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Exceptional value in speakers today?

I'm looking for "sleeper" speaker companies - brands that aren't well known and offer exceptional value.

For years I have been a fan of ACI speakers - the company only sold direct, didn't advertise, but their speakers were consistently compared favorably with speakers costing many times more - in both "professional" reviews and end user reviews.

I am fortunate to have some of their speakers, as the company is no more. Which leads me to my question - there must be a similar company (or several) doing something similar today. Since these tend to be small companies that don't advertise, I thought I'd ask here for some pointers. The big guys are easy to find...

Thanks in advance.

(BTW - my current shopping list is for a pair of monitor speakers for a recording studio. I'm looking for un-powered speakers of exceptional quality (and at a price point <$1k). I need speakers that are good at revealing any flaws in the mix. I already have some high end professional near field monitors (Genelec) and am looking to augment those).
mark_scrivener
metman
233 posts
 
You will definitely want to look into the Shelby+Kroll Nano Monitors. Most of Tim Krolls sales go to recording studios and you may still be able to get a pair of B stock for $1300.00 or so and Tim has a 30 day money back guarantee in the unlikely event you decide to return them. These speakers have gobs of detail without ever sounding fatiquing.
with the exception of purchasing his woofer monitor to compliment the Nano monitors, I'm officially off the audio merry go round now, That's how much I like these speakers.
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metman
233 posts
 
I'm well aware this line is thrown out as often as The N.Y. Yankees are predicted to win the World Series but The Shelby+Kroll Nano Monitors perform WAY above their price point, and with the exception of a little bit of advertising on Agon to liquidate their B stock the only people I'm aware of that own these are two other people in N.J. so I'm going out on a limb here saying these are a hidden gem that very few people have heard so I think they qualify as "sleepers" that haven't got a whole lot of publicity.
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tonykay
1,301 posts
 
Value is a relative term. You might be wise to look for well-known company speakers that have been passed over by average, less value-conscious audiophiles. When you go to sell them you won't have to re-list them endlessly. I'm referring to companies like Hales and Thiel. They have products in their line that were quickly superceded by a newer product. I have seen items here that I would happily buy at the prices asked, but how many speakers does one audiophile need? No need to answer that, the question was rhetorical.
mark_scrivener OP
15 posts
 
Thanks - keep the responses coming.

BTW - lots of studios have at least one pair of typical consumer speakers (car speakers in a box were popular for years). This is to check the mix on an average system. While I plan to set up some inexpensive speakers for such purposes (the Mackie's might do well for this, even though they are "pro-audio"), the goal is to find a really great pair of speakers (the Shelby+Kroll's look very interesting).
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