I wanted a pair of budget bookshelf speakers for listening for my living room and computer room. My intended purpose was low volume listening. I had a price target of about 50 bucks. I found the perfect pair for my purpose. They are the Dayton Audio B652-AIR 6-1/2 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker with AMT Tweeter Pair.
- Air Motion Transformer tweeter provides non-fatiguing, audiophile-level treble clarity
- 6-1/2" woofer produces rich, punchy bass
- Compact, unobtrusive design with exceptional performance and value
- Black ebony pica vinyl cabinet finish for a clean, modern appearance
- Removable acoustically transparent cloth grill
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A little backstory
At first, I scoured craigslist for used cheap hifi speaker cabinets. I planned on swapping out the speaker drivers. I could not find what I wanted.
I started looking at speaker drivers and ended up finding a pair of brand new Dayton Audio bookshelf speakers. I bought the speakers without the upgraded tweeter at first.
The first set served as a pair of quality budget bookshelf speakers for my home theater in my basement. Although I don’t watch a ton of films, I do watch YouTube videos and TV and the speakers’ frequency response was good.
Bass is average from a 6 1/2 inch woofer. If you are a bass head, you will want to add a small subwoofer. FYI: Dayton Audio makes an inexpensive 8″ active subwoofer, which works great with these small bookshelf speakers. The subwoofer is under $100 dollars. Here it is: Dayton Audio SUB-800
I use this under my computer desk and think it is a great subwoofer for low volume listening.
Time to upgrade my 2.1 bookshelf speakers for PC
- Air Motion Transformer tweeter provides non-fatiguing, audiophile-level treble clarity
- 6-1/2" woofer produces rich, punchy bass
- Compact, unobtrusive design with exceptional performance and value
- Black ebony pica vinyl cabinet finish for a clean, modern appearance
- Removable acoustically transparent cloth grill
Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
I liked these little speakers and their budget-friendly price.
As it turned out, Dayton Audio offered an upgraded tweeter in their newer version. My originals sounded good with a clean, life-like sound.
The new tweeters are a little smoother, with a wider sound stage and more natural highs. The tweeter is bright, not harsh or ringing.
To power these speakers, I use a Dayton Audio DTA30HP 30W Class D Mini Amplifier, which works wonderfully.
As mentioned above, I do have a small subwoofer, too.
For me, this is a fantastic budget bookshelf speaker personal computer setup for under $200 dollars.
I can play FLAC files through my PC and listen to jazz, heavy metal, rock, R&B — everything sounds good. I even hook this 2.1 bookshelf speaker and subwoofer combo to my vinyl record player.
Best home theater system on a budget
Questions: Are bookshelf speakers good for surround sound? Can I use bookshelf speakers for surround sound?
I think these speakers would make great front speakers and good surround sound speakers. All would have the same tonality.
These bookshelf speakers would not sound out of place during gaming or during movies.
Final thoughts
- Air Motion Transformer tweeter provides non-fatiguing, audiophile-level treble clarity
- 6-1/2" woofer produces rich, punchy bass
- Compact, unobtrusive design with exceptional performance and value
- Black ebony pica vinyl cabinet finish for a clean, modern appearance
- Removable acoustically transparent cloth grill
Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
For the price, the B652 speakers can’t be beat. These sound more akin to bookshelf speakers around $200 rather than $50 bucks.
The highs are clean, bright, and natural sounding. The lows are typical of a bookshelf speaker — adequate. The bass response is not colored, either. Many cheap speakers are colored in the bass frequency extenuate certain ranges. These are not; that is a welcome addition to an inexpensive little speaker.
