Just want to thank you for all your videos on low cost speakers. I picked up the Sony SSCS5 for 4260 Canadian. Great speakers for the price. Thanks for all your content, especially the way you explain everything. Wishing you a great 2025.
I bought the Klipsch RP500M 3 years ago after conducting a 5 way speaker shootout. They are great dynamic speakers and can deliver clear and play quite loud (90db+) without distortion. Driving with a Schiit Vivar ap in a 15x25 living room. I use for both TV and music. I highly recommend.
I brought in the Elac 2.0 b5.2's recently while they were on sale for $239 at Amazon. After 30 plus hours of playing the soundstage expanded and clarity improved noticeably. I used the same source/songs over the process to minimize variables and the changes were surprising. Great price and transitioning into an awesome speaker.
Been listening to a new pair of the ES15. Polk has never been on my radar, but I revamped my computer workstation for some serious NFL. Up close and personal. The ES15s blew me away. I was surprised at the amount of solid bass. Everything was working for me. Of course my IanCanada PurePi II based dual DAC hardware was serving up some crisp, clear tunes with the lowest of low jitter free tracks. The ES15s are truly amazing sounding. Oh, did I mention they were on sale for $210. A bargain by any standard. :)
@@pmyt1704 I have not. I bought them specifically to upgrade my workstation listening area. I was fully intending to add a small extra SW I had. When I heard the bass I decided I wouldn't need it. :) They are simply the smoothest and richest sounding speakers I've owned at this price point. Of course, they are paired with a little Topping PA5 II amp, that delivers GREAT dynamics to makes them sound glorious. The ES15s are very solid, weighing in at a 13lbs each. They look and feel like a speaker costing much more. You can't go wrong. I don't see why they couldn't be used as primary speakers with a small AVR for watching TV or movies. I think you'd get plenty of bass without a SW. I don't know how intensive your movie watching is though. My wife and I watch movies 3-4 times a week in my media/listening room. I have a pair of Energy floorstanders hooked to my AVR, and a very old 18" Paradigm subwoofer that uses a 1" stab of granite as its base. When an explosion happens in a movie you know it. :)
Randy, i have always liked the B5 better than its bigger brothers and it's comforting to realize that you also feel that way. when Andrew was first demoing them (they were his first effort for ELAC) with Bel Canto electronics, I was stunned, AND I looked for a sub in the demo, there wasn't one! i DO always suggest about 100wpc rme to effectively make them perform well. at home, my satellites are Spendor S3/5 with a sensitivity of 84db SO my ADCOM 555II with its 200wpc will never deliver a distorted signal to them.
Neumi Bsp5 Arc $169. They are the powered version of the Bsp5 with a remote, hdmi arc input, and a subwoofer out. I paired mine with a wiim ultra, smsl su1, and a pair of Sony SACS9 subs. Its a great little budget system.
Had the Elac 5.2 for a while and loved them but got the itch for others. Had the Atoms too, not bad, the RP-500 and 600 as well. What surprised me the most is that at $200, I really liked the Klipsch R-50M better than the RP series! I recommend those all day over the RP. Wanted the Emotiva but always out of stock. Finally landed on the JBL HDI-1600...now that's a speaker! Love those!
My PSB Alpha T20 minitowers punch *way* above their weight; it would be a totally on-brand candidate for this channel to give them a listen. Ron from New Record Day spent a lot of time with them and, I think, kept them.
@@jamesbennett1634 It's weird to me how much time reviewers spend talking about the bass; to me the star of the show is the upper crossover. I've never heard a pair of speakers that's remotely as agile right at 2.6k -- positively unflappable at the right-hand end of the piano.
I recommend the Polks to a colleague last year along with a Fosi dac for his turntable setup. He was so happy with them he ordered the matching 12" sub woofer to go with them and a pair of towers, center channel and AVR for his separate tv room!! He's saving up for another pair of these to use for rear suuround channels!! 😂😂😂. Glad to hear your positive opinion on them. I have the seven driver, Polk Signiture Elite ES35 center chanel in my home theater snd love it!! Needed something powerful but slim enough to go under my tv! The rest of my home thestre are Paradigm SE Atoms for ATMOS channels, Monitor 6000F towers for front L/R, 3000F towers for rear surround and a Paradigm 12" Defiance sub woofer to round it off and it ROCKS! I'm so happy with Paradigm!!
I haven’t seen the Polk S60’s reviewed in a long time, and they have wide enough frequency response to negate the need for a sub. (Total Frequency Response 26 Hz → 40000 Hz)
When looking for great bookshelf speakers, it never hurts to look for some used PSB Alpha's. They've been amazing bang-for-the-buck for 3 decades and usually sell for $120 buck or so when used.
Have you ever listened to a NHT speaker? I picked up a set of NHT 3C 3 way bookshelf speaker used for $200. Attached them to my Fosi ZD3 and ZA3 mono amps. They sound great......and they were already broken in!
would really like to see/hear a review on the "New" Dayton Audio Classic line of speakers, B40, B65, T65 paired up with the Yamaha R-S202BL receiver. cheers
2 дні тому+1
Very helpful analysis as usual. Good range of options but I’ll stick with my Fyne Audio F301i’s.
lol... I'm going the other way...just fell into the headphone rabbit hole. Been using an Aiyima T8 with a pair of Senheiser 599's for about a month...now I have a Schitt Vali 3 and Sundaras on the way
@pfslik You'll like the sundaras, but I will say if you have the option, try to swap it out for the Hifiman Edition XS. Couple of years ago it was the direct upgrade, but recently was price slashed below the Sundara. I think it's sitting at $279 right now.
If someone needs a small amp for fairly efficient speakers on a desktop application, Schiit has ended the production of the Rekkr and you can get em for 99 USD up until the stock lasts.
Please, please, please review the Cerwin Vega LA165 bookshelves. A little bright on top, but very clear. Well built with curved cabinets for only $269/pair msrp. Often on sale for 10% off. My brother has a pair and he loves them.
I also have a pair and love them. I've used them with 40 watt SoundValve class A tube monoblocks, vintage 125 watt Kenwood class A/B and a 80 watt Wiim amp class D. Each amp performed a bit better than the other in different categories but overall I thought the Kenwood with more power made them sing. But you can't beat the LA165's for the price. I'll probably never sell them.
I just bought a pair of Klipsch 600M and 120SW to go with it. Intended use is just garage/workshop, but I got them basically half of on Crutchfield. Can anyone recommend amps and/or streamers to drive them properly? I don’t need nothing fancy but I would like to do these speakers justice tho. Thanks in advance for any tips
Thanks for the heads up! Just got the Elacs. Hoping it to build a 4 speaker surround with a sub. Can you recommend an amplifier? It needs to be able to connect Bluetooth, phono, tv, and dvd player. Thank you for your help! Love the channel!!!
Randy- could you do a video for best bookshelf speakers under $700? I started out with a budget of $500, but like so many people do I have decided to add an additional $200 to the budget in hopes of getting a decent speaker for my fronts R-L’s and for stereo music. I don’t want something really bright on the high end (I have that covered now). Let me know if you will consider doing a video on this and I will await your suggestion.
HiVi-Swans Oasis 140 back in stock. $130. Grabbing a pair myself now. Passive cousin of the OS-10 powered speakers ($170). If they sound as good as they do with $40 worth of integrated DAC/amp guts, how great will they be paired with dedicated hardware?
I just picked up a pair of Bose 201 Series V for $120 delivered. Yes, used. But I'd rather buy the devil you know instead of the one you don't. I have 301's that I bought in 1980 and they still sound great.
I have the Elac Debut 2.0 as well - a few actually, and the floor model. They are great, but definitely need some power to get the most out of them. 6ohm impedance makes them a little more difficult to run.
@@Timoeltejano It's like anything, if you have to work to hard to convince yourself you like them, then something isn't jiving with your setup or the sound is just not your cup of tea. Sounds like you have a nice stable of speakers that you have in your arsenal on which to pivot. 😎👍🏻
Would recommend to always listen to the klipsch before buying one of the more expensive. Tried to upgrade from a pair of cheap (B-3) klipsch to much more expensive Goldenear AON-3's. Returning the AON-3's again, the low end gets often boomy and the specs and "reviewers" low end is just not there. Mid and high are good, but not better than the Klipsch. In the low range they (AON3) simply suck, it is bad. Test track "Black Widow" (Ora/Azalea) was a total joke with the AON-3's. they did not even match the B-3's in the low range, despite having MUCH better specs to get close to full range; As close a bookshelf can get. But the specs are simply a lie in this case of the AON-3's 🙂 Also listened to B&W's, Kef's, which are also very good and on par to what i have in the Livingroom (klipsch 5.1 setup), but the B&W's are three times more expensive. Kef is really good, but i do not like the sound (taste). B&W i do also very like, but not better than Klipsch and they are 3 times the price. I really understand why many audiophiles hate Klipsch, they are cheap, widely available and really good combined with warmer sounding (not expensive) amps. No magic, no expensive parts, easy to get. All the things religious audiophiles really hate.
CHEAP AUDIOMAN BAT SIGNAL FOR HELP!!! I need a small form factor bookshelf speaker for my office for near field listening, using a sx-780 reciever to power them. Will be used for gaming, streaming, and a lot of music. Under $200 what’s the go to?!
Hey CAM, how about organizing a test comparison of the best 3D printed speaker designs? Yeah it would be a challenge because it will depend on print settings, drivers, etc, but there are getting too be some really intriguing designs, my next will probably be DIY and 3DP. Just not sure how any of them really sound.
I've asked on several of these kinda bids, what speakers with a wiim ultra, via spotify would be good for heavy metal, what id need to add to thd ultra and how it all comnects, not 1 single reply from the YT owners
Just want to thank you for all your videos on low cost speakers. I picked up the Sony SSCS5 for 4260 Canadian. Great speakers for the price. Thanks for all your content, especially the way you explain everything. Wishing you a great 2025.
I bought the Klipsch RP500M 3 years ago after conducting a 5 way speaker shootout. They are great dynamic speakers and can deliver clear and play quite loud (90db+) without distortion. Driving with a Schiit Vivar ap in a 15x25 living room. I use for both TV and music. I highly recommend.
Thanks!
I brought in the Elac 2.0 b5.2's recently while they were on sale for $239 at Amazon. After 30 plus hours of playing the soundstage expanded and clarity improved noticeably. I used the same source/songs over the process to minimize variables and the changes were surprising.
Great price and transitioning into an awesome speaker.
Enjoy your time with your family.
The Magnat Monitor Supreme 202 might be a speaker to try at $250 on Amazon.
Thanks for including the Paradigm Atoms. They get overlooked so often. Paired with a good sub (rsl) 👍!
I treated myself to some Dali Spektor 2's at Christmas - £180 on sale. Using them in a relatively small room and they blow me away! Sound amazing.
Been listening to a new pair of the ES15. Polk has never been on my radar, but I revamped my computer workstation for some serious NFL. Up close and personal. The ES15s blew me away. I was surprised at the amount of solid bass. Everything was working for me. Of course my IanCanada PurePi II based dual DAC hardware was serving up some crisp, clear tunes with the lowest of low jitter free tracks. The ES15s are truly amazing sounding. Oh, did I mention they were on sale for $210. A bargain by any standard. :)
@@RichardDowns-ve5bq Have you used them to watch Movies/TV at all? If so, what are they like?
@@pmyt1704 I have not. I bought them specifically to upgrade my workstation listening area. I was fully intending to add a small extra SW I had. When I heard the bass I decided I wouldn't need it. :) They are simply the smoothest and richest sounding speakers I've owned at this price point. Of course, they are paired with a little Topping PA5 II amp, that delivers GREAT dynamics to makes them sound glorious. The ES15s are very solid, weighing in at a 13lbs each. They look and feel like a speaker costing much more. You can't go wrong.
I don't see why they couldn't be used as primary speakers with a small AVR for watching TV or movies. I think you'd get plenty of bass without a SW. I don't know how intensive your movie watching is though. My wife and I watch movies 3-4 times a week in my media/listening room.
I have a pair of Energy floorstanders hooked to my AVR, and a very old 18" Paradigm subwoofer that uses a 1" stab of granite as its base. When an explosion happens in a movie you know it. :)
Randy, i have always liked the B5 better than its bigger brothers and it's comforting to realize that you also feel that way. when Andrew was first demoing them (they were his first effort for ELAC) with Bel Canto electronics, I was stunned, AND I looked for a sub in the demo, there wasn't one! i DO always suggest about 100wpc rme to effectively make them perform well. at home, my satellites are Spendor S3/5 with a sensitivity of 84db SO my ADCOM 555II with its 200wpc will never deliver a distorted signal to them.
I listen to the Polk XT20's. I love them. I bought them on sale a year ago for $229.00.
Thanks for bringing all of these choices to our attention! Choice in the new year is a very good thing.
I have the Emotiva XB1s and they are awesome speakers! I highly recommend them
I paired up the Polk ES15's with the SMSL AO300, and the Shanling CR60 CD transport, best money I every spent for a desktop system.
Neumi Bsp5 Arc $169. They are the powered version of the Bsp5 with a remote, hdmi arc input, and a subwoofer out. I paired mine with a wiim ultra, smsl su1, and a pair of Sony SACS9 subs. Its a great little budget system.
Had the Elac 5.2 for a while and loved them but got the itch for others. Had the Atoms too, not bad, the RP-500 and 600 as well. What surprised me the most is that at $200, I really liked the Klipsch R-50M better than the RP series! I recommend those all day over the RP. Wanted the Emotiva but always out of stock. Finally landed on the JBL HDI-1600...now that's a speaker! Love those!
Went for the ELAC Debut 2.0’s 😅. Thanks for the great advice and videos.
My PSB Alpha T20 minitowers punch *way* above their weight; it would be a totally on-brand candidate for this channel to give them a listen. Ron from New Record Day spent a lot of time with them and, I think, kept them.
I have them and would agree 100%
@@jamesbennett1634 It's weird to me how much time reviewers spend talking about the bass; to me the star of the show is the upper crossover. I've never heard a pair of speakers that's remotely as agile right at 2.6k -- positively unflappable at the right-hand end of the piano.
I have a set of the Polk Audio Monitor XT20 and love them in my office
I recommend the Polks to a colleague last year along with a Fosi dac for his turntable setup. He was so happy with them he ordered the matching 12" sub woofer to go with them and a pair of towers, center channel and AVR for his separate tv room!! He's saving up for another pair of these to use for rear suuround channels!! 😂😂😂. Glad to hear your positive opinion on them.
I have the seven driver, Polk Signiture Elite ES35 center chanel in my home theater snd love it!! Needed something powerful but slim enough to go under my tv! The rest of my home thestre are Paradigm SE Atoms for ATMOS channels, Monitor 6000F towers for front L/R, 3000F towers for rear surround and a Paradigm 12" Defiance sub woofer to round it off and it ROCKS! I'm so happy with Paradigm!!
I haven’t seen the Polk S60’s reviewed in a long time, and they have wide enough frequency response to negate the need for a sub. (Total Frequency Response
26 Hz → 40000 Hz)
I won a set of b1 plus and they fill my room they are amazing
Do tell. Where’d you win these? Congrats!
@ I won on one of Randy’s videos he and manufactures had a give away and I made a comment and was randomly picked and now I have amazing sound
@ that’s fantastic!
@ thanks for sharing!
I miss the Q-Acoustics 3020i
I have the Polk ES20s paired with the Aiyima A07 Max and love em!
Any thoughts on Cerwin Vega LA146? Seems like it would fit the under $300 range.
When looking for great bookshelf speakers, it never hurts to look for some used PSB Alpha's.
They've been amazing bang-for-the-buck for 3 decades and usually sell for $120 buck or so when used.
Have you ever listened to a NHT speaker? I picked up a set of NHT 3C 3 way bookshelf speaker used for $200. Attached them to my Fosi ZD3 and ZA3 mono amps. They sound great......and they were already broken in!
I remember them when they came out in the late 1980s . I never heard them personally but they got glowing reviews much like the Elacs now.
would really like to see/hear a review on the "New" Dayton Audio Classic line of speakers, B40, B65, T65 paired up with the Yamaha R-S202BL receiver. cheers
Very helpful analysis as usual. Good range of options but I’ll stick with my Fyne Audio F301i’s.
I scored the XT20s for $200 yesterday with an open box deal. It'll be my first proper speaker set-up (I've been a headphone guy for years.)
lol... I'm going the other way...just fell into the headphone rabbit hole. Been using an Aiyima T8 with a pair of Senheiser 599's for about a month...now I have a Schitt Vali 3 and Sundaras on the way
@pfslik You'll like the sundaras, but I will say if you have the option, try to swap it out for the Hifiman Edition XS. Couple of years ago it was the direct upgrade, but recently was price slashed below the Sundara. I think it's sitting at $279 right now.
If someone needs a small amp for fairly efficient speakers on a desktop application, Schiit has ended the production of the Rekkr and you can get em for 99 USD up until the stock lasts.
Not quite under 300 but, a steal! Picked up the R200s from Amazon Resale for 468! Super excited to hear these bad boys!
Among the worst speakers I've ever heard in my life
Dali Spector 2s are also great speakers to think about that look beautiful.
Polk audio. Are A nice set of speakers. My pair about six years old and still sound good
Agreed. I have several pairs of Polks, some as old as 20+ years. The old Rti series, the 4. 28 and 38 plus the Tsi100's. They all sound great.
Please, please, please review the Cerwin Vega LA165 bookshelves. A little bright on top, but very clear. Well built with curved cabinets for only $269/pair msrp. Often on sale for 10% off. My brother has a pair and he loves them.
I have a pair,
The brightness on top is very much the amplifier used. Better amp scales them way up. Put them with a dayton hta100
I also have a pair and love them. I've used them with 40 watt SoundValve class A tube monoblocks, vintage 125 watt Kenwood class A/B and a 80 watt Wiim amp class D. Each amp performed a bit better than the other in different categories but overall I thought the Kenwood with more power made them sing. But you can't beat the LA165's for the price. I'll probably never sell them.
@pfslik the openess of the midrange on vocal jazz is exceptional. In this respect they compete with $2k speakers. Seriously
@@donaldbrown9976 Randy won't review CV because there is no money in it. And it competes with his paid advertisers
@StrangeBrewReviews
No, they don't compete with 2k speakers, sorry.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on "on-wall" speakers, especially models like the XTZ Spirit 2, Dali Oberon, and similar options.
Hi Randy which one would you pick polk es20 vs Dali oberon 1?
I just bought a pair of Klipsch 600M and 120SW to go with it. Intended use is just garage/workshop, but I got them basically half of on Crutchfield.
Can anyone recommend amps and/or streamers to drive them properly?
I don’t need nothing fancy but I would like to do these speakers justice tho.
Thanks in advance for any tips
Thanks for the heads up! Just got the Elacs. Hoping it to build a 4 speaker surround with a sub. Can you recommend an amplifier? It needs to be able to connect Bluetooth, phono, tv, and dvd player. Thank you for your help! Love the channel!!!
Randy- could you do a video for best bookshelf speakers under $700? I started out with a budget of $500, but like so many people do I have decided to add an additional $200 to the budget in hopes of getting a decent speaker for my fronts R-L’s and for stereo music. I don’t want something really bright on the high end (I have that covered now). Let me know if you will consider doing a video on this and I will await your suggestion.
@ you never know- maybe someone else is also looking for speakers in that price range. Not everyone is trying to find speakers under $300
Your daughter is adorable!😍
HiVi-Swans Oasis 140 back in stock. $130. Grabbing a pair myself now. Passive cousin of the OS-10 powered speakers ($170). If they sound as good as they do with $40 worth of integrated DAC/amp guts, how great will they be paired with dedicated hardware?
Love seeing the kids in the background being goofy!!
Thannk you Randy!
I just picked up a pair of Bose 201 Series V for $120 delivered. Yes, used. But I'd rather buy the devil you know instead of the one you don't. I have 301's that I bought in 1980 and they still sound great.
I had the Elac Debut 6.2 and really didn't like them. They were absolutely boring. Returned them after about 30 days. But that's just me.
That is why there are different speakers, hope you find your match. 😊
@SuperMcgenius I have 9 different pairs that I rotate out to different systems in my house. My daughter tells me I have a problem. Lol
I have the Elac Debut 2.0 as well - a few actually, and the floor model. They are great, but definitely need some power to get the most out of them. 6ohm impedance makes them a little more difficult to run.
@chrismosquad1056 perhaps I should've given them more time
@@Timoeltejano It's like anything, if you have to work to hard to convince yourself you like them, then something isn't jiving with your setup or the sound is just not your cup of tea. Sounds like you have a nice stable of speakers that you have in your arsenal on which to pivot. 😎👍🏻
How do they compare to KEF Q150?
Be nice to see a review of the Kanto YU passive 5.25
What about the Kali LP-UNFs?
where is the amazon links CAM???? i want to give you my 3% but where are they?
Would recommend to always listen to the klipsch before buying one of the more expensive. Tried to upgrade from a pair of cheap (B-3) klipsch to much more expensive Goldenear AON-3's. Returning the AON-3's again, the low end gets often boomy and the specs and "reviewers" low end is just not there. Mid and high are good, but not better than the Klipsch. In the low range they (AON3) simply suck, it is bad. Test track "Black Widow" (Ora/Azalea) was a total joke with the AON-3's. they did not even match the B-3's in the low range, despite having MUCH better specs to get close to full range; As close a bookshelf can get. But the specs are simply a lie in this case of the AON-3's 🙂
Also listened to B&W's, Kef's, which are also very good and on par to what i have in the Livingroom (klipsch 5.1 setup), but the B&W's are three times more expensive. Kef is really good, but i do not like the sound (taste). B&W i do also very like, but not better than Klipsch and they are 3 times the price.
I really understand why many audiophiles hate Klipsch, they are cheap, widely available and really good combined with warmer sounding (not expensive) amps. No magic, no expensive parts, easy to get. All the things religious audiophiles really hate.
Comb?
Are any or all of these suitable for near field listening?
I am anxious to get a speaker with a ribbon tweeter.
Another best speaker?
Apparently, the Emotiva XB1's don't qualify for the 20% off sale... Bummer...
Did your girl in the background flip us the bird?
Cousin Randy has the deals
CHEAP AUDIOMAN BAT SIGNAL FOR HELP!!! I need a small form factor bookshelf speaker for my office for near field listening, using a sx-780 reciever to power them.
Will be used for gaming, streaming, and a lot of music. Under $200 what’s the go to?!
Ciao.I signed up with great pleasure! Greetings from Italy where I follow you with great interest.
Hey CAM, how about organizing a test comparison of the best 3D printed speaker designs? Yeah it would be a challenge because it will depend on print settings, drivers, etc, but there are getting too be some really intriguing designs, my next will probably be DIY and 3DP. Just not sure how any of them really sound.
Crutchfield will give an extra $25 off on the Elac’s if you delay shipment for a week!
$25. lol. Really? A whole $25? lol.
Throw in 50 more bucks & get the incredible Triangle Borea Bro 3.
In Italia costano tutti 50 / 80 euro di più 😢
Better than Sonus Faber for 1/35rh the price. 😂
I pay UA-cam premium not to have commercials. Thanks
I've asked on several of these kinda bids, what speakers with a wiim ultra, via spotify would be good for heavy metal, what id need to add to thd ultra and how it all comnects, not 1 single reply from the YT owners
Buy buy buy
More bullshit 🎉
More “comments” 🤔
bro you are repeating yourself business as usual who still believes in this ,only views are important
“Bruh,” you forgot to add punctuation and make sense. The choices you made are poor. Do better.
Yawn. Blah, rinse, repeat....
Watch video… flippant comment. Repeat.
Early
Do these speakers destroy your Sonus Faber of Kef Meta 3 speakers. How about against the SVS speakers.🤔😳🫨