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Question: At what price point per speaker do you think you get good quality

post #1 of 22
1/20/10 at 8:42am
Thread Starter 
Everytime I see a thread that ask

"What's the best 5 speaker setup I can get for $200" I cringe. That's $40/speaker. There really is no "best." It's more of "What will sound better than my TV speakers for $200?"

So at what price point per speaker do you think you actually start getting good quality sound? (Don't think about a sub entering into the equation)
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post #2 of 22
1/20/10 at 3:55pm
This has to rank in the Top 10 dumbest polls ever.
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post #3 of 22
1/20/10 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattledog View Post

This has to rank in the Top 10 dumbest polls ever.

Mebbe we should have a poll about the dumbest polls.
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post #4 of 22
1/20/10 at 6:28pm
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Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson View Post

Mebbe we should have a poll about the dumbest polls.

Is that a poll-ish joke?
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post #5 of 22
1/20/10 at 6:28pm
It depends on the quality of components and cabinet used per price ratio a $50.00 bookshelf speaker made of decent low cost parts will sound better than a $170.00 speaker that uses low grade parts...
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post #6 of 22
1/20/10 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattledog View Post

This has to rank in the Top 10 dumbest polls ever.

LOL, no offense OP, but i gotta agree. this is pointless.
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post #7 of 22
1/20/10 at 9:01pm
Bubu.
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post #8 of 22
1/20/10 at 9:03pm
Your poll presumes a strong correlation between price and quality. I don't know if that is, in fact, true.
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post #9 of 22
1/21/10 at 8:00am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by koven View Post

LOL, no offense OP, but i gotta agree. this is pointless.

If its a dumb poll, then it's a dumb poll. And no offense is taken. But perhaps you could explain why?

My general assumption was that you were rating sound qualty as the sole metric. And I wasn't asking for "the ultimate sound". Just at what price point do quality speakers begin to show up. The price point where you could sit down and just "enjoy the music" instead of nit picking and wishing you bought something better. You would want to aim for something that

1) Had good dynamics and wasn't flat or constrained
2) Had nice soundstage/imaging
3) Was accurate
4) Was transparent (which related to the soundstage really)
5) Had good frequency response.
6) Wasn't boomy, bloated, shrill, throaty, or has pronounced siblance

If someone said, "Find me good speakers at $500/each" I could start to name some decent brands. But to get good speakers out of B&W, or Revel, or Wilson Audio, you would have to spend a great deal more for the same quality.
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post #10 of 22
1/21/10 at 8:15am
Quote:
If its a dumb poll, then it's a dumb poll. And no offense is taken. But perhaps you could explain why?

its dumb because the price of a speaker does not dictate its performance. Some speakers have 95% marketing put into them, some have 5%. Some speakers have 95% looks and finish, some speakers have 5%. Some speakers have the best designers behind them, some speakers do not.

Its also dumb because everyone has different needs, someone can love music with their $100 speakers as much as the guy with $10K speakers does. $$$ should never dictate the music experience.


Besides those obviously points, its silly to have a category for every $100.
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post #11 of 22
1/21/10 at 8:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by penngray View Post

its dumb because the price of a speaker does not dictate its performance.

Your end of the argument states that all speakers would have to return the same certain value to performance ratio.

You can find some real bargains at every price point. Not just one, but two or more. It's these bargains that you would aim for when someone is truly shooting for "the best sound for available money" The question being at what point do you think you truely get a good speaker.

A few years ago people were all over the NHT Evolutions, Onyx Rockets, and SVS Subs. Today it's the JTR's and polks

But would B&W, Triad, MAT, JTR people consider something like Polks, or Energy speakers to be a resonable comprismise to get reasonable sound? Or would they consider them a waste of money when you can do so much better with $XXX more? This will determine what your target is.
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post #12 of 22
1/21/10 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigitalGriffin View Post

If its a dumb poll, then it's a dumb poll. And no offense is taken. But perhaps you could explain why?

My general assumption was that you were rating sound qualty as the sole metric. And I wasn't asking for "the ultimate sound". Just at what price point do quality speakers begin to show up. The price point where you could sit down and just "enjoy the music" instead of nit picking and wishing you bought something better. You would want to aim for something that

1) Had good dynamics and wasn't flat or constrained
2) Had nice soundstage/imaging
3) Was accurate
4) Was transparent (which related to the soundstage really)
5) Had good frequency response.
6) Wasn't boomy, bloated, shrill, throaty, or has pronounced siblance

If someone said, "Find me good speakers at $500/each" I could start to name some decent brands. But to get good speakers out of B&W, or Revel, or Wilson Audio, you would have to spend a great deal more for the same quality.

I could care less if the speaker has good response on the low end. As long as the F3 is below 80Hz is all that I am interested. Multiple subs will take it from there. My use is 99.9% HT.
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post #13 of 22
1/21/10 at 9:14am
I detect an inherent bias in this poll where the majority of options is under $1,000, thus assuming that this is the general range where speakers are "good quality". As owner of $20K+ speakers, I demand that this poll is changed where $20K is the lowest cost allowed!

And yes, I'm completely joking, and no, my speakers do not cost $20K!
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post #14 of 22
1/21/10 at 9:22am
While I wouldn't call it dumb, I will say that your poll struck me as a bit ironic. Your initial post claims that there is no "best", in which I agree since "best" is such a subjective term. However your poll question asks the respondee to make a judgement using another completely subjective term..."good quality".

I voted $200 since that's about what I spent, and I feel I achieved "good quality". But I totally understand the guy who says $1,000 plus, because his "good quality" is not the same as mine. Neither of us is right or wrong.
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post #15 of 22
1/21/10 at 10:32am
There are very enjoyable speakers at every price point listed, if you allow for the fact that something is always on sale or clearance.

The Polk RTI4 on sale for $150 a pair, shipped - a Stereophile reviewed and IIRC maybe even recommended speaker

The NHT Absolute Zero at $150 a speaker - currently the regular price.

And so on.
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post #16 of 22
1/21/10 at 10:46am
When you talk about price , you could mean: MSRP, usual B&M store price, usual internet/mail-order price, in-store or internet/mail-order sale/deep-sale prices, and even clearance prices. Some vendors' products sell only at or near MSRP, other vendors' speakers mostly sell at deep-sale or clearance prices. I own speakers by Yamaha, Klipsch, Polk, CSW, Harman/Epi, and Infinity - purchased at every price point from (near) MSRP down to "fire sale"; they were all (pretty) good value for money because in each case I had 'waited' for the price to drop to where that statement was true!

And then there is the "context" in which you make the purchase . . . I went looking for speaker stands on which to mount a pair of Polk R15 bookshelves (to be used as surrounds). It turned out to be cheaper to buy a pair of timbre-matched Polk R50 floor standers instead! (allowing the 'original' R15 pair to be used 'elsewhere'.) Still not sure how I should 'value' that purchase...?!
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post #17 of 22
1/21/10 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigitalGriffin View Post

If its a dumb poll, then it's a dumb poll. And no offense is taken. But perhaps you could explain why?

My general assumption was that you were rating sound qualty as the sole metric. And I wasn't asking for "the ultimate sound". Just at what price point do quality speakers begin to show up. The price point where you could sit down and just "enjoy the music" instead of nit picking and wishing you bought something better. You would want to aim for something that

1) Had good dynamics and wasn't flat or constrained
2) Had nice soundstage/imaging
3) Was accurate
4) Was transparent (which related to the soundstage really)
5) Had good frequency response.
6) Wasn't boomy, bloated, shrill, throaty, or has pronounced siblance.

But all of those criteria are subjective and the result is that every one has different standards. Also, it is hard to relate it to price as there are products ranging from excellent-to-horrible at any price range, imho.
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post #18 of 22
1/21/10 at 4:04pm
Kal, realizing that I'd have to remove anything that could be construed as a weapon to avoid you shooting yourself, if I was to remove your speakers and then tell you that you had no more than $500 to spend for a new pair, what would you consider. That is besides alternate ways to commit suicide.
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post #19 of 22
1/21/10 at 4:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chu Gai View Post

Kal, realizing that I'd have to remove anything that could be construed as a weapon to avoid you shooting yourself, if I was to remove your speakers and then tell you that you had no more than $500 to spend for a new pair, what would you consider. That is besides alternate ways to commit suicide.

Frankly, I have no idea as I have not paid attention to <$1000 speakers for a long time. You should ask someone more qualified.
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post #20 of 22
1/21/10 at 4:44pm
I just voted for $700. At it's previous zero vote status, it was being unfairly unrepresented the poll.
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post #21 of 22
1/21/10 at 5:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CruelInventions View Post

I just voted for $700. At it's previous zero vote status, it was being unfairly unrepresented the poll.

I was close, at $600 each. I know what it takes in building a dense, heavy, damped enclosure, using two very good (that means not cheap) drivers, and a high-quality crossover network, and then putting it into a decent shipping carton. I've heard speakers for $400 that may sound as good in most respects, but they may not play as loud, may not handle as much power, they may resonate more, etc. I'd say if pure, accurate sound quality was the single most important element, above bass extension, high output or stylish looks, $500-$600 is the break point.

I will admit that there are a crapload of $250 speakers available today (all made in China and imported by big-name speaker companies) that sound quite good for the money. Disclaimer: Triad has nothing in this price range.
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post #22 of 22
1/21/10 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Scarpelli View Post

I was close, at $600 each. I know what it takes in building a dense, heavy, damped enclosure, using two very good (that means not cheap) drivers, and a high-quality crossover network, and then putting it into a decent shipping carton. I've heard speakers for $400 that may sound as good in most respects, but they may not play as loud, may not handle as much power, they may resonate more, etc. I'd say if pure, accurate sound quality was the single most important element, above bass extension, high output or stylish looks, $500-$600 is the break point.

I will admit that there are a crapload of $250 speakers available today (all made in China and imported by big-name speaker companies) that sound quite good for the money. Disclaimer: Triad has nothing in this price range.

is that $1000-$1200 pair bookshelf/monitor speakers or floorstanders?

Ron
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