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Affordable speakers that performed way better than their price suggested.

seeformiles

pfm Member
Have you come across any inexpensive speakers that were so good they made you go, "wow I can't believe they are this cheap, I wouldn't be surprised if they cost way more"?

Speakers that you compared with much more expensive ones and came away with an impression that they were either not that far behind in terms of performance or really could give the pricier rivals a serious run for their money? Ones you'd happily live with if you didn't feel the need to nitpick and compare them with anything else? Ones that, although maybe a bit short on detail and the "hi-fi" factor, reproduced music in a more cohesive, natural, honest way to your ears?

This is not a thread for recommendations/advice, just for general discussion/thoughts, etc.
 
Morduant Short M10s £70 from Richer Sounds. I bought a pair for my bedroom but tried them in my main system.
I was very surprised at the quality and clarity. Sealed box as well which ticked one of my boxes.
 
Mentioned these in another thread…

B+W DM 110s (digital monitor)

kept them for 20 years, they were so good… with my Rotel RC250 + monoblocked Rotel RB 250s and FONS CQ 30 International.
 
Wharfedale diamond 220 surprised me, they sound a lot better than the price tag suggests.

Agreed. I bought a pair for my office some years ago and when I unboxed them I thought I'd connect them to the Meridian 557 in my main system to see what they could do. I was quite impressed.
 
Monitor Audio 7’s - a real giant killer of a speaker in the right system.

I’d also put Epos ES14’s on my list albeit at a slightly higher purchase price.
 
AVI Neutron IV:-

1998-06-av1neutron-1-dd.8uAqUy6Os4DEhr5I7rWPb6dxqfhvq.jpg


Originally about £500 I believe...

...and I bought them secondhand around 10 years ago for £200 in mint condition.

The last of the Made In England Neutrons and the sweet spot of the line IMHO.

People pay much more for LS3/5a speakers...

...but these are even better. Scanspeak tweeters are fantastic.

Mine aren't going anywhere soon!
 
Chaps

The simple truth is that second hand speakers that cost an absolute fortune when they were produced many years ago can be purchased for peanuts today. I am running a pair of Shahinian Arcs that sound fantastic and deliver great music and yet they are not worth much more than a sound bar for the TV. You can buy amps etc that was once revered for bugger all money and you have a job to even give CDs away. This is truly a golden age for music lovers.
 
Kef Coda 7s circa 1997 - fun little two-way boxes I bought for a friend's first system where they worked fine with some entry-level Jap integrated.

Tried them on a big Chord amplifier - wow. Everything just came together, especially separation, impact and top-to-bottom extension.

Same experience with Mission 760i performing way beyond what I expected (with obvious caveats about volume and deep bass) but not as listenably sweet as the Kefs.
 


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