Best Stereo Speakers For Under $500, $1000 & $1500 | Screen Rant
The best stereo speakers for under $500, $1000, & $1500 can offer listeners hours of audio bliss. Surround sound has been all the rage for several years now and while multiple speakers can add to the aural excitement of a movie and music, if you prefer something simpler and without spending tons of hard earned cash, there are options. After all, most music since the late 1960s has been recorded in stereo and not in surround sound and therefore, a good pair of stereo speakers are more than enough to immerse a listener in a performance.
Stereo speakers are ideal for listening spaces ranging from small to large rooms, and setting up a cozy listening lounge is simple. All that is needed is an equipment rack for your stereo components or receiver, speaker stands if necessary, a comfy chair, and an area rug to soften sound reflections on hard floor surfaces. Add two speakers and you are ready for musical nirvana.
The stereo speakers listed here are inexpensive and their sound quality belies their retail cost. The three highlighted in ascending price order is the Hsu Research HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker, the Paradigm Monitor SE 6000F, and Vandersteen VSM-1. Each speaker is manufactured by a reputable company that has been in business for decades. Furthermore, the speakers represent incredibly high engineering standards and due to this, it is recommended that these speakers are ultimately paired with a subwoofer to maximize their audio range with treble, midrange and bass.
Hsu Research’s HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker ($159 each)
These speakers may sound too inexpensive to engage a listener in high fidelity music, yet that is what makes these speakers a genuine steal. Engineered and built in California, Dr. Hsu (pronounced “shoe”) designed the HB-1 MK2 to be an affordable speaker that blows a listener’s sock off with sound quality. This speaker pair features a lively and deep soundstage, resulting in rock, reggae, rap, or whatever your music preferences are, superbly presented. The HB-1 MK2 speaker can be ordered in Satin Black or Real Wood Veneer Rosenut enclosures, and are designed for bookshelf or speaker stand placement.
Paradigm’s Monitor SE 6000F ($499 each)
These are floor standing, 5-driver, 3-way bass reflex speakers. Designed and built in Toronto, Canada, the Monitor SE 6000F speakers carry on Paradigm’s pedigree of fine sounding products for reasonable prices. These particular speakers were designed for larger listening spaces and look elegant in a luxury living room or den. Listening to a recording of an acoustic guitar, with a band accompanying the guitarist, produces a tight and coherent combination of treble, midrange and bass. The sound is open and refined and these Paradigm speakers truly sound great for the price.
Vandersteen’s VSM-1 ($1399 per pair)
These are high end surface-mounted speakers featuring a 6 1/2 inch die-cast basket polycone woofer and 1 inch alloy dome tweeter. Engineered and built by Richard Vandersteen’s Hanford, California company, the VSM-1 are time and phase aligned. This means that unlike a majority of speakers on the market, the VSM-1’s treble and bass reach your ears at the same time. Depending on the quality of your audio components and your chosen audio format, the Vandersteens will reveal almost any strengths or weaknesses in them. This tends to throw some listeners off thinking that the VSM-1 speaker is not accurately relaying the recording to their ears. However, these speakers are among Vandersteen’s lineup of accurate speakers that have been entertaining listeners since 1977.
A pair of VSM-1 speakers are extremely clean sounding and showcase a broad soundstage that is engaging to hear. The speakers are ideal for a small to medium sized listening area and can be mounted on the side of a large flat screen television to augment movies and TV shows, or they can remain as a two speaker stereo pair. Regardless of how they are installed, the VSM-1 speakers are an excellent way to get in high end audio stereo speakers, for less than $1500.