Speakers suggestion for METAL

These are as good a bookshelf as you can get for 400 a pair. They're active, very good bargain.

These, though not bookshelves, would put out a lot of sound for the money, but I'm not familiar with the quality as I am with the 2031's above.

Good luck

Those Behringers might be your best bet. I've listed some passive speakers below that I think sound pretty decent with metal.

Infinity Primus p160 (current model: p163)
Polk Monitor 30/40
Pioneer FS51 mini floorstanders (with subwoofer)
Cerwin Vega VE-12 ($550 on Amazon so just outside your price range)

Dayton B652 $29/pair Best budget speakers ever

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-652

Pioneer BS-41 $89/pair (closeout) Best bang for the buck speakers for music.

If you're just using a cd player to drive them, you don't need fancy bookshelves. I run the BS-41's as my surrounds in my 7.1 system, and they rock. They replaced speakers that cost twice as much.

Use the $300-500 to buy a nice sub and amp.

I do not have a suggestion on budget speakers but I will second the purchase of a good sub. I have pretty good speakers but it went to a whole other level when I upgraded my sub. All the music just seems so much more powerful, which is exactly how you want your metal. I listen to black death doom and thrash.

The best music requires the best speakers:


B&W 605 Diamond

They run about $5,000 a pair...and another $700 a pair for the stands.

Kinda blows the $500 budget though, eh?

Serious question. How specialized to you have to get for Heavy Metal or high-gain music and specific sub-genres? Animals as Leaders and bands like Isis, not to mention bands like Opeth, can go from pretty clean to pretty high-gain, Black Sabbath has a sludgy sort of sound that seems to be not as clean or defined in the guitar sounds yet not as overdriven as others, and bands like Meshuggah seem to be crazily distorted. I know the OP narrowed it down to Thrash/Death/Djent Metal, however there is quite a range there. Thrash can be 80's metal like Metallica or Megadeth, still Metal but not really all that high-gain. Death Metal can be Napalm Deth or Carcass or Melodic Death Metal like In Flames. Djent, depending on who you ask, encompases everything from AaL, sort of a moderate-gain Jazz-influenced Prog-Rock, to Meshuggah, a highly digitalized progressive metal band.

I guess what I'm asking is, even for "metal" how important would it be to just look for a "metal" speaker versus certain traits that tend to pop out in the OP's favorite bands or usual listening (e.g. more bass-heavy vs. more cutting/articulate, high-gain vs. more melodic and moderately-overdriven, Metallica vs. Slayer vs. Slipknot vs. Death), or does it matter all that much? I know it's not Yo-Yo Ma or Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and maybe once you start adding gobs of gain it makes much less difference than orchestral or folk, however there is still more diversity than the blanket term "Heavy Metal" would necessarily indicate.

-Cheers

+1

You have to go pretty high end before you can get enough bass without a sub.

Hey, for what it's worth I have similiar taste in music, and bookshelves I had never really did the music justice. I first had Klipsch SF-3's (floorstands) and they were pretty good, later I added an SVS pb-10 sub, and then it was much better. I ended up moving to a much smaller apartment, and I couldnt really fit floorstands in there, so I figured a pair of bookshelves and the sub would work just as well, being the sub should take over all the low end, and the bookshelves (JBL L830's) would just cover the mid's and highs... it was good, but I definately missed the extra power and range the floorstands added. A little over a year ago, I moved again, and decided to ask for help here on new floorstands and started demoing different models. Ended up getting Revel F-12's, and couldn't be happier (well I could but it'd cost me alot more moeny). So, my advice... Bookshevles with out a sub is the worst option, floorstands alone is okay, Bookshelves and sub better, but floorstands and sub is by far the best. If you have the room for floorstands, I'd look to getting a pair of them and then save up a bit more and add a sub later. But if your only option is bookshevles, you are gonna need a sub much sooner.

-Rick Derris

WTF is Djent metal?

You don't need huge speakers to play metal. That assumption is just wrong.
$500 gets you a really nice pair of bookshelves if you're willing to go used.

The same speakers that are good for any other music. The job of the system is to accurately reproduce what is on the recording - whether the recording is heavy metal or crickets in the back yard. If you want something that adjusts the sound to your liking, you have to make that decision on your own. My Maggies do just fine with metal, though I'm sure plenty of people will tell you they don't have sufficient 'slam'. Those people are wrong.

I realize the Maggies don't meet your bookshelf request - just pointing out that a good speaker is a good speaker regardless of music preference. PSB, Paradigm, and Energy are all great bang for the buck speakers.

You can use anything for metal because it won't matter. It'll still sound like crap!

Metal is so diverse. That's like saying food sucks.

I'm kidding!

I had the Audioengine A5s for about a year (gave them to my brother) and they did a pretty great job with metal, they have a slightly exaggerated bottom end which gives the illusion that they can play lower than they actually can (I'd say they play down to ~50Hz) and this works really well for Animals as Leaders (amazing band) Lamb of God, Protest the Hero, etc. I listen to all sorts of music that falls under the metal genre, from stuff you'd hear on the radio to Swedish death metal and the Audioengines are always a pleasure to listen to.

I replaced the A5s with Infinity P163s which were actually a step down in most ways (they are also much cheaper, at about $80 each) but they were temporary until I could get something better. The Infinitys are great speakers, especially at that price, but they aren't as dynamic and have a bit less bass than the A5s.

I just bought the Emotiva Airmotiv 6s which should be here this week, haven't heard them or even read a serious review of them yet but I have high expectations.