May 11, 2009

Boston Acoustics CR65

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Boston Acoustics pretty much invented the small moderately priced high quality speaker with the A40 back in the early 80's. They have remained masters at good quality at a moderate price ever since then. The CR65 could be called the 2002-2003 successor to the A40. Unlike the A40, the CR65 woofer have a rubber surround instead of foam, so they won't suffer from foam rot.






These are smooth sounding speakers that sound great with Jazz, pop, classical, etc. They will surprise you with the bass output for their size, and also blend very well with sub-woofers for a home theater set up. I am listening to them as I type this and they are detailed and alive. When I first bought a pair of CR65's I compared them to speakers ranging up to twice their price. The Boston's matched or beat the detail of more expensive speakers. Even when I expected the higher priced speakers to be better based on appearance and reputation.

These are great for Dorm room, office, bed room, or other small to moderately sized rooms. Paired with a T-Amp they worked very well for me as home office speakers.

Used with a sub-woofer they can easily fill a whole 2400+sqft house with sound. The CR65s also make a wonderful introduction to the world of high fidelity sound. I have seen area bars use 3 or 4 pair of these speakers to provide sound, so they can take demanding content and long hours of play.

As I have told may people given the choice of a cheap home-theater-in-a-box system, I'd much prefer a pair of good STEREO speakers. These fit the bill, nicely.

There is a small scratch in the side of one speaker, seen in the middle photo above.

Speaker Specs:
  • Compact bookshelf speakers with outstanding audio performance
  • 2-way system-specific crossover
  • 5.25-inch copolymer woofer for exceptional bass response
  • 0.75-inch soft dome tweeter for smooth, natural highs
  • Coaxial phase plug cools voice coil to increase power handling
  • Rigid, internally bracd CR cabinet delivers clean sound
  • MagnaGuard magnetic shielding prevents CRT interference
  • Integral keyhole plate allows for wall mounting options
  • 65-20,000Hz frequency response
  • 15-100 watts recommended amplifier power
  • 8 ohms nominal impedance
  • 88 dB sensitivity
Read reviews at OverStock.com (where they are Sold Out).

For home theater use and action movies you might want a sub-woofer:
Velodyne Impact-10 Powered Subwoofer
Velodyne DEQ-10R Subwoofer
Hsu STF-1 Sub
BIC AMERICA V-80 8
JBL 300 Watt Powered 10" Sub
Polk Audio Powered 8-Inch Subwoofer

Sold for $75

Polk Audio RM3000 Satellites

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These were one of the first sets of high quality 3 piece Sub Satellites systems made when the sub/sat idea became popular. The speakers had a damaged binding post when I got them, but I repaired that and they work and sound good.

They do NEED a sub-woofer to go with them. They are very well made an weight more that speakers two or three times their size. The dusk cap on one of them is dimpled, but this doesn't effect the sound at all.








Possible commercial sub-woofer suggestions:

Hsu STF-1 Sub
BIC America V-80
Polk Audio Powered 10-Inch Subwoofer
Polk Audio Powered 8-Inch Subwoofer
JBL 300 Watt Powered 10-Inch Subwoofer

Sold for $55