Well, I'm moving to Houston to start my first job on July 1st. This means I'll finally be able to put together a 2.0 setup to use with my TV. I still haven't decided what will drive the speakers, but I'm toying with the ideas of either getting a decent Onkyo receiver from Amazon or getting an inexpensive integrated amp (NAD, Cambridge 640, Baby Sophia etc...) from A'Gon.

I have been looking at some speakers, but have no clue which models sound good/bad and which require solid state/tube amps. Basically, this is my first dip into the speaker pool. Currently, I'm looking at the Onix X-LS from www.av123.com, as well as some offerings by Klipsch and Paradigm (Titans?), but I'm open to anything else you guys would recommend within my budget.

Dali has a wide range of speakers, I'm not sure any dip down below US$300, but I think one or two of them come near.

Elac -- definitely worth checking out.

Mission, I think has some pretty good ones in that range.

I'm not sure Totem has anything in the <US$300 range, but if they do, you should definitely put it on your short list.

I've heard good things about Scandyna (ex-B&W, I think), their MicroPod is <US$100 each, if you can find a distributor.

Dynaudio (my current speaker company of choice) don't make anything that cheap, and even so, I haven't heard good things about their entry level gear (I think I heard that here, too).

I think the very entry level speaker from Focal (Chorus 705) might be in that range, but again, that's their very entry level, and I haven't heard it myself, but I like their whole range, so it's worth at least listening to, methinks.

Or you could just buy a pair of Visaton B200's and put 'em on a board ("dipole"...no, wait, that's "open baffle") and be done with it. You can think of them as big ol' headphones that you don't have to hang from your head.

Thanks for the help Dusty. I'm currently checking out the Mission M2 and M3's, as well as those nifty looking Scandyna's.

Here's a few more options for you:

http://ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html

http://axiomaudio.com/m3ti_main.html

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=82.1

Heh, Todd, two of those three were already listed

I'll check out that third pair though, thanks.

I think it's time to see what those "other" people think

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

I think it's time to see what those "other" people think

What other people? You mean, these guys?

What other people? You mean, these guys?

No, these guys...

No, these guys...

Oh, what do they know...actually, AdamP88 is a good guy and pretty knowledgeable, IIRC. Seems like a pretty constructive thread, so far...

$300 a pair. My advice is to go used; this will generally save you 30-50% off normal list price.

I?d recommend.

B&W 602 series II, Large stand mounted speaker, ported with a good metal dome tweeter and Kevlar woofer. Advantage ? Has useable bass down to the low 40?s. This means that it doesn?t have to have a subwoofer for music. $550 retail new you should be able to pick a set up for $300

If you want quality sound stick with two-way designs, at this price range three-way designs compromise too much on the quality of the drivers.

The best two companies producing speakers in this price range are B&W and Paradigm. Smaller audiofool companies do not have the economy of scale to produce speakers that are competitive in this price range. Companies that sell directly to the consumer could also be an option. A speaker sold direct for $300 would generally retail at a dealer for $500 to $600. The problem with these products is that the company and the performance of the speakers tend to be questionable.

I?d seriously try to find a set of B&W 602 series II?s.

My 2 cents.

Ok, quick question regarding your post Yikes. Two-way = midrange driver and tweeter, while three-way = two midrange drivers and a tweeter...correct?

No, that would still be a two-way if the two midranges are on the same crossover. Oversimplification, but: two-way == one crossover; 3-way == two crossovers. So: 3-way==woofer, mid and tweet; 2-way == tweet and mid/woof.

But yeah, basically: two-way == two (different) drivers.

Two Way refers specifically to the fact that the frequency spectrum is divided into two sections, Highs and Lows.

Most two ways use two drivers, but not all. Most center channel speakers as an example are three driver two ways using the WTW configuration.

Personally I find the compromises made building an inexpensive three way to be unacceptable.

Ahh ok, got it! Two-way it is

I heard these recently, they don't suck. Image pretty nicely, with their dual-concentric drivers. And at US$50/pair, they're cheap. I've heard that they like to be well amped, but I only heard them on one amp. I'm tempted to just get like three pairs and mount them in a hexagonical circle and call them my new omnidirectional speakers. But then I would need an amp that goes down to like 2.667 ohms. I'm thinking MF A300^CR (I know it can handle it). That would be funny -- driving US$150 worth of speakers with US$1500 worth of amp.

Hey, I agree with Dusty. I just listened to those briefly while chomping down some good cherry pie. They don't suck. And for the money they may as well be as good of a deal as the Koss KSC-35!

no kidding.

That would be funny -- driving US$150 worth of speakers with US$1500 worth of amp.

Almost as funny as driving headphones that cost me $10.84 with an amp that originally sold for over $2100

I'd agree with checking out the Mission line for under $300. However, you're best bet is to go listen to stuff costing more like $500, deciding what you like, then looking for it on Audiogon. Hifi store people (like me) don't like this, but I recommend it anyway if you're on a budget. Just find a store you don't like, since you don't want to alienate the guys at a store you actually like.

Also, I can't believe I had no idea this place was here until yesterday. Head-Fi without all the crap = .

I'd agree with checking out the Mission line for under $300. However, you're best bet is to go listen to stuff costing more like $500, deciding what you like, then looking for it on Audiogon. Hifi store people (like me) don't like this, but I recommend it anyway if you're on a budget. Just find a store you don't like, since you don't want to alienate the guys at a store you actually like.

Also, I can't believe I had no idea this place was here until yesterday. Head-Fi without all the crap = .

Different crap anyway

I heard these recently, they don't suck. Image pretty nicely, with their dual-concentric drivers. And at US$50/pair, they're cheap. I've heard that they like to be well amped, but I only heard them on one amp. I'm tempted to just get like three pairs and mount them in a hexagonical circle and call them my new omnidirectional speakers. But then I would need an amp that goes down to like 2.667 ohms. I'm thinking MF A300^CR (I know it can handle it). That would be funny -- driving US$150 worth of speakers with US$1500 worth of amp.

I own 5 and they ROCK the hell out of many many systems for the same price or more. Although, I'm not driving them with a 1500 dollar amp =P

The Axiom bookshelves are supposed to be very good, and around your price range.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/bookshelfspeakers.html?1364

Some good reccomendations here, thank you! I've been pondering picking up a budget speaker setup too.

I was really thinking abot the Titans, but those M3's look nice as well.

How well would a Gainclone (~60watts/channel) power these?

How much will the sound degrade if i placed small monitors on a desk?

Also, I can't believe I had no idea this place was here until yesterday. Head-Fi without all the crap = .

I told you it was the place to be, aren't you glad I let you in on the secret? :D :D

How much will the sound degrade if i placed small monitors on a desk?

Compared to what?

MHO: I don't have any problem putting things on the edge of something (like a dresser etc.) if that situates them in the room better. I had my speakers above my computer monitor and aimed downwards for nearfield listening (and they were Spendor S3/5's, so they were designed for nearfield listening), and I think that was a good setup.