Top 10 great-sounding speakers from $30 to $400
We pick the best budget-priced hi-fi and home theater speakers, and even the cheapest one is a bona fide audiophile contender!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a "Top 10 great-sounding amplifiers from $40 to $450" blog, and now it's time for a follow-up with speakers. While they may not be the biggest, most dynamic-sounding speakers, I can assure you I'd rather listen to any of them than a one-piece $600 iPod speaker! They look slick, but can't deliver sound quality of a carefully selected $600, $500, or even a $400 hi-fi. Match any of the stereo speakers on this list with any amp from the "Top 10 great-sounding amplifiers from $40 to $450" blog, and you'll get amazing sound value. Unless noted otherwise, the prices listed are for pairs of speakers.
Dayton B652
(Credit: Parts Express)Dayton B652 ($30)
The price is no typo; the Dayton B652 is a midsize, black vinyl-covered monitor, 11.7 inches high, 7.1 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep. Fit and finish are decent, but the rear panel's spring-clip wire connectors won't provide a tight grip on the wires, so they may fall out if you move the speakers.
I've seen clips on $100 speakers, but on a $30 speaker you can't really complain about spring clips. Bass definition is fine, but deep bass is lacking. The B652's bass is reasonably flat to 70 hertz, so you may not need to add a sub. The speaker earned its reputation by delivering surprisingly accurate tonal balance, exceptional detail, and transparency.
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR ($150)
This speaker was designed by Andrew Jones, a man best known for crafting uber-expensive high-end speakers like the TAD Reference One. That model goes for (gulp) $70,000 a pair! I've heard it, and it's awesome!
The SP-BS41-LR may be a long way down from the One's exalted performance levels, but in its price class nothing can touch the Pioneer. The speaker is big enough to make credible sound; it's 13.75 inches high and it weighs 10.25 pounds. It's sold direct by Pioneer.
NHT SuperZero 2.0 ($198)
The original NHT SuperZero was the go-to, entry-level audiophile speaker for nearly 10 years before it went out of production in 2001. Now it's back, but as NHT's Chris Byrne points out, you can't clone a speaker. There are differences in parts, but the SuperZero 2.0 is in the spirit of the original. It's an amazing little thing, with great midrange, nice treble. Bass doesn't go all that deep, but what's there is nicely done.
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR
(Credit: Pioneer Electronics)Audioengine A2 ($199)
The Audioengine A2 is a truly awesome design. I've reviewed well over 500 speakers, and the Audioengine A2 is one of the few I keep coming back to. It's a self-powered design, and works really well with computers or as a home iPod speaker. The balance is relaxed and full, so it makes even some of the crappiest Internet radio stations sound very listenable.
Audioengine P4 ($249)
I used Audioengine A2 self-powered speakers with my computer for years, but switched over to the Audioengine P4. It's a bit bigger, and unlike the A2, it needs to be used with a separate power amp. The A2 is a sweet-sounding little speaker, but the P4 is clearer, cleaner, and more vibrant. The P4 blows the A2 away--it's not even close.
Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 ($349)
The Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 is easily the best speaker I've heard for $350 per pair. Its deeply curved sides look cool and the heavily braced cabinet feels extremely well put together. Details like the polished trim rings surrounding the 1-inch silk dome tweeter and 5-inch woven Kevlar woofer add a bit of bling to the handsome design. The speaker is 11.75 inches high, 7.5 inches wide, 10.75 inches deep, and it has threaded inserts on its backside to facilitate wall-mounting. Wharfedale offers dedicated floor stands for use with the Diamond speakers.
Audioengine P4, in bamboo finish
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Hsu Research STF-2 Subwoofer ($349)
Hsu Research makes some of the very best subwoofers I've tested. The STF-2 is one of its most affordable models, but its 44-pound shipping weight is a sure sign that its build quality is a good deal more substantial than competing budget subs. It's also bigger than most, it's 19 inches by 14 inches by 18 inches, which also bodes well for the 10-inch, 200-watt subwoofer's sound. Bass goes deep, without sacrificing definition.
Boston Acoustics A 26 ($400)
The Boston A 26's build quality is exceptional for a speaker in this price class, and the cabinet's high-gloss, scratch-resistant finish, textured top panel and magnetically attached grille look great. Vertical and horizontal internal braces reduce cabinet resonances for enhanced audio quality, and the A 26 features a newly developed 6.5-inch ceramic and glass fiber polymer woofer. The 1-inch Kortec soft dome tweeter makes the sweetest-sounding treble you'll hear from a speaker in the A 26's price class.
Pioneer SP-PK21BS Six-Piece Home Theater System ($400)
The Pioneer SP-PK21BS is a six-piece system and comes with four bookshelf speakers, a center-channel speaker and a subwoofer. The sats' curved-sided, all-wood cabinets are nicely finished in faux black-wood grain, and the speakers' sturdy metal connectors accept banana plugs, spades or stripped bare wire. The speakers, especially the center, are kinda big, and that along with the design skills of one of the best engineers in the business, Andrew Jones, make this the standout affordable home theater speaker system you can buy. If you care more about sound than style, and your home theater speaker budget tops out at $400, the SP-PK21BS is the one to get. It's not just amazing for $400, I'd be just as enthusiastic if Pioneer were charging $500 or $600 for the package, it's that good.
Energy Take Classic 5.1 system ($400)
The Energy Take Classic is a six-piece home theater system with four tiny satellite speakers; a slightly larger center speaker, and a 200-watt sub with an 8-inch woofer. The Take Classic has the full balance that you only get with a perfectly matched satellite-subwoofer system. The "Wayne Shorter Live at Montreux 1996" fusion jazz concert DVD is the sort of disc that reveals weaknesses of little speakers, but here Shorter's saxophone had a big, rich sound, while Rodney Holmes's drum solos were punchy and solid. It's a very dynamic performance, which encouraged me to turn up the volume, and the Take Classic didn't seem to mind. Home theater bombast also rocked my world. The Take Classic is a winner for its size, but the larger Pioneer SP-PK21BS is even better.
