Audio music speakers ONLY

Jimbo18

I bought two pair of Monitor 7's for $75 each and a pair of very nice Monitor 10s for $100 and they sound great with just a low end AVR driving them. I am sure with some patience you can find some in your area. Nice size, big sound and not expensive.

F1nut

I have a Yamaha Ax596, with an equalizer, CD player and a turntable and a pair Polk S10 speakers hooked up.

Your 100 wpc Yamaha integrated amp will dictate your choice of speakers. Yammie power gear is bright and sterile, so you want a warm, musical speaker. Klipsch would be a very poor choice. Also, ditch the equalizer.

Up to 3-400 perhaps.

Your budget rules out looking at new speakers. The Polk SDA 1B's for $300 would be a good choice, but plan on upgrading the tweeters to the newer RD0194-1's available from Polk for $48.00 each. The SDA's would be a major upgrade from what you have now.

Edit: Just remembered that the 1B's are 4 ohm, so make sure your Yammie can handle 4 ohm loads.

ratster

If I were in your shoes I would start by looking at Monitor 70's either from Polks E-Bay store or Newegg.

Lots of good info on this site no matter what your budget is. Read,read,read and read some more.

plainoledave

http://reviews.audioreview.com/best-speakers-under-500

if you like floorstanders, rti8 can be had for $400 shipped. They'll be a huge improvement over what you're using right now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RTi8-BLACK-Towers-from-Polk-Audio-PAIR-/231010500044?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c94c7dcc

I also recommend lsi7 in that same $300-400 range. Lsi9 are hard to find in that price range, might take awhile.

lsi15 towers are awesome, hard to find and need alot of current to sound right.

drummer86

Don't think that you can't find something in your budget that you will be happy with. Just be patient and don't be afraid to try some things out. The more you hear the more you know what you like (and don't like). Your willingness to buy used will help you get a much better end result out of your budget. The good news is that used audio seems to maintain a certain value (at least in my experience) so if you pick up a pair of used speakers and don't like them you will probably be able to get rid of them without losing a ton of cash, granted yoo paid a fair price to start with.

Good luck and have fun!

erniejade

What kind of sound do you like? If a more mellow sound, perhaps some used vandersteen 2ce?

cnh

If you're going to run these speakers on that Yamaha you'll need to either go with a nice bookshelf and sub or something used as described above.

Your budget will be $400 or less. Let's just put a ceiling on that so we don't get suggestions that aren't realistic.

I like Polk Monitor 5s, 7s or 10s (all vintage Polks) with what you have. Jesse is right, Klipsch and a Yamaha, no, no!

If that Yamaha is an AVR then it won't have the POWER to run vintage SDAs like 1Bs? OK, I see that's a 100 watt x 2 Yammie integrated so you should be OK. Those Yammie's have a LIMITER switch for 4 ohm loads on the back but can probably power lower model SDAs?

You could also go with some Rti-8s from Polk's refurb site for $399? Which is a good price for a couple of newer towers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RTi8-CHERRY-Tower-Speakers-Polk-Audio-NEW-PAIR-/230997709953?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c8895481

cnh

mrloren

Look for some RTi-8's or 10's they can be had used for a deal. A few weeks ago I drove by a garage sale and saw a pair of RTi-10's. I had the wife with me so I could not stop. I went back a few days later to see if the guy still had them, "nope sold for $300 cash" so you can find a deal on good used speakers.
If you can find a set of Advent Maestros you will be in 2 channel bliss. I had a set of these way back and had to sell them. (wife said they did not fit the decor of the house) crap should had divorced and kept the speakers. These are some of the best speakers I have ever owned, so now I am looking on CL for a set.