$500 - $2000 budget
passive
warm sound profile
have good extended bass and sub-bass so an actual ‘sub’ is not needed
known to pair nicely with tubes, be it a pre-amp or actual amp
used mostly for music, but perhaps some recorded TV and movies.
DIY is the only way i think your going to get there with those requirements. there are acoustic suspension bookshelves that get fairly close to full range. Maybe look into them?
Curious why front ported? for desktop use?
Diy and I would say maybe throw a dsp in the loop to get the exact tuning you’re looking for. I find when getting really specific on requirements that will be the easiest and cheapest way to go about it.
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something like this
edit: the 5 1/4 “woofer” is a subwoofer crossed over low with a full ranger driver above it tand the tweeter is crossed high acting more of a super tweeter
On axis and on a desk a full range like that will sound awesome. Highs do roll off but with my hearing I don’t notice them lacking at all.
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Just listened to this.
I can’t remember what speaker Randy mentioned, but I know one of them that he really liked was a front ported speaker.
Neumi BS5 I believe, was the one IIRC. I know it is front ported I have a set.
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not front ported, but not rear either.
edit: but it does go down into the 30’s, so it is full range. DiY will even struggle for sub bass. its hard to produce a 20hz wave from a 6 1/2" or smaller driver. the vast majority of them just wont sniff that low.
Good question because both my powered bookshelf speakers are rear ported which is a pain because my place is tiny so I need to place them close to the rear wall. Front ports would work much better for me
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I have owned and used the front ported K-Bas on my desk for 3 years now. I prefer it to my Klipsch RP-600 and to my Polk LSIM 703 for performance on my actual desktop. I have used it with everything from Balanced class A, various styles of Tube amps, class A/B and class D amps. I have mixed and matched ALLOT of equipment on the desktop, from the cheapest budget items to pieces costing a few thousand. The K-BAS has survived every change, swap and iteration of my desktop. They play well and it is a shame the audio community simply passed them over because they come from Monoprice. They are a licensed reproduction of a quality design, the crossovers are made of much better quality components than their price point would ordinarily warrant and despite their simple utilitarian looks they play well across multiple genre’s.
Despite the fact that i own “better” or at least much more expensive speakers my K-Bas aren’t leaving my desktop anytime soon. The ONLY other speakers that I choose to use on my desktop besides my K-Bas are my Decware Tiny Radials, those fill a niche role for me late in the evening when i want clarity and low volume BUT i also want the windows open, and do not want to bother the neighbors.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15952
Gratuitous pic of K-BAS and Tiny Radials both hiding on the right corner of the desk.
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Nice - Thanks !
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