Most Underated speakers

[tommyt21]

This includes Polks

[thsmith]

DCM speakers

[Drenis]

Bose speakers

[steveinaz]

I think earlier versions of Pinnacle speakers were seriously overlooked. Specifically the CGT's, and Aerogel models. KEF also doen't get as much attention as it deserves.

I have always respected PolkAudio, because they were like a "bridge" product. They weren't Pioneer/Marantz/Kenwood/Sansui, etc--they were better; but they weren't super high end either. They let you get a good taste of high-end, for less money. I think they were/are packed with a ton of technology and R&D that is rather unique at their price point. I can't speak about modern models, but Polk's of the early/mid 80's had a distinctive "Polk Audio" house sound, that nothing else could match or emulate. Kind of like being a Harley owner; better than anyone else? that's a subjective call, but definitely different. If they were your cup of tea, you weren't interested in anything else.

[tommyt21]

LOL I have been on a mission after creating my own system of polks to "educate others on Bose"

[tommyt21]

I would say my vote goes to my Csi A4. That is a superb little Center Channel!!

[Drenis]

LOL I have been on a mission after creating my own system of polks to "educate others on Bose"

x2

It became eminent to me after my 2.2 setup crushed my 5.2 setup without breaking into any sweats... boy did I feel like a retard.

[Big Dawg]

In addition to the Polk Monitor series from the 1980s (while far from the last word in detail, very musical), I've always thought that the Advent Heritage from the early 1990s were very nice mid-fi speakers.

[steveinaz]

I think the term "overrated" would be more appropriate for Bose.

[nguyendot]

PSB alpha v1, Paradigm Atom v1, the new Pioneer speakers at Best Buy actually made it into Stereophile....

[inspiredsports]

I'm not sure if they were underated or just looked down upon because they were marketed by Radio Shack.

I had some Minimus 7 bookshelf speakers many years ago when I was in college that I remember as being very good for not much money. They were the wooden cabinet with cloth grille version (I think many had aluminum cabinets and steel mesh grilles).

I think I paid 40 bucks for them brand new on sale. I remember placing more fiberglass batting inside which smoothed them out and I kept them for many years after leaving the small room I had on campus.

[cnh]

I still have a pair of the RS Minimus 7s as my computer rig go to (desktop). Have to agree. If I'm not mistaken, that may have been the best selling Ratshack speaker of all time--if we include all of its iterations. Evidently, there are mods to make them even better.

Great value when they were on 'sale' for half price. That's how I got mine. I also have a couple of their ported successors around.

cnh

[steveinaz]

Minimus 7's are darn near legendary.

[Dawgfish]

DCM speakers

+1 on this. I really enjoyed the several different models of DCM Timeframes I've had. Considering that many of them can be routinely bought for under $100, they represent a great bang for the buck also.

[pitdogg2]

Regular old round Ohm's

[sda2mike]

Minimus 7's are darn near legendary.

but not under-rated

[halo71]

Sound Dynamics. Made by the same folks that make Energy speakers. I would also say Kef and Celestion.

[Joe08867]

As far as a bookshelf is concerned i would say The Baby Advent. Great little speakers.

[inspiredsports]

but not under-rated

I did qualify that with my nomination where I wrote, "I'm not sure if they were underrated or just looked down upon because they were marketed by Radio Shack."

But I still really do think a lot of folks passed and turned their noses up on them because they were a Radio Shack brand.

[deronb1]

Pioneer HPM series were big, nice sounding speakers.

[Timothy Smith]

Any A/D/S speaker

[vwfred69]

Allison acoustic. I have been thinking about pickup up old stock ones off eBay.

[TECHNOKID]

AKAI! Probably underated because they were Japanese manufactured. I still own them and use them when I feel like serious music listening. The bass coming off the 15" driver is incredible (can rival with many powered subs!)!

[mhardy6647]

Actually it seems to me that there are far more overrated than under-rated loudspeakers :-P Indeed, speakers seem to be quite a fashion industry; look at the prices on some of one- or two-year old erstwhile audiophile darling speakers on Audiogon compared to their "purchased new" prices.

That said...

AVID loudspeakers from the 1970s and 1980s are still relatively unknown but were very good acoustic suspension designs using good drivers (CTS and Philips OEM) and were early proponents of diffraction control in consumer loudspeakers.



Most of the ones mentioned above are, to my mind, hardly under-rated (check eBAY prices if you doubt that).
The AKAIs I cannot comment on - most of the massmarket Japanese loudspeaker systems sold in this country were mediorce to awful. Interestingly, though, those same manufacturers made some very nice models for the home and Asian markets (rarely seen here). If you want to see some of them, peruse the listings at www.audio-heritage.jp Some amazing stuff in the "latter-day Altec/JBL" mode.

... AKAI did make some very nice little speakers using full-range drivers in the 1960s, but they're not particularly common. They're also not particularly expensive.

Speaking of under-rated Japanese speakers... actually, here's one (sort of) that comes to mind. US Pioneer in the 1970s made and sold a number of loudspeakers in the US (to save on the cost of shipping large hollow wooden boxes from Asia!). They were not expensive, but they were surprisingly good. I have a pair of the US made Pioneer Project 100A three-ways. Note the unusual configuration of these (cone tweeter and dome MR). Looks like a travesty, but they have dandy midrange and a nice smooth overall presentation; nothing like the aggressive "HPM" monstrosities designed by Bart Locanthi.



Did you know that for many years (and probably still today) Pioneer was the leading manufacturer (unit-wise) of loudspeaker drivers in the world? You could look it up :-)

Finally, one of the nicest-sounding cheap speakers ever made was the Teledyne-era AR-18. These were 65 smackers a pop in 1977, and probably still dirt cheap (the only pair I have were given to me in trade for an old Garrard turntable) and plentiful. There were various incarnations over the years, but the origianals (FWIW) are still my favorites.

[mhardy6647]

thought of another set of under-rated speaker systems. The vintage/classic Electrovoice (EV) speakers actually tend to be a bit over-rated. They're pretty good, but very few of them are in the Altec/JBL/Tannoy firmament. A lot of them seem over-priced to me (e.g., the 12TRXB, which is an OK coax... but only OK).

One line of speakers EV made, in the early '60s, though, are still relatively common, sound quite good and can still be found fairly cheap. These are they, from the 1961 R/S catalog.



I have a pair of the Esquires... and they're quite nice. I think I have a total of about $50 invested in them.

These aren't mine (eBAY long-timers will recognize the carpet in the photo and know its origin!) - but the magic in these stems from the use of a good-sounding extended range driver (in the case of the Esquire, the EV Wolverine LS-8 twincone), augmented with a good woofer (EV 12BW, in the case of the Esquire), and... OK... a meh tweeter (EV T35B). Two outta three ain't bad - and the T35B in this setting sounds better to me than, say, a T35 in a Klipsch Heresy or Cornwall.

[Pycroft]

I put my vote in for my speakers -

Sony SS-M series. I've owned the SS-M7's and now own the SS-M9's.

I had never heard of them - and never thought even twice about any Sony speaker. I saw an ad for the M7's and sent George Grand a message about them (Which is what I often do when I have stupid questions :) The ad read Sony Audiophile Speakers. When I e-mailed him, he said something along the lines of, 'I'd give me left arm for the SS-M9's'. I heard the M7's and bought them immediately. Now, I own the M9's and I'm happy every day. I'd say they are underrated because of the stigma of the Sony name when it comes to speakers. They are amazing.

James

[mhardy6647]

They are fine loudspeakers - probably a tad under-rated in the sense that they're not well-known... but they're not bargain speakers either. I.e., I don't really expect a pair to turn up at my favorite local emporium any time soon...

[Big Dawg]

They are fine loudspeakers - probably a tad under-rated in the sense that they're not well-known... but they're not bargain speakers either. I.e., I don't really expect a pair to turn up at my favorite local emporium any time soon...

I hear what you're saying, but that's not the question at hand. I agree with James, the Sony's are VERY underrated, although not under-priced in the marketplace.

If you're asking, what speakers are the best VALUE on the used market, that's a very different question. Under $200, I vote for Polks of all different flavors. Under $1,000, I vote for SDAs and Magnepan 1.6QR.

[bluecomet]

I bought the SS-M7 off of James. That series is very underrated. The other Sony speaker that I think is great is the SSK90ED speakers. I have the whole series of the SSK speakers but the SSK90ED's are the jewel of the line up. They look like B&W speakers and some say B&W had a hand in them. They are extremely under rated but do seem to have a cult following. I guess I am a part of the cult because for the money I think they are great. I also agree with the ADS speakers. They are extremely smooth. I have a pair of 810's but would love to get my hands on a pair of 1510 tower speakers.

[dorokusai]

Almost any vintage Mission, KEF, B&W, ADS monitor are often winners.