I'm looking for a good set of speakers for a small office, 12' x 13'. I'll be playing mostly classic rock, blues, electric folk, a little bit of classical. I'm a musician/music lover as opposed to an audiophile - meaning I appreciate good sound but "good" is good enough. The receiver I have in mind is a old Marantz 2220B. I've been using it with a pair of Cerwin Vega 12" 3-ways that sound pretty good for rock, and are quite efficient, making the most of my 20 watts per channel. However, the Vegas are too big for office use, so I'm looking for bookshelf speakers.

Budget is important, so I'm looking into DIY. I'd really like to build a pair of D3's - I think their efficiency makes them a good match for my little Marantz. But my time is at a premimium for the next 4-6 months (my family is getting ready to move). So, I was wondering about getting a pair of Dayton BR-1's to tide me over until we're moved in, and the workshop is back up and running.

I've looked at the specs, but how do the D3's and BR-1's compare in the real world? Is my receiver just to low-powered for the BR-1's? (And a side note, are the efficiencies measured on the same basis? The BR-1 is 85 dB 2.83V/1m. The 89 dB, but under what conditions?)

So, are the BR-1's worth their low price as a temporary upgrade, or should I just stick with cheesy computer speakers until I can find the time to build some D3's.

Thanks, all.

I'm starting to feel like a 'walk in' that was left minding the store, but here goes;

I'm sitting on some BR-1's still in the box waiting for me to finish the workbench they will be assembled on. They're destined to replace my surrounds, but will be broken in as fronts. My current fronts are a pair of Infinity RSb’s (vintage circa 1978) not super efficient but might be a fair match for your CV’s. I’m currently driving them with a Pioneer Elite VSX43tx (7.1 100 watts per/ch all channels driven so no match there) For what it’s worth I’ll be glad to give you a report when I get them through break in.

Pat

I have built a set of the PeeCreeks and I'm really happy with them. I didn't think you could get that good a sound out of this speaker. Unfortunately they are not quite as inexpensive as mentioned but I do live here in the great white north (Canada) so I pay import duty on stuff. If you have limited time , Parts express has the cabinets precut and for the cost , the Northcreek tweeters are great!