# "Best Kept Secret" Speakers



## jaymz

Lots of great brand name speakers out there (well, maybe not Bose), but given the $$$ that mass marketing adds to the price, they really aren't bargains. That leads me to believe there must also be lots of great speakers out there that sound awesome, but don't get the marketing hype and recognition they deserve.

So...what are the "super-sounding bargains" in speakers that you can recommend?

Jim


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
SVS makes wonderful Speakers that are very well priced. There are many here who like Behringers Monitor Speakers that are also quite well priced. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I am sure others will chime in with other Brands.
Cheers,
JJ


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## tonyvdb

I am a huge fan of SVS, they only sell on line and use top quality parts. to buy something equivalent you would need to spend twice as much in any brick and mortar store.


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## nova

My pick would have to be the RBH Sound MC-616C LCR speaker. This is a fantastic speaker for a reasonable price. If I were to go out and purchase a new system today, I'd pick up five of these little gems. I listened to these at the RBH Sound facility in Layton, UT. a few years ago, and I'd say that the 616C provides more than 95% of the performance of my current speakers for 1/5 th the cost.


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## drdoan

Many lines are great, but, I have had the best experience with SVSound speakers and subwoofers. Keep researching, and have fun. Dennis


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## mjg100

Best kept secret for HT speakers, is pro audio speakers. Most audiophile speakers can't do clean reference levels past 8' listening distance. I think one of the best HT speakers (that few know about) are JTR speakers. http://jtrspeakers.com/#


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## GranteedEV

jaymz said:


> Lots of great brand name speakers out there (well, maybe not Bose), but given the $$$ that mass marketing adds to the price, they really aren't bargains.


Actually, my answer to this question would be "Harman brand speakers".

The audio community has a general thought to look down when they hear "Infinity" or "JBL" as being so mainstream that they can't possibly be good, and if they are good, they wouldn't a good value.

But the JBL Pro LSR monitors are some of the best speakers at their price points that I've heard, and yet they are modestly priced. Infinity Primus P363 is another example of a speaker which offers exceptional value that you simply would not expect from a brand "sold in best buy" - in fact it has out-performed some 4-5k speakers in blind auditions.... which is difficult to believe! Sure, Harman stuff can be hit-or-miss. JBL Synthesis and Revel gear is not what I would call "a great value" but that's exactly why i'm mentioning JBL Pro monitors.


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## steve1616

I will agree with everyone on the SVS speakers. They are way better than they should be for the price that you pay. I must say that I would either buy SVS or build some speakers yourself because you can build some great speakers for little money. I do think that SVS is a clear leader in the commercial market.


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## eugovector

The AudioEngine A2 continue to amaze me considering their size. Perfect for a sleek desktop system. 

I'd also echo the JBL/infinity speakers, especially as they are "on sale" often and can also be found readily b-stock or refurbed at the Harman EBay store. I will say that JBLs entry level offering haven't lived up to their pedigree in the past few generations.

The Beringher nod is a good choice, but I almost wonder if they've gone too far the other direction: over-hyped thanks to forums like ours. I own a pair of 2031a, and they sound great even unmodified, worth more than their asking price, but maybe not the hyperbolic "10 times the price" that some will say. Still, the 2030p lead a very short field in the quality <$200 pair range.


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## Picture_Shooter

So many speakers out there and tried a lot of models.

Are you saying bang of the buck best type speakers?

I think I did very well getting my Def Tech's.


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## cloudbuster

when you mention SVS you talk about the S series or the M ones


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
I think both Series would fall under the moniker. The S-Series are much more modestly priced, but the M-Series offer tremendous value as well.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Warpdrv

What is the budget ?

In what price range are we talkin here ?


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## eugovector

The definition I used for best kept secret wasn't related to a specific budget, but rather, just thinking about great value speakers that few people talk about.


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## tesseract

I lust after a pair of GedLee, Audiokinesis, or Pi speakers, even though I have not had a chance to hear any of these, yet.

That said, one speaker that will give me much of what the former has to offer is the CHT SHO-10. I have heard what these can do and combined with a good subwoofer system (the SHO-10 needs subs) they will take your breath away.

Do DIY kits count? GR Research has a pair of N2X monitors traveling the country for audition. I have signed up and they will be coming to my home. I know Danny's company flies under the radar, but has a stellar reputation for sound quality. I have a brand new pair of WAF-1's that he designed the crossover for sitting right next to me, I should fire them up and give them a listen some day.

Chances are real good that one of these companies will be supplying the next pair of speakers for my 2 channel system.


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## shanemiller

Yes actually speakers do provide a lot of comfort when the quality you have bought it is very good.


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## Theresa

Madisound Revelator (ScanSpeak) speakers. Available as a simple kit. High end. Of course these days speaker manufacturers are selling below cost so there are a great number of bargains that might be cheaper. I currently only buy DIY and use expensive drivers. This is extremely gratifying. I do use manufactured cabinets, either from an online store or a carpenter.


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## Matman1970

mjg100 said:


> Best kept secret for HT speakers, is pro audio speakers. Most audiophile speakers can't do clean reference levels past 8' listening distance. I think one of the best HT speakers (that few know about) are JTR speakers.



+1

The difference in these types of speakers at or close to reference has to be heard to be believed. I also have experience with the SHO-10 (a pro audio designed speaker) and like Tesseract says, it does take your breath away. I would also love to hear the JTR and Seaton speakers some day.


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## sholling

Infinity's P363 tower is a of a lot of speaker for the price. 

Anything by Ascend Acoustics should be on everyone's short list of candidates in the $350/pr (CBM-17SE), $600/pr (CMT-340SE), $900/pr (Sierra-1), and $1300/Pr (Sierra-1 NrT) classes. 

Salk Sound is hard to beat in each of the $2k-12k classes.


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
Another strong contender are Pioneer's Speakers that were Designed by Andrew Jones who Designs the uber expensive TAD Speakers and are supposed to be quite amazing value. The SP-BS51 is a Floorstanding Model that only costs 200 Dollars and I believe are available at Best Buy. There are Bookshelves and Center Channel Models that are also in this Series and were Designed by Andrew Jones.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Sirbrine

I would add Salk speakers to the list. Internet direct, furniture quality finish customized with your choice of wood veneer, high quality components, and you won't find anyone nicer to deal with than Jim Salk.

Oh, and they sound good too.


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## jaymz

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> Another strong contender are Pioneer's Speakers that were Designed by Andrew Jones who Designs the uber expensive TAD Speakers and are supposed to be quite amazing value. The SP-BS51 is a Floorstanding Model that only costs 200 Dollars and I believe are available at Best Buy. There are Bookshelves and Center Channel Models that are also in this Series and were Designed by Andrew Jones.
> Cheers,
> JJ


Home Theater Mag had a review of one of these Pioneer Sat systems (SP-BS41-LR) in the new issue. Incredibly cheap ($528), but apparently very, very good sound. A good beginners or bedroom system, and probably much better than Bose . _*"If you want great sound for as little money as possible, this is the hottest ticket in town. They amazed me."*_

Jim


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## eugovector

jaymz said:


> Home Theater Mag had a review of one of these Pioneer Sat systems (SP-BS41-LR) in the new issue. Incredibly cheap ($528), but apparently very, very good sound. A good beginners or bedroom system, and probably much better than Bose . _*"If you want great sound for as little money as possible, this is the hottest ticket in town. They amazed me."*_
> 
> Jim


Someone quoted these in another thread, though I didn't know there was a review out already. Could be quite the budget find as they are inexpensive and readily available (Best Buy stocks them, for one). May have to swing by a BB to give them a listen, for what that's worth.


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## Stuck Pixel

eugovector said:


> Someone quoted these in another thread, though I didn't know there was a review out already. Could be quite the budget find as they are inexpensive and readily available (Best Buy stocks them, for one). May have to swing by a BB to give them a listen, for what that's worth.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=723652&Q=&is=REG&A=details


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## Theresa

Logitech had a THX 2.1 setup for about $130 that I used with my tv for years when I was too sick to set up my system. It actually sounded quite good and was far better than Bose. I doubt any $600 system would satisfy me now though. I was really sick so the effort of setting up my home theater sound system was too much, I know that's hard to believe. Now I've spent more than $2000 on speakers and they are verrry good.


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## Jungle Jack

jaymz said:


> Home Theater Mag had a review of one of these Pioneer Sat systems (SP-BS41-LR) in the new issue. Incredibly cheap ($528), but apparently very, very good sound. A good beginners or bedroom system, and probably much better than Bose . _*"If you want great sound for as little money as possible, this is the hottest ticket in town. They amazed me."*_
> 
> Jim


Jim,
Given just how talented Andrew Jones is, I am quite confident the Pioneer Speakers truly are a Diamond in the Rough and a amazing value. And without question, I believe they would be magnitudes better than any Bose Speaker in that they are far more accurate and faithful to the Source they are reproducing.

Pioneer's TAD Speakers are truly considered some of the finest Speakers in the World and are being used by many Professional Applications where cost is no object. Mr. Jones work at KEF was also universally praised. He is one of a handful of the most talented Speaker Designers in the World.
Cheers,
JJ


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## dec77

If you guys had to compare the SVS and the Pioneers, which would you consider better?

This thread is a few months old. Are there new contenders?


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## Jungle Jack

dec77 said:


> If you guys had to compare the SVS and the Pioneers, which would you consider better?
> 
> This thread is a few months old. Are there new contenders?


Hello,
Speakers will certainly make the largest impact on the SQ of your HT along with the Room itself. That being said, it really comes down to preference to me. However, the Pioneer EX Floorstanding Model is far less expensive than the cheapest SVS Floorstanders. 

I truly think you cannot go wrong with either. I would try to audition the Pioneers at Best Buy. As for other Speakers, there are certainly many high value Speakers. It is just a matter of budgetary perspective.
Cheers,
JJ


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## eugovector

The problem is that it looks like Best Buy carries the same series, but not the same grade as the system reviewed (SP-BS21-LR vs SP-BS41-LR). I wonder how substantial the differences are?

UPDATE: Upon further examination, it looks like the only difference may be a larger woofer. That said, they do have a more expensive S-31B-LR-K model. Wonder if the price difference (about double) would be worth it.


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## tesseract

Sometimes brands are forced by Big Box stores to manufacture goods in countries like China rather than Japan, and use cheaper parts while doing so. This is why you will see electronics that appear the same as those in upscale stores, but have slightly different specs and/or a different model number.


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## QuackAttack

sholling said:


> Infinity's P363 tower is a of a lot of speaker for the price.
> 
> Anything by Ascend Acoustics should be on everyone's short list of candidates in the $350/pr (CBM-17SE), $600/pr (CMT-340SE), $900/pr (Sierra-1), and $1300/Pr (Sierra-1 NrT) classes.
> 
> Salk Sound is hard to beat in each of the $2k-12k classes.




ASCEND!! Customer service TOP NOTCH also.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/


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## mojojojo

Wouldn't 'best kept secret' be based on ones knowledge and research is what is out there? I found speakers to not be as obvious as say receivers for example. Everyone knows Pioneer and Sony and maybe Denon but taking it a notch requires some research. For speakers I can't think of what is considered mainstream - I guess paradigm has good brand recognition and b&w? It's almost as if all speaker companies are well kept secrets ! 

To stay on topic, I've never heard them myself, but I've never read anything negative about Salk sound.


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## tcarcio

QuackAttack said:


> ASCEND!! Customer service TOP NOTCH also.
> 
> http://www.ascendacoustics.com/


The site does not list any "nrt" speakers for $1300....Am I missing something?


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## Jungle Jack

mojojojo said:


> Wouldn't 'best kept secret' be based on ones knowledge and research is what is out there? I found speakers to not be as obvious as say receivers for example. Everyone knows Pioneer and Sony and maybe Denon but taking it a notch requires some research. For speakers I can't think of what is considered mainstream - I guess paradigm has good brand recognition and b&w? It's almost as if all speaker companies are well kept secrets !
> 
> To stay on topic, I've never heard them myself, but I've never read anything negative about Salk sound.


Hello,
The thing with the Pioneer Speakers is that they were Designed by Andrew Jones and really are special. While Brand Recognition is quite high, few know that someone as accomplished as Mr. Jones Designed a Speaker Series as low priced as the Pioneers.
Cheers,
JJ


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## mojojojo

Jungle Jack, I was referring to Pioneer receivers, not speakers. :bigsmile:

I have read very nice things about their speakers and at first I was a bit surprised, even doubtful. But as I read more about them and found out about their designer, I was shocked.


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## Jungle Jack

mojojojo said:


> Jungle Jack, I was referring to Pioneer receivers, not speakers. :bigsmile:
> 
> I have read very nice things about their speakers and at first I was a bit surprised, even doubtful. But as I read more about them and found out about their designer, I was shocked.


Indeed. And I too was somewhat spurious about until I listened to them. Unbelievable value.
Cheers,
JJ


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## tonydp

I had the pioneers, the mini towers anyways (sf-51), and returned them for the BIC vk6-lcr. Much better IMO, however hard to beat $200 a pair. I hated the look too, I know that's petty.


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## zieglj01

Jungle Jack said:


> Indeed. And I too was somewhat spurious about until I listened to them. Unbelievable value.
> Cheers,
> JJ


The Pioneer speakers are real good for the price - I even opened up one of their
bookshelf speakers - they are built well and have some bracing inside with a clean
looking crossover. Even at this price, the woofers are isolated from the baffle.


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## CharlieU

I think the best kept secret(s) in speakers are your ability to hear and your personal biases. The ability to hear not only includes the frequency range your ears are capable of hearing, but also your knowledge of how the music should sound and your receptiveness to the sound. Ever noticed that at times your system sounds magical and at others, it sounds, well, ordinary? Being ready to listen both physically and mentally will do wonders for the sound of any speaker. Personal biases come into play as far as how you want the music to sound. Comments on the amount of bass a speaker provides is an indicator of this. Some people prefer more low end than others and would dismiss a speaker that accurately reproduces bass as not having enough. Even the looks of the speaker can influence someones perception of the sound quality.

The state of speaker technology has reached a level where quality from any manufacturer will be similar within certain price ranges. If you want better sound, you'll need to pay for it. What you pay and the return on your investment will be determined by the two factors I mentioned above.


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## sholling

CharlieU said:


> The state of speaker technology has reached a level where quality from any manufacturer will be similar within certain price ranges. If you want better sound, you'll need to pay for it. What you pay and the return on your investment will be determined by the two factors I mentioned above.


I respectfully disagree. Besides the fact that there is a lot of snake oil in the audio industry there are differences in sound quality within various price classes due to different manufacturer priorities, tastes, and marketing methods. For example one manufacturer may choose to put the the majority of their per unit budget into fancy finishes, another may choose to put the majority into slick marketing, yet another may choose to put that money into the best drivers and crossovers that they can afford.

And that doesn't even take into account the cost/price differences between B&M and internet direct (ID) manufacturers. A B&M dependent manufacturer has to budget the build cost based on a 100% (or more) markup for the manufacturer and a further 100% markup by the retailer. That means the cost of the B&M build including labor can't be more than 25% of MSRP and the cost of the materials may be as low as 15% of MSRP. Contrast that with a some of the better ID companies that may put 30-40% of MSRP into materials.

Finally there are differences in the tastes/sound-priorities of speaker designers which often leads to two nearly identically priced B&M speakers sounding completely different. A good example might be a Boston Acoustics VS336 vs a Klipsch RF-7. Both have MSRPs in the $1600-1700ea range but sound nothing alike. 

The bottom line is that there are some jewels in each price range that really stand out from the crowd as well as some real dogs.


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## CharlieU

sholling said:


> I respectfully disagree. Besides the fact that there is a lot of snake oil in the audio industry there are differences in sound quality within various price classes due to different manufacturer priorities, tastes, and marketing methods. For example one manufacturer may choose to put the the majority of their per unit budget into fancy finishes, another may choose to put the majority into slick marketing, yet another may choose to put that money into the best drivers and crossovers that they can afford.
> 
> And that doesn't even take into account the cost/price differences between B&M and internet direct (ID) manufacturers. A B&M dependent manufacturer has to budget the build cost based on a 100% (or more) markup for the manufacturer and a further 100% markup by the retailer. That means the cost of the B&M build including labor can't be more than 25% of MSRP and the cost of the materials may be as low as 15% of MSRP. Contrast that with a some of the better ID companies that may put 30-40% of MSRP into materials.
> 
> Finally there are differences in the tastes/sound-priorities of speaker designers which often leads to two nearly identically priced B&M speakers sounding completely different. A good example might be a Boston Acoustics VS336 vs a Klipsch RF-7. Both have MSRPs in the $1600-1700ea range but sound nothing alike.
> 
> The bottom line is that there are some jewels in each price range that really stand out from the crowd as well as some real dogs.


Maybe I should have included a disclaimer about Bose? 

I don't think we disagree. I may not have elaborated enough on price ranges though. I believe Audioholics had a breakdown of under $500, $1000, $2000, $5000, $10K, etc for speaker price ranges and that was what I was thinking of. Your example of the BA and Klipsch is an excellent one. Both speakers sell, and the person who purchased one thinks that it is the best sounding speaker because of the two factors I mentioned in my original post. Manufacturers hype along with the hype generated in forums plays on the listeners bias factor. That's why I tell people that they need to stay out of the forums after they purchase something in order to maximize their enjoyment of their new toy. No one listens. They need the confirmation that they made the right decision.

The OP's question was a good thread starter. It mostly turned up the usual suspects though. I've been to a few audiophile shows and heard brands that never get a mention on speaker forums. None of them sounded better to me than what I currently have, but there were others just drooling over them. Just my ability to hear and personal biases getting in the way of the magic.


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## Dwight Angus

MY vote goes to SVS. High quality product at a reasonable price and top tier customer service.


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