aw...you guys have wooden ears! The most accurate almost full range
little speaker is the Pinnacle AC650. It is the only CHEAP box
speaker that can compete with a pair of BIG Magnepans.

peakerOn Tue, 17 Jun 2003 17:03:35 GMT, Joseph Oberlander
wrote:

SD Obelix wrote:

(Incidentally, I'm located in CA.)

Where? I'm in California as well

Can you describe your experiences with these? Do they respond well
with run-of-the-mill midfi amplification? I'd love to use good gear
with the speakers but I'll have to use a HT receiver in one room.

The Tannoy MX are very good for the money. You'll notice I practically
have this "MX2" mantra for absolute budget-minded HT systems if you
check the archives

I have my own acid-test as it were. I play very demanding madrigals
and vocal pieces(Bach's Magnificat is a prime example).
Two criteria:
1: Must be able to hear every part if I listen closely. No squashing
it into a single noise, but distinct parts. The MX2 were the lowest
priced bookshelf speaker to pass this test, though barely. Most
others in the same price range were clock-radio sounding by comparison.
2: Re-listenability. This requires real monitors or better speakers
like the Saturns. By this I mean I can listen to the piece over
and over again and pick out new things I didn't hear before.
(MMGs whomp all over the rest on this test, btw)

I looked at the 4408 JBLs in a local pro shop and to my ears, and in
that particular environment, they were a bit bright with high strings
and vocals, though they made males sound quite good and their bass was
very listenable. I'm leaning toward something more English but not
too reserved.

Good. I recommend these as there are far better speakers out there,
but IMO, you should not settle for anything less in sound quality.
A bit bright, but not nearly as bad as most since it's a true
studio monitor.

Listen to the Tannoy line(s), then the MMGs - from there, you should
have a very good yardstick to judge other speakers. KEF is very
simmilar to Tannoy, IMO - though not quite as inexpensive. Listen
to them as well if you can get some on sale/closeout.