2. speakers
  3. 140291-115924

Modestly priced bookshelf speakers for cabin.

I have a small cabin in the country where I spend weekends.

Current system is a 1980's Toshiba 25wpc receiver I got in high school. Bose 2.2 bookshelf speakers that are about 28 years old. They actually sound okay to me most of the time. $14 Sony DVD/CD player from Goodwill.

Even though this 'system' is sufficient most of the time, I've got the hi-fi bug since getting my home system and I've started thinking about slowly upgrading the cabin system on the lowest budget I can.....since I can't really justify doing it at all. ;-)

Rarely do I do any serious listening down there but would like to be able to when I have the chance.

So my first step is to replace the Bose speakers. Looking to spend no more than $350 or so. Is it possible to significantly improve on the Bose at that price? (I'm assuming yes).

The only thing I've even considered is the Klipsch RB-61 IIs or RP 160Ms. Why Klipsch? Back in the 70's my eccentric uncle used to have a massive pair of them that I thought were cool. Open to other options and advice.

Thanks for any advice.


n80
glupson
7,842 posts
 

n80,

I completely understand your feelings and am, pretty much, the same. I still use the turntable my father bought for me in early 1980s and the biggest reason is that it is "my" turntable I cherished when planning to buy it and ever since. Every time I get an itch to buy a new one, I realize it would not be it so I put a few drops of oil once a year and it still works. It runs on kryptonite, I guess. I barely use it, avoid it in some sense (records are very inconvenient, if you ask me), but could not let it go.


In your situation, I would just buy decent floorstanding speakers, again some Wharfedale or similar within a budget, and stop thinking about major improvements in sound. I doubt you go to your cabin to sit in front of the speakers for more than a minute or two. Just crank it up, and enjoy everything else while music is playing. Think of your home system as a "hobby" or "serious". This one in cabin a "guilty pleasure". What the heck, it is all processed sounds and "realism" in that setting is actually faked anyway. The things around you are real, not what comes from speakers, no matter how good the system is.


Loudness button is another thing we share affinity for. I rarely use it, but feel good knowing it is there and indulge in it from time to time. Everything sounds better with loudness button. More realistic. Exactly the way it sounded way back when...your, and my father bought us these things and that is what counts to me. Who ever listened to Poppa Joe without loudness? Some memories, time cannot erase.

n80 OP
2,133 posts
 
The Toshiba is how I got into hi-fi. It was starting to get static and noise when changing volume etc and I was ready to toss it.

I knew my brother-in-law had a system in his (dark, dank) basement that he'd gotten from a cousin. I borrowed it from him. That is my current system. He does not want it.

Then I read online about some sort of spray you can spray into the pots on audio gear. I don't remember the name. $15 for a little can. Opened up the receiver, sprayed stuff on pots.  It worked great. All issues resolved. So Toshiba is back at cabin. Hi-fi system is in my house in town.

Music is always on at the cabin. Even bring the speakers out on the porch when I'm working outside.
glupson
7,842 posts
 

n80,

You were lucky if you heard and used that spray only now. Just so you know, it does not last forever. More spray may be needed over time.


If Toshiba has outputs for two speaker pairs, I would buy two sets of speakers. Some that you are looking for now anyway and a pair of weather-resistant speakers to put outside permanently and forget about them. No more "bring them out". They are usually not obscenely expensive.

 Something like this..... https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107ATR4B/Polk-Audio-Atrium4-Black.html?awkw=75619821025&awat=pla&a...
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
A quick story. During my professional days I visited a couple ( specifically the lady of the house ) who wanted a higher level of sound in their " family " room. She also wanted B&O gear ( if any of you are familiar with it ). The room was not to change décor, nor set up in any way. They had an amazingly long leather couch that was out of this world, and this is where they sat ( the couch was not against any wall, as this room was huge ). The system I designed for them ( and money was not an object ), was a full B&O front end, with a pair of Thiel CS2s. The Thiels were an eyesore in the room, which we all knew ahead of time ( to them, not me ), so I decided to place the Thiels behind this couch, laying on their backs, speaker bases closest to each other. The end of the story. They were both blown away by how sound filled the room, and not only from listening from the couch. She played the best of the O'Jays ( cd compllation ) and she was in heaven. I hope you can see the analogy of this set up. Enjoy ! MrD.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"The room was not to change décor, nor set up in any way."
I am trying to imagine a room that had full Bang & Olufsen design style before even bringing audio equipment in it. It must have been really cool and unusual. Most of the time, Bang & Olufsen is an accent piece that gets noticed.
More to discover