Budget speaker selection help

The speakers on your original list are all well thought of. A couple of other good options would be the B&W DM303, new or used and the Ruark Epilogue, used.

Used the EPOS ESL3 with a vintage Marantz 2240 receiver and felt that they sounded boxy.

In your price range and a real winner with vintage receivers are the NHT SB1 (list $300; Audio Advisor has an open box pair for about $150). The key is that the NHTs are acoustic suspension speakers, which have a more natural sounding bass than ported speakers. I used the NHT SB2 with the Marantz and a Music Hall CD 25 cd player and the sound was excellent.

Be careful of the Axiom's as they have a fairly forward sounding treble. Have heard the same about the Athenas.

Regards, Rich

I've heard the Axioms, the Vandy 1s, and the Epos, and I now own the Epos. My biggest issue was my 12x12 listening room. Any speaker with too much low end just overwhelmed the space. The Epos are great down to about 50-55hz and then roll off rapidly - perfect for my room. The Vandys were just too much. The Axioms I heard in a different space, but liked the midrange on the Epos a lot better, probably due to the first order crossovers in the Epos.

Siliab is correct that you'll need to factor in the cost of stands (I'm using 30") but I was able to buy the Epos and stands used here on Audiogon for $250 shipped.

David

Give these a try. Ascend Acoustics 170s.

Thank you for your responses... Very interesting read. Does anyone have experience with older Thiel speakers? Particularly the Thiel SCS speakers (circa 1995)? Someone if offering to sell me theirs at a great price.

Besides the mentioned Thiel, I am leaning towards the Epos... I know the Vandersteens are nice, but my wife will not allow floorstanding speakers (even though they are about the same size as monitors with stands).