( 10 reviews )
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Posted: 03-02-2009
I have these speakers hooked up to a Fatman hybrid (partial) tube amp that only pushes around 20 watts per channel and I'm actually getting pretty good sound from them. Their 90db sensitivity rating seems like a real thing as I get big, bright volume, crispy details and solid bass even with that low wattage. I know I could probably do better with a lot of other sensitive speakers but almost anything I've looked at as an improvement cost $600/pair and more. I seriously doubt that, for the money I had to spend, I could have done better than the P162's. They definitely give you a taste of that sweet sound you normally have to pay many times more for.
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Posted: 03-02-2009
For the price of these speakers, I am very happy with them. I have a decent, hybrid tube amplifier that will benefit from higher quality speakers when I can afford them. But for now, the P162's got me into nice sound for not very much money. I paid just under ninety dollars per speaker. They're kind of big and boomy for bookshelf speakers which is what I was hoping for. Stuck in this price range, I was going for as much of a two channel stereo as I could with my low powered amp. The claimed 90db sensitivity must have some basis in reality because my 25 watts per channel drive them pretty well with surprising detail and they fill my living room with warm sound. The bass is pretty mushy but still abundant and fairly satisfying considering how much I paid to get into a stereo. People have recommended using a subwoofer with these but it seems to me that if I had a subwoofer, I wouldn't have gotten bookshelf speakers with such big drivers in such a big box. I would have gone for a tighter sound and let the sub handle the bass. If you're talking about home theater, that's a different story. It seems to me these would be good fronts for an entry level surround system. Once I can afford to upgrade my stereo speakers, I'll move these to the TV and add an inexpensive sub. In the meantime, I definitely enjoy the job they're doing.
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Posted: 03-02-2009
These are big for bookshelf speakers and they sound very good for the price. The 6 1/2 inch drivers provide a surprising amount of bass and they can do it with a surpringly low amount of power. I drove these for months with an amp that pushes no more than 25 watts per channel. While they aren't screaming loud that way, as a horn-loaded speaker might be, they were loud enough to fill a fairly large room with warm, detailed sound at a pretty wide range of volume. Eventually, I added a powered subwoofer to push some bass and free up wattage for the P162s and now they sound even better. I've got a real stereo on my hands with these. I find that mounting the P162s fairly high in the room suits them well. They sound better when they are at or above the level of my ears. After listening and reading extensively regarding speakers since buying these, I don't know of anything at the same price that would have achieved, for my system, what the P162s have. Very satisfied customer here.
