It's Over! Say Goodbye to Cheap Speakers... or is there hope? 

Cheap anything is dead. Companies took that "supply chain" excuse and ran with it. Record profits, stagnant wages.

4:14 I just picked up a pair of the Klipsch Synergy Black Label B-100 for $150. I had a very specific set of requirements that needed to be met (size - under 10" , price under $200) so i figured id try them out. making a 5.1 system for my PC running through a receiver. they arent terrible speakers. not al all.

A year ago I saved a bunch of speakers on a shopping list expecting some of these price points for my desktop and I haven’t seen any hit their old price points since. Kef q150s haven’t hit 300 since last black friday Right now they’re at $350 and since my current desk powered monitors are dying I may pull the trigger :(

Looks like the Cambridge Audio SX-60’s are on sale at Crutchfield for $249. 1/3 off, seems like a good deal..

Let’s go for great sounding speakers where the sum of the parts do really add up regardless of price. I think the sweet spot is around $2.5K.

I put it down to consumers, it used to be that when you want to play a cd, you would need to pick up a pair of speakers, amp and a cd player, but times have changed, most people just pick up a cheap Bluetooth portable speaker and stream music today. That explains the JBL website. And many hi-fi shops closing down, even at the big box appliance shops, there used to be listening rooms and stacks of speakers and amplifiers, now its just party boom box sets, soundbars and wireless speakers.

I just picked up another pair of Dayton Audio B652-AIR speakers from Parts Express yesterday at their store. They have them currently on sale in-store for $48.98/pair. They also had the T652-AIR tower speakers for $135/pair, but I thought the bookshelf speakers actually sounded better. I couldn't justify paying almost $90 more for the towers for lesser sound quality. I also own the B452-AIR speakers which I think might actually sound better in the high mids than the B652-AIR speakers. Those AMT tweeters are incredible! Both Dayton Audio speaker models I highly recommend running a subwoofer with them. I also have the Sony SS-CS5 speakers which are hard to beat for their size and price, and I pair them with the Sony SA-CS9 subwoofer.

Thanks for your help on “answering” my question about an upgrade to my Aiyima A08 Pro……….

DIY flat packs are economical way to go. kind of a Ikea distribuion model.🤔

I didn't hear Monoprice's offerings mentioned here. They keep things affordable and direct to customer.

I suppose the "money talks" principle applies to cheap/inexpensive lines of speakers as well, especially coming from large corporations and, most likely, following changes in consumers preferences. Fortunately such speakers are/were produced in huge numbers and are readily available in the used market. Talking about Sony, just a couple of weeks ago I picked up a pair of SS H3500 in excellent conditions in a thrift shop for $14.00. Small, but sound really good.

"Dayton Audio" speakers should have been included in this video. I love mine & have had them about a year now with not one complaint. I have 2 sets of towers with amt tweeters. 🤘🏻

Moukey Passive Bookshelf Speakers M20-3.. ! What a great speaker.."THAT DOESN'T SUCK" (Searching for another set and How I found your channel) !Surprised you didn't mention this one... Think I paid 65 for the pair 2 years ago just looked to purchase another set seen they are currently unavailable on Amazon. So I bought the POLK XT15s and just compared them to my M20-3 and I will be sending these POLKs back.. Not impressed. I'm going to scroll through you videos.. I'm looking for good affordable 3ways.. Do you have a video on just 3 ways? I will look to find out.. Cheers

Jamo recently announced the Studio 7 series. Not sure how much it’s going to be, I haven’t seen it for sale anywhere yet

Well, when I need some I’ll pull out the retro Mordaunt Shorts. Glad I bought them 30+ years ago. They can sit in the attic until the day I can afford the rest 😂

What about the Neumis that you thought so highly of? They're $110 a pair. Not mainstream enough?

bro i have a pair of elac unifi reference speakers for my desktop and i understand they're on the neutral side. What do you recommend that are bright speakers? I'm looking for basically better airy imaging, and detail retrieval plus soundstage but can still listen to everything even bad recordings. Price is not an issue.

At this time my KLH 17 was I think$54 a pair!

I agree about Sony and how they don’t care about new speakers. Their whole 2 channel/audiophile line is dead. Could you review the other larger speakers in the Sony lineup?

Have you covered Edifier or AudioEngine or maybe Bluetooth speakers?

Take a look at RSL CG3M 105 ea. $650 for a kick ass 2.1 system

Randy, Your final predictions / assumptions didnt mention Emotiva. Any hope they will continue not?

I think good vintage speakers are the way to go, some are very affordable and sound way better than new speakers for the same money. Maybe you could do reviews on vintage speakers.

I was able to pick up a pair of first generation RP 600Ms for $399 from Crutchfield last summer. I listen to these in my office all day and they are excellent for my needs.

Speakers are dying because people have migrated to ear/headphones. My kids rarely ever listen to music out loud. Even in their room, they have headsets on for gaming and chatting with friends.

The reality is, the kids only want mass-market bluetooth speakers/headphones. Nothing wrong with that, but it's a wiser investment for mass-market companies to invest in small, cheap bluetooth speakers/headphones rather than cheap passive/active speakers. As a hifi enthusiast, it is difficult for me to accept that reality, but that's the reality. And I repeat, there is nothing wrong with it. It pains me to write it, but Bluetooth has done more to get music into kids' hands than audiophile/hifi ever will.

I think powered and smart speakers are where people will find their affordable speakers moving forward. This is why JBL isn’t pushing passive on their site and they don’t need to because folks buying their passive speakers are going to a speciality dealer.

I think affordable is becoming used or open box with speakers. I recently bought a pair of Dali Spector 1s open box for $250. Just inside the affordable boundary. Paired with Emotiva A2 Mini and Geshelli J2 DAC. This setup fits my definition of hi fi and as close to affordable as I can get.

Canada has been the home of affordable hifi speakers. Now the prices have gone up and woofer sizes have gone down(back in the 90s you could swing a dead cat without hitting a $199 6.5" two way), but both PSB and Paradigm still have speakers @ or slightly under the $250 mark. PSB has the Alpha line which includes the $250 P3(a 4" two way)and Paradigm has the Monitor SE Atom currently on sale for $225. It's a 5.5" two way that may be on the way out but Paradigm have has an Atom in there line up for the last 40 years and I don't see that changing.

I have the B6.2 ELACs w/ their 10" sub and it's a phenomenal 2.1 setup for under $500.

There is also still the Dali Spektor 1. Dali also raised there prices but the Spektor 1 is still priced pretty good. The Spektor 2 is also still well below 250.

There are a ton of cheap speakers you haven’t reviewed. Saiyin, Pyle, Sanyun, Edifier, Bestisan, Micca… just a quick survey and Amazon has about 100+ speakers that you haven’t reviewed.

Sounds to me like the consumer audio industry wants to further segregate the social classes to the different types of audio devices available. Essentially, the industry wants to keep quality Hi-Fi component systems to the "middle class" and above income bracket, and anyone below that will have to buy used, or settle on using a Bluetooth speaker.

Nowadays you really have to track prices to get what’s considered a good deal

No one seems to care about audio quality anymore. People actually WANT things to sound like it's coming out of their iphone speakers. Sad. I quit quality sound years ago as my wife didn't like how it sounded - she prefers the cheap TV speaker sound... oh well. There are some advantages. Saves money and no bass to disturb people in other rooms!

Got my SSCS5s for 70 bucks used like new last year and my BS41s for $77 when they were first released and either on sale or Amazon screwed up the pricing. I could probably resell both pairs on eBay and make a few bucks, but I like having them around as examples of really good cheap speakers.

It's a running joke with a friend (who owns a pub) here in London that nearly all bars/restaurants/shops nearly all use JBL Control Ones for their sound systems. It's one of those things, once noticed, always spotted. The main reason may be that they resell for £99 a pair but always sound good in busy environments.

How to make the best sounding speakers with a crazy hi end sound for peanuts. But first the basic model (witch can be converted to the high end sound version: Mount an open 5" single driver speaker on top of a box (fully open) And there is a woofer in the box. To get it to work best, build a filter for the open driver, especially if it's a $10 driver (witch mine are). I use a 2 mf cap with a tiny 0.05 inductor and a 2 ohm resistor and a 100 mf capacitor (all in series) and in parallel with the 2 mf capacitor. DON'T USE CERAMICS! On FR drivers ceramic capacitors are too clangy! Electroytics sound great (way more silky) and a good balance. Ceramics sound way better on soft domes than electrolytics, though. I don't know what polycap capacitors sound like on FR drivers. Put a 5.6 mh on the woofer and maybe a few ohms resistor to match the open top driver. Mine has 1 ohm, it depends on your particular drivers what resistance is chosen. It will have defined med range. Your crossover filter most probably won't be exactly like mine, yoh have to experiment withe it. Defined voice sound that I never heard before. Like headphone med but only better! Well, you get my point, and to get to that standard you need to doctor the (cheap) drivers...(at least for practice). Yep, this is not for the faint hearted! ❤ Here are the two high end options. The first one is relatively easy, so you may want to opt for that only. Use a 5" FR driver with no whizzer cone or dust cap and with a phase plug (or a stripped down FR driver with an open core and thin mesh on it). If they do have the phase plug, not the dust cap type phase plug, the stationary core type, only. Sorry about the rules, but I am talking about high end sound, engineered by my particular prototype, and based on years of experimentation. I don't like domes cos of the air traped inside tends to make a "sippy" sound (due to closed in rsonance). Get a fresh razer blade or sharp hobby knife (cones need really sharp blades cos otherwise they just rip. There are two types of cuts to be done on the cone. First type: About 3mm out from the phase plug, make 8mm slits right through the cone and with 5mm gaps (that are not cut). And repeat again but about 1 cm out from the phase plug. This makes even better treble than a tweeter with no closed in resonance (with the cone being open). And being open slso extends highs. And eith the mod you get insane highs that seem to go right up there. Remember there is no measurements, just subjective. 😅 Just sounds like the best treble ever! #2 Type cuts. About half way between the surround and the edge of the phase plug. That is where you make the cuts. You can draw on the cone very lightly, a circle in the same midway position. Make 5 one inch cuts with smaller gaps (that are not cut). Now this is the skilful part and you need a sharp blade: Make thin crescents from the one inch cuts that are only 4mm wide at maximum width of the thin crescent banana shape holes in the cone. I did it to my $10 drivers and wrecked a couple but thats how I got the dimensional data. I got some that work perfect but just messed up in the cresents (in a cosmetic way). It's hard to make it look perfect but still sounds perfect. I got covers for mine to go over the open drivers (and I can even put things on top of my sleakers). A solid top with mesh sides. Still sounds great and warms the sound nicely. And the look great. Try making some and see if you reckon that they would have to absolutely flog anything out there. The soundstage and IMAGE is definitly out there and at another level. It costs you a few hundred to make speakers that flog 10 grand speakers. The best simulation of the sound of my speakers, on YT, would be the demo of the B&W Nautilus 100 grand speakers (the only demo on YT). My made speakers completely destroy my B&W 706 (2 grand) speakers that I use for reference. But they are not the Nautilus. 😅 Sorry about the mistakes (and not closing my brackets) but it's too long to correct. 😂

Hey Randy. I think you missed two obvious options: The Neumi BS5 is still $110/pair on Amazon, and the RSL CG3M is $210/pair, direct from RSL. I think you were pretty pleased with both of those speakers.

Triangle hifi does not fit the 250$ category, but will always have a "more affordable" line. (currently named Borea) The BR03 I have work quite well, however I use eq and I have a sub in a 2.1 arrangement. They also had other lines in the affordable category in the past.

We need a new hope, maybe a cheap sith audio speaker ?

I think part of the problem is overall lack of demend for traditional 5.1 / 7.2 passive speakers lines since many households have switched to soundbars or wireless options. Quality but cheap standmount speakers are inexpensive because they are parts of these large but dying home theater sets.

I think this may be an area where the Chinese brands really start to push their way into the overall market. They've already taken over the IEM market, and a few brands are starting to make inroads into the full size headphone market. I can see them recognizing an opening here, as they really don't seem to like to rest on their laurels.

The best way to have a great system on a budget is DIY. Building great equipment is not that hard but It does take some time to acquire some skill and knowledge but it pays off in spades. When you've completed a custom build be it speakers or electronic component and you power them up and the sound you hear is something coming from you've built yourself, the sanctification is off the chart. Don’t be intimidated because it’s not as hard as you think and it doesn’t require a huge investment in tools. The tools will pay for themselves from your saving of your first build.

Let me say that I'm happy I got my Elac 5.2's when I did, during the pandemic. They were nearly $300 at one point then fell to around $240 and I pounced. Glad I did, love those pups. Secondly, it kind of surprises me that Yamaha isn't making an effort to provide an affordable bookshelf speaker. I think they may still be making a small 3-way speaker (which strikes me as very 70's) but I'm not aware of a 5" or 6.5" bookshelf speaker. Seems like a natural given all the receivers and amps they sell.

Going back 10 years or so, I used to collect "mid-fi" audio stuff....Bookshelf Speakers, Receiver/Amps, DACs etc. Starting about 5 years ago I "switched" to portable equipment (Headphones, Amps, DAPs, DACs). Lots of choices at the Mid-fi level. It scratches my itch and works better for my limited space. Also easier to swap-out, re-sell and ship.

Are the days of great cheap speakers behind us. Check out this video to find out if we have hope! check out my other channel www.youtube.com/@cheapwatchman_official Intro graphics by johnvilardi.com Support the Channel! Shop on Amazon amzn.to/3W8vsgK Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt Join the best hifi community out there! patreon.com/cheapaudioman TRY ROON www.rofjdjk3ns.com/33G977/2CTPL/ Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF Amazon Unlimited Music Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9 Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH amzn.to/3GkNaop CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P

Sad Times when Infinity Reference were discontinued............ but they also did the Ridiculous "MSRP" then On Sale 5 times a year - like JBL (both Harmon owned) n Klipsch Reference.

@cheapaudioman I did the research. You’ve reviewed 103 speakers. But you made a lot of video for comparisons/sales etc. but to date you’ve reviewed 103 individual speakers. And approximately 45 of those are over $250. Regarding “cheap” speakers, there are still a lot of fish in the sea. That’s my only point.

What about studio monitors as a choice from a value perspective? I have seen them maintain the same price as last year and Black Friday should add some extra discounts.. I have the Adam Audio T5V's with a DAC and it has work well for me.. A friend of mine got Yamaha's HS8 instead of a sound bar replacement (in white) and he could not be happier. (Black Friday discount too). Would you ever do a review series to try and compare normal vs studio monitors?

It is so hard to find audio at the prices most of us can afford. Thank you Randy.

why not considering JBL control series?

Cerwin-Vega! Just came out with a new cheap line of speakers caked the (L.A. Series) if your looking for something different to review. They are easy to reach I’m sure they would send you some. But for some reason CV seems to be a company that RU-vid reviewers won’t look at 🤔

This video makes me feel better about my order earlier this morning of 2 Monoprice Encore T6 towers ($180 each) and 4 Monoprice Encore B6 Bookshelves ($90 each)

The days of cheap Chinese supply chain is at the end of its runway. Fuel cost have made the entire shipping network expensive from container ships to trucking to warehouse heading and cooling. Ad to this the tarriffs and US policies towards china detrimental to pricing. Add to that customer tastes of streaming into earbuds and the market of buyers is shrinking. HiFi and photography has been devistated by the phone. Yep, its over, the end of all that makes be a boomer happy! And another thing, Bring back Mac and Don's fries cooked in beef fat!!!!

Jbl also has the 3 series monitors, under 250 for their most expensive, and 115 for their cheapes per speaker

Just yesterday I read a review about two Dali speakers. It seems that Dali has entered the US market. One of the speaker pairs reviewed was the Spektor 1, which is Dali's budget line. Here in Europe, I bought a set of Spektor 1s for under €200. Great sound for the price.

I just have 200$ IEM's that suites all my needs and are good for EQ if need be.

2+ years ago you did a rave review of the Fluance Signature bookshelf. You even said the difference between them and the Elac Debut Refernce was “splitting hairs.” Since then you don’t mention them. What’s up with that? They are one of my B speakers and I love them. But I admit they truly need at least 50 hrs of breakin.

Emotiva B1+ are my favorite speakers I've tried under $1K. JBL Studio A130 are fantastic, HSU Research bookshelf speakers were excellent too.

IMO entry level Magnepans are very good at what they do for the money. However, I don't believe they fit your music choices and they throw the amp to speaker cost formula out the window as they thrive on power. They're still $1k or 1,200 I'd have to look up current pricing and you really need a what is now $2k amp or find a used amp with a big transfomer. I just hope Sony and some of the others keep producing what they are producing. R&D cost to profit margin isn't there for new models at this time and really how much better will it get? If it is better then the mid-fi is in more danger which is where the profit margin is a bit better. Further budget fi is moving to powered bluetooth speakers and ear buds. Sady, hifi isn't the priority it was for most. Also, those of us that do enjoy are willing to spend more. Catch is the more is getting to be much more . I am a mid fi guy which is moving to used mid-fi guy.

Where does Neumi fit in? I have no idea who owns them, or how much production they are capable of?

The Dayton 442 mtm is 109 a pair and they use the tcp 115 mid woofers and trust me I have built speakers with them and they are bangers they have 4.5 x max and can get some low bass and then you have the Dayton transmission line m442 t I think it is called that I saw for $180 and it's probably the best speaker for the money ofc I can build a really good pair of speakers for well under $200 but only for my friends

I’d like to see Wharfedale have speakers readily available in North America, similar to Dovedale’s, at an affordable price. $7000 per pair just for the speakers is out of range for many people that ❤good sound equipment. It would also be nice to see Wharfedale resurrect an affordable bookshelf speaker line focused on best sonic performance in its price class.

When I was working at Stereo Warehouse in the late 70s early eighties, 50-60% of a speakers price was profit. We would give away the receiver, tape deck, turntable at cost if the customer ought the “system” from us.

It was only when I spent £1000+ on speakers that I really understood what speakers can do. The Lintons are genuinely the most incredible investment I’ve ever made. I’ll never get rid of them

Most speakers are crap and have such low sensitivity. Why can't there be a 100 db sensitivity speaker for $250-500??

Maersk is laying off thousands due to the drop of international shipping trade! With less volumes the price of shipping sill increase. In fact, it’s not manufacturing that will cause issues but raw material and transport.correct me if I’m wrong

Where is the next big breakthrough in speaker technology? Why redesign if you don't bring something groundbreaking to the table?

Pour one out for the Polk Audio TSi100! What about Monoprice speakers?

The Dayton 402 is $59

Thanks for the video!! Cheap or inexpensive speakers are great for introducing new people into this hobby! It would be interesting to see a comparison between Fosi V3 and Aiyima A07 Max, and how well they pair with affordable speakers. I 'be heard these little amps have a slightly different sound signature; Fosi V3 (slightly darker) vs A07 Max (slightly brighter) vs original A07 (neutral). To me, making a good pairing is everything, and you can add a tube preamp, or an equalizer, in addition to a DAC.

Jamo does have a new line - the Studio 7 - it's just not cheap.

I bought the monoprice monolith encore b5 speakers for $50 a piece and have been very impressed so far. Portless and ~5 inch woofer works well for my desk.

I was very fortunate to buy the Q Acoustics 3020 last August from Amazon for $149. Amazon now sells them for $389. I knew the 3020's were a little weak in the base department, but I already had a sub to augment those frequencies. We may have to wait a while for retailers to decide to dump old stock speakers, unfortunatly it may take longer than we would like.

Saw a new van advertised and watched it for a week. On Monday it was £23500 by Friday £28000. Brands especially hard goods, cars just take advantage since Covid and it’s shameful!

ive got a pair of cheap donner speakers there about 65 british pounds on amazon and there fantastic imho im running a little douk audio p1 and a bob marley project turntable i gte great sound bass isnt too bad either although am looking at getting a subwoofer at some point for a bit more low end so for around 320 british pounds have. afull setup and am very happy wiht it i love a bargain lol

I enjoy cruising Craigslist for used speakers. I have picked up book shelf speakers from Boston Acoustics, Phase Tech and NHT for $60 per pair or less. I bought some good sounding Paradigm towers for $100.

I don't mind your stretching the definition of affordable beyond the price limits of cheap. You could be the value audio man.

Why not change your subject to vfm audio man? Recommend audio products that are value for money

Stop playing with these toy speakers,get good pair of floor standing speakers.....

A lot of people have started their journey into high-end audio when they first experienced Magneplanars back in the 1970s to the present. With the Magnepan LRS Plus, one can experience the magic of line source open baffle quasi-ribbon technology for just $1K. While not in the under $300 cheap definition Randy is using, I am sure he would agree that $1K is pretty amazing for what the LRS Plus can do, especially with subs added. There are many comments all over the internet about them, and I thought I would just bring these up. See you at Capital Audiofest Randy in one of the hallways there. Cheers, Prof. Jim

HECO needs to dip their toe deeper in the pond. Nice build, great sound, reasonable price. And, all things come back around.

Ah the golden age of audio is closing... Get em while u can.

I have the POLK T15 speakers. They do require some careful placement. But, that said, they do the job at my end.

RSL?

Just bought the wharfedale evo 4.1 off an old recommendation. Not as cheap as they used to be, but they're great

To put things in historical perspective when I was 12 years old I put together my first stereo system that in 1975 cost $650 adjusted for inflation is well over $3500 today. It consisted of a Harman/Kardon 330b Celestial H speakers and a pioneer PL 12 with an audio technics cartridge. paper routes, shoveling, snow, and cutting grass a little help from my parents at the time to Purchase 😊

Those Sony's that you love so much can't be sourced in the UK for less than £379! Some companies have them at almost £500. Seems you opinion carries some significant weight ;)

I just bought the Sony SSCS5 pair on Amazon for $123 about the time this video was posted. Today is Cyber Monday and that is also the Cyber price. I also bought the Aiyima T9 Pro on Amazon on Sunday for $150 and the next morning it dropped to $120. It was black Friday week and they still hadn't dropped the price on Sunday although Aiyma had posted the sale starting the Friday before. Amazon won't match prices even on their own sales. It all sounds good! I am happy with the combo of Sony speakers and Aiyma, a good affordable start to my HiFi hobby. Thanks for the advice CheapAudioMan!

What about Kanto?

JBL a130 is discontinued.

One could argue that a lot of these speakers are still considered “affordable“ when compared to some of the higher in brands like Peristen, Ascendo, Arendal and JTR.

Hsu Research makes two lines of relatively affordable speakers. I'd like to see you review their CCB-8s for LCR.

I bought a pair of new Cambridge audio SX-60 last week at 299 euros instead of 369. Similar build as the S 803 from jamo ant the Elac (bass reflex output in the front). I don't claim they're the cheapest but I was searching for the right combination with my old Cambridge Aero 5 center speaker. And they all sound great. No regret at all 😊

From UK, Mission LX range is cheap as chips and sound great. Dali Spektor range is fairly affordable (over here at least) and well regarded.

As far as I can find you haven’t reviewed Mission Speakers. I got a pair of LX-4 MKII towers on sale for $175 each and they were that price most of the year. If love to hear your opinion of them. They sound great to me.

Buy up the Emotiva speakers while you still can! They kick some serious ass!!!

You was right about JBL. It seems they have discontinued the Stage A130's. The used market for them are outrageous too.

You need to try to review the NEW Cerwin Vega LA line and the old XLS line, the LS12.....but the new line is more modern tower style, they look great for the price.