2. speakers
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Modestly priced bookshelf speakers for cabin.

I have a small cabin in the country where I spend weekends.

Current system is a 1980's Toshiba 25wpc receiver I got in high school. Bose 2.2 bookshelf speakers that are about 28 years old. They actually sound okay to me most of the time. $14 Sony DVD/CD player from Goodwill.

Even though this 'system' is sufficient most of the time, I've got the hi-fi bug since getting my home system and I've started thinking about slowly upgrading the cabin system on the lowest budget I can.....since I can't really justify doing it at all. ;-)

Rarely do I do any serious listening down there but would like to be able to when I have the chance.

So my first step is to replace the Bose speakers. Looking to spend no more than $350 or so. Is it possible to significantly improve on the Bose at that price? (I'm assuming yes).

The only thing I've even considered is the Klipsch RB-61 IIs or RP 160Ms. Why Klipsch? Back in the 70's my eccentric uncle used to have a massive pair of them that I thought were cool. Open to other options and advice.

Thanks for any advice.


n80

Showing 6 responses by mrdecibel

mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
As a Klipsch Heritage fanatic, I am not crazy about the low end Klipsch. I actually think the lower end Polks are much better, and are always on sale on ebay. If you want, you can also get a small powered sub to supplement the Bose. Considering your source, that is what I would do. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
You buy a powered sub that has high level ins ( speaker terminals ), which connects from the speaker outs of the toshiba just as it were a pair of speakers. In most set ups, the Toshiba would feed the sub, the sub then feeds the satellites, were it the Bose or anything else. easy peasy.
mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
A quick story. During my professional days I visited a couple ( specifically the lady of the house ) who wanted a higher level of sound in their " family " room. She also wanted B&O gear ( if any of you are familiar with it ). The room was not to change décor, nor set up in any way. They had an amazingly long leather couch that was out of this world, and this is where they sat ( the couch was not against any wall, as this room was huge ). The system I designed for them ( and money was not an object ), was a full B&O front end, with a pair of Thiel CS2s. The Thiels were an eyesore in the room, which we all knew ahead of time ( to them, not me ), so I decided to place the Thiels behind this couch, laying on their backs, speaker bases closest to each other. The end of the story. They were both blown away by how sound filled the room, and not only from listening from the couch. She played the best of the O'Jays ( cd compllation ) and she was in heaven. I hope you can see the analogy of this set up. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
You guys will be costing N80 to spend some bucks, as he upgrades the speakers, the cycle will continue. He has his home system. I have 4 systems set up in my home, all quite good. But 3 of the 4 I use for background, as my main system gets the most serious play. N80 knows what he will do. Easy to fall into that trap. Bad enough with 1 system. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
@paulcreed, + 1. I am not surprised the phone book on top of your player has improved the sound. I recommend this to everyone, everywhere. Eliminating, or even minimizing, chassis resonance and vibration is real, and audible. I believe I mentioned this on another one of N80's threads concerning his low cost Sony cd player. Thank you for the mention of it. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
1,244 posts
 
N80 commented that the home being built is for his daughter and son in law.
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