Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
popular
popular
Zorba1446 2.1K Views
Sep 30, 2026 5:05 AM

Emotiva XB2 bookshelf speakers with 6" woofers and folded RIBBON TWEETER, $399/pair shipped

$399

$549

27% off
Emotiva
Get Deal at Emotiva

Why are you downvoting this deal?

Good Deal?
14Comments
Save
Share
Deal Details
YouTube review with measurements here: https://youtu.be/HohLJHia1z0

" A Versatile Two-Way Bookshelf Speaker, perfect for placement on bookshelves or stands. It's equipped with a 25mm x 32mm Airmotiv folded ribbon tweeter and a 6" woven fiber woofer, making the XB2 an excellent choice for high-quality two-channel systems. This speaker offers extensive low-frequency range, ensuring rich sound in smaller rooms without needing a subwoofer. Flexible in setup, it can be positioned vertically or horizontally, thanks to its rotating tweeter and waveguide. The Airmotiv XB2 is also an outstanding option for bed-layer surround sound in advanced, enveloping home theater setups."

https://emotiva.com/products/airm...udspeakers
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
YouTube review with measurements here: https://youtu.be/HohLJHia1z0

" A Versatile Two-Way Bookshelf Speaker, perfect for placement on bookshelves or stands. It's equipped with a 25mm x 32mm Airmotiv folded ribbon tweeter and a 6" woven fiber woofer, making the XB2 an excellent choice for high-quality two-channel systems. This speaker offers extensive low-frequency range, ensuring rich sound in smaller rooms without needing a subwoofer. Flexible in setup, it can be positioned vertically or horizontally, thanks to its rotating tweeter and waveguide. The Airmotiv XB2 is also an outstanding option for bed-layer surround sound in advanced, enveloping home theater setups."

https://emotiva.com/products/airm...udspeakers

Community Voting

Deal Score
+7
Good Deal
Bad Deal

Why are you downvoting this deal?

Get Deal at Emotiva

Join The Conversation

Share your experience with the Slickdeals community

Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!

14 Comments

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Sep 30, 2026 12:02 PM
864 Comments
Joined Oct 2020
realmccoy12406Sep 30, 2026 12:02 PM
864 Comments
Emotiva speakers are a great budget option and the XB2 gets very positive reviews. I've owned two models in the past and my only issue was the plain almost industrial look.
The XB2 while obviously improved, still kinda has that look.
Original Poster
Pro
Sep 30, 2026 3:10 PM
1.6K Comments
Joined Sep 2018
Zorba1446Sep 30, 2026 3:10 PM
Original Poster
Pro
1.6K Comments
Quote from realmccoy12406 View quoted comment :
Emotiva speakers are a great budget option and the XB2 gets very positive reviews. I've owned two models in the past and my only issue was the plain almost industrial look.
The XB2 while obviously improved, still kinda has that look.
No argument there---Emotiva's Air Motiv series are not marketed or purchased for their looks, to put it kindly. 🤣 These are actually the 3rd generation of the passive A.M. series ... the first two had these weird beveled faces, especially the first generation ones which were really fugly on the bigger tower and center speaker models. Don't know who does the industrial design at Emotiva, but they seem to be seriously vision impaired, lol.
1
Oct 1, 2026 12:41 AM
1.8K Comments
Joined Oct 2020
CalmMitten9192Oct 1, 2026 12:41 AM
1.8K Comments
I dont mind the looks of the current gen. Much less polarizing and more neutral than the faceted look. I guess it's relitive though. Not exactly pretty but purposeful and functional.

Their speakers sound good though. I have the XC1 and it's really good for the money.

Seems they have issues keeping stuff in stock tho so if you are interested in these then grab them now before they go oos again. This book is a top seller for them. Prob have to spend significantly more to find something that sounds better.
Oct 1, 2026 2:24 AM
182 Comments
Joined Sep 2018
MaroonLeopard1601Oct 1, 2026 2:24 AM
182 Comments
Dang it! Really happy with the Elac Debut 3s. Been loving them so far. I can't take the risk of this being too bright for me since I'm sensitive to treble. For those that aren't, these should be an instacop since it's available and at this price.
Last edited by MaroonLeopard1601 September 30, 2026 at 07:34 PM.
Original Poster
Pro
Oct 1, 2026 5:30 AM
1.6K Comments
Joined Sep 2018
Zorba1446Oct 1, 2026 5:30 AM
Original Poster
Pro
1.6K Comments
Quote from MaroonLeopard1601 View quoted comment :
Dang it! Really happy with the Elac Debut 3s. Been loving them so far. I can't take the risk of this being too bright for me since I'm sensitive to treble. For those that aren't, these should be an instacop since it's available and at this price.
It's all about the AMT in these things, imo. You get much better treble extension and resolution, without any harshness or listening fatigue.
Oct 2, 2026 1:26 AM
182 Comments
Joined Sep 2018
MaroonLeopard1601Oct 2, 2026 1:26 AM
182 Comments
Quote from Zorba1446 View quoted comment :
It's all about the AMT in these things, imo. You get much better treble extension and resolution, without any harshness or listening fatigue.
There are others on reddit that seem to point out that the XB2's can hurt if you're sensitive to high frequencies. I just did a "Elac vs XB2" search on reddit. YMMV
Original Poster
Pro
Oct 2, 2026 2:01 AM
1.6K Comments
Joined Sep 2018
Zorba1446Oct 2, 2026 2:01 AM
Original Poster
Pro
1.6K Comments
Quote from MaroonLeopard1601 View quoted comment :
There are others on reddit that seem to point out that the XB2's can hurt if you're sensitive to high frequencies. I just did a "Elac vs XB2" search on reddit. YMMV
I suppose anything is possible and "YMMV" always applies...but for those of us who don't listen extremely loud, that seems highly unusual.

fwiw, I despise "bright" speakers like Def Tech, entry level Klipsch, SVS Prime, etc. I also used to own the ELAC B6.2 and thought that THOSE could sometimes be surprisingly irritating when cranked up really loud.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Oct 2, 2026 6:27 AM
182 Comments
Joined Sep 2018
MaroonLeopard1601Oct 2, 2026 6:27 AM
182 Comments
Quote from Zorba1446 View quoted comment :
I suppose anything is possible and "YMMV" always applies...but for those of us who don't listen extremely loud, that seems highly unusual.

fwiw, I despise "bright" speakers like Def Tech, entry level Klipsch, SVS Prime, etc. I also used to own the ELAC B6.2 and thought that THOSE could sometimes be surprisingly irritating when cranked up really loud.
I think the person on that reddit thread made a good point... as you get older, hearing in the high frequency range goes down. I've been cranking music since I was born, had a short run as a DJ/Music Producer, and been to plenty of clubs/venus. Granted, I'm 34 now - so relatively young. I think I'm still at that age where I can hear the high frequencies but am sensitive because of my history.
Last edited by MaroonLeopard1601 October 1, 2026 at 11:31 PM.
Oct 3, 2026 2:55 AM
864 Comments
Joined Oct 2020
realmccoy12406Oct 3, 2026 2:55 AM
864 Comments
Quote from CalmMitten9192 View quoted comment :
I dont mind the looks of the current gen. Much less polarizing and more neutral than the faceted look. I guess it's relitive though. Not exactly pretty but purposeful and functional.Their speakers sound good though. I have the XC1 and it's really good for the money. Seems they have issues keeping stuff in stock tho so if you are interested in these then grab them now before they go oos again. This book is a top seller for them. Prob have to spend significantly more to find something that sounds better.
I called them today and was told they had ample stock at this time. I'm on the fence as usual. Would love to finally snag the Kef LS50 meta this year.
Oct 3, 2026 11:50 AM
864 Comments
Joined Oct 2020
realmccoy12406Oct 3, 2026 11:50 AM
864 Comments
Quote from Zorba1446 View quoted comment :
No argument there---Emotiva's Air Motiv series are not marketed or purchased for their looks, to put it kindly. 🤣 These are actually the 3rd generation of the passive A.M. series ... the first two had these weird beveled faces, especially the first generation ones which were really fugly on the bigger tower and center speaker models. Don't know who does the industrial design at Emotiva, but they seem to be seriously vision impaired, lol.
Just noticed the Kef Q1 Metas are now on sale for $399.00 also.
Let the games begin!
Oct 3, 2026 3:39 PM
1.8K Comments
Joined Oct 2020
CalmMitten9192Oct 3, 2026 3:39 PM
1.8K Comments
Quote from realmccoy12406 View quoted comment :
Just noticed the Kef Q1 Metas are now on sale for $399.00 also.
Let the games begin!
A little more money but the redesigned and Klippel optimized Ascend CBM-170SE2 is likely to measure and sound very good for the money. Just no Erin review for those yet but he loves the Sierras. I kind of want to get a set myself, but don't really need them per say, haha:
https://www.ascendacoustics.com/p...3563956278
Original Poster
Pro
Oct 3, 2026 4:48 PM
1.6K Comments
Joined Sep 2018
Zorba1446Oct 3, 2026 4:48 PM
Original Poster
Pro
1.6K Comments
Quote from realmccoy12406 View quoted comment :
Just noticed the Kef Q1 Metas are now on sale for $399.00 also.
Let the games begin!
The Q1 are not equivalent to the XB2---the KEF equivalent would be the Q3. $400 for a pair of Q1 isn't a good price, should be more like $300/pr for those. Both the XB2 and the Ascend 170SE2 mentioned above would easily run circles around the Q1 for the same $400/pr and that's their REGULAR price. The only thing the Q1 wins on is prettier looks, if that matters to you.

KEF makes decent (Q series) to great (R series and above) speakers but there's no doubt that you're paying through the nose for the eye-candy tax.
1
Oct 3, 2026 5:35 PM
52 Comments
Joined Nov 2011
CheapBastichOct 3, 2026 5:35 PM
52 Comments
I own a pair of the previous generation bookshelves. At $399, this is a solid deal.
Today 9:55 AM
815 Comments
Joined Dec 2004
gridStormToday 9:55 AM
815 Comments
Quote from CalmMitten9192 View quoted comment :
A little more money but the redesigned and Klippel optimized Ascend CBM-170SE2 is likely to measure and sound very good for the money. Just no Erin review for those yet but he loves the Sierras. I kind of want to get a set myself, but don't really need them per say, haha:
https://www.ascendacoustics.com/p...3563956278
Hmm interesting. But they're described as "monitors", which I know typically has a specific usage in the industry.

Join The Conversation

Share your experience with the Slickdeals community

Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!

Related Searches

Tech & ElectronicsAudio / VideoHome AudioHome TheaterSpeakersEmotivaEmotiva