Bang for the buck home bookshelf speakers

[subwoofery]

If I was in the market for bookshelves, I'd buy this one:
https://www.chanemusiccinema.com/ind...product_id=240

Although not bookshelves, there's a very good showdown with top performers in this thread:
https://www.hometheatershack.com/thr...results.69421/
Magnepan MG12, Tekton Model Lore, Vandersteen 2Ce, Focal Chorus 716v, HTD Level THREE, MartinLogan Motion 12, Klipsch RF-62 ll, Arx A5...
Arx A5 came out as the top performer

Kelvin

[Midway]

On a forum catering to DIY car audio enthusiasts’, I’m with Queef in the first reply in the thread for building a kit. I have built over a dozen, mostly subwoofers that are easier but also a couple bookshelves, a couple MTM towers and an MTM center.

I would look at Madisound, Parts Express and there are plenty other options.

With all the money manufacturers have to put into cabinets and shipping, kits give you the option to purchase higher quality drivers and pre-made crossovers. You just follow the cabinet plans and your $500 budget could be comparable to a commercial speaker of at least twice, likely many times that. That is bang for the buck.

Here is one at your budget.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...ts-only/#tab-3

I am a Scan Speak fan and here is one for a bit more.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...covery-ii-kit/

Here are examples of some I have built

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-d...l#post30043625

[Queef]

I got mostly buyout parts (M&K) , then with tweeters/crossovers/boxes , just bought a 5" Jantzen mid and designed an enclosure amount on WINISD ( added needed cu ft or doubled size of boxes !

[Hillbilly SQ]

On a forum catering to DIY car audio enthusiasts’, I’m with Queef in the first reply in the thread for building a kit. I have built over a dozen, mostly subwoofers that are easier but also a couple bookshelves, a couple MTM towers and an MTM center.

I would look at Madisound, Parts Express and there are plenty other options.

With all the money manufacturers have to put into cabinets and shipping, kits give you the option to purchase higher quality drivers and pre-made crossovers. You just follow the cabinet plans and your $500 budget could be comparable to a commercial speaker of at least twice, likely many times that. That is bang for the buck.

Here is one at your budget.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...ts-only/#tab-3

I am a Scan Speak fan and here is one for a bit more.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...covery-ii-kit/

Here are examples of some I have built

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-d...l#post30043625

My original plans were to go the kit route. My big reasoning for not wanting to now is my finishing skills suck thanks to lack of patience and I know I'll never be happy with how they look. Been down that road in the past. Basically my willingness to diy stuff I have to look at every day has gone out the window. It's no different from people who used to diy their car system now paying a pro to do a far better job than they could have done in a fraction of the time. The big issue is I just don't want to eff with it and know tonally any decent speaker will sound better than what I've worked so hard to pull off in my truck thanks to room acoustics being so much better in the house.

Got my new cable in to use the Fiio in the house. Yup these Cerwin Vega LS12 3-way floor speakers sound just how I remember them for music. And they don't really start to sound "good" until you really crank them up just like I remembered. In case anyone is going "wtf" right now I haven't listened to these speakers for actual music in nearly 15 years because they've been in storage at my dad's house. It's just time for a change to something more refined and the Wharfedale Diamond 230's are at the top of the list right now even though they're a 2.5-way tower and not a bookshelf.

I paid $400 for these big CV speakers back in 01 and they're in mint condition with orange woofer surrounds still soft and supple. They've dodged the Cerwin Vega orange surround curse. Could probably get a quick and easy $150 for them off Craigslist. I'm hesitant to sell them to a stranger because of the type of people they might attract to my property and I'm not going to sell them without proving they work as advertised. Maybe I could rig something up with one of my amps and a preset in the Helix...

[Queef]

It's just time for a change to something more refined and the Wharfedale Diamond 230's are at the top of the list right now even though they're a 2.5-way tower ...

Pick a sub yet ? There is rack mount 1,000 watt amp @ P.E. , also ?

[Hillbilly SQ]

Pick a sub yet ? There is rack mount 1,000 watt amp @ P.E. , also ?

I'll go down that road when I have the money to do it right. Not gonna halfass it just to get something going.

[porscheman]

I've built a couple of sets of these over the years. way within your budget and sound damn good
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...-mettle/page71
and if you want a little more than a bookshelf there are a couple of other versions
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...ettle?t=215536

[Queef]

He is going to go ready made .
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/w...spc-10-spc-12/
Powercubes by Wharfedale

[Hillbilly SQ]

To be exact this is what I'm thinking will be best for what I'm wanting. I like the idea of a dedicated midrange doing the bulk of the midrange duty. The Diamond 200 series is said to have a damped and laid back sound which is what I'm looking for in the house. Basically, it's a very "safe" speaker to buy. A pair of Diamond 240's can be had for $600 right now. Hopefully that's still the case when I pull the trigger on them.
https://www.wharfedale.co.uk/diamond-240/

[jettyman]

I bought some Klipsch floor standing speakers a long time ago when I lived in Arkansas. I liked that they were made there and to this day after all these years they are my favorite thing in my house. They sound beautiful. I will never get rid of them. I must have read reviews from a thousand people that have Klipsch speakers and pretty much everyone loves their Klipsch's. You should def keep considering the RP600M's. You can find them on sale at times for less than 500.