I friend lent me a Pioneer amp that I’ll connect to a Creative sound card and I want to buy some good bookshelf speakers, that will last…

I want to spend around 170 Euro on the speakers. I might need some money for shipping so I really can’t go over budget.

I’m looking for good balanced sound, I listen to music at moderate volume levels.

I would prefer something available in Europe, I’m not too keen on ordering something outside of Europe, unless shipping and the speakers aren’t too expensive.

(Later I’m plan on buying my own amp and maybe a better sound card, but that’s for later, for now I just looking for speakers)

By the way, are monitors a good choice?

Let the recommendations commence, lol

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/404infinity

Infinity Primus 150, Stereophile 2004 Joint Budget Products of the Year runnersup winner. Don't know if they are available in Europe, you'll have to find out yourself.

Yes Infinity Primus 150 are available here...

Anything else worth looking into?

Anything from Paradigm.

JBL Control 1X are real great. They are sold for something like 100€.
I use them in my car, and absolutely love to listen to them, more than to my expensive dynaudio speakers in my living room.
One thing to consider however:
They are rather small, so bass response is not very strong.
In a small room (like my car) this isn't a problem - with my car stereo I don't boost bass at all, just use the loudness switch.
I tried them in my large living room as a temporal replacement for my normal speakers. They retained their vividness but really lack from bass.
So in larger rooms boosting up bass quite a bit by electronics (my living room amplifier doesn't have this possibility) or by clever positioning of the speakers or - best - by using an additional subwoofer - is essential.

Anyway because of their extreme vivid playing which is really fun to listen to I would give them a try.

Shade is right: Paradigm is really good. Be wary of magazines which accept any advertising. Trust only your ears.

I too a quick look at the Paradigm website and catalogue, yeah…, I’m not that knowledgeable about speakers, could you guys recommend some considering my budget and objective. I also have to look into those speaker’s availability in Europe.

I have to add that it might not get to audition speakers before buying, because I'm cosidering buying online. Only way to audition speakers if I find shops nearby that have them.

@ halb27 I’m just looking for bookshelfs. I don't want a subwoofer. Not now at least… Also I’m looking for nice balanced sound. If it’s going to have weak bass, I don’t want them.

IIRC, Titans are great. Atoms aren't bad either.

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Dealers/DealerFrames.html

Looks like spain / barcelona is your best bet.

I found a Polish shop that has Paradigm speakers:

Performance Series V.3
Atom 181€
Titan 210€

Paradigm Performance V.4
Titan 236€

Their all a bit over budget. I’ll look for more shops.

Btw what's with the different versions o Titan speakers?

I found the Infinity Primus 150 cheaper starting at 158€

I think only the materials change a bit in different generations. Your best bet would be to look at the specs.

On the plus side, Paradigm speakers, even the 200 euro ones, sound like a 400 euro purchase. They're really a steal. ( I suggest you go listen to them.. )

PS : try ebay.

http://www.3dss-forums.com/cgi-bin/wwwthre...o=&fpart=5&vc=1

The Infinity Primus 150 bested the more expensive Paradigm Titan in this informal comparison. Believe it, the Primus 150 is a steal and clearly good value for money.

Of course, you should listen to the Primus 150s first before deciding whether to get them or not.

I don’t think I’m going to be able to audition speakers. I don’t think Paradigm or Infinity 150 speakers are available nearby. I’ll probably buy online and base my choice solely on advice given.

I guess the lingering question is Infinity Primus 150 or Paradigm?

You should audition & listen to them if possible, since everyone's ears are different and you may like one speaker's sound signature more than another speaker.

I’m seriously going to have a hard time auditioning the Infinity Primus 150 or the Paradigm. I can’t find a single online shop in my country that carry them. There are some shops that have Infinity speakers but they are Alpha series.

I’m gonna make a few call on Monday to some hi-fi shops, but I’m guessing it’s not going to be easy.

I've only heard good things about paradigm. Look up reviews : the company itself never issued bad parts, a bad model, etc; they sound great, none of it is built in china (no offense to anyone), so you're more sure of the QC step of production.

I'd go for those.

Just because something is made in China doesn't mean the QC is any worse. Almost all motherboards, graphic cards etc are made in China, so automatically one assumes they are of low quality?

The Infinity Primus 150 is proven, plenty of users at 3dsoundsurge's forums own 1 pair and can attest to the sound quality. And I know there are some Primus owners here that are quite pleased with them also.

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....ndpost&p=344751

I’m kinda on the fence now. I guess auditioning spekears would make things easier, but it’s probably not going to happen.

I’m going look for reviews and user feedback, and try to make up my mind.

Maybe you didn't understand us correctly.

Buying speakers on Internet opinion alone is not a wise idea. Different people like different speakers and listen to different music. Informal web reviews rarely offer any sort of scientific results, just subjective impressions heavily prone to placebo effect.

You may end up hating them.

Hi-fi shops are a better place to try out stuff, since they often have generous return policies or even in-home audition plans. An in-home audition is extremely helpful given the fact that your house will probably be acoustically different from the display room. (I assume you don't have a dedicated listening room with thousands worth of treatments since you're looking at bookshelves). The downside is that salesmen will discourage you from buying entry level models and will often try to sell you snake oil like boutique cables or magic equipment racks. If they're annoyingly persistent, just stop the conversation and walk out of the shop to let them know their behavior is inappropriate.

Best price/performance ratio i've heard: http://www.nubert.de/
They also deliver to Portugal.
You can try them out at home for 4 weeks, and if you don't like their sound, just send them back, no questions asked.
Many of their products are among the top 3 in reviews, and often win the price/performance award.

@Twombly
I get what you're saying man, but like I said, I probably won’t find a local hi-fi shop that carry these speakers. I’ll have two choices: buy online and rely on reviews/user feedback or look for something else available locally.

I don’t want to walk into a hi-fi shop not knowing more or less what I’m looking for… I want to have some ideas before I do that.

If I buy online and end up hating the speakears, I could always try to sell them off.

@Buddy Casino
Never heard of that brand. What would you recommend?

Check out Monitor Audio's Bronze Series, either the B1 (list price: £150), or the B2 (list price: £200). Here are a couple links: http://www.monitoraudio.com/pdf/B2WHF206a.pdf (a review)
http://www.monitoraudio.com/pdf/B2WHF206b.pdf (comparison of budget speakers).

Hope this helps,

Kiran

What about Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, what’s the word on these? Can be had for 189€ I might audition these.

Interesting review here:
http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105wharfedale/

An excerpt:
And the competition...?
I compared the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 ($350/pair) with the Paradigm Atom ($189/pair), the Infinity Primus 150 ($198/pair), and the Epos ELS-3 ($350/pair).

The Paradigm Atom had a warm, rich midrange with less detail and less extended highs. Its warm midbass was not as deep, clean, or as extended as the Wharfedale's. I also noticed that the otherwise balanced Paradigm tended to get a bit tense in the upper midrange during high-level passages, unlike the Wharfedale.

The Infinity Primus 150 was a bit cleaner in the midbass and upper bass, but with no more bass extension than the Wharfedale. The midrange was natural, the high frequencies more extended but less detailed and delicate than the Wharfedale's, which also had slightly better high-level dynamics.

The Epos ELS-3 had a dead neutral presentation from the midbass to the upper midrange, with high frequencies that were more extended than the Wharfedale's but not as delicate. The ELS-3's midrange, though quite detailed, was not as rich or as holographic as the Diamond 9.1's.

Might be a good deal. Sound a bit like a sponsored review, but go listen, by all means!

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseac...el%20DM601%20S3

These fit the bill, or the model below them.

They can be coupled with a subwoofer later for even better performance.

I'll take back what I said, the B&W DM601 S3 are seriously over budget, scratch that.

Here’s what I have on my list so far:

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, 169€
Infinity Primus 150, 158€ + shipping

A bit overbugde but doable:

Monitor Audio Bronze B1, 215€
Paradigm Atom, 181€ + shipping
Paradigm Titan V.3, 210€ + shipping
Paradigm Titan V.4, 236€ + shipping

I’ll be able to audition Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 and Monitor Audio Bronze B1. The rest I’m not finding locally, I might not be able to audition and shipping costs should be higher…

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseac...l/Model%20DM303

Those might be more to your budget, and have had very good reviews, although I have never heard them.

I've got a pair of Kef Q1's which I'd recommend without hesitation. I love them. They were out of your budget range when I bought them, but I don't know what the price is like at the moment.

@danbee
Here the B&W DM303 or the Kef Q1 go for 300€ give or take.

Well I’m going to audition the Wharfedale and the Monitor Audio I listed first, if I’m disappointed by the sound, then I might consider saving some cash for better speakers…