Budget stereo speakers a-plenty!

I've been using the M-Audio BX8 monitors and SBX subwoofer in the studio for a couple years now and been pretty happy with the results (they sound great, and while they're not the "flattest" sounding monitors on earth, I'm learning to compensate when mixing & mastering). But there's still a lot to be said for listening to recordings on a "normal" stereo as the mix is nearing completion (heck, I listen to most semi-final mixes on a boombox and car stereo, too). So after inventorying all the "leftover" stereo parts during the recent home theater roundup, I found a spare (working) Sony receiver, then started the quest for some cheap-o stereo speakers. I ended up ordering the SDAT 5-piece speaker system from Overstock.com. For under $150, it includes a set of LEB-404 3-way tower speakers, LEB-405 2-way bookshelf speakers, and a 3-way center channel speaker (that I don't really need). But it will be nice to be able to alternate between the tower speakers and bookshelf speakers when reviewing mixes.

This, of course, led to a Home Depot trip, so I could install a new shelf above my studio desk for the old Sony stereo (receiver, tuner, tape deck, CD player) + the SDAT bookshelf speakers. Check it out...



I've got the SoundBlaster patched in to the stereo, which is rather helpful... all of the "in progress" mixing in Sonar is output through the OctoPre/M-Audio monitors, and the "final" versions (WAV's, MP3's) can be output through the SoundBlaster/SDAT speakers.

So the big question right now... how do they sound? Well, after blasting some King's X through them for 5-6 hours to break 'em in... not too bad for under $150. The 3-way tower speakers have decent bass & high reproduction; they're bit strong in the upper mids, so they're more "aggressive" than "rich" or "mellow". The 2-way bookshelf speakers (as expected) don't have much in the way of low-end reproduction, so they sound a bit harsh when compared to the tower speakers. Certainly not audiophile-quality, but for the money, hard to argue with, and will get the job done quite well in the studio.

--B