Advice on picking speakers

J

jh112

Enthusiast
I have been a longtime lurker here. I am now going ot be moving to into ahouse where I can have a music listening / HT space on the bonus floor. the floor is about 17'x30'. The couch and MLP would be about 15-18' from one end (so approx middle of the room forming 15x18 area) following by some workout equipment and a wet bar in the area behind the couch.

I will have a 65inch TV and denon x4200 reciever to begin with. My usage(importance) is going to be 90% music 10% movies. The budget for speakers is 1500-1800. This is going to be my first hiFi set up (and hopefully something i wont have to change for many yrs). So i would like to pick speakers that I won't outgrow as I get used to listening to HQ speakers and my ear can pick up more nuances.

Which brings us to main question being, which bookshelf speakers should i get. Based on the rave reviews on AVS forums and other forums, I have come up with a list (not in order of preference)

1. Ascend sierra 2
2. Revel M106
3. Philharmonitor BMR
4. Should i consider any Salk or Selah speakers (they seem to be very well respected but i dont have enough info on the models though).

While I understand the list above is not apples to apples in terms of the speaker design but I am pretty agnostic of the design (except the bookshelf constraint), the only goal is best sounding music.

Looking forward to your opinions and experiences with any of above speakers
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
All good choices, including Salk and Selah. Are you planning to run a subwoofer or two? Is bottom end extension a consideration? Would the BMRs' larger cabinet size make them less desirable?
 
J

jh112

Enthusiast
The subwoofer plan is not set in stone yet(but certainly not leaning towards getting 2), it might perfect fair saying speakerX + sub = speaker Y (or something of that sort) . Depends on how much i end up spending for the speakers and what is left over. I dont need the bass to rattle the windows or anything as long as music sounds good thats all i need

I am really torn on the BMR cabinet size, i included it because of amazing things i have read about Dennis and his speaker. It didnt seem like there is a huge cost difference between BMR and philharmonitor, so currently looking at BMR since its supposed to be the better speaker. May be the more experienced folks can comment on if the trade off for size of BMR vs improvement in SQ is worth it. (also how its sound compares to revel and sierra 2).
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I heard the Revel 106 at AXPONA and was thoroughly impressed. I have not heard the Ascend, Phil, etcd. I do like the Salks from what I also heard and AXPONA, but I did not do a listening test with the bookshelves.

My suggestion is that you test out the Revels, as you shouldn't find it too difficult to find a dealer near you, unless you live in some remote area. If you really like the sound, then I would just go with those. No matter which selection you pick, a subwoofer (or 2) is highly suggested for a room of that size.

  • It is all your personal taste, you may love some speakers that others don't like, but you are the one living with them.
  • All the brands you looked at should serve the purpose. I am a big advocate of ribbon or RAAL tweeters
  • If you want to go Salk or Ascend, my suggestion is not to take anyone's opinion, but rather do the 30 day trial and decide for yourself. If you are part of AVS forum, there is a section where people will open up their listening rooms to visitors, so you might want to check that out in case someone has the speakers you are looking

Don't think you will go wrong with any of the choices you are considering.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Those all look like terrific speakers. The only one I have heard is the Revel though, and hopefully I will get the chance to hear some Ascend and Philharmonic speakers someday. Some other speakers I really like in that price range are the Wharfedale Jade bookshelf speakers and the KEF LS50s. The Monitor Audio and Dali bookshelf speakers have also been quite good, but I can not remember the exact model #s that I heard.
 
H

herbu

Audioholic Samurai
I am pretty agnostic of the design (except the bookshelf constraint)
Just curious... why? Where do you plan to put them? On a shelf? In a cabinet? On speaker stands?
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Due to size of room, I'd recommend to stick to larger speakers. My humble recommendation is this:
Pair of Ascend CMT340's and a nice sub like Rythmic E/F15HP (optionally SE - Piano black version)
Trust me - you'll be very happy with sound.
 
J

jh112

Enthusiast
Due to size of room, I'd recommend to stick to larger speakers. My humble recommendation is this:
Pair of Ascend CMT340's and a nice sub like Rythmic E/F15HP (optionally SE - Piano black version)
Trust me - you'll be very happy with sound.

By larger do you mean high sensitivity?
Note the MLP is about 15 feet from the speakers.

Also isn't sierra2 supposed to better than 340? Is there a reason you are proposing 340?
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
By larger do you mean high sensitivity?
Note the MLP is about 15 feet from the speakers.

Also isn't sierra2 supposed to better than 340? Is there a reason you are proposing 340?
I suggest Larger due to a) higher sensitivity and b) higher power handling - both good to have in larger space if OP is ever willing to play system at "high spirited" levels.
Sierra 2 are indeed a bit better, but due to it's price it won't live any room in budget for good sub.
You see, Ascend's "Typical In-Room Frequency Response" may not apply in larger room and Rythik will provide excellent bass support, relieving speakers to play mids and highs,
 
nova

nova

Full Audioholic
How many speakers are you planning to buy with that budget? 90% music I would assume 2 speakers.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
How many speakers are you planning to buy with that budget? 90% music I would assume 2 speakers.
problem with 2 speakers and his budget (however seems to be pretty decent) - he'd have issue finding many full range speakers.
Only one I could think of, are bit above budget - Philharmonic Slims towers. If op wants just two speakers in his larger space, I'd go with these as long term investment which he won't have to upgrade from for a very long time.
 
J

jh112

Enthusiast
What about BMR + sub vs sierra 2 + sub vs philharmonic slim towers ? (though floorstanders might not be an option)
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
What about BMR + sub vs sierra 2 + sub vs philharmonic slim towers ? (though floorstanders might not be an option)
At this point you might as well contact Dennis directly. Also he's frequent visitor on these forums.
 
J

jh112

Enthusiast
that is the next step :) wanted to do some research before hand as well.
 
D

Dennis Murphy

Audioholic General
What about BMR + sub vs sierra 2 + sub vs philharmonic slim towers ? (though floorstanders might not be an option)
Just as a matter of information, it looks like you're thinking a BMR + Sub might be in the same ballpark bass-wise as the Slims. The Slims and BMR's are actually pretty much the same in bass capability. If anything, the BMR's have a little more power handling. They both go down to the low 30's. The bass quality is a little different--conventional ported vs. transmission line. But even that isn't a big deal.
 
J

jh112

Enthusiast
thanks Dennis. Do you know how BMRs compare to Sierra 2 or Revels with sub (I can understand if you dont want to discuss your competitors though), since the obvious benefit of the BMR is bass that goes much lower than either M106 or sierra.
Other forum members who have had the privilege of hearing these speakers please feel free to chime as well.
 
D

Dennis Murphy

Audioholic General
thanks Dennis. Do you know how BMRs compare to Sierra 2 or Revels with sub (I can understand if you dont want to discuss your competitors though), since the obvious benefit of the BMR is bass that goes much lower than either M106 or sierra.
Other forum members who have had the privilege of hearing these speakers please feel free to chime as well.
Although I've had extensive experience with the Sierra 2's, I've never used a sub with them, and I have zippo experience with the Revels. All I'm going to say is that a properly executed 3-way has some advantages over a properly executed 2-way (and I'm certainly not going to claim that the 2 speakers you mention aren't properly executed). One is deeper bass, which you already know about. The other is broader dispersion in the upper midrange and lower treble made possible by a dedicated midrange driver. Any woofer with decent bass extension will start to narrow in dispersion at the top of its operating range unless it is crossed significantly lower than 2.5 kHz. The RAAL tweeter used in the Ascend, and a very similar one used in my Philharmonitor, can't operate cleanly below 3 kHz. So the radiation pattern of the tweeter and woofer at the crossover region of 3 kHz won't be the same, with more of the woofer's output being concentrated forward. In a 3-way with a smaller midrange with excellent dispersion and crossed to the woofer at, say, 600 Hz, the dispersion characteristics of the midrange will be much more similar to the tweeter's at most normal 3-way crossover points. Does that mean that everyone will prefer the 3-way to a 2-way? No. The 2-way may place vocals further into the room with more presence. I think the 3-way's presentation is more natural, and I don't think there's much contest on complex orchestral music, but it depends on what you listen to and your individual taste.
 
T

Thunder240

Audioholic Intern
I'm currently running a 2.1 system with Ascend CMT-340 SE mains and an Outlaw LFM-1 EX. I've had this setup since 2009, and recently made the decision to upgrade my mains to Philharmonic BMRs after an extensive review of monitors in the 1500-3000 price range. I was very impressed with my demo of the BMRs, and I plan to post a review once I've had a chance to form some solid impressions of them. In the meantime, I can say that even though I ultimately decided that I've outgrown my Ascend CMT-340s, and I prefer the BMRs to the Ascends, I have no regrets over that initial purchase. The Ascend CMT-340s punch far above their weight, and they are well matched to the Outlaw sub.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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