under $300 bookshelfs: does excitement exist?

dylan,

If you are "just truely curious", do some homework on the Athena Line. I was shock when I saw that they got picked up by BB. They are a very well reviewed speaker and are very inexpensive. This line has been carried by AudioAdvisor for a couple of years.

One added benefit of the Athena speakers is that they are relatively efficient, so any amp over about 5-10 watt/channel would likely drive them. This opens up lots of possibilities including a small tube integrated amp or something like a single Monarchy SM-70.

Don't discount the Athena just because best buy picked them up. These speakers have gotten great reviews in their price range. Also, if you buy them at Best Buy or AudioAdvisor, you could try them and return them with little/no hassle if they don't work for you. Can you do that with a used or "Audiophile Brand" from another e-tailer? Oh yeah, they can be had for under $200!

Past the Athena, I think the new Epos might be a good choice as would some of the Castle speakers that are being closed out right now.

Enjoy,

TIC

Another vote for the B&W 303's and, if you can find them, the Ruark Epilogue for that price used is another level up.

Dylan (I'll call you Dylan if you don't mind), the greatest things are found in the unlikeliest places! If the Great Harry Pearson can get past the Best Buy thing, then so can you. While there may be speakers in this price range which better the S-Ds at various things (though I'm not certain of this), I would hazard to say that nothing touches them musically. I don't understand how the designers have done it, but they've done it. I was on the verge of yet another series of very expensive and miserable upgrades (people in the high-end can vouch for this experience, when an "upgrade" throws a good system out of balance leading to months of misery, instability, and spending), when, out of curiosity I decided to walk into a shop to hear the enormous AS-F2s which both Stereophile and Soundstage have raved about, and I couldn't believe my ears. Clarity, speed, detail but best of all, a supernatural (this is the only way I can describe it) ability to get the delicate timing and rhtyhm across, to make it fun and enthralling...I'm speechless. I'm buying them. I'm out of the game. And being very sensitive, they'll make the most of low-powered, high-quality, reasonably-priced amplification. Of course, there are other stars out there, but I've found my Holy Grail. And incidentally: they were hooked up to a Harmon Kardon, beautiful to look at (acrylic front plate, blue back-lit chrome volume control, beautiful digital readout, heavy, two-channel) which sells for only $400. I picked it up to see if it was quality, and it was extremely heavy, meaning beefy transformer. It was smooth, detailed, punchy and had excellent timing (though the S-Ds have something to do with this). It makes me wonder if I drop all the way out of the game and buy it too. Anyone else out there know anything about the new series of H-K components? C'mon, keep an open mind, don't be embarrassed. Maybe it's time to sell my tube amps!

Yeah....B&W 302 or 303

Dylan, I'm with John on the Athena line. I presently use 4 Sound Dynamics RTS-3s for my HT. They are a truly amazing speaker for the money. For a short period I was using two of them for my 2 channel system while waiting for my present speakers to arrive. Time and time again I sat in front of these speakers doing some very critical listening. I was awed by their performance.

Is there better out there? Absolutely. But I challenge anyone to find the price to performance ratio that these speakers offer. At this point in time you can probably find a set for under $200.00 new. I have not heard the newer Athena line, but if they sound as good as the RTS-3s you really can't go wrong.

If you have a Mapleshade catalog, you will notice that Mapleshade offers a set of floor stands that tilts the speaker back at approx. a 15 degree angle. You will notice that the speaker used on that stand is an RTS-3.

Best of luck and happy listening.