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best speakers under $500 (including used & kits)

Posted by thump (A) on November 28, 2017 at 16:05:22

i'm looking to build a temporary bookshelf system eventually around a laptop as my source with an audioquest dragonfly red DAC (i really liked the effortless liquid sound of an original or 1.2 on a vandersteen 5A on a mc cormack DNA amp, if slightly more lush than i prefer... but NOT hard & digital!) and a parasound Z amp until i save up enough money to move and build a serious system.

i PLANNED on getting a used pair of axiom M22s or M2s (& stuffing their ports... i DESPISE bass reflex!) until finding out they use planned obsolescence foam surrounds.

ports (unless slotted, or on the front baffle) aren't deal breakers as they can be stuffed, but some other pet peeves i have are:

- flimsy cabinets! i ATTEMPTED to upgrade from my NHT superzeros, at first with well reviewed mission M71s & later with ALLEGEDLY "high end" energy RC10s, both of which had better drivers & tweeters than the NHTs, but forced equally unforgivable choices between port or boxy cabinet resonances when plugged. needless to say, you can NEVER talk me into buying role kayaks, even if they are sealed

- driver resonances. while the sound of NHT classics is mostly excellent, i just can't get past their aluminum resonant sound no matter how slight it is. that's why i wanted axioms... i've used dayton/MB quart titanium domes and love how they have the ease of soft domes with the speed of aluminum & ribbons etc., but without the resonance. for the same reason, i don't like the aluminum foil pingy sound of big maggies, but loved the speed, ESPECIALLY in the bass, of MG12s and freedom from any resonant signatures i could hear.

i don't want power hungry maggies though, but do like their sound. i'm an acoustic suspension mini lover since little infinity references wowed me the way nothing larger, up to $5,000 la scalas ever could until hearing them.

- i don't like soft domes. they are too easy going and just can't do cowbells (percussion speed... top AND bottom are top priorities) like good aluminum (my energy tweets were just fine & very revealing & B&W aluminums are excellent) or titanium, or even better, ribbons, planars & AMTs, but good luck finding a good fast tweeter on any satellite mini that ALSO has a real knuckle test passing cabinet. MAYBE i might find a pair of little B&Ws with rear ports.

ultimately, i'd like KEF LS50s or ascend acoustics sierra 2s with their distortion holes, i mean evil ports, plugged and am annoyed that NO-ONE will make an acoustic suspension mini with premium foam free drivers in solid cabinets when there should be DOZENS of $500 TRUE giant killers.

don't get me started on boston & infinity selling out to the bass reflex devil when they were sonic favorites in the 80s DESPITE their foam surrounds

- oh yeah... foam anything is a total deal killer

the "best candidates" i've been able to come up with are:

- used infinity modulus at around $500, but they're too rare to find. those are the speakers i've most lusted after after reading their review in audio in the 90s after their $100 references were THE speakers that made me finally get into audio because they were so fast and distortion free

- celestion SL6 or 600s... another speaker i lusted after a little, but don't think they could keep up with all of the dance music i listen to as they're described as sounding polite. if i wanted polite, i'd just get another pair of superzeros which are awesome in so many ways except detail retrieval, even on class D. they flat out SUCK on NAD!

- spica TC-50s - also on the hard to find side and overpriced at $350 when that's about what they originally sold for. i wanted to buy a pair back in the day before losing my mind over "minimum baffle", little 5 1/4" with ribbon tweeters modulus. THOSE are the speakers i'd most like within my budget if only anyone had a pair for sale since august, and that was in europe.

if i could, i'd build a pair of minis with RAAL ribbons and maybe a pair of 4 1/2" woofers d'appolito/point source style, but lack the tools and am build challenged as an amputee too.

if anyone knows of any imaging monster bookshelves with solid (preferably sealed) cabinets, rubber surround woofers, and tweeters that can do metallic percussion that can be had for $500 or less (it's a CRIME virtually no-one will offer my idea of REAL "80s infinity style" speakers for less than $1,500!!! arrrrgh!!!!!) i'd appreciate suggestions i'm not holding my breath on. i'd TRY to hold my breath on a pair of modulus if someone could hold them until i get back on my feet here with a new job i'm waiting on.

seriously, being an acoustic suspension mini lover is to be a hated minority in the audio community and screw EVERY hack reviewer who refuses to use AVAILABLE port plugs and report on them!!! had the hacks that tricked me into WASTING money on mission & energy done that, they might have mentioned how unforgivably boxy they sound plugged with their cereal box cabinets and saved me a few hundred dollars on speakers i grew to hate more and more!

i know what i want, but it's virtually unobtanium. if worse come to worse, i'll just get another cheap pair of zeros and try not to silently rage over how soft they are on percussion compared to B&Ws and maggies. otherwise, they super neutral, musical and quick up to the upper mids as well as imaging like crazy. i WISH NHT would make a "super zero" with high quality woofers & tweeters and with edge radiusing for diffraction reduction... like a "poor man's modulus".

did i mention i really like infinity modulus speakers in every way conceptually, never having heard a pair, but DID put a stolen deposit down on a pair of 6 1/2" EMIT demo 2 ways at a shop that was closed when i went to pay the balance, so modulus tweeters can't be hideous at the very least.

were it not for the soft dome tweeters, i used to lust after M&K S-85 minis too.

Edits: 11/28/17 11/28/17

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