Hi,
My brother recently asked me for advice on a good set of sub $500 speakers for a game room he was setting up in his new house. After giving him a few suggestions, it prompted me to look for some of the speakers I had suggested (mostly highlights from the 70's, 80's, and 90's that I was aware of.) These are speakers that I wanted at the time, but couldn't really afford or have learned about since. None of them cost me more than a couple of hundred $$ (except for the Tyler Acoustics which are my current main speakers). Anyways, one night (when the rest of my family was out of town) I pulled them all out for a listening session. Here are my highly subjective, barely educated, and likely impacted by a few glasses of wine opinions. I posted this to the Cerwin Vega forums with little response. So I thought I'd repeat the post here before I drop the topic and move on (I doubt many of the other audio forums would appreciate this collection of speakers). Some of these speakers sets will go back on the market; although, I also plan to keep at least a couple of them.
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For anyone interested, I ran my own classic speaker runoff last night. Speakers tested were:
Tyler Acoustic D10
Dahlquist DQ20
Klipsch KG5.5
Definitive Tech DR7
Realistic Mach One
Bose 10.2 series II
CV VS150
Here's a picture of the ensemble (minus the DR7's):
The end result was that there were no losers. Each of these classic speaker sets were purchased because they represented the best of an era for their respective manufacturers (except the DT DR7's). They may not have been the manufacturer's best ever, but they were up there and are considered as great bang for the buck today by enthusiasts. If anything, my opinion of the pricey D10s suffered a little because the other speakers were so much fun to listen to. While I love the D10s, I realized that I could be pretty happy with any of these speakers.
The listening list included a broad range of music from classic rock to club, classical, pop, and everything in between. Songs repeated on each speaker set included:
Jennifer Warnes: Somewhere Somebody, Way Down Deep
Allison Kraus: New Favorite, Stay, When You Say Nothing At All
Supertramp: The Logical Song
Steve Miller Band: Rock'n Me
Dire Straights: Money for Nothing
Massive Attack: Angel, Man Next Door
Reina: No One's Going to Change You
Darude: Sandstorm
Tracy Chapman: Fast Car
Aaron Copeland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries
Henry Mancini: Moon River
REM: Nightswimming
Eagles: Love Will Keep Us Alive, Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane
Plus a bunch of others as I thought of them...
Other audio equipment used:
Marantz AV7005 AV preamp
Marantz UD5007 disk player
Sherbourn 5/1500 5 channel amp, 200W into 8ohm, 300W into 4ohm
My intent was to pick a couple of these sets to sell, but I failed. I guess I need to listen to them some more
!
My comments on each set:
Tyler Acoustic D10s: These are fantastic speakers. MTM arrangement with four 10" woofers. True full range speakers with tremendous range, accuracy, and imaging. These beasts are 6' tall and weigh 240lbs each. The woofers are powered by a built in 500W class D amp. I started the night with these to set the standard for the evening (and because they were already set up).
Dahlquist DQ20s: These were my primary speakers for about 10 years before I purchased the D10s. I first heard the DQ20's at an audio store way back in the early '90s while I was in college (Audio Asylum in Cambridge, MA). I ended up purchasing an entry level set of bookshelf Frieds, but the DQ's made a huge impression. I then bought this set in the early 2000's. The DQ20's are a fantastic set of speakers with amazing imaging. They present a 3d-like sound field that really makes you feel as if you are at a live performance. The woofers are in a sealed box, so the bass was accurate, but the low end frequency response was limited. They were no comparison to some of the bass heavy hitters on this list. FWIW, I bought these for about $300 back in 2004. I don't plan to ever sell them unless I come across a cheap set of DQ20i's or DQ30's.
Klipsch KG5.5: I first listened to these in my basement hooked up to a 35wpc NAD receiver (705). Despite all the positive reviews I had read, these speakers didn't seem very impressive. However, hooked up to the Sherbourn and in my primary listening space, these speakers came alive. More than a bit treble forward with accurate tight base (if not a little lacking compared to the other speakers in this list), they were very enjoyable. These speakers were fairly rough and one of them had something loose inside that vibrated enough to be noticeable with some songs. I will likely dig into these to see what is vibrating and then re-listen. I picked these up for $180 this year. These may end of being one of the sets that I sell.
Definitive Technology DR7: Another set I drooled over back in college that I picked up afterwards. These are ported bookshelf speakers that are not really comparable to the others on the list. Very nice bass for a bookshelf set. Not nearly as accurate as a higher end set of bookshelf or monitor. These were DT's entry level models in the late 90's and they sound like it. Great for smaller spaces though.
Realistic Mach One: I own a realistic STA-2000 and picked up these speakers as contemporaries for the receiver. These are relatively efficient with great bass down to the 40Hz range. Highs were a little rolled off and imaging wasn't great. However, these sounded fantastic with club / rock music. In many ways, they were the little brothers to the VS150s. These are keepers as well, if only to leave them hooked up to the STA-2000 for a great late 70's vintage audio pair. These were purchased for $200 this year.
Bose 10.2 series II: Bose, similar to CV, are a love it or hate it kind of speaker brand. I grew up with my father's set of 301's and 901's. For much of my early life, I thought that Bose were the cream of the crop! While in college, I actually took professor Bose's audio engineering course. So, although I have no illusions about Bose's place in the audiophile world, I have a soft spot for their classic speakers. While looking for a deal on a set of 901s, I came across these 10.2's for $200 from the original owner (classic theme: his wife was making him sell them). I've read that many consider the 10.2's to be the best consumer grade speakers that Bose ever sold (including the 901). For a speaker with an 8" woofer, I was impressed. The imaging was a far cry from the DQ20's, as should be expected with the traditional Bose use of reflected sound (in this case they call it "sound everywhere".) The sound stage was large, but inaccurate compared to the DQ20's. The bass from the song list above came through surprisingly well; although, no where close to some of the others in this list. Trebles were a little rolled off, which was a common theme for the night. While I might not pick them above any of the floor standing speakers in the above list, I could be quite happy with these and am on the fence about selling them. I may hold on to them until I buy a set of 901s and then keep whichever set I like more.
Finally, the VS150's: I first learned about CV back in the mid-90's when a friend brought a set with 12" woofers with him to college. I came close to buying a set multiple times over the years, but finally pulled the trigger recently on this set of VS150s. As I wrote above, in many ways, these felt like the more mature big brothers to the Realistic Mach One's. They are efficient, a bit treble forward, with tons of bass. Although, the VS150's extend further into the low frequencies than the Mach Ones. Imaging seemed to be their weakest point. When listening, it was hard to single out individual performers in the sound stage. However, these speakers were phenomenal with the rock and club music I auditioned. Also, they were quite impressive at high volumes. I went as loud as my ears could take, and these speakers didn't seem to even break a sweat. I paid $180 for these last month.
Anyways, this is just one man's opinion from a single night of listening so take it for what it's worth. I plan to pick up more 70's, 80's, and 90's era speakers to continue the comparison once I decide which from the current list to let go....
Regards,
-Gary
---------------------------------------------
So, the Cerwin Vegas are for sale, but only because they are so large. The Mach One's are staying (to mate with my Realistic STA-2000 receiver), the Bose 10.2 are staying until I compare them to a set of 901's. I plan to keep the DQ20's forever, and I'm on the fence with the Klipsch KG5.5's. In the meantime, I've picked up a set of Bose 901's and Dahlquist DQ10's, so another comparo is probably in the cards...
My brother recently asked me for advice on a good set of sub $500 speakers for a game room he was setting up in his new house. After giving him a few suggestions, it prompted me to look for some of the speakers I had suggested (mostly highlights from the 70's, 80's, and 90's that I was aware of.) These are speakers that I wanted at the time, but couldn't really afford or have learned about since. None of them cost me more than a couple of hundred $$ (except for the Tyler Acoustics which are my current main speakers). Anyways, one night (when the rest of my family was out of town) I pulled them all out for a listening session. Here are my highly subjective, barely educated, and likely impacted by a few glasses of wine opinions. I posted this to the Cerwin Vega forums with little response. So I thought I'd repeat the post here before I drop the topic and move on (I doubt many of the other audio forums would appreciate this collection of speakers). Some of these speakers sets will go back on the market; although, I also plan to keep at least a couple of them.
----------------------------------------------------------
For anyone interested, I ran my own classic speaker runoff last night. Speakers tested were:
Tyler Acoustic D10
Dahlquist DQ20
Klipsch KG5.5
Definitive Tech DR7
Realistic Mach One
Bose 10.2 series II
CV VS150
Here's a picture of the ensemble (minus the DR7's):
The end result was that there were no losers. Each of these classic speaker sets were purchased because they represented the best of an era for their respective manufacturers (except the DT DR7's). They may not have been the manufacturer's best ever, but they were up there and are considered as great bang for the buck today by enthusiasts. If anything, my opinion of the pricey D10s suffered a little because the other speakers were so much fun to listen to. While I love the D10s, I realized that I could be pretty happy with any of these speakers.
The listening list included a broad range of music from classic rock to club, classical, pop, and everything in between. Songs repeated on each speaker set included:
Jennifer Warnes: Somewhere Somebody, Way Down Deep
Allison Kraus: New Favorite, Stay, When You Say Nothing At All
Supertramp: The Logical Song
Steve Miller Band: Rock'n Me
Dire Straights: Money for Nothing
Massive Attack: Angel, Man Next Door
Reina: No One's Going to Change You
Darude: Sandstorm
Tracy Chapman: Fast Car
Aaron Copeland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries
Henry Mancini: Moon River
REM: Nightswimming
Eagles: Love Will Keep Us Alive, Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane
Plus a bunch of others as I thought of them...
Other audio equipment used:
Marantz AV7005 AV preamp
Marantz UD5007 disk player
Sherbourn 5/1500 5 channel amp, 200W into 8ohm, 300W into 4ohm
My intent was to pick a couple of these sets to sell, but I failed. I guess I need to listen to them some more
!My comments on each set:
Tyler Acoustic D10s: These are fantastic speakers. MTM arrangement with four 10" woofers. True full range speakers with tremendous range, accuracy, and imaging. These beasts are 6' tall and weigh 240lbs each. The woofers are powered by a built in 500W class D amp. I started the night with these to set the standard for the evening (and because they were already set up
).Dahlquist DQ20s: These were my primary speakers for about 10 years before I purchased the D10s. I first heard the DQ20's at an audio store way back in the early '90s while I was in college (Audio Asylum in Cambridge, MA). I ended up purchasing an entry level set of bookshelf Frieds, but the DQ's made a huge impression. I then bought this set in the early 2000's. The DQ20's are a fantastic set of speakers with amazing imaging. They present a 3d-like sound field that really makes you feel as if you are at a live performance. The woofers are in a sealed box, so the bass was accurate, but the low end frequency response was limited. They were no comparison to some of the bass heavy hitters on this list. FWIW, I bought these for about $300 back in 2004. I don't plan to ever sell them unless I come across a cheap set of DQ20i's or DQ30's.
Klipsch KG5.5: I first listened to these in my basement hooked up to a 35wpc NAD receiver (705). Despite all the positive reviews I had read, these speakers didn't seem very impressive. However, hooked up to the Sherbourn and in my primary listening space, these speakers came alive. More than a bit treble forward with accurate tight base (if not a little lacking compared to the other speakers in this list), they were very enjoyable. These speakers were fairly rough and one of them had something loose inside that vibrated enough to be noticeable with some songs. I will likely dig into these to see what is vibrating and then re-listen. I picked these up for $180 this year. These may end of being one of the sets that I sell.
Definitive Technology DR7: Another set I drooled over back in college that I picked up afterwards. These are ported bookshelf speakers that are not really comparable to the others on the list. Very nice bass for a bookshelf set. Not nearly as accurate as a higher end set of bookshelf or monitor. These were DT's entry level models in the late 90's and they sound like it. Great for smaller spaces though.
Realistic Mach One: I own a realistic STA-2000 and picked up these speakers as contemporaries for the receiver. These are relatively efficient with great bass down to the 40Hz range. Highs were a little rolled off and imaging wasn't great. However, these sounded fantastic with club / rock music. In many ways, they were the little brothers to the VS150s. These are keepers as well, if only to leave them hooked up to the STA-2000 for a great late 70's vintage audio pair. These were purchased for $200 this year.
Bose 10.2 series II: Bose, similar to CV, are a love it or hate it kind of speaker brand. I grew up with my father's set of 301's and 901's. For much of my early life, I thought that Bose were the cream of the crop! While in college, I actually took professor Bose's audio engineering course. So, although I have no illusions about Bose's place in the audiophile world, I have a soft spot for their classic speakers. While looking for a deal on a set of 901s, I came across these 10.2's for $200 from the original owner (classic theme: his wife was making him sell them). I've read that many consider the 10.2's to be the best consumer grade speakers that Bose ever sold (including the 901). For a speaker with an 8" woofer, I was impressed. The imaging was a far cry from the DQ20's, as should be expected with the traditional Bose use of reflected sound (in this case they call it "sound everywhere".) The sound stage was large, but inaccurate compared to the DQ20's. The bass from the song list above came through surprisingly well; although, no where close to some of the others in this list. Trebles were a little rolled off, which was a common theme for the night. While I might not pick them above any of the floor standing speakers in the above list, I could be quite happy with these and am on the fence about selling them. I may hold on to them until I buy a set of 901s and then keep whichever set I like more.
Finally, the VS150's: I first learned about CV back in the mid-90's when a friend brought a set with 12" woofers with him to college. I came close to buying a set multiple times over the years, but finally pulled the trigger recently on this set of VS150s. As I wrote above, in many ways, these felt like the more mature big brothers to the Realistic Mach One's. They are efficient, a bit treble forward, with tons of bass. Although, the VS150's extend further into the low frequencies than the Mach Ones. Imaging seemed to be their weakest point. When listening, it was hard to single out individual performers in the sound stage. However, these speakers were phenomenal with the rock and club music I auditioned. Also, they were quite impressive at high volumes. I went as loud as my ears could take, and these speakers didn't seem to even break a sweat. I paid $180 for these last month.
Anyways, this is just one man's opinion from a single night of listening so take it for what it's worth. I plan to pick up more 70's, 80's, and 90's era speakers to continue the comparison once I decide which from the current list to let go....
Regards,
-Gary
---------------------------------------------
So, the Cerwin Vegas are for sale, but only because they are so large. The Mach One's are staying (to mate with my Realistic STA-2000 receiver), the Bose 10.2 are staying until I compare them to a set of 901's. I plan to keep the DQ20's forever, and I'm on the fence with the Klipsch KG5.5's. In the meantime, I've picked up a set of Bose 901's and Dahlquist DQ10's, so another comparo is probably in the cards...
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