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Best Cheap Speakers - New or Old

Sure if money is no object there are many speakers that we all "drool for". But having said that, there something to be said for a good "cheap" (less than $500 a pair MSRP) speakers. Granted they're not going to be in anybody's main system (probably they'll be found in somebody's bedroom, office, garage system, usually with some older vintage components driving them). But nevertheless, they deliver decent performance at a resonable price and they're honest in what they do. Not "state of the art" by a large margin, but still good "musical" friends. My choice is an old pair of Boston Acoustics A-60s, that I bought back in the late '80s for probably $200 a pair. Granted there are tons of better speakers out there, but for what they do, and age they are, and the money I paid, they still deliver some pretty damn good sound and performance. Anyway, curious on what others may think and what "cheap" speakers have held a "soft spot" in their "sonic" hearts?
cleaneduphippy
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
I have a pr of early 90s era JbL j830m speakers that constantly surprise me...an early Harmon effort, these are surprisingly laid back and mellow...something not usually associated with JBL...not a ton of bass considering their size but balanced nevertheless...not the last word in transparency or razor sharp imaging...but a solid engineered product that is a steal on the used market...ssssh..
don't tell anyone
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Bbro...as a former Spica owner I can attest to your frustration...as you touched upon...they do image well...often in reach out and touch 3d realism...however they have two glaring faults...non-existent bass and limited treble highs...an audiophile friend described their sound as 'mushy'...
murphythecat
181 posts
 
would you guys get the spica ts 50 or dynaco a 25?
loomisjohnson
1,946 posts
 
great thread; lots of really good nominees. among the ones mentioned, the energy 22 are seriously great (the more modern energy c-3 are also really good). i'll suggest a couple of others:
kef coda 70 (extremely impressive for their size/price--they look and sound like a $1k monitor)
jbl hls 610 (a modest, mass-market piec which just happened to do everything right. you can find these used for $50 or so)
design acoustics ps6 (another unexpectedly great sounding, modestly priced speaker; really big dynamic range and soundstage)
ads 700/710
to bbro's point, i was also underwhelmed by the spica tc50.
chrshanl37
835 posts
 
ADS l710 to me were better than a pair of LSA statements.
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