Know some good SILVER speakers anyone?

Hi there,

I recently purchased a Marantz SR4500 receiver and DVD-player DV4500 with a set of Infinity Oreus (5.1). As I would like to expand the set to a 7.1 setup and also have more full, richer sound (the Infinity's are small and I listen to music more than I watch movies) I have decided to buy a set of floorstanders. As front speakers ofcourse. Because the Inifinity's are aluminium I would like to have the floorstanders in silver/metal as well.

Untill know I have listened to the following speakersets:

- Kef Q5: these would look great with my Infinity's and the sound is okay, but I find that there's a little something missing in the midtones. Bass may also be to boomy. Also, because they have rear baseports they would probably have to stand too far from the wall, which is not desirable in my living room (max. 30 cm)

- Elac FS108.2: don't look that great and the sound is okay. Bass may be to boomy.

- JBL Northridge E80: These look okay, but they sound pretty good. Spacy, good bass, good midrange. Not too sure about the highs though.

So, I'll probably go for the JBL's... Anyone else have some suggestions or maybe you think the JBL's suck prefer the Kef's?

Silver fronts

The Athena Audition Series have a silver front (black MDF) with the grills off. They will out perform the JBL Northridge series by a long shot.

www.athenaspeakers.com

Bird is 100% correct. Here is a link found by Spiffyfast (a site member) that gives you Athena AS F2's for $400 a pair. I will only say this because you mentioned it, and please note it is just my opinion. In my honest, and humble opinion, those JBL's suck hugely. They suck hard, they suck often. Those F2's outperform them in every way conceivable. I will never tell this to someone that has already spent the money and is happy with their setup. JBL Northridge series are not up to snuff with JBL's other lines. Never heard the Kef's but supposedly they are a heck of a company too. Athenas are Canadian and made by the same company that makes Mirage and Energy speakers.

check out the canton vento and karat lines, they have silver options.

http://www.canton.de

The Def Tech Mythos Ones are one of the best looking speakers made and have the sound to match as long as you are using a sub. Very high on the WAF as well.

http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/mythos/mythos_tower.html

Dead right...

Duffinator's dead right...they look great...they sound great...they're priced right...all you need's a good sub! DefTech Mythos all the way!
Cheers

Hmmm... never heard of either Athena or Mythos, but I'll definitely check them out. I don't want to buy the wrong speakers again.

I kind of made a misjudgement with the Infinity's. They received a 'Best speakers of 2004' prize and several really good reviews. I think they're great for movies, but for music it's another thing. Or maybe my expectations were too high. I listened to them in the shop and bought them anyway thinking that maybe they would sound different at home.

As it turns out floorstanders are the way too go for sure. Thanks you guys and I could still use some more suggestions so keep 'em coming!

Sounds like you need to start making a presence at the dealers in your area. The more you listen, the more you find what you like. Some people love Definitive Tech speakers, others abhore them. Same with Klipsch. You really just have to find what's right for you and go with it.

Donovan said:

- Kef Q5: these would look great with my Infinity's and the sound is okay, but I find that there's a little something missing in the midtones. Bass may also be to boomy. Also, because they have rear baseports they would probably have to stand too far from the wall, which is not desirable in my living room (max. 30 cm)

Click to expand...

I have two KEF Q5s (in black though, I haven't seen the silver ones). I have mine set 44 cm from the wall (and slightly toed inward). The ultra-low bass isn't particularly accurate (a good sub helps a lot), but I find the midrange to be very nice. Tastes do enter into it, of course .

They KEF Q series was recently replaced by the iQ series, but I don't know how they differ except for some small cosmetic changes (the drivers are silver rather than black, which might interest you). The silver is probably still available. Then there's the XQ series (which are silver), but I haven't listened to them and they're much more expensive so I couldn't say if they're worth it.

Okay. I'm gonna try and find some more stores to listen and compare speakers today...

But why do you guys think the JBL's suck by the way?

Monitor Audio's speakers are now available in a glossy silver finish option.

Donovan said:

Okay. I'm gonna try and find some more stores to listen and compare speakers today...

But why do you guys think the JBL's suck by the way?

Click to expand...

IMHO JBL's make some of the best speakers in the world. That being said the Northridge series suck badly. A few years ago they seem to have abandoned the consumer market. The Northridge series is their "consumer" line designed to sell to Best Buy and Circuit City customers that are uninformed. JBL is a division of the Harmon Group: HK, JBL & Infinity. It seems like Harmon has decided to let Infinity have the quality consumer line leaving JBL for the professionals and movie theaters with the Northridge being a token product. The "great" JBL speakers are cost prohibitive and can cost 10K or more for a complete system. They are coming out with the Studio L series that does look promising.

I was just in a store looking for some speakers, but one of the salesmen told me my receiver wasn't fit for my Infinitys, as well as some of the (metal) speakers they had (f.e. Canton Vento 807 DC). My receiver is supposedly too 'lightweight' and can therefore not drive these speakers properly. I thought Marantz wouldn't have this problem. Could this be true?

If you were looking at inefficient speakers, then yes. Your Marantz, like HK receivers, tends to be more truthful about its power rating. Granted, it won't drive Polks and Magnepans to their full potential, but any "normal" speaker shouldn't be a problem.

Just for reference (and if I missed it): what officially is your budget for a pair of floorstanding front speakers?

My budget... Well I'd LIKE to say €500,- per speaker MAX. But the Canton Vento 807 I just saw looked absolutely great and sounded fantastic too. They were €850 per speaker and I'm actually willing to dig deep deeep deeeep into my pockets for that.

But for that kind of money the design as well as the sound has to be absolutely stunning!!

Silver and stunning?!? … humm… Well, if you are willing to stretch to €850 per spkr (€1700/pr), it might be worth saving a wee bit more if you like the way the Schonberg sounds:

http://www.viennaacoustics.com

The all aluminum cabinet does not appeal to me, but I have heard them…the quality of the sound surprised me for such an ugly spkr. They are impressive!


Since they come from your side of the pond where € are used (Austria), you may be able to get them for something less than we pay here $2500USD (€2062)/pr.

If you get a chance to hear the Schonberg, I’d like to know your impression of them.

9f9c7z said:

Silver and stunning?!? … humm… Well, if you are willing to stretch to €850 per spkr (€1700/pr), it might be worth saving a wee bit more if you like the way the Schonberg sounds:

http://www.viennaacoustics.com

The all aluminum cabinet does not appeal to me, but I have heard them…the quality of the sound surprised me for such an ugly spkr. They are impressive!


Since they come from your side of the pond where € are used (Austria), you may be able to get them for something less than we pay here $2500USD (€2062)/pr.

If you get a chance to hear the Schonberg, I’d like to know your impression of them.

Click to expand...

I like those, would look really cool sitting on the floor beside a flat panel

Donovan said:

My budget... Well I'd LIKE to say €500,- per speaker MAX. But the Canton Vento 807 I just saw looked absolutely great and sounded fantastic too. They were €850 per speaker and I'm actually willing to dig deep deeep deeeep into my pockets for that.

But for that kind of money the design as well as the sound has to be absolutely stunning!!

Click to expand...

What about the silver B&W FPM series?

The Vienna Accoustics look pretty good to me, but they are indeed even more expensive. Actually I don't really want to spend that much money. But I'll try to find a place where I can listen to them and after that, who knows...

I found a place where I can buy the Canton Vento 807s for €600 instead of the €850 they were at the place I was yesterday! Maybe they have the Vienna Accoustics as well. The B&W's also look pretty good, I'll try and check them out as well. Anyway, I found out I'm going to have to save a few more months, since my mind is now set on a higher class of speakers.

...To think that yesterday I was actually planning to buy €200 JBL Northridge E80!

My only concern about the Vienna accustics is that the tweeters are place on the side of the driver rather then above or below.