# Best pair of speakers under $1000?



## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

I'm looking to change my home theater's speakers and willl start with front 3. Any opinions on best pair (for L & R) of speakers available (tower or bookshelf - doesn't matter) for no more than $1,000 plus tax? Application is 80% movies, 20% music in 15ft x 16ft theater. These will always be used with subwoofers (dual DIY sealed Dayton UltiMax 15's) so performance in a strictly 2.0 channel setup is a non-factor. Also, I want something that has a center channel in the same product family. SVS Ultra bookshelves and Elac Uni-fi towers seem to be at top of most reviewers' lists, for what that's worth. 

Any suggestions?


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

If you built your own subs , is there any reason you arent building your LCR's ?

Just curious - I just built this LCR set for about 1500 - but that is also a CC - so your L/R would be about 1K

Componants

DAYTON PT2C-8 tweeters
MOREL CAW 938 woofers
Dayton xover @2500

I also have a dual Ultimax 15 subs 

Im running LCR + surrounds with XPA7


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

RTS100x5 said:


> If you built your own subs , is there any reason you arent building your LCR's ?
> 
> Just curious - I just built this LCR set for about 1500 - but that is also a CC - so your L/R would be about 1K
> 
> ...


I'm considering it, but don't have much spare time to invest in yet another project. Especially one requiring lots of research into drivers, WinISD calcs, etc. Were these from a kit or a recipe? Or did you design the cabinets and select/match components yourself? 

They look great! How do they sound?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

If you want to look at some bookshelf speakers, check out the Chane A Series. For a killer deal, there's also the Dana's. Those are being practically given away.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

theJman said:


> If you want to look at some bookshelf speakers, check out the Chane A Series. For a killer deal, there's also the Dana's. Those are being practically given away.


Intrigued. Are Chane's just a very good bang for the buck or do they offer high performance? How do these stack up overall compared to $1,000/pair speakers like SVS Ultra bookshelves, ELAC Uni-fi towers, Fluance Signature, etc.?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

The Dana's are a legacy line of speakers, and for that price I'm not sure you could top them. The A series will stack up very well to the ones you mention, and depending upon your tastes may prove to be even more to your liking. They excel at detail and refinement, making pretty much everything sound good. A few years back I reviewed the model before those, the Arx. Click this link if you want one mans opinion of the A series predecessor.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

theJman said:


> The Dana's are a legacy line of speakers, and for that price I'm not sure you could top them. The A series will stack up very well to the ones you mention, and depending upon your tastes may prove to be even more to your liking. They excel at detail and refinement, making pretty much everything sound good. A few years back I reviewed the model before those, the Arx. Click this link if you want one mans opinion of the A series predecessor.


Thanks.

I'm ultimately replacing my front 3 though $1,000 budget is just for LR only. Thoughts on using A2.4's for LCR vs. A1.4's for LR and A2.4 for C?


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## MikeTron250LM (Apr 26, 2017)

If you are comfortable gluing and finishing flatpacks, the DIYSoundGroup stuff is very popular.

I would personally be interested in the following if I hadnt already upgraded speakers.
The Elusive 1099
The HTM-10 or 12
The Titan Kits are very new and have a lot of buzz around them on AVS.


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## merkaba (Aug 28, 2017)

sga2 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I'm ultimately replacing my front 3 though $1,000 budget is just for LR only. Thoughts on using A2.4's for LCR vs. A1.4's for LR and A2.4 for C?


I am planning on using the A2.4's for LCR. I believe this is the recommended setup based on the help i've received on some other forums.


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## kscott29 (Sep 9, 2017)

I love bass, so I did the KEF Q900 for my towers (~600 per speaker though). The Studiomonitor 65s are pretty fantastic too. Found some good recommendations for both:

https://www.householdaudio.com/best-floorstanding-tower-speakers/
https://www.householdaudio.com/best-bookshelf-speakers/


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

theJman said:


> The Dana's are a legacy line of speakers, and for that price I'm not sure you could top them. The A series will stack up very well to the ones you mention, and depending upon your tastes may prove to be even more to your liking. They excel at detail and refinement, making pretty much everything sound good. A few years back I reviewed the model before those, the Arx. Click this link if you want one mans opinion of the A series predecessor.


I checked them out this summer but many of their products were out of stock. Been checking periodically since then, and now they only have one model, the A2.4, in stock. Wondering if they are hanging it up. Don't really want to buy something from a company that won't be around in 6 months to honor any warranty.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Definitely considering the SVS Ultra bookshelf for left and right with an Ultra center. Does anyone have any opinion as to whether the Ultra center would perform well as left and right channel speakers for 2 channel music? For home theater use I think that would be an obvious upgrade over the bookshelves, and would provide three perfectly matched speakers across the front stage. But for 2 channel music listening, not sure how well they would do with imaging and soundstage.


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## MikeTron250LM (Apr 26, 2017)

I dont think the SVS are super popular with the music crowd but I havent heard them.

I have the Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2s for LCR and I love them, with my main focus being music. I would say they are very neutral speakers compared to the warm speakers I replaced.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM2/srm2.html


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

sga2 said:


> I checked them out this summer but many of their products were out of stock. Been checking periodically since then, and now they only have one model, the A2.4, in stock. Wondering if they are hanging it up. Don't really want to buy something from a company that won't be around in 6 months to honor any warranty.


Actually the exact opposite is true, Chane is expanding their line.

The company has availability issues for several reasons, one of which being the products are quite popular so every batch sells out quickly. The owner of the company is also a bit of a perfectionist, refusing to release anything until it's 100%. That leads to some gaps in the product offerings as stock for a new model will not yet be available before the previous version sold out. It would likely be better for them to release things at 99% perfect and order in bigger batches.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

theJman said:


> Actually the exact opposite is true, Chane is expanding their line.
> 
> The company has availability issues for several reasons, one of which being the products are quite popular so every batch sells out quickly. The owner of the company is also a bit of a perfectionist, refusing to release anything until it's 100%. That leads to some gaps in the product offerings as stock for a new model will not yet be available before the previous version sold out. It would likely be better for them to release things at 99% perfect and order in bigger batches.


That's good to know. Will keep them in the running. Wish I could audition a set...


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## MikeTron250LM (Apr 26, 2017)

MikeTron250LM said:


> If you are comfortable gluing and finishing flatpacks, the DIYSoundGroup stuff is very popular.
> 
> I would personally be interested in the following if I hadnt already upgraded speakers.
> The Elusive 1099
> ...



I bought used gear, otherwise I would have definitely assembled some DIYSG stuff.


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## emearg (Oct 7, 2013)

GO on eBay by some old floor standing 2.0 hifi speakers No one want's big speakers there some total bargain's everyone won't a sound bar and micro speaker with sub to keep the wife happy 

There were some 15K PMC monsters when for 2k few weeks ago !!


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## rexluv (Sep 30, 2017)

You might be able to find a used pair of KEF LS50 for about 1k on ebay. I've also seen people selling just 1 instead of the pair in case you need one for the center channel.


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## dsnyder (Aug 5, 2016)

sga2 said:


> Definitely considering the SVS Ultra bookshelf for left and right with an Ultra center...But for 2 channel music listening, not sure how well they would do with imaging and soundstage.


I'm currently using the SVS Ultra Bookshelf loudspeakers specifically for two-channel listening in my 15.5 ft x 10.1 ft listening room. They are a little more fussy about placement than other speakers that I have had in this space. Quite a bit of toe-in was required to achieve nicely focused vocals in the center of the soundstage. Even with sharp toe-in, the soundstage is wide, deep, and enveloping. There are times that could wish for a little more height, but on the right recordings, the stage extends from floor to ceiling (8 ft in my room).

I actually expected very good imaging from these stand-mounted speakers (currently using SANUS Steel Series 26 in. stands), but I was not prepared for the quantity or extension of bass that they are capable of. With careful use of DSP--only to pull down peaks in the room--I was able to achieve a response that's +1/-2 dB from the target over a range from 30 Hz to 24 kHz except for a -4.5 dB suck-out at 80 Hz (which I hope to sort soon).

I've been impressed by how easy the Ultras are to listen to. I can start an album, sit down, relax, and find myself wishing for more by the time I reach the end without feeling the urge to skip around.

That said, they do have their limitations--they are not the most efficient or dynamic sounding loudspeakers that I have tried. Bass-heavy tracks can produce noise from the rear firing port that is audible from the listening position at moderate to high levels. But keep them operating within their optimal range, and they are delightful.

If you don't require playback levels much above 85 dB in a similarly sized room, you may never need a subwoofer because of their excellent bass extension; however, I expect that adding a pair of subs will enable them to play at much higher listening levels without audible port noise. Hoping to find out soon...


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## Wooderson (Nov 6, 2010)

Just put these in a tower enclosure. Should come in at ~$1000. You're not going to find anything better than a set of ScanSpeaks for this price.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/scan-speak-rediscovery-ii-kit/#tab-3


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