The JBL Studio 530 are on sale at The Harman Store for $240/pair with Free Shipping. Not the prettiest speakers, but they do a heck of a lot right for that price ✌️

@@MrChristopherMolloy Yep, if you like that "live / Forward" listening experience, they are fantastic speakers. ESPECIALLY for the price!

The reasons I've been informed the Q150's are on a big sale is to liquidate inventory - all revised KEF speakers are going to employ the "Meta" material being utilized on their flagship model. Available on both Crutchfield and Amazon now for $300.00.

@@Audiomainia2310 - Yep. I'm not sure when the new line is coming out though. They've been very hush hush about it. Still, I'd say it's clear to ALL of us that something will be released soon.

@@ZeroFidelity Do you mind mentioning the "linear or flat (neutral?)" speakers that come to mind at or below $1000? BR-03? 3020i? Which Elac? Others? Thanks - really useful video!

How would you rate a Cambridge AXR100 on the average/cheap spectrum you're describing?

I've just ordered a set for the exact same amp. I've had q acoustic 3010i but find I have to constantly play around with the bass and treble. Would be great to hear how yours sounds now? Now it's all run inn.

Thanks!

@@ZeroFidelity, I really think it was an amazing review. Sean, it really was perfect.

May I have the dimensions of the room where these speakers are located?

Hey Shawn, got my Kef 'q's 150 and 250c. Set them up fronts toe'd iin as usual high fi speakers. Big mistake - omg the treble was accentuated. Read the manual and Kef do not suggest to toe in, or a minimal amount would be ok, I probally have them toe'd like 7 degrees. They sure look weird with speakers almost straight in my room, but that has calmed the highs immensely. Gonna enjoy theses now. Your review was right on thank you!

The KEF Q350 might suit you well. They are a similar sound but for a bigger room.

@@clinteastwood7198 funny thing is, I upgraded to an audiolab 6000a and now the soundstage is huge! However they now lack bass, but I think this is due to my room placements and furniture changing more than anything. I will be upgrading them soon I think, but to be honest I think I’ll try a taste of something different than kef.

@@Brett1334how big is your room?

I was curious so I just looked at his results. Bro. He literally circles the HF response and remarks about it being boosted, which in his words, may cause the sound to come across as "brittle" / "bright" to some. What you also see is a distinct rise in the lower mids and upper bass. That's V curve. This is a common voicing strategy for most hi-fi speakers at and below 1 grand.

@@ZeroFidelityOk, Sean. I don't hear these to be V shaped at all. I hear speakers like most of the Klipsch R and RP series, the B&W 600 series, and the Jamo S series, which all have a big suckuout in the mids and super elevated treble as V shaped, which Is not what these sound like to me at all. His estimated in room response follows the ideal almost perfectly, with no elevated midbass, only elevated treble above 7khz.

At $300 this would be a good candidate for a GR Research crossover upgrade. Of course he overdoes the goodies and makes the package too expensive 🤷🏻

@@seanb3303 Or you could simply replace some of the stock xover parts with some better components of the same exact value for $50 or less. Granted, opening up and altering any hi-fi product will void the warranty, but hey - fun is fun. And you'll learn a bit more by doing this yourself in the process.

@@ZeroFidelity Good point Sean. That's what I always say about Danny. He could sell his plans for a crossover upgrade and let the buyer choose the level of parts that he/she can afford, but his business is in selling you his overpriced parts at a very hefty profit. It's not really about making your speakers better, but about selling his snake oil at very inflated prices IMO.

I have the q 350 and would have to agree, I've had the meta and older version of ls50 and I like the q350 better in pretty well every way, of course the 350 is bigger all around and has much more low end to boot. The only ones I've heard recently that would win over on these may be the xls encores and the revel performa m106, and it wouldn't be an easy shootout between the 3 models.

Side by side, the Q150's treble isn't (significantly) more laid back than what you get with the LS50 Metas. The only difference is that the LS50 Meta doesn't feature the same level of boost in the midrange and bass as the Q150. This alone will make the LS50 Meta sound a bit more aggressive in the treble by direct comparison. I suppose however, one could argue that if this is what you experience in the real world, then that's all that matters. Still, the point is that the Q150 is not an inherently laid back speaker. Especially once you give it some volume. But as always, treble is something that many people do not agree on. One mans bright is another mans smooth and visa versa.

@@ZeroFidelity Maybe the amp I used just didn't happen in the treble as much with those speakers. I had to wind the treble up a lot before I liked the sound (in that room). My B&W 706s have strong upper treble but not enough "chuff" in the voice sound for my liking. Strong cymbals but voice sound is a bit "muffly" on the 706s (in that room). My home designed and built speakers have a bit more "chuff" giving the voice a more 3D sound. That's just me. And My friends seem to agree. But the 706s are a God send cos overall they are the only thing I can go by as reference monitors for my made speakers. And then I make my own "artistic" slight tweaks to my made speakers after copying the 706 sound. The 706s made my speakers sing. Thanks for reading my comment and responding. Cheers Big Ears!

It's from a company called BDI. Link is in the description box!

@@ZeroFidelity Thanks Sean

I was wondering the same thing,maybe fresh out of the shower?🤔

Wondering if that also impacted in-room response…LoL

They will go loud, but they won't sound very good doing it. The watt ratings are something to all but disregard.

Good to know. Although I need to make it clear that the location of a port doesn't have as big of an impact as people think it does when it comes to how a loudspeaker performs near wall boundaries. That behavior has a lot more to do with tuning.

@@ZeroFidelity Actually, Thujan did a direct comparison Q100 vs Q150 video - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h7t4oZZzqs65noE.html

@@ericjohnson829 You just said Thujan. And for that reason, I'm out.. haha

@@ZeroFidelity lol

Point source speakers will always have a better image cos the vowels&consonants of the voice sound are coming from the same place instead of 8" apart!

You need to hear open baffle

"This is an excellent speaker" "I'm thinking of upgrading" Spoken like a true audiophile 😉

I had the r3s they are spectacular. So amazing I sold them and bought r5s lol and am always looking for r11s

How do they compare to the SSC5’s?

Also, the room is only 10 ft wide with 9.5ft ceilings.

I may make another video about that, but I won't give an entire dissertation in the comments section. In short: My favorites are from a company named Tri-Art Audio. Expensive, but I like em'. Outside of that, the 'tried and true' stands usually involve buying something metal and then filling it with material like sand.

I sure would.

They'll be fine in that application.

Yep, this is what I use for my rear. Got then on sale at Crutchfield for 249.99 a pair best bang for the buck. They really sound great considering the price. And just for the fun, I paired them with my Musical Fidelity amp... wow... sound really good. But they belong in the rear :)

I'm curious about newer Mission speakers also. I have a couple vintage pairs and wonder if the new ones are as good in the bang for the buck department.

@@1980JPA the QX2 is mad bang for the buck. If only they gained more exposure. I really hope Sean checks them out.

@@indranilmitra6535 yeah, I think they've always been a bit under the radar and underestimated, but I absolutely love them. We have a small group of friends here in town and we're all blue collar audiophiles. Mission has a high place in our circle that it may have never reached amongst the public. They just make damn good speakers. Going to check out the QX2.

@@1980JPA I'm a blue collar audiophile as well. I love budget speakers that sound amazing. I can whole heartedly recommend the QX2. So musical and balanced.

I have the QX5 and it's absolutely mad! If the QX2 does the same as the QX5, but with less bass, it gets a massive thumbs up from me!