Comment by davidjhall

6 years ago

I'm curious what you would recommend instead. Everyone is listing speakers they bought decades ago but what are the latest non-sonos speakers that people like?

15 comments

davidjhall

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Doji  6 years ago

Don't buy smart speakers. Just buy regular speakers. Then you can plug them into whatever you like, run whatever software you like (e.g. pi musicbox) etc. So you actually own them, and they should serve you well for many years, for whatever you may need.

Also don't buy soundbars. Speakers don't want to be long and skinny. You'll end up paying a lot more for a lot less sound.

Also consumer grade speakers are often more expensive for crappier sound. Look into professional models, like studio monitors. For example, JBL 305PMKII. You may be able to find a local store where you can listen to studio monitors before purchasing.

  • Marsymars  6 years ago

    > Also don't buy soundbars. Speakers don't want to be long and skinny. You'll end up paying a lot more for a lot less sound.

    From a practical perspective, my home simply doesn't have room for anything but a soundbar for my TV. My options are built-in TV speakers, or a soundbar.

  • mark-r  6 years ago

    I've found Guitar Center to be a good place to check out and buy monitor speakers and headphones.

    • Cougher  6 years ago

      I don't know if it still applies, but studio speakers used to be notorious for bad sound. I would also hope that you wouldn't be considering guitar amp-type speakers as well.

      5 replies →

NeedMoreTea  6 years ago

Thing is some of those ancient speakers are still made and rated. As one example the BBC LS3/5a[1] was a published spec for a monitor speaker the Beeb put out in the seventies. Someone has been making a speaker that meets the spec ever since, and it's had a glowing reputation for a small monitor class speaker for decades.

Wharfdale Diamonds are much changed and developed, but still a well thought of small bookshelf speaker, though the range now includes floor standing and 7.1 multimedia systems.

In short, look to the budget hifi makes rather than smart or tech gimmicks. Many of the Japanese brands make speakers for the home market, but use Wharfdale, Tannoy or one of the other Western makes selling systems here. The Denon compact system I bought 30 years ago came with a pair of Wharfdale Diamonds, with a Denon badge. Technics used to ship badged Tannoy speakers -- not sure if they still do. When I had to replace it a year or two ago, the comparable modern Denon compact system had no option for included speakers. Mine now uses those 30 year old Denon badged Diamonds.

[1] https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/ls3-5a-full-bbc-specificat...

justinclift  6 years ago

JBL Pro 305's:

https://jblpro.com/en-US/products/305p-mkii

I had the 305's one generation before (mk 1, vs mk 2) and they're the best sounding speakers I've yet owned.

Only had two of them (stereo, front left and right), with an old logitech 5.1 system making up the rest of a 7.1 system. Over time I was intending on replacing those logitech speakers with further 305's. :)

acomjean  6 years ago

I usually use a mini jack and and old stereo.

but “powered stereo speakers” are speakers with a built in amp. Most have analog inputs and Bluetooth (some even have turntable input). They can range in price up to almost 1000$.

I feel those analog inputs are important in making the device future proof.

Crutchfeild is a catalog seller but has good examples of this class of speaker:

Eg: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-wbA54LW1kow/g_463050/Powered-S...

  • kjs3  6 years ago

    Ah, Crutchfield. Glad to see they're still around. Pre-Google, their catalog was a great place to see and compare a ton of different audio kit in one place.