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Loungeroom speaker setup under $1000


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Hi all,

 

Looking to get a reasonable speaker setup for my lounge. I don't have a huge budget, I just want to move out of the consumer electronic space and don't have a huge knowledge of the entry-level audiophile market. I've done some searching but my biggest problem is that a lot of the reviews/forums/etc are US based and refer to equipment that's hard to come by in Australia. If I start looking at shipping from overseas my $1000 budget starts to shrink pretty quickly, so I need to find something that I can pick up locally.

 

Application: Two speakers, powered by an old Denon AVR-1507 amp. They will need to be wall/ceiling mounted. I'm fine with wall-mounting a decent set of bookshelf speakers,  but I'm wondering if instead of that I'd be best with two smaller drivers on the ceiling and a sub on the floor?

 

Ideas so far: I've found a few options, but as I said, I'm pretty new to this field and don't really know which of these ideas are good ones for my application/budget, and which are terrible ideas that I should forget immediately. So if anyone is willing to throw in their take on whether any/all of these ideas are great/okay/not the most effective use of my budget/downright idiotic I'd hugely appreciate it!

 

- Bowers & Wilkins. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount in my price range but I might be able to find a couple of bookshelf speakers within my price range, or else grab a couple of M1 satellite speakers and a sub

 

- Paradigm. I could likely pick up a Cinema 100 2.1 system for under $1k, or else there's a set of ex-display Paradigm Mini Monitors going nearby for $600, which would leave me with a bit of room to find a sub to match

 

- Wharfdale. I should be able to pick up a set of bookshelf speakers and a sub for under $1000, but I'm not sure whether I'm straying back into the "consumer electronics" field here

 

- Grover Notting. I could pick up a pair of CR-11's for just under $1000, but then that doesn't leave me any funds for a sub to back them up. I could get a pair of CR-1's or CR-2's instead, which would leave me money for a sub, but they're single driver speakers and I'm wondering if the lack of a dedicated high frequency driver would be noticeable?

 

- Tannoy. I could pick up a pair of Eclipse 1 or Mercury 7.1 bookshelf speakers for under $500, leaving me plenty of room for a sub

 

- Polk. I could pick up a pair of A1 or A3 bookshelf speakers for around $600, plus a sub to match

 

Open to any other suggestions also!

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Definitely open to buying second hand, and I've had a scan through the classifieds section, but I just don't have enough experience to know what to look for. If you know of anything currently for sale that fits the bill, let me know and I'll dig into it though!

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Gumtree has more range of items at the price. If you see something that appears good, research online reviews if any, ask here and/or demo it and decide.

 

$1000 Used has the potential to get you a used speaker that was 2-3 times that retail and very good sound. Likewise a used item worth $1000 retail for around $200-500. 

 

You just need to eliminate options with a mental or written checklist against your strongest criteria.

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Thanks, I'll definitely keep looking around.

 

Just because I'm (as I said) really new to this, if anyone is willing to throw their 2c in on any or all of the brands/ideas from my original post, I'd really appreciate it. That might at least help me get a little more up to speed on my various options for when I look for second hand.

 

Or if anyone wants to comment on whether I'd (as a broad, general rule) be better with two really good bookshelfs, or two smaller satellites and a sub, I'd be interested to get some perspectives on that too from people that know more about it than me (i.e. most people)

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I think someone was selling some paradigm mini monitors in the classifieds in the last fortnight. They were around the $400 mark from memory. They are a big bookshelf and easy to drive. You could do a lot worse.

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It's not massive - I live in an apartment which totals about 75m2, it's mostly open plan so the space they're in probably totals about 45m2. I feel like I could easily get away without a sub if I got some larger floor speakers but (a) I don't have the floor space and (b) my 6 month old has just learned to crawl so all my speakers need to be out of the reach of curious hands. I figure a sub will be fine as long as it has the grill on, as it'll be on the floor  not on a stand, and can't so much be knocked over.

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I had a ported sub in the loungeroom for about 10 years. I moved it out a couple of years ago and it had a weird rattle. Turns out one of the kids (not sure which one) had shoved half a dozen little toys in there [emoji1]

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What were your mains, without the sub?

 

I'm across a bit of everything musically, not so much into the really heavy metal spectrum or the really ambient electronica spectrum, but most things in between. Rock, pop, punk, a little classical, some electronic, some jazz, etc

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As a left field idea, get yourself down to somewhere like DJ City and try out some professional gear.  A pair of KRK Rokit 10's could be yours for about $700. Active, three way, get down to 30 odd hertz. Front ported so hang them off a shelf, built to work close to walls. All you need is a source and a volume control. Plenty of bass, tough as nails, loud enough to destroy your hearing. Pro gear makes home audio look insanely priced in comparison.

 

You might love it or may not. Free to try, brand new, warranty, nothing to loose. Think outside the box , link in a computer or digital source for a bargain. Add a sub later if you feel the need but you may well find these delve more than low enough unless Dubstep is your thing.

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On 25/01/2018 at 6:02 PM, Andrews_melb said:

Look at Monitor Audio as well, great sound and price. I loved when i had my BX2s, cheap and did just fine for me.

for bang for buck id stay away from  Satellite/ceiling speakers and just stick with the norm bookshelf style

 

+1 Monitor Audio second hand.

 

I grabbed a second hand pair of Silver S6 Floorstanders a couple of years back for my dad. Cost was about $380, which remains the best bang for buck deal I've ever had. To this day I have a "Monitor Audio" eBay search saved, just in case!

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Don't know the seller, but I've heard these speakers and they would knock anything new under $1000 out of the park:  

 

 

Btw. At this total price range subs are often known for doing more harm than good. I'd likewise focus on the two main speakers first.

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17 hours ago, Ooogh said:

As a left field idea, get yourself down to somewhere like DJ City and try out some professional gear.  A pair of KRK Rokit 10's could be yours for about $700. Active, three way, get down to 30 odd hertz. Front ported so hang them off a shelf, built to work close to walls. All you need is a source and a volume control. Plenty of bass, tough as nails, loud enough to destroy your hearing. Pro gear makes home audio look insanely priced in comparison.

 

You might love it or may not. Free to try, brand new, warranty, nothing to loose. Think outside the box , link in a computer or digital source for a bargain. Add a sub later if you feel the need but you may well find these delve more than low enough unless Dubstep is your thing.

I totally agree with that and have mentioned to people that something like an active Yamaha HS 5 or 8 with built in amp for around $600-100 rrp would sound better than a lot of more expensive separate speaker and amp hifi combos.

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On 25/01/2018 at 6:02 PM, Andrews_melb said:

Look at Monitor Audio as well, great sound and price. I loved when i had my BX2s, cheap and did just fine for me.

for bang for buck id stay away from  Satellite/ceiling speakers and just stick with the norm bookshelf style

 

Thanks for the tip. That seems to be the advice I'm getting most places (bookshelf over satellite).

 

On 26/01/2018 at 11:01 PM, Ooogh said:

As a left field idea, get yourself down to somewhere like DJ City and try out some professional gear.  A pair of KRK Rokit 10's could be yours for about $700. Active, three way, get down to 30 odd hertz. Front ported so hang them off a shelf, built to work close to walls. All you need is a source and a volume control. Plenty of bass, tough as nails, loud enough to destroy your hearing. Pro gear makes home audio look insanely priced in comparison.

 

You might love it or may not. Free to try, brand new, warranty, nothing to loose. Think outside the box , link in a computer or digital source for a bargain. Add a sub later if you feel the need but you may well find these delve more than low enough unless Dubstep is your thing.

On 27/01/2018 at 4:28 PM, Al.M said:

I totally agree with that and have mentioned to people that something like an active Yamaha HS 5 or 8 with built in amp for around $600-100 rrp would sound better than a lot of more expensive separate speaker and amp hifi combos.

Pro gear is actually where my experience with sound is - I've worked in the studio/live environment a decent amount and that's the gear that I'm used to. I just have no idea about the home setups :)

 

I actually have a pair of Yamaha HS50M's (the previous incarnation of the HS5) that I considered using, but the problem is I have to wall or ceiling mount whatever I use, which means if I use active speakers I need power at the speaker. Since I live in an apartment with no ceiling space, getting new power points means ripping down and replacing plaster, which is again way outside my budget. I have a very small channel where I can conceal the speaker wires, but running power cables with them isn't really feasible.

 

On Friday I went and demo'd a heap of bookshelf speakers - KEF, B&W, Tannoy, Jamo, Proac - but the standouts were by far the Paradigm mini monitors. The store was down to the last set as apparently there's a new model coming out this year, but they weren't sure when. On Wednesday I'm going to go and demo some Grover Notting CR monitors and then I've got to make a decision!

 

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