Speaker Face Off IV - Battle of the Budget Bookshelf's

Before we begin, I would like say that this shoot out is subjective and based upon the opinions and interpretations of the reviewer. Many may disagree with the end result. That is ok, we all hear things differently and that is what makes us unique. We tried to remove as much bias as humanly possible in the listening evaluations. Total scores are based on build quality and listening evaluations. Pricing information was gathered directly from the manufacturer's websites. It may be possible to obtain the speakers in this shootout at dramatically reduced prices; however, we cannot consider sale prices in the shoot-out. The speakers are evaluated given their perspective retail price points.

We realize that modifying a speaker can change its performance. Modifications to any speaker in a shoot out cannot be considered. They must be reviewed and evaluated as they are shipped from the factory.

To begin the shoot out, we will talk about each speakers build quality, physical make up, specifications and warranty.

The speaker enclosure is tapered from front to back. This type of construction is used to reduce resonance. The enclosure is very solid and easily passed the knuckle rap test. The vinyl finish is superb with no obvious seams or distortions.

The BIC DV-62 is the largest speaker in the shoot out with measurements of 14 ¾- inches tall x 8 7/8- inches wide x 9 1/8 舑 inches deep. The speaker is a 2-way vented bass reflex design and incorporates a ¾-inch poly dome tweeter and a 6-inch poly woofer. The speaker has a claimed frequency response of 43hz-20Khz. Efficiency is rated at 90dB. The BIC DV-62 has a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and has a maximum power handling of 150 watts.

The BIC DV-62 has a 7 year limited warranty; this was the longest warranty in the shootout by 2 years. The speaker is a rectangular shaped with angled front corners. The enclosure is solid but I did detect some hollowness when rapping on the side of it.

The vinyl finish is good, but I was able to see four seams on the top corners of the speaker where the vinyl came together. The drivers on the BIC DV-62 are all surface mounted; this is not a very good approach and will cause diffraction issues.

The grill is secured to the front baffle with rubber grommets and is high quality. On the back of the speaker there are plastic 5-way binding posts that are made of nickel. Audibly there is probably not a significant difference between nickel and gold plated. However, a speaker with an MSRP of $275 should have gold plated biding posts. The port opening is located directly below the speaker input terminal. Standard speaker finishes are black, ash, and oak.

The Klipsch RB-15 is the most expensive speaker in the shootout; it's also the smallest measuring 11 inches tall x 6.5 inches wide x 7.75 inches deep. The speaker is a 2-way vented bass reflex design that incorporates a 1-inch titanium compression dome tweeter and a 5.25-inch Cerametallic cone woofer. The speaker has a claimed frequency response of 70hz-20khz. Efficiency is rated at 93dB, making it the most efficient speaker in the shootout.

Maximum power handling is rated at 70 watts. The Unisound DAC 1.5 has a limited warranty of 5 years. The speaker is a basic rectangular shape that has slightly rounded front corners. Performing the knuckle rap test we found the speaker to be a little hollow sounding. The vinyl finish is nicely done and there are no obvious seams or distortions. The drivers are recessed into the cabinet and the grill is of high quality, held in place with plastic grommets. On the back of the speaker you will find plastic gold plated multi-way binding posts. The vent opening is located directly below and a keyhole mounting block directly above. The DAC 1.5 is only available in the black finish.

Removing the drivers, we find that the speaker is constructed of ¾-inch MDF and the inside of the enclosure is lined with poly fill. There is no bracing in the enclosure and this is the reason for the hollow sound when rapping on the side of the enclosure. The wire from the crossover to the drivers is standard 22AWG. This is the smallest gauge wire used in the shoot out. The vent port is constructed of thin wall plastic and incorporates a grate to prevent blockage and alleviate port chuffing.

We believe that the DAC 1.5 has average build quality, fit, and finish. The use of 22 AWG wire and no internal bracing lowered its stature in the shootout. The tweeter used in the DAC 1.5 is fluid cooled and is a Dynaudio OEM version; naturally its build quality is very good. The 5-inch poly woofer is small and has a light duty motor structure and spider. The woofer is not magnetically shielded. The basket frame is made of medium gauge stamped steel and we heard a little ringing when tapping on the side of the basket.

For a more complete review of these speakers, see Mi Horn VHT Speaker Review

  Setting up the speakers for the shootout, we used the Yamaha RX-V4600 receiver , Sony 500 CD player, and Music Fidelity X-DAC. The speakers were connected to a passive speaker switcher. We calibrated each speaker with a test tone at 75dB and noted and recorded the volume indicator on the receiver. Each time a speaker was selected the volume was adjusted to its calibrated level. This allowed us to listen to the speakers at the exact same level as to not introduce any volume bias into the evaluation. This was necessary because of the speakers different efficiency ratings. All speakers were placed at a 28-inch height and all of the speakers were moved to different positions and toe in angles. The listening mode used was 2-channel pure direct.

For evaluation, we use the 24k Gold HDCD version of Patrica Barber Café Blue track #3 Too rich for my blood, #8 Ode to Billy Joe and #11 Nardis. We like using this CD for 2-channel evaluation. This CD has everything: powerful female vocals, huge dynamic instrumental solos, and super high impact percussion solos. The CD's recording is almost flawless; if you don't have this CD, get it now!

This track has it all: vocals, hard-hitting bass, and piano melody.

Axiom M3Ti
Starting track #3, we found that the bass and piano sounded very balanced. As the song progresses, Patricia starts to sing as if she was in an empty nightclub after hours. The Axiom M3Ti reproduced this effect perfectly. Further along, Patricia was holding very long high notes with the drums beating away in the background. The Axiom M3Ti did not disappoint. The bass was smooth and controlled. Patricia's voice sounded absolutely wonderful. The tweeter was a tad bit aggressive sounding when the Axiom was toed in toward the listening position. We found that toeing in the Axiom to only about 5-8 degrees corrected this but it did compromise the focus of the speaker, slightly. The Axiom was the most refined sounding speaker with this track in the shoot out. The Axiom M3Ti is well suited for average-medium room sizes.

BIC DV-62
Again, starting with track #3 we found that the BIC had huge amounts of bass and the piano sounded natural. But the bass sounded uncontrolled at times. During the first segment of the track as Patricia started to sing, the BIC's sounded big and bold. As she began holding the high notes for extended periods of time the speaker sounded a little shouty and sibilant. The BIC DV-62 sounded very dynamic with this track and there was a lot to like with its presentation; but at times it sounded unbalanced.

The DV-62's had the lowest frequency cut off in the speaker shoot out. It played lower bass notes with authority. The DV-62 sounded best with aggressive toe in. Doing this, made the soundstage collapse a bit but the speaker sounded more controlled. The BIC DV-62 can be used in larger than normal rooms due to its high output capability.

Klipsch RB-15
Starting track #3, it was obvious that this speaker had huge dynamic capabilities. The bass was tight and fast, although not as deep sounding as the BIC or Axiom. The piano sounded smooth and natural. As Patricia began to sing, it sounded as if you were in the front row of the nightclub. This speaker has a very aggressive, in your face presentation. As Patricia began holding the long high notes, I did detect a little bit of harshness in the midrange. The tweeter has a lot of sparkle, air, and pop. The Klipsch RB-15 has a huge soundstage due to its wide dispersion, Tractrix horn.

This speaker did not sound as refined as the Axiom, with this track; but man the huge dynamic swings were an addicting fun experience. The Klipsch speakers are not placement sensitive, put them most anywhere in the room and they will perform well. The Klipsch RB-15 can be used in most room sizes due to its high dynamic capability.

Unisound DAC 1.5
Starting track #3, it was obvious that this speaker didn't have the dynamic capabilities of the other speakers in the shootout. The speaker sounded smooth with the piano, but when the drum began the speaker sounded a little compressed and strained. As Patricia began the long holding notes segment, the little Unisound began to shine. This speaker was a lot more laid back than the rest of the bunch. One big surprise was the tweeter. Wow, did it sound smooth and natural, every little nuance in the upper frequencies sounded airy and wonderful. What this little speaker lacked in dynamic capability, it sure made up for in the midrange and upper frequencies. The soundstage with the DAC 1.5 was a little shallow and if pushed hard it sounded a little strained. The Unisound DAC 1.5 is placement sensitive and listening positions should be limited to about 10 feet from the speakers with no more than 10 feet apart and slight toe in. The Unisound should be used in small to medium sized rooms.

Axiom M3Ti
The Axiom reproduced the finger snaps perfectly. The snap had lots of pop. It hung around just enough and then quickly decayed. The bass sounded smooth, hard hitting, and natural. "She said I got some news this morning" sounded balanced, smooth, rich, and detailed. The Axiom 3Ti did the best job reproducing this track in the shootout. Again, this speaker sounded refined, focused, and well balanced.

BIC DV-62
The BIC reproduced the finger snap with perfection. It had lots of pop and the snap decayed quickly. There was a lot of bass, but it sounded a little tubby and uncontrolled compared to the Axiom and the Klipsch. The BIC DV-62 didn't reproduce the "She said I got some news this morning" very well, at all. The sentence sounded shrill and sibilant. The BIC sounded big and bold, not bad; but not as balanced as the rest of the speakers in the shootout. The BIC had the most bass output of any speaker in the shootout on this track.

Klipsch RB-15
The Klipsch reproduced the finger snap like it was 6" away from your ear. It was almost startling at times. The finger snap was very quick and the bass was smooth, tight, and effortless The Klipsch sounded a little sibilant and hooty when reproducing the "She said I got some news this morning". Again, the dynamic capability of the speaker were enormous. The soundstage was huge; we could not believe that such a small speaker could sound so big.

Unisound DAC 1.5
The Unisound reproduced the finger snap absolutely perfectly; the tweeter in this speaker is amazing at this price point. It sounded very precise with no hint of strain. The bass on the other hand was a little lacking. The drum hits sounded a little hollow compared to the other speakers in the shootout. The "She said I got some news this morning
" sounded very natural with the Unisound; although, at times the vocals sounded slightly compressed. This may be due to the fact that we had these set up in an average size room and the Unisound was not a particularly dynamic speaker. Nonetheless, that tweeter in the speaker is magical and had us smiling ear to ear.

We selected this track because it has one of the most intense drum solos we have heard. For the remainder of this review, we turned the volume up on these speakers to see if they were up to it.

Axiom M3Ti
The Axiom speaker handled the drum solo with precision. The speaker never sounded compressed. It always remained controlled throughoutthe entire solo. The transition from bass drum to snare then tom and finally cymbal sounded balanced and detailed. We would characterize the Axiom's sound throughout this track as accurate and very matter of fact, slightly forward of neutral. The Axiom speaker sounded very good at low volume levels and jaw dropping at high levels. These speakers can lull you or rock you; it's your choice.

BIC DV-62
The BIC speaker produced the hardest hitting bass on the solo section but at times it sounded as if the speaker was losing control. The transition from the Bass drum to snare then tom and cymbal sounded good but not as smooth or as accurate as the other speakers in the shootout. The BIC speakers sounded very good at low to moderate listening levels but at higher listening levels the bass although deep and plentiful sounded uncontrolled.

Klipsch RB-15
The Klipsch speaker was made to play material like the drum solo. Its huge dynamic capability really shined on this track. The bass drum to snare to tom then cymbal sounded absolutely amazing. Again, it was hard to believe that such a small speaker could produce such huge dynamic swings. The bass was tight and tuneful but did not hit the low levels like the BIC DV-62. We would characterize the sound of the Klipsch RB-15 with this track as big, high impact, in your face fun. The Klipsch RB-15 is the kind of speaker you can play hard and put away wet!

Unisound DAC 1.5
The Unisound speaker did an admirable job with this track but fell well short of the other speakers in the shootout. The transition from bass drum to snare to tom and cymbal sounded compressed at times. The bass had punch, but there was not a lot of it and when pushed hard these small speakers sounded uncontrolled and hollow. We would characterize the sound of the Unisound speakers as smooth and detailed but a little wimpy in the dynamics department. The Unisound speaker sounds great at low to moderate listening levels but head bangers, rockers, and folks with large rooms should look elsewhere.

We learned a lot from this shootout: disassembling the speakers and critiquing the build quality showed us the different design philosophies of the manufacturers. It also showed us that although these speakers had similar price points (with exception to the Unisound DAC 1.5), that is were their similarities ended.

All of these speakers have their respective positive attributes and most audio enthusiasts would be happy with any of them in their systems. But in the end, we must score them on build quality and performance. This shootout was really two shootouts in one: The Axiom and the Klipsch were in one category and the BIC and Unisound in another.

1st Place (tie) Axiom Audio M3ti
This was a very tough decision and one that must be made depending on what the individual plans to do with the speakers. If the system will mainly be used in a two channel set up or the system will be 50% music, 50% home theater then we would choose the Axiom M3ti hands down. Its refined, accurate, matter of fact sound catapulted it to the top. This speaker will play everything you throw at it with finesse and grace. The bass is large but not exaggerated. The Axiom would be equally impressive in a multi-channel music or home theater system

1st Place (tie) Klipsch RB-15
This is the speaker we would recommend if the individual uses it for mostly home theater applications 80% home theater and 20% music, or for the serious rocker that likes to listen loud. These speakers dynamic capabilities are huge. It's in your face presentation make this speaker larger than life. The exemplary build quality catapulted it to the top of the shoot out.

Many of you will think that choosing two speakers for first place is a cop out. Try as we might after listening many times we could not pick a clear winner. Both of these speakers outperform their perspective price points and you will need to judge these speakers based on your criteria. The Axioms look nicer and are $20 less. The Klipsch have impeccable build quality and are bi-ampable. I could go on and on chasing my tail forever on this match up. I will leave it for you to decide based on our information.

2nd Place
There was no second place because the Axiom and the Klipsch tied for 1st

3rd Place BIC DV-62
I know many of you will be disappointed at the lower ranking of the BIC DV-62. This speaker has a huge following in our forums and we realize there are modifications that can be done to make it sound better. We have discovered a few that have not been posted, that we will talk about later. The overall build quality, fit, finish, and less than top-level performance knocked this speaker out of the top tier.

This speaker was one heck of a bargain just a few short years ago, but aggressive marketing and slashed prices from competing manufacturers have left this speaker behind. This speaker is in need of upgrade to compete at the other speaker's levels. We understand that this speaker can be purchased at various stores at discounted pricing and at these discounted prices along with the modifications may make it a better bargain.

We placed this speaker in 3rd place because it has the potential to be a good speaker. The DV-62 will play low and loud, it has very good dynamic capabilities and it will easily fill a large room with generous amounts of sound. During the evaluation we added a few modifications of our own that made this speaker sound better. You may choose to experiment with these modifications.

We added 1 lb of poly fill to the interior of the enclosure, being careful not to block the port. This lowered the total bass output of the speaker but made the bass tighter and better controlled. We added one layer of rope calk to the stamped steel section of the woofer basket. This added mass to the woofer assembly and helped the slight ringing sound produced by Patricia Barber's voice.

The last thing we did was adding open cell foam strips to each side of the tweeter face. This helped with diffraction and it also seemed as though it tamed the sibilant sound the tweeter often made at higher listening levels. We have heard that there is a crossover modification for this speaker but cannot confirm this. Our final thought about this speaker is if you can find it at a substantially reduced price and perform the modifications it may still be a bargain at no more than $175 per pair total.

4th Place Unisound DAC 1.5
Placing the Unisound in last place was a tough decision. I felt this little speaker had the best tweeter in the shootout helping it to sound so rich and smooth. The Unisound speaker build quality was about average, but unfortunately the speaker suffered from a dynamic shortfall. This little speaker would be a great choice for the individual that has an apartment or small room, or for the person that likes a laid back presentation at lower listening levels. This speaker would provide a total knock out to all the competition if it were a little more dynamic. Replacing that little woofer and retuning the port length would be a good start, implementing a higher quality crossover would be the next, but then how much of the original speaker will still remain? At that point you may just as well consider purchasing the Axiom M3ti in favor of tweaking or modifying an average speaker into a potentially good one.