WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.089 --> 00:00:04.350 If you’ve seen some of my earlier videos, you may have noticed one of these speakers. 00:00:04.350 --> 00:00:09.240 These are Infinity RS-2000 bookshelf speakers, originally from 1988. 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:14.780 I picked 4, yes 4, of these up from Goodwill for $5 apiece. 00:00:14.780 --> 00:00:18.161 They all had busted foam surrounds on the woofers which required replacing, but with 00:00:18.161 --> 00:00:23.070 an eBay purchase of new surrounds and a little Elmer’s glue later, they were working perfectly. 00:00:23.070 --> 00:00:26.670 These speakers are certainly nothing state-of-the art, but they are a decent little bookshelf 00:00:26.670 --> 00:00:27.670 speaker. 00:00:27.670 --> 00:00:28.699 In fact, I quite like these. 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:32.619 I’m no audiophile, and it looks as though this particular model never really achieved 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:38.010 anything more than a lukewarm reception among the audiophile community, but I think they sound great. 00:00:38.010 --> 00:00:42.410 I’ve grown to appreciate clarity and definition more than a booming bass, so the limited bass 00:00:42.410 --> 00:00:46.320 response on account of the 6.5 inch woofers doesn’t bother me much. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:51.149 I use these on my desk as computer speakers, and the other pair sits hooked up to my TV. 00:00:51.149 --> 00:00:54.500 And let me tell you, I don’t think there’s a better option out there if you want fantastic 00:00:54.500 --> 00:00:56.160 sound for cheap. 00:00:56.160 --> 00:00:57.460 And that’s what this video is about. 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:02.400 Now of course, audiophiles in the audience are gonna argue with me and themselves, so 00:01:02.400 --> 00:01:05.059 I’ll just say: your mileage may vary. 00:01:05.059 --> 00:01:08.609 This video is based on my personal experience and opinions. 00:01:08.609 --> 00:01:12.840 These speakers might not sound great to you, and I’m sure there are better options, but 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:19.070 having spent just $60 all in for 4 speakers and an amp, I think it turned out pretty well. 00:01:19.070 --> 00:01:20.729 To start with, speakers. 00:01:20.729 --> 00:01:23.710 You might be surprised what speakers you’ll find in a thrift store. 00:01:23.710 --> 00:01:27.049 It does take some luck and patience, but here are some hints. 00:01:27.049 --> 00:01:30.210 When hunting in a thrift store for speakers, there’s one thing you should do before putting 00:01:30.210 --> 00:01:34.139 too much thought into any speaker: pick it up. 00:01:34.139 --> 00:01:38.649 True hi-fi speakers are heavy, usually because they’re filled with dense acoustic foam 00:01:38.649 --> 00:01:39.929 or fiber. 00:01:39.929 --> 00:01:43.119 The cabinets tend to be made of better and thicker materials, too. 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:47.340 If you can effortlessly pick up a shoe-box size speaker with just one hand, 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:48.900 put it back down. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.540 For reference, these speakers weigh about 12 pounds apiece. 00:01:52.549 --> 00:01:57.450 Brands to keep your eye out for include Infinity, JBL, Harman Kardon, Bang and Olufsen, Bose, 00:01:57.450 --> 00:01:59.149 Klipsch, and others. 00:01:59.149 --> 00:02:03.779 This is very much a generalization, but speakers from big electronics brands are often not 00:02:03.779 --> 00:02:04.779 too great. 00:02:04.779 --> 00:02:09.850 A speaker boasting a Sony or Panasonic logo probably isn’t that fantastic, since it probably 00:02:09.850 --> 00:02:12.280 came from an all-in-one, mass produced system. 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:16.420 I’m sure there are exceptions, but something out of a home theater in a box or a dedicated 00:02:16.420 --> 00:02:19.230 bookshelf system likely won’t be too exceptional. 00:02:19.230 --> 00:02:22.430 You also want to check to see how the speakers are hooked up. 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:26.010 A speaker with wires permanently attached to it is probably a no-go. 00:02:26.010 --> 00:02:30.480 That’s a tell-tale sign that it came from a boxed system. 00:02:30.480 --> 00:02:34.189 You want to see old-fashioned speaker terminals or screw posts. 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:37.909 Especially avoid speakers with 2 pairs of wires or connections. 00:02:37.909 --> 00:02:41.780 These don’t have a crossover of their own to drive the woofer and tweeter separately, 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:44.219 which definitely means they’re from an all-in-one system. 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:47.590 Next, you want to check the speaker drivers for signs of damage. 00:02:47.590 --> 00:02:51.550 Good speakers will usually have fabric grilles that can easily be removed simply by pulling 00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:52.730 them forward. 00:02:52.730 --> 00:02:56.890 If the drivers have cracked or blown foam surrounds, it’s not necessarily the end 00:02:56.890 --> 00:02:57.950 of the world. 00:02:57.950 --> 00:03:01.430 Like I said, all of these Infinitys suffered from this, and I’m sure that’s why they 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:02.870 ended up in goodwill. 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:05.939 But It’s not hard to replace the surrounds, and I’ll put a link in the description to 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:07.459 a good guide for doing so. 00:03:07.459 --> 00:03:10.269 Another good thing to check is if any drivers are stuck. 00:03:10.269 --> 00:03:13.879 I’m not sure how often this happens, but I have a pair of JBL speakers which had a 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:16.390 completely seized woofer. 00:03:16.390 --> 00:03:20.099 Check for this by gently pressing on the woofer to see if it can move. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.939 You can also do this with a mid-range driver, but you shouldn’t do it to a tweeter. 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:27.870 Tweeters can be very fragile, and you wouldn’t be able to tell anything by feel, anyway. 00:03:27.870 --> 00:03:31.480 Which brings me to the next bit: you probably won’t be able to test a speaker you get 00:03:31.480 --> 00:03:34.510 until you’re home and can hook it up to your amplifier. 00:03:34.510 --> 00:03:37.409 If you should find that one of the drivers is dead, fear not! 00:03:37.409 --> 00:03:40.010 It’s often easy to obtain a replacement. 00:03:40.010 --> 00:03:43.769 Search around for a website specializing in speaker repair and you’ll find plenty of 00:03:43.769 --> 00:03:44.769 options. 00:03:44.769 --> 00:03:48.599 Of course, this will alter the sound of one of your speakers, so you should buy a pair 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:51.739 of replacements and replace both drivers. 00:03:51.739 --> 00:03:56.540 And I know, that’s not exactly ideal, but hey, better than a broken speaker, I say. 00:03:56.540 --> 00:04:00.959 Ideally you would find a direct replacement of the exact same part number to prevent altering 00:04:00.959 --> 00:04:02.560 the speaker’s sound. 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:04.359 But good luck with that 00:04:04.359 --> 00:04:07.069 These are the JBL speakers which had the seized woofer. 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:10.159 I use these with my stereo, and they’re pretty good to my ears. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.120 Not as detailed as the inifitys, though. 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:14.279 You’ll also notice that they are white. 00:04:14.279 --> 00:04:16.359 Where’d the old-school wood grain go? 00:04:16.359 --> 00:04:18.459 Well, here you can get creative. 00:04:18.459 --> 00:04:22.300 One of the nice things about buying old speakers for pennies is that you can do crazy things 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:25.979 like paint them or replace the speaker grille cloth without regret. 00:04:25.979 --> 00:04:27.720 And in this case, I’ve done both. 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:31.620 I would have been happy to keep the original finish, but these were very beat up and needed 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:33.330 some TLC anyway. 00:04:33.330 --> 00:04:35.789 I figured, why not go with something a little more modern? 00:04:35.789 --> 00:04:37.440 And finally, what about an amp? 00:04:37.440 --> 00:04:42.000 The audiophiles will not be happy with this, but I really like these little 20 watt amplifiers 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.650 you can get on Amazon for $20 or so. 00:04:44.650 --> 00:04:49.210 They’re perfect for a PC setup, and can rest next to your monitor rather unobtrusively 00:04:49.210 --> 00:04:51.699 and you still have access to the volume and tone controls. 00:04:51.699 --> 00:04:55.229 Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can mount them to the underside of your desk for 00:04:55.229 --> 00:04:57.170 even more flexibility. 00:04:57.170 --> 00:05:01.250 Unfortunately the quality of these seems to have dropped in recent years, so it’s definitely 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:05.260 worth reading the reviews, but for a small speaker like this, 20 watts is plenty. 00:05:05.260 --> 00:05:10.889 In fact, the spec sheet recommends amplifiers from 15 to 75 watts, so while 20 is on the 00:05:10.889 --> 00:05:13.490 low end, it isn’t starving the speaker. 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:17.669 Most speakers from the same time period will work well with an amp of this size. 00:05:17.669 --> 00:05:22.740 These little amps usually accept a 3.5 mm mini-plug in addition to RCA cables, so if 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:26.970 you’re fine with the blasphemy that is running them from your motherboard’s built-in DAC, 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.449 all you need is an "aux cable". 00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:32.669 Personally I’ve never been bothered by using the computer’s own analog output, and I 00:05:32.669 --> 00:05:36.410 think these days they’re all pretty decent, though it should be noted that for my particular 00:05:36.410 --> 00:05:41.180 setup, my monitor is actually working as the DAC, taking digital audio via displayport 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:43.789 and sending it out to the amp via the headphone jack. 00:05:43.789 --> 00:05:45.000 And, that’s it! 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.099 I know, this isn’t for everyone. 00:05:47.099 --> 00:05:50.990 Maybe the idea of shopping in a thrift store isn’t your cup of tea, or perhaps you’re 00:05:50.990 --> 00:05:52.440 not as crazy as I am. 00:05:52.440 --> 00:05:56.650 Also, you might have better ears than me and think these aren’t even worth $5. 00:05:56.650 --> 00:05:58.979 But for my money, I think these are excellent. 00:05:58.979 --> 00:06:02.840 The biggest downside I face with these is that, well, they’re kinda big. 00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:05.340 They eat up a good deal of my desk space. 00:06:05.340 --> 00:06:06.620 But I don’t mind. 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:10.909 Also, while the oak veneer works well with a black desk, I’m not so sure it will work 00:06:10.909 --> 00:06:14.280 with the new bamboo-topped desk I have on its way. 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.480 Overall I actually quite like the design of these, especially with the floating black grille 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:22.330 cloth, but the finish is rather intensely dating itself. 00:06:22.330 --> 00:06:24.080 Perhaps I’ll refinish these, too. 00:06:24.080 --> 00:06:25.810 Anyway, thanks for watching! 00:06:25.810 --> 00:06:28.919 If you’re ever on the lookout for a new speaker setup, why not take a trip down the 00:06:28.919 --> 00:06:33.069 path of oddities and see what’s available outside of your traditional retailer. 00:06:33.069 --> 00:06:35.000 You might be impressed with what you can find.