imwired

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from csw

Summary:
I traded up to these from Infinity's and a pionneer reciver. Heard these in csw and was blown away. Walked out of store with these and a Marantz sr-5000. Couldn't wait to get home. Wired up with 8ga. fine strand wire. They are the best sounding speakers i've heard for the money. Bass is awesome, mids and highs are good.Wattage doen't matter much but should be hooked up to a high currant reciever or amp. They are well worth a try for the money, you won't be di
disappointed. If you have surrond system, they pair great with Fosgate Audionics FA51.0 Rear & FA62.0 center(company went bankrupt due to poor marketing, but you can still get them online for less than half msrp. Great sound and quality.

Strengths:
Bass, overall sound

Weaknesses:
looks; but I don't care because they sound so good.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity, Cerwin Vega, AR, JBL

vicvega1972

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.83 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $479.00 from Cambridge Soundworks

Summary:
After many years of using a consumer Pioneer amp and Sony bookshelf speakers, I decided to do some research and upgrade to quality components. I did not want to spend more than $3000 on the entire system - so value was of high importance. I have well over 1000 cd's and some vinyl. After much debate, Musical Fidelity components were at the top of my list and I got a great deal on the amp and CD player. I auditioned speakers to pair with these fine pieces at Spearit Sound in Boston. After awhile it was clear that B&W were at the top of the list, and I was going to blow my budget on 804's. And then (on a whim) I stopped into CSW in Newton, MA because I had heard from a friend that the Towers were a real bargain. I immediately ruled out the Towers because the sound was too spread out with no defined attack. But the Tower II's sounded OK in the store - enough to peak my interest and take them home. At $479 with a 45 day money back guarantee it was a no brainer. Needless to say there was no way I was spending thousands more for the B&W once I got them home. These speakers are one of the best kept secrets in audio for the price. Fine, neutral detail, excellent bass, powerful attack, wide soundstage. Anyone who turns their nose up at them is more concerned with brand name than sound - and through the power of mental suggestion makes anything that costs a lot of money worth that amount of money ("it sounds better because I paid more"). Same goes for speaker cables. Do the research and find out the physics behind sound transfer, and DIY cables become the best that money can buy (only not expensive). These speakers are on clearance at CSW, and I highly suggest them for anyone willing to spend up to $3000 for speakers. Are there better ones out there? Absolutely, just nowhere near this price. Bang for your buck to the 10th power. I may not been in the higher end audio game for a long time, but I do know how to research (exhaustive) and I know music. I would not buy anything that is inferior to my needs in any regard. I am enjoying my new system very much, and CD's that languished in the rack for years are getting dusted off.

Strengths:
Neutral detail, well defined bass, warm presentation with large soundstage. Make sure your speaker cables have low resistance - ie, HIGH GAUGE, 10-12 AWG. Copper is copper - don't get caught up in speaker cable hype.

Weaknesses:
None at this price range.

Similar Products Used:
B&W, Sony, Klipsh, Cambridge Soundworks Satellites

tquest

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $430.00 from hifi.com

Summary:
Man, I have listened to all the good mid range stuff, alpha 50’s (very good but tiring poor sibilance) primus 250’s (amazing detail but distort at high volume) IL50’s (bland), whafedale pacific 50’s very nice (but no impact) klipsch RF3 (wow, cleaaar...lots of nice bass vibrations (just no kick, overwhelming in smaller rooms) cerwin vega d3, d5, d7, dx3, at12, vs120 cvt10 (the last 2 really good) Vegas have a sound that appeals to me… excellent impact, very clear mids, respectable highs and loud...Vega’s have a deep chested balance & nice sound stage/imaging… but are wholly un-inspiring with the details… great for parties but they just don't take you away...the tower II's do...right out of the box...they image, show a huge sound stage, bring out the sounds well separated in detail and have a great bass kick… impact & subtle vibrations… not at all tiring...you really can close your eyes and be startled... It’s all about the engineering...these really do add up to more than the sum of their parts...no aluminum frame woofers or exotic cone materials… just well built cabinets with tough, well matched drivers that deliver clear sound at any volume... They do an especially good job with the detailed bass vibrations, while pumping tons of air... They won't please everyone...but 9 out of ten who buy them will be happily surprised...if you’re a fan of 12 and 15 inch woofers or rocking down the house…the tower II’s are up to that as well as the classics....

Strengths:
bass,clarity,support

Weaknesses:
ships UPS...the package killer!

Similar Products Used:
listed in review

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Cambridge Soundworks

Summary:
I realize that most of the reviews for these speakers are older but afetr reading 90% of them I feel the need to place this review. I have been buying and listening to music for 30 years now and do have some expertise. What is an audiofile? I'm really not sure but I beleive it is someone that has experience and can give on honest review base on that. Are these the best sounding speakers one can buy? The answer is no. Are the speakers an incredible value, yes. The users bashing these speakers don't seem to have much of a leg to stand on (to me). I don't care who designed them or who tested them, or who constructed them. For the money they are one of the better sounding speakers on the market. At 1000.00 per pair it is a bargain. I have listened to speakers that range in price from 500.00 to 28,000.00 per pair. There are better sounding speakers on the market for sure. But at what cost? I have spent many hours testing and listening to speakers over the last six months. These are the real deal! After a relatively short break in period the sound is accurate through all frequencies. The bass is tight, the midrange is even, and the tweeters are not harsh. They perform well with all music but are tremendous with jazz, blues, and vocal. To those of you that decide to disassemble products you buy, do you also reassemble them? as usual there are people out there that need the reassurance of buying a "Name" not a product. I have listened to the snell, b&k, and so on. Their products are precise and sound great as do these speakers. I do not buy trash, over the years I have spent my hard earned money on Klipsch, Kef, Bang & Olufsen, Yamaha, Dennon, and Harmon Kardon. these are not the 50,000.00 names but quality none the less. If you want a great sounding speaker at a great price try these out. You wont be dissapointed. Try many of the other higher priced names out, but you will buy these!

Strengths:
Overall sound, value, power handling, and overall sound again

Weaknesses:
Vinyl finish

Similar Products Used:
Kef, Klipsch, Bang & Olufsen, Yamaha, Sansui

Price Paid:  $255.00 from ebay

Summary:
I really like these speakers. I wasn't really hesitant to buy these because any reasonably intelligent person could tell that the bad reviews for this product were obviously exaggerated and/or downright untrue. Besides, for the price, I felt I couldn't go wrong. These speakers produce a full, rich sound that is equally good for all types of music I've tried so far. From Spro Gyra to Social Distortion, from David Sanborn to the Chemical Brothers, they sound equally good. The bass is deep and powerful. The treble and midrange is well defined and not at all harsh. I bought them used in perfect condition on ebay, so there may be a break-in period for new models, I can't speak for new ones. I've owned several pairs of $1,000.00 or more retail priced speakers, and I rate these right up there with the best of them. I've not owned speakers retailing for more than $1,500.00 so I can't make the comparison, and it wouldn't be fair anyway. The fit and finish are very nice, athough I do wish they were real wood veneer instead of vinyl. I find the imaging to be particularly nice. I can close my eyes, and hear a "wall" of great music as opposed to hear the speakers. The other speakers I've owned in this price range were the AR TSW610, Infinity Kappa 7, and the JBL L80t3. I would say they are better than the JBL's, and compare favorably with the Infinity's and AR's. I can also say they sound better than any speakers I've listened to retailing for under $1,000.00. I really like Klipsch speakers also, but I've always thought they had a "Klipsch" sound, and not necessarily a neutral sound. I may try some of the new Reference models by Klipsch. Would I pay the $1,000.00 retail price for these speakers? No. However, for under $300.00 including shipping, it was a no-brainer decision. These can be had for anywhere from $250-420 plus shipping on the web, and I consider them a bargain. I highly recommend these speakers, especially at the current prices.

Strengths:
Rich, full sound and detail. Deep bass.

Weaknesses:
None at the price.

Similar Products Used:
AR TSW610, Infinity Kappa 7, JBL L80T3, Klipsch 5.2