with a degree of aesthetics to it. I don't necessarily want form over function, but the design is just as important as the sound for me. I would LOVE to have something that would go well with my Loewe Aconda high gloss black TV. I want something that is used from the late 80s to early 00s, something that I can find for cheap now that was top of the line back then, similar to the steal I got on the AudioVector. I bought my Loewe Aconda for $40 which was originally a $3500 TV... Granted TV technology has changed a lot more than speaker technology, there are still great deals to be had from the used recent vintage speaker market.

Specifically I am looking for two tower speakers that are not too wide as I don't have much room (I will be sitting only a few feet away from the speakers). I really like the look of the B&O Penta speakers, they remind me of a cyberpunk blade runner type of theme, in fact I love all the beolab/beovox tower speakers as they seem to be nice and round and thin so would fit perfectly. Unfortunately due to the B&O name, they keep their value quite well and are therefore out of my price range. I would love something that shape/size and design. I know a lot of people on here would say they don't like B&O because of the name but those speakers are hand assembled in Denmark and the fact that B&O focuses a lot on beautiful designs is not a bad thing, I wish more speaker companies looked less utilitarian since you will be staring at the darn things all the time when in your house and I would rather admire the look rather than feel sick at the look of them.

My price range is in the $200-$300 range and so far I have found only a few speakers in that range that might fit my needs such as the KEF Q50/Q70, some Boston Acoustics and Polk Audios, etc... It would really be great if people could give me some suggestions that meet my requirements. I think if I try hard and long enough I might find some excellent speakers in my price range of a recent vintage. I just need a bunch of suggestions to look for. I quite like the look of the A/D/S speakers from the 90s, the Linn Tukan and others are incredibly beautiful with their gloss finish as are Vienna Acoustics and Dynaudio, but I haven't seen any in my price range yet... I would prefer a lesser known brand as like the ones I mentioned compared to something like Polk or Boston as I want something like I mentioned that is less mass produced, more artisanal and with a higher aesthetic quality to them (perhaps even a gloss sheen to match my Loewe).

Forgot to mention the types of music I will listen to the most: New Wave, TripHop, Dubstep/Chillstep, Modern Symphonic/Experimental (Ryuichi Sakamoto), New Age, Adult Contemporary, Chillout, World Music, some pop/alternative rock... I think really rich deep mids would be nice and lots of bass (although this is not a requirement as I can always use the system as 2.1 with a subwoofer)...

Thank you!
baronkatz
I wonder what the OP finally ended up getting? if not....

Truthfully, your best bet is a good pair of monitors, then invest the rest of your money in stands, a decent 5.1 receiver, and an SVS sub.

The Elac Debut B5 are highly reviewed and in your range:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/monitors-elac-debut-b5-bookshelf-speakers-designed-by-andrew-jones...

As are the Pioneer SB22’s (both designed by Andrew Jones and both overperforming for their price).
(((My requirements are something that isn't made in China or outsourced to a developing country and something that is high build quality with a degree of aesthetics to it. I don't necessarily want form over function, but the design is just as important as the sound for me. I would LOVE to have something that would go well with my Loewe Aconda high gloss black TV. I want something that is used from the late 80s to early 00s, something that I can find for cheap now that was top of the line back then,)))

 Most all top performing loudspeaker designs are typically a sophisticated multi enclosure design, smaller baffle area yet still full range.
 This concept offers the listener the advantage of a neat disappearing action while preserving what the music or film score recording actually sounded like while seeming to sound less like speakers are in front of you.

 Most of the well intended folks here seem defeated or will offer you the latest fad or parrot on
what the latest PC review said without having 1st hand knowledge of this concept.
 The best selling high end loudspeaker of all time and still Made in USA that features this type of sophisticated design is the model Vandersteen 2 series. For you not to experience this set up is doing yourself a serious disservice.
A pre owned set of Black Vandersteen 1Cs or 2 series multi Enclosure box less designs can be found on local Craig list reading the manual on set up will put you where most others wanna be.
     Best,
 JohnnyR
Vandersteen dealer

Hey Johnny,

Of all the three responses to the OP before yours (and including mine), none seemed to be "parrot[ing]" anything they had read . I own both speakers I mentioned; the other responses were dismissive, but the OP had a very narrow set of parameters.

I imagine a used Ic would be nice, but those are harder to find than they seem and with shipping factored in are our of the OP's price range.