What Are the Best Sounding Speakers UNDER $2,500 that You've Ever Heard.?

[ctsooner]

Lol. I totally agree. Many done have that extra 2500 and they can still get great sound. It's all about set up, room and pairing. I've heard many a speaker from Vandersteen to Pro Ac to a few of the others referenced in this thread sound better and better with top components that most would never pair them with. I'm lucky as I do spend more in my gear but I've put systems together for many under 5k total that many them happy and out smiles on their faces. I may meet you over at the 5k and up thread. Thanks Ralf

 

 

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[ctsooner]

The newest model really takes it to another level I feel. The trickle down from the upper speakers is amazing to me.

 

 

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[ctsooner]

There are a fair amount of build your own speakers, however most in this thread aren't DIY guys. No matter how easy they may be for some, most of us don't want to deal with that or can't. I've heard some of the DIY speaker kits over the years and some are very nice sounding, but for me, none have ever out performed some of the similarly priced speakers that are out of the box, set it and forget it.

 

Congrats though on getting your speakers and I'm sure they will sound great in your system. Not putting them down, but saying most of us are into non DIY speakers.

[ctsooner]

Ajax, that's awesome. The problem for me as well as many others who I'm in touch with off the boards is that it's still not a real speaker company and there is no true warrantee. As great as the DIY kits and builders may be, they are not full time speaker makers and can't compete with real speaker companies. I've been around the DIY community since the 70's. Heck, I built Heathkit projects, home made speakers, Hafler amps and I've modified Moscode's amp that I owned. I recently built my own ultrasonic LP cleaner.

 

I respect these folks and feel that many are wonderful designs that if brought to market, would need a few tweeks to really compete with similarly priced products. I haven't heard your speakers, so I can't say anything about them, but personally (and I know many others who feel the same) that they would much rather have a pair of Vandersteen 2's or Focals or others than a DIY kit, which it is regardless of who is putting them together.

 

Again, no knock and I'm happy that you love your speakers as you should. If I ever have a chance to listen to a pair, I'll certainly remember this thread and go in with a real positive approach. Pete

 

 

Hi ctsooner,

 

I'm most probably the least capable person when it comes to DIY. As mentioned above in my blog "I have a gentlemen in Sydney, Australia offering to supply AND assemble the LX minis for the equivalent of US$1500 and also a pair of sealed subs for US$750 leaving me with the purchase of the miniDSP 4 x 10 and the power amps."

 

He has a background in mechanical engineering (mine is in civil and construction) and he is working as a project engineer responsible for the technical development of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, which is about 350km NW of Geralton on the Western Australian coast ... read desert. I met him through the Sydney Audio Club and he is obviously a very smart boy.

 

Anyway he has already built a few pairs of the LXminis (and a pair of the LX521s) and is currently building a pair of subs to go with the LXminis, the design of which have apparently been sanctioned by Mr Linkwitz so as to ensure they compliment the minis, and they will be ready for a listening session on Saturday morning.

 

The thing about the LXminis that really impresses me is the incredibly hostile environment I heard them in and they sounded sublime. This is achieved by fixing a heavily damped cylinder behind a full range (above 700Hz) dipole speaker so the radiation from behind the speaker is attenuated or scattered and diffused in order to minimize the influence of any large reflecting surfaces behind. You can read about the design philosophy here but the technical discussion is pretty much beyond me.

 

LXmini design

 

All the best,

 

 

Ajax

[ctsooner]

Ajax, that's awesome and what this is all about. One thing to keep in mind as you go forward is listening. I mean really listening to what you love. There is audiophile and then there is loving music and then loving both. I fall into the both category, but many don't. They may think they do, but they don't. That's awesome too. Great to have passions.

 

I've personally found that every digital crossover I've heard taints the music a bit. One of the best digital cross overs I've heard is the Lindeman which is also used in the Mac gear. I've heard it run both ways with Wilson Alexa's, B&W 801 mk3 Diamond and also with Vandersteen 5CT's. To me they helped greatly with the normal 50hz room excitement. It tamed the highs on the Wilson's and that helped, but it also killed (for me) the excitement of the music. It truncated the sound stage and when they used it to make it 'bigger', it sounded digital to say the least. The pre and post percussive hits of the drums were shortened just enough as to make me not enjoy the music as much since I knew how the speakers all should have sounded.

 

I even discussed this with three different sales people who loved the device and knew how to use it fully. When I pointed these things out and discussed how they should have fixed the acoustics of the room first, they laughed and asked why. I said because then they wouldn't need to spend so much money on another device and process the signal and hurt the sound. Simple quilts on the walls where the first reflection is or a nice plant (real or fake) on the side of the speaker to break things up a bit.

 

I understand where they are coming from as I understand why many folks purchase these products. I try not to be a snob in audio, but I also know how revealing my own system is and how I got here. I know that I used to use a DBS unit back in college (I'm 57 and most don't even know what I just said, lol). It's fun to manipulate sound and try to make it the best it can be. Sometimes the most simple way is the best.

 

You seem to have really good speakers in the ATC's. I haven't heard them in a few years, but from what I remember they are a really nice speaker and fairly easy to drive as long as you have a high current amp.