Price Paid:  $122.00 from eBay from Sound Syst

Summary:
I've been on a bit of a budget bookshelf speaker bender for the last few years. After falling in love a sweet little tabletop radio named the Receptor from Boston Acoustics, I decided to look into picking-up a pair of their bookshelf speakers.

I decided to look into the CR77, the largest of their CR series line. To my surprise there was almost no recent reviews online to assist me with my search. I know that Boston Acoustics was recently purchased by D&M Holdings, the parent company of Denon, Marantz, & McIntosh, and I know there is no shortage of reviews on their products online, so go figure? But I figured, what's there to lose? Their list price was $350, you could find them new for $290, and factory refurbished for $130, but I found a new pair on eBay for $120, lucky me. If I didn't like them, I'd eBay them, or find a good home for them with a friend or family member.

The speakers arrived a few days later, I unpacked them, and upon inspection I noticed the very high level of build quality in these speakers. While smaller than some other large bookshelf speakers with a 6.5 inch driver, it's still largish & solidly built, with a nice metal grill. A knock test yielded no perceivable resonance. The black wood-grain vinyl looked & felt real, the best I've seen. Theses speakers are rear ported and have neat little bracket affixed to the back of the cabinet to allow for easy wall mounting. These speakers are NOT bi-wirable, a curious thing for a modern-day higher-end speaker.

I placed the CR77s on a pair of Dayton stands about 10 feet apart, unhooked the Dayton speaker cables from my beloved Mission M32is and hooked the CR77s into a system consisting of a NAD C740 receiver & recently acquired NAD T512 CD/DVD player.

Because these were new speakers, I didn't want to push them too hard, too soon, so the listening would be at very moderate levels. My first impression of these speakers was that they were just OK, but with continued listening they grew on me a bit. Imaging was very good; vocals & mids were very clear & centered. Bass was accurate, but not very muscular; perhaps this will improve a bit with some proper break in, but I'm not a bass junkie anyway. Out of the box, the overall sound was better than pleasant, but not stunning. I think they will improve with some continued use. If HT is a consideration, a decent subwoofer, like the Dayton Sub-100 ($125), is a strongly recommended.

If you are in the market for a $350 speaker, I'd say pass on the CR77. $350 puts you in the category of some very impressive competitors such as the Ascend Acoustic CBM-170SE. At $300, I'd again say pass, and consider the Infinity Beta 20s, or even better the AV123 Onix X-LS for $220. You can still find the very excellent Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 on sale for $200, but for less than $150 (if you can find them at that price), you'd be hard pressed to find a better bookshelf than the CR77.

Strengths:
Well constructed, Very clear midrange & imaging, Tight, accurate bass.

Weaknesses:
For $350/pair, I would say pass, but for less than $150 you would be hard pressed to find a better bookshelf than the CR77.

Similar Products Used:
Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE
AV123 Onyx X-LS
Infinity Alpha 20
Infinity Beta 20
Mission M32i
Wharfedale Diamond 8.2

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Magnolia/Best Buy

Summary:
The CR77s deliver a surprisingly full sound from such a small set of speakers. We all have our sound preferences in speakers. These speakers deserve to be on your short list if you want great sound from relatively small set of enclosures.

As a previous owner of the Boston Acoustics A400 speakers I was pleasantly surprised by the sound I heard when I auditioned the CR77s. They do not have the deep bass of my previous speakers. But, they have that familiar, unbiased Boston sound. The sound is surprisingly good for such a small enclosure.

I have a small room with insufficient space for full size speakers. I started using them as stereo speakers connected to my multifunction DVD player and HDTV. I later switched to a surround sound setup with coaxial digital for HDTV and CD playing as well as analog connections for SACD and DVD-A discs. I added the BA CRC and BA CR65 rear speakers, and the Martin Logan Dynamo to complete the surround sound speaker set. The sub also enhanced the weakest part of the sound-the deep bass.

The CR77s have worked well as a space-conserving speaker set with both stereo and surround sound systems. While lacking the deep bass common to bookshelf speakers, the sound is very good for most listeners, better than any bookshelf speakers I can recall hearing. But, if you want to hear the deep bass drums and true sounding explosions in action movies, you might consider a sub-woofer (personal preference). In the interim, these speakers will provide a very nice listening experience without the sub. They even hold up nicely for SACD and DVD-A disc playing. They provide a deep stage with these high quality discs.

I auditioned several speakers before buying the BA CR77s because they provide a very nice, full sound for bookshelf speakers and take up little space. And, they are magnetically shielded.

Strengths:
Great sound is a small set of speakers
Magnetically shielded
Metal grill protects speakers
Small footprint
Well constructed

Weaknesses:
Doesn't handle deep bass (common issue for bookshelf speakers)

Similar Products Used:
Boston Acoustics A400 (3-way, full size speakers)

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Magnolia/Best Buy

Summary:
The CR77s deliver a surprisingly full sound from such a small set of speakers. We all have our sound preferences in speakers. These speakers deserve to be on your short list if you want great sound from relatively small set of enclosures.

As a previous owner of the Boston Acoustics A400 speakers (3-way speakers with 1” tweeter, 6” mid-range, and 2x8” woofers with 38Hz-25kHz frequency response +/- 3dB), I was pleasantly surprised by the sound I heard when I auditioned the CR77s. They do not have the deep bass of my previous speakers, as the frequency response is 52hz-20kHz +/- 3dB. But, they have that familiar, unbiased Boston sound. The sound is surprisingly good for such a small enclosure. The high-end is especially good as is the low-end for such small speakers. However, I only have about 1,700 cubic feet of space to fill. So, power handling wasn’t an issue (as these speakers are rated to handle 15-100 watts.

I have a small room with insufficient space for full size speakers. I started using them as stereo speakers connected to my multifunction DVD player and HDTV (with Comcast HD channels). I later switched to a surround sound setup with coaxial digital for HDTV and CD playing as well as analog connections for SACD and DVD-A discs. I added the BA CRC (center speakers) for TV dialog and BA CR65 rear speakers, and the Martin Logan Dynamo to complete the surround sound speaker set. The sub also enhanced the weakest part of the sound-the deep bass.

The CR77s have worked well as a space-conserving speaker set with both stereo and surround sound systems. While lacking the deep bass common to bookshelf speakers, the sound is very good for most listeners. But, if you want to hear the deep bass drums and true sounding explosions in action movies, you might consider a sub-woofer. In the interim, these speakers will provide a very nice listening experience without the sub. They even hold up nicely for SACD and DVD-A disc playing. They provide a deep stage with these high quality discs.

I auditioned several speaker before buying the BA CR77s because they provide a very nice, full sound for bookshelf speakers and take up little space.

Take note that Boston Acoustics does not honor the manufacturer’s warrantee for speakers purchased from dealers that are not authorized to sell BA speakers.

My electronics:

Boston Acoustics CR77s (main speakers)
Boston Acoustics CR65s (rear speakers)
Boston Acoustics CRC (center)
Martin Logan Dynamo (subwoofer)
Denon AVR-1906 receiver
Denon DVD-2910 DVD multi-function player with SACD and DVD-A capability
Sumsung 40” LCD HDTV (LTN406W)

Strengths:
Full range sound from small speakers.
Reasonable price for good quality speakers.
Sound great for disc playing and HDTV.
Work well as stereo or surround speakers.
Good bass for bookshelf speakers.

Weaknesses:
Lacks deep bass of floor-standing speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Boston Acoustics A400 floor-stanidng speakers.