| JBL 305 + 310S matching subwoofer will measure impeccably and play nearly full range with strong bass down to 27ish hz. Would have to catch some sale prices around black friday or some such. Or this excellent DIY kit and basically, any solid 50-100W ish amp. Might push you up to more like $600. But you get the idea. https://www.parts-express.com/Amiga-MT-Tower-Speaker-Kit-Wit... I have a generally very high opinion of Wirecutter's bookshelf speaker and receiver recommendations - any recommended receiver and any recommended bookshelf speaker, basically. Although, most retail bookshelf speakers in this range might be more like an 80% experience not 90% lol. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/electronics/audio/ Another thing you can do for a very legitimate hi fi experience on a budget is to turn modest speakers into excellent performers with DSP EQ. Either automatically with a receiver that has e.g. Audyssey auto correction or with a MiniDSP etc. Audio reproduction is, well, signal reproduction/amplification. Whether a driver produces objectively correct sound via excellence in physical driver construction and engineering, or via a DSP assist, makes little difference. |