Best Speakers For Electronica Music


Hello all,

I have purchased Totem Arros second hand and I really like them a lot, however, when I spoke with an authorized Totem dealer and told him the music I like, he recommended I get a subwoofer or I run the risk of blowing the Arros. He told me the Arros are more for vocals, jazz, and classical. I like music like The Chemical Brothers, Tycho, Radiohead Kid A, and I like some harder rock at times like Jack White.

My system is a Logitech Touch, Peachtree Audio iDecco (for sale now) as a preamp, running to a Parasound Zamp V.3, with 60 wpc into the 4 ohms.

I like the speakers a lot, but I do not want to get a subwoofer, so is there a brand that is known for being more stoutly built, but still very detailed and with tight bass that people can recommend? I do not like the sound of Cerwin Vega, and I have heard other similar forums where they are recommended, and I do not like Klipsch. Other than that, I am open to suggestions. As a last constraint, I am on somewhat of a budget as you can tell from my system.

Thank you all in advance.
regafan_1972
If you are on a budget, Audiokinesis is very good about getting good bass for the buck. He also has a subwoofer system called the Swarm which can be used to eliminate spots in the room where there is no bass. It just got an award in The Absolute Sound.

FWIW, the better the speaker, the better it will be for any particular genre of music. Speakers and electronics don't exercise taste; if its really good at classical it will be really good at electronia or heavy metal too. The idea that a speaker is particularly good for a certain genre is one of the biggest myths in the world of loudspeakers.

As an example- my speakers do classical really well- they also do electronia really well (some of my faves are Global Communication, Massive Attack, Infinity Project; I guess I like the downbeat stuff with big bass...). But they also do 80s heavy rock (there is a thread on this forum about the best speaker for that genre; IMO a lot of 80s rock borrows heavily from electronic music), they do heavy metal very well (there is a thread on this form for that topic too...) and they do jazz very well.

The speakers are the Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T-3. They go down to 20Hz without the need of a sub. They are also 98 db 1 watt/1 meter. Efficiency is always helpful regardless of musical genre. It seems that musicians of all types find ways to make that efficiency useful :)
"The idea that a speaker is particularly good for a certain genre is one of the biggest myths in the world of loudspeakers."

I'm glad THIS was finally noted, I've held this belief for a while. Really, why should a speaker/system "specialize" in a particular type of music?
Tubegroover, The speaker should not specialize in certain kind of music, but nevertheless, certain speakers just can't play certain kind of music period.
I always make sure the speakers I choose are good for all types of music.
My speakers can handle Mumblecore and Emo, as well as Norwegian Death Metal and Vivaldi played on period instruments with subtle percussion provided by hammering steel trash can lids using enameled baby stroller frames. That's pretty much it...any pop music causes them to weep uncontrollably, which can warp the floors.
@Regafan, I just ordered some Ascend Sierra Towers with the RAAL tweeter upgrade. You might want to take a look at them, with or without the tweeter upgrade.

Until I receive the Sierra Towers, I am currently using some Tekton 6.5 monitors. I like all kind of music, including classical and jazz (mostly small sized ensembles), classic rock, metal, 80s and also techno like Chemical Brothers and Prodigy.