smaller 2-ways that are crushing it out there ?

[Mister Natural]

what is sexy-sounding, under $1k/ pair and maybe 4.5" or 4" / 3.5" woofer in the marketplace atm ?

 

[Rex Anderson]

You have to spend more than $1K, but you would be hard pressed to find a better speaker than the JBL LSR705P.

 

[fataxeman]

You mentioned your budget right of $1000 right off the bat. Great!

The problem, or missing jigsaw puzzle piece(s), as I see it are:

Why the focus on woofer size as opposed to, say, size of the cabinet, weight, port in the back vs. port in the front (bass reflex) OR no port/vent (acoustic suspension), etc..???

Even more important, are you talking about ACTIVE speakers (just add your source such as streaming, CD/DVD/BluRay player/cassette tape deck,tuner, phone/tablet, turntable/phono preamp etc.)???

-------------------------------------------------------OR---------------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSIVE speakers where you must add your vintage receiver, integrated amp or preamp/amp combo??? This equals additional cost as you still have to provide a SOURCE.

There are MANY unanswered questions and let's not even talk about "sexy."

I have no experience with the JBLs mentioned previously and I have never even heard the KEF LSX active speakers, but for the same price, I'm sure they would be a strong contender. I own a couple pair of KEF speakers now and just ordered a different pair of KEF speakers (R3 model) yesterday, so, yes, I am an admitted fan.

 

[johntoste]

Have not been in that market for a while but here's some food for thought:

If they must be small, listen to the Golden Ear Aon 2 or 3.

If you can go larger, listen to the Wharfedale Linton and lowball the dealer. (It's a 3 way.)

If you dare to go used, Usher Be 718 can be found for around a grand and they are terrific, if you've got the wattage. (Not really small, though.)

Happy trails!

 

[Funky54]

Define small...I’d look for used .7 Maggie’s.

 

[Mister Natural]

for clarity Fatax - looking at a small space to run a stereo-specific kit. Just the Revolver and a blu-tooth > integrated > mini monitors and sub
my main set of Monitor Audio Studio6s would over-pressurize the room. I tend to like the "British" sounding brands the best so I'll check the above-mentioned KEF, GoldEar and Wharfedales. B&W used to make a cool little monitor . . . can't afford Focal or SonusFaber

little help ?

 

[John(aka: Moby Dick)]

Have you looked at the kef ls50?
It’s a 5 inch woofer and a 1 inch tweeter but concentric so they make a small package.

 

[ddog]

"us audio mart"...pair of linton upforsale...saweet...wish I could,kef ls50 get a lot of hubbub and are abundant.

 

[fataxeman]

for clarity Fatax - looking at a small space to run a stereo-specific kit. Just the Revolver and a blu-tooth > integrated > mini monitors and sub
my main set of Monitor Audio Studio6s would over-pressurize the room. I tend to like the "British" sounding brands the best so I'll check the above-mentioned KEF, GoldEar and Wharfedales. B&W used to make a cool little monitor . . . can't afford Focal or SonusFaber

little help ?

I have KEF LS50 Wireless which I love. I have not heard the LS50 passive speakers but they are pretty small. I think most people say they need a fair amount of power to come alive but you would likely have problems beating them in the sub-$1000 dollar range. If you want my opinion on Golden Ear Aon 3s (like 'em but may be convinced to sell them as I just ordered a pair of KEF R3s Saturday), PM me. Thanks and good luck!

 

[Rex Anderson]

If you want passive speakers for about $1K, look at the Revel M16 and Revel M105.

 

[Alan Dunn]

Triangle Comete ES. I've had mine for over ten years and will never part with them. They are small efficient and sound great with my 16w EL34 based integrated amp.
They like being in free space more so than close to a wall - but at the low volumes I use them at it's not an issue.

 

[Alan Dunn]

If you want passive speakers for about $1K, look at the Revel M16 and Revel M105.

They sound great but need a bit of grunt from the amp to get decent volume / dynamics from them.

https://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/revel-concerta2-m16-loudspeakers-review-test-517846

 

[ddog]

The little wharefdale 320 monitor looks like it would be fun just run them with some bass heavy shtuff...

 

[Rex Anderson]

They sound great but need a bit of grunt from the amp to get decent volume / dynamics from them.

https://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/revel-concerta2-m16-loudspeakers-review-test-517846

Recommended power 50-120 watts. I sold a pair to a friend and set them up for her. She uses an older Sony receiver and they get really loud with it. I use a Bryston 3B SST2 (150W/channel) to drive Revel F206's and can't come close to clipping the amp before it's way too loud. Not sure what you consider a "bit of grunt from the amp", but I don't don't think the M16 has any problem playing really loud with 100 watts. And, they have really good low frequency extension and output, with very neutral on and off axis response. The engineering behind the waveguide, crossover and overall speaker design is pretty amazing for the price.

 

[Alan Dunn]

Recommended power 50-120 watts. I sold a pair to a friend and set them up for her. She uses an older Sony receiver and they get really loud with it. I use a Bryston 3B SST2 (150W/channel) to drive Revel F206's and can't come close to clipping the amp before it's way too loud. Not sure what you consider a "bit of grunt from the amp", but I don't don't think the M16 has any problem playing really loud with 100 watts. And, they have really good low frequency extension and output, with very neutral on and off axis response. The engineering behind the waveguide, crossover and overall speaker design is pretty amazing for the price.

I'd call 100w a lot of grunt considering my amp is 16w. For that reason I like speakers with 92db or greater sensitivity [measured not claimed by manufacturer].

I had Rogers LS 3/5a's and they were good but they couldn't get loud and they lacked dynamics in anything other than an extremely small room.

Also had Dynaudio Contours and they were pretty good on high powered amps but simply too ineffficent for a small tube amp to get any satisfaction from.

 

[2020jan08]

If I were in the market for a set of inexpensive active BS speakers, I would seriously consider the new Tannoy Gold studio monitor line. $250 per monitor (the smallest version) on Amazon.

 

[rickt]

Quad s-1.

 

[JSeth]

I've been thrilled with my little B&W speakers for 15 years now... they sound very good, although you aren't going to hear all of that double-bass instrument through these... they won't get REALLY loud, either, but I rarely want to listen to anything "really loud" any more...

I think the B&W's are K Series (?) or something like that... got them for $150/pair when a higher end audio store was closing out, down in Carmel Valley... a buddy of mine worked there and gave me a call, asked if I wanted a new set of speakers. I tend to live in smaller places, so these B&W's are perfect for my needs...

 

[fingertip]

ADS L620

 

[Mister Natural]

b/c the aesthetic of my new room are critical to Mrs. Natural & myself, I've ruled-out the plain-jane boxes that prolly would work great like Paradigm or Dynaudio and still can't afford the Wilsons, Sonus Faber or the Revels
shortlist : B&W M1 - MonitorAudio Silver50 - MA Radius90 - KEF LS50 - Wharfedale 300-series