how would you spend 2k?

jonnythan said:

Guys, the OP is not doing critical listening to classical music here. He's mostly going to be listening to hip hop and techno at loud volume levels and playing video games.

I wouldn't want to listen to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest on some NHT bookshelf speakers, you know? We're not looking for absolute sonic accuracy here. We're looking for party speakers that will thump and rock.

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Thus the reason I mentioned CV. But, OP wants quality for times of critical listening.

You know, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest would sound like crap through most speakers.(nothing against either band, but one wouldn't consider the music to judge a speaker)

But, techno and rap sound good through most. I just don't care for electronic music. I like the real thing.

Top-shelf speakers do a good job with techno and rap.

Loud speakers that boom will do a better job with techno and rap in that area. They will be loud and boom. But, put some detailed music in. I don't think I need to explain what will come out.

jaxvon said:

You could easily measure some Klipsch speakers and prove them to be crap (which they are).

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I usually will not butt in on speaker opinions. But agree completely with the crap-like assessment. So I'll share my opinion as well. I make this exception, because I feel that Klipsch is especially deserving of the crap badge. The primary shortcoming[besides extremely poor off axis response] of Klipsch speakers, it seems, are the very poor cabinets[I find most speakers to have poor cabinets overall, but Klipsch is among the worst so far as 'respected' manufacturers in my observation], which appear to be extremely resonant. It does not matter whether you are referring to the entry level or reference line -- I found not one with what seemed to be even borderline acceptable cabinets. I don't believe I have ever heard a more resonant sounding cabinet for the price, as compared to what I perceived with the large reference floor standers. The timbre is heavily distorted as a result. Curiously, I walked around to the sides, and held my ear within an inch or two of the cabinet surfaces, and I seemed to easily hear the narrow band resonances coming from the huge panels at such a high level that it was easy to isolate from the main speaker SPL. Cruising the manufacturer website, they touted some construction method that minimizes panel resonances on their reference speaker. Yes, I did LOL. Literally.

-Chris

jonnythan said:

Guys, the OP is not doing critical listening to classical music here. He's mostly going to be listening to hip hop and techno at loud volume levels and playing video games.

I wouldn't want to listen to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest on some NHT bookshelf speakers, you know? We're not looking for absolute sonic accuracy here. We're looking for party speakers that will thump and rock.

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I'm not just your average college fratboy here that doesn't know anything about music. I'm not just looking for loud speakers, if I didn't really care about sound quality I woulda just gone out and bought some bose piece of crap or whatever. Although I have a little bit of that college moron in me who just wants to hear loud thumping music, I was all state in band in high school etc... and I do know what music is supposed to sound like, there's no reason that I can't play my music loud but still desire a certain amount of quality to the sound.

a__thekevlar__2 said:

I'm not just your average college fratboy here that doesn't know anything about music. I'm not just looking for loud speakers, if I didn't really care about sound quality I woulda just gone out and bought some bose piece of crap or whatever. Although I have a little bit of that college moron in me who just wants to hear loud thumping music, I was all state in band in high school etc... and I do know what music is supposed to sound like, there's no reason that I can't play my music loud but still desire a certain amount of quality to the sound.

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I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't implying any of that. In fact, if I were in the market for new speakers right now, they'd probably be speakers much more suited to listening to Maiden and Van Halen than to Tori Amos and Diana Krall, even though I like all of the above artists. I've noticed that speakers typically prized by audiophiles don't really sound very good with certain types of music (mostly metal, but I don't really listen to techno or hip hop, though I imagine it's somewhat the same case with that), so I was trying to make sure everyone kept your specific needs in mind.

You're right, there's no reason you can't like to play it loud *and* want quality. That's what most all of us want. There's a lot of production value and quality sound in a lot of music that's passed on by audiophiles. Many Iron Maiden albums, for instance, have excellent production values and really shine on serious, quality equipment. I have no doubt that's exactly the case in the hip-hop and techno world as well.

I guess a lot of people have this "people who listen to hip-hop just want as much distorted, buzzy bass as possible" kinda stereotype going on, so I can understand why you're maybe defensive about it. I can also understand how you read my initial post as putting down that type of music as somehow inferior to classical. I don't even listen to classical, I like music that rocks. I also respect hip-hop and techno as forms of music that have great value and, often, excellent production. They're not for me personally, but that's that.

Again, sorry if I offended you or anything like that.

WmAx said:

I usually will not butt in on speaker opinions. But agree completely with the crap-like assessment. So I'll share my opinion as well. I make this exception, because I feel that Klipsch is especially deserving of the crap badge. The primary shortcoming[besides extremely poor off axis response] of Klipsch speakers, it seems, are the very poor cabinets[I find most speakers to have poor cabinets overall, but Klipsch is among the worst so far as 'respected' manufacturers in my observation], which appear to be extremely resonant. It does not matter whether you are referring to the entry level or reference line -- I found not one with what seemed to be even borderline acceptable cabinets. I don't believe I have ever heard a more resonant sounding cabinet for the price, as compared to what I perceived with the large reference floor standers. The timbre is heavily distorted as a result. Curiously, I walked around to the sides, and held my ear within an inch or two of the cabinet surfaces, and I seemed to easily hear the narrow band resonances coming from the huge panels at such a high level that it was easy to isolate from the main speaker SPL. Cruising the manufacturer website, they touted some construction method that minimizes panel resonances on their reference speaker. Yes, I did LOL. Literally.

-Chris

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I hope their purchase of API will give them instant creditability? That is, as long as they leave Energy and Mirage alone

a__thekevlar__2,

As this thread has shown, everyone has a different opinion on what sounds good. If your really serious about quality sound and getting the most for your money then you owe it to yourself to demo as many speakers as you can.


Zumbo, Jaxvon,

I don't really know much about speakers or anything but I love loud noises, lol. I'll be using them mainly for music(hip-hop and techno mainly), I'll have a ps3 and xbox360 hooked up but thats not really my main concern as far as sound goes. Appearance is also pretty important to me.

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That is why myself and another recommended the Klipsch, just like Zumbo recommended the CV. Now, if he would have clarified some preferences beforehand, my recommendation wouldn't have been the same.

billy p said:

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Zep rules.

zumbo said:

You know, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest would sound like crap through most speakers.(nothing against either band, but one wouldn't consider the music to judge a speaker)

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I disagree. That type of music does use a lot of intentional distortion, and probably sounds like noise to those who don't like it, but some of it is very well recorded. In fact, as much or more time and money is put into some metal albums as into many mainstream pop albums. It takes good speakers to reproduce a particular guitar distorted by a particular amp and not make it sound like random or "generic" distortion.
(FWIW I don't often enjoy listening to metal anymore, but I did when I was young.)

Off-topic?

Maybe this question is a bit off-topic but you guys keep arguing on metal music that plays intentional distortion. I listen to a lot of that. From metal to heavy metal to alternative metal. Been disappointed by my Polks for that. Energy C-x series are great.

What would you recommend for "iron maiden" (in terms of speakers)??

mouettus said:

Maybe this question is a bit off-topic but you guys keep arguing on metal music that plays intentional distortion. I listen to a lot of that. From metal to heavy metal to alternative metal. Been disappointed by my Polks for that. Energy C-x series are great.

What would you recommend for "iron maiden" (in terms of speakers)??

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As I mentioned earlier, I like B&W for many types of music, metal included. I can clearly distinguish the tones of specific makes/models of electric guitar on them.
If I played more rock and less jazz/new age, however, I would probably choose the 602s over the 705s. They seem more "robust", if that makes sense.

Heh

zumbo said:

Zep rules.

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I know this is the wrong thread, but what the hell! The way I see it its them, then everyone else! Albeit PF is a close second.

mouettus said:

What would you recommend for "iron maiden" (in terms of speakers)??

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An arena, some Marshall stacks, and lots of watts.

JackT said:

pair of Ascend CMT-340 ($568)

HSU VTF 3.3- $649

Yamaha RX-V659 $500

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When I made the above recommendation, one of the considerations was durability and robustness. Uncompromising sound, but no high gloss natural wood finishes. No-nonsense gear that can tolerate the real world but still deliver classical music.

jonnythan said:

An arena, some Marshall stacks, and lots of watts.

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ROTFLMFAO!

Late to the party

a little late, but I have put quite a bit of thought into a 2k system.

$1,200 ($400/pair) 3 pairs of B&W 602 bookshelf speakers on ebay.
$375 Outlaw Audio 950 pre/pro on ebay.
$480 ($160/pair) 3 Behringer A500 power amps

$2,055 total

power amps found here for $160 (delete the space)
www.limited goods.com/itemView.php?Prod=A500