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Budget floorstanders under $500 ?

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to find a pair of budget speakers with decent low-end. My current set-up is Cambridge Audio DVD89> Jolida 102B> Mission M71i. The Missions are small bookshelf speakers with a 5" woofer and spec down to 65hz (I think) buth they're really thin on even the mid-bass. I have a small 11x10 room. I listen to 50s/60s jazz, female vocals and rock. I'm considering a few speakers from Audio Advisor - Energy C-300s, Boston CS226s or Athena LS300s. I'm also considering the Polk M20s or Monitor 50s which are selling very inexpensively on NewEgg.com.

Can anyone provide suggestions or alternatives?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Tim
chuke076

Showing 2 responses by chuke076

chuke076 OP
45 posts
 
Thanks, I hadn't really thought of going that way. I have Target stands filled with shot, so I'm good to go.

In terms of "a step sideways" with regards to the floorstanders...are you saying that the increase in low frequency response would be offset by decrease overall performance from my current Missions?
chuke076 OP
45 posts
 
Thanks for all the info. I've been looking into the Kef Q series since Ablang made the suggestion. Accessories4less.com (authorized Kef dealer) has the iQ3s for $300. On paper, I should get more mid bass with those and the price is right. As an experiment, I brought my B&W DM305 floorstanders up into my listening room and hooked them up to my Nuforce Icon. I didn't want to connect them to the Jolida because I've got a bad tube now. The Icon did a nice job driving the B&Ws but I lost a lot of the detail in the midrange and treble. I think I'll stick with monitors for that small room.

Incidentally, I used to own a set of Vandy 1B's. I think they'd totally overpower my small room based on the fact that the B&Ws seem to do so. I recall them being fairly laid back even though I drove them with a big old Carver M500T with 250 solid state wpc.
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