Budget bookshelf speakers

[BiotechBen]

Was looking at getting some budget bookshelf speakers and came across some 

Moukey M20-3 monitors, are they any good? If not, what are some suggestions for the $100-150usd range?

[Entropy.]

30 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

Was looking at getting some budget bookshelf speakers and came across some 

Moukey M20-3 monitors, are they any good? If not, what are some suggestions for the $100-150usd range?

Well what do you intend to use them for? There's several different recommendations at this range depending on what you want. Currently I'm going to assume you want a powered system- where the speakers can power themselves without any amplification via external devices, and have all the necessary ports to connect directly to your device of choice. In my opinion, you'll probably not want to go with those monitors. If you're listening for fun, especially with your speakers near the wall, consider the Edifier r1700bt's or the R1280DB's. They're both front ported and they're nice options that'll sound quite fun. However, they're not best suited for studio work, if you want something more precise (and you can afford to place them a little further out from your wall- the edifiers don't need much if any space if you have no choice- say, at least a good 6 inches and more if possible, I'd recommend either the Presonus eris 3.5 monitors, or the mackie CR3/4-X monitors. 

[Bombastinator]

42 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

Was looking at getting some budget bookshelf speakers and came across some 

Moukey M20-3 monitors, are they any good? If not, what are some suggestions for the $100-150usd range?

Heh.  Budgets are different for different people.  Some would call “budget” like $30/pair range. $50-75 a piece for book shelf speakers isn’t into studio monitor range-quite.  A lot of stuff is 2+1 these days rather than stereo two high range speakers and some sort of subwoofer.  Do you specifically need just two speakers or is 3 fine?  Also there are amp issues.  Computers aren’t amps so computer speakers are generally powered and there’s an internal amp somewhere. That money is also in sound bar range which is a simple way to set up a 2 channel system.  Sound bars don’t work for everything though.

Edited June 3, 2021 by Bombastinator

[Entropy.]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

Heh.  Budgets are different for different people.  Some would call “budget” like $30/pair range. $50-75 a piece for book shelf speakers isn’t into studio monitor range-quite.  A lot of stuff is 2+1 these days rather than stereo two high range speakers and sim sort of subwoofer.  Do you specifically need just two speakers or is 3 fine?

I mean... Mackies, presonus stuff. Entry-level studio monitors. 

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, Brok3n But who cares? said:

I mean... Mackies, presonus stuff. Entry-level studio monitors. 

You said they’re not usable for studio work though.  I guess it depends on how you are defining the term.  Studio monitors are speakers tuned very flat generally, so any speaker with that type of tuning could be called a studio monitor, but studio monitors are also monitors used by mixers in sound studio situations. 

[Entropy.]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

You said they’re not usable for studio work though.  I guess it depends on how you are defining the term.  Studio monitors are speakers tuned very flat generally, so any speaker with that type of tuning could be called a studio monitor, but studio monitors are also monitors used by mixers in sound studio situations. 

 If you're referring to monitors suitable for actual professional studios, well, shrug, $150 is laughable, there's no point in bringing them up, I mean OP didn't really ask about studio monitors in particular. 

[Bombastinator]

Just now, Brok3n But who cares? said:

 If you're referring to monitors suitable for actual professional studios, well, shrug, $150 is laughable, there's no point in bringing them up, I mean OP didn't really ask about studio monitors in particular. 

True.  I did it mostly because I was talking about what “budget” means.

[BiotechBen]

Decided on a pair of Klipsch R-41M like the ones in the LMG lounge

[Entropy.]

2 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

Decided on a pair of Klipsch R-41M like the ones in the LMG lounge

You'll need an amp for them, what type of sound do you like? 

[Bombastinator]

Just now, BiotechBen said:

Decided on a pair of Klipsch R-41M like the ones in the LMG lounge

Klipch got famous with its klipchorns in the 60s. Very early folded horns.  Gigantic (for a living room) speakers that had to be put in the corner of the room because the building provided part of the fold.  They were amazing for their time. Loud enough to power an auditorium but cheap as consumer speakers.  Klipch still likes horns and uses them whenever they can.

[BiotechBen]

9 minutes ago, Brok3n But who cares? said:

You'll need an amp for them, what type of sound do you like? 

Got that covered for the amp.

[Entropy.]

2 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

Got that covered for the amp.

Alright. They use an aluminum dome tweeter, especially in nearfield they can be pretty revealing and harsh, however they have that upper high frequency "sparkle" if you like that. If you're not the hugest fan, toe them out so they're not facing you and put on the grilles, if you want as much as possible, toe them in facing towards you and take off the grilles. The speaker's will work quite nicely in nearfield, they still like space and at least a little is almost a necessity. IIrc they're tuned to have more pronounced bass and upper frequencies. 

[H713]

6 hours ago, Brok3n But who cares? said:

Alright. They use an aluminum dome tweeter, especially in nearfield they can be pretty revealing and harsh, however they have that upper high frequency "sparkle" if you like that. If you're not the hugest fan, toe them out so they're not facing you and put on the grilles, if you want as much as possible, toe them in facing towards you and take off the grilles. The speaker's will work quite nicely in nearfield, they still like space and at least a little is almost a necessity. IIrc they're tuned to have more pronounced bass and upper frequencies. 

 

Can this myth about certain diaphragm materials sounding a certain way die for once? While we're at it, let's group the whole idea of MOSFET amps sounding a certain way. 

 

This ALL comes down to implementation. I can design something with a soft dome tweeter that will sound revealing/harsh/shrill, or I can design something with an aluminum dome (like the SB26ADC) that is exactly the opposite. In the same way, great amplifiers can (and have been) designed around both FETs and BJTs. I have designed, worked on and own power amplifiers using tubes, BJTs, vertical MOSFETs and lateral MOSFETs. Done right, they all sound fantastic (and extremely similar). Done wrong, they all sound like a garbage dump.

 

I'll give it to the tube amp, however, for being able to survive taking a +1.2 kV pulse to the input. I don't know many solid-state amps that can survive that. I'll also give it to the Crest 9001 for being able to source enough current to be used for welding.

 

Why does the tweeter on the Klipsch sound harsh? Because it isn't level matched. If they knocked the tweeter level down a few dB, it wouldn't have that characteristic. But that wouldn't get as much attention at trade shows.

 

Rant over.

[Entropy.]

31 minutes ago, H713 said:

 

Can this myth about certain diaphragm materials sounding a certain way die for once? While we're at it, let's group the whole idea of MOSFET amps sounding a certain way. 

 

This ALL comes down to implementation. I can design something with a soft dome tweeter that will sound revealing/harsh/shrill, or I can design something with an aluminum dome (like the SB26ADC) that is exactly the opposite. In the same way, great amplifiers can (and have been) designed around both FETs and BJTs. I have designed, worked on and own power amplifiers using tubes, BJTs, vertical MOSFETs and lateral MOSFETs. Done right, they all sound fantastic (and extremely similar). Done wrong, they all sound like a garbage dump.

 

I'll give it to the tube amp, however, for being able to survive taking a +1.2 kV pulse to the input. I don't know many solid-state amps that can survive that. I'll also give it to the Crest 9001 for being able to source enough current to be used for welding.

 

Why does the tweeter on the Klipsch sound harsh? Because it isn't level matched. If they knocked the tweeter level down a few dB, it wouldn't have that characteristic. But that wouldn't get as much attention at trade shows.

 

Rant over.

Very fair. T’was a rather poor choice of words, I wasn’t exactly trying to imply that the Aluminium tweeter was inherently harsh. I have em sitting on my desk right now, the first two things I think about when I see them are “looks like a horn” and “Aluminium” lol. Thanks for the correction, do appreciate it.