Help purchasing first system!

Greeting folks!

I just got married, and have been able to convince my wife that we need a decent sound system. I'm mostly looking for two good stereo speakers (probably towers) and a good amp that I can later use to expand the system into 5/7.1 . Right now, our budget is between between $1000 and $1500.

I've been doing some research, and I was considering the av123 rockets, but after research, have seen a lot of bad press about them (more on the customer relations side than about the speakers themselves.

Anyway, the wife and I are both (aspiring) professional classical musicians (trumpet, and viola respectively), and I'm starting to get into audio recording, so I want something that's more true to sound, even, and clear, rather than something that's especially nice to the sound all the time. And again, I need an amp, and the two speakers for under $1500.

I really appreciate any advise you can give me.

Thanks!

It may be difficult to get any suggestions without knowing the size of the room, furniture, flooring, etc. as room acoustics play a BIG part in the overall sound quality.

Everyone has different tastes in speakers, which makes it difficult to suggest certain systems. I personally like a detailed speaker such as Klipsch paired with a "warmer" sounding reciever such as Harmon Kardon or Denon, but that's just me. The best advise you're going to get is go audition some for yourself. You'd be surprised how much they vary in sound quality from one speaker to another...even amongst the same brands.

Two muscians -Very Coooooooooool

You can get a decent Yamaha or Onkyo receiver for $300 that leaves about $1200 for speakers.

Examples:

Yamaha RXV465 for $279
http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=RXV465BL&gclid=COT0oLGThp0CFc5U2god8VxSbA

Onkyo TX-SR507 for $299
http://bountii.com/search.php?item=onkyo+tx-sr507|tx-sr507b|txsr507s&gclid=CLCLvZ2Uhp0CFc9h2godwk98aw


I like Defnitive Technology ( FUNNY STORY -I was about to get AV123 rockets and their big foot center; then I talked with Audioholics on this forum and ended up upgrading and getting better Def Tech speakers; I am glad I did, but there are many, many good speakers in that price range).


Your best bet is to take the music CDs that you and your wife like and go audition different speakers and find the one you like best.

Here are a few starting ideas:

Definitive Technology BP7006
Definitive Technology Mythos 4
Paradigm Monitor 11 Towers
B & W Series 700 or 800
Wharfedale Opus series 1s
Swan


Best advice, go to a good home theater store with your wife and take the CDs you normally listen too and pick the best sounding speakers that fits you budget and is in a room layout somewhat close to your house.

Good Luck,

Forest Man

As for AV123 most people that have been ordering in the last 6 months have had no problem as long as the speakers are instock and it's not a pre order deal. They do make some nice speakers and I hope that they can get themselves out of this hole.

My advice is going to be to go out and listen to everything you can. That is a good way to learn what you will like and dislike in a speaker, especially if you're looking for something true to the music. If you search this site you'll find lists of companies to check out.

Once you do that then it's time to start shopping. If you find you like speakers a bit out of your price range then I suggest checking out the used market, sites like Audiogon are great for that. Or even here in the classifieds. My three main speakers were used and great.

Good luck in your hunt.

If you want to start with Stereo, I don't think you can go wrong with a pair of Sierra-1's. I believe they are about 900 shipped for a pair. For a receiver, you could try looking at a refurb Marantz 5003 from accessories4less...I believe they are about 500 or so.

The Sierra's are bookshelf speakers, but they probably won't need a sub except for the most demanding music and HT kind of stuff.

I would say get a AVR for around 700.-- and spend 800.-- on speakers. Get at least 100 watts per channel. You do want a receiver with some good power. You can go on audiogon and buy used and you'll end up with a killer system for the money. I have bought and sold on audiogon and never was I disappointed.

Ignore the receiver suggestions in my opinion if you want to do recording.

If you want to do recording your best bet is to get a pair of monitors, an amp and a processor.

If you want to do home theater it's a different animal from a recording studio setup.

I'd suggest you buy from zzounds.com as they have excellent deals.

A pair of Behringer 2031p(widely used in recording studios) might do the trick.

There are also some excellent monitors from Mackie.

If you really want a home set for your budget I suggest the B&W 705 series.

PSB just updated their Image series and from a few threards of what I read, they are a big improvment over their existing older series which weren't exactly slouches. You can also try looking at teh next series up, tghe Imagine series which has received great reviews frrom all of the audio mags that have reviewed them.

If I were you...
What I would do is to take a pad of paper with you, write down the make and
model of each speaker you audition and what you liked and disliked about the
speakers you were auditioning. Was the bass tight and deep or was it boomy and loose sounding? Were the mids life like or were they hollow or just too pronounced? Was the treble irritating and harsh or were they dark and not revealing or were they smooth that made you want to listen formore? How was the imaging?

Bring music with you that you are very familiar with and know quite well. To
make it easier to audition HT speaker systems, listen to the main speakers in 2
channel mode with music. Music is much harder to reproduce accurately then a movie soundtrack so if the speakers do well with music, then they will do well with HT. Speakers that do HT well may not do well with music. When auditioning the center channel of the same brand and series as the main speakers, pick a difficult source like an announcer that mumbles alot. If you can understand what the mumbling announcer is saying, then you have a good center channel.

I would go to speciality stores first and start auditioning speakers first
instead of going to the internet first. Once your likes are determined, you can
mention them here and fellow members can make internet brand recommendations based on your likes/dislikes. The specality stores are better setup acousticaly then the big box stores which will make auditioning a little easier. It will give you an idea of what you like in a speaker.

Keep track of what amp or receiver is powering the speakers you're auditioning. Try to get a receiver/amp that closest resembles what you have or want to get. It just reduces another variable when audtioning speakers.


One thing to keep note off. When auditioning speakers, make sure the volume
levels are matched between the diiferent speaker pairs because the louder
speaker pair will always sound better. Listen to levels that you think you
would listen to most of the time because thats how you are going to be using
them most of the time.

If you want accurate, detailed sound reproduction, you need to look at studio monitors. Genelec, Alesis, Behringer, KRK, etc. Go to a Guitar Center or a pro-audio store, not a consumer audio store.

trumpetlore said:

Greeting folks!

I just got married, and have been able to convince my wife that we need a decent sound system. I'm mostly looking for two good stereo speakers (probably towers) and a good amp that I can later use to expand the system into 5/7.1 . Right now, our budget is between between $1000 and $1500.

I've been doing some research, and I was considering the av123 rockets, but after research, have seen a lot of bad press about them (more on the customer relations side than about the speakers themselves.

Anyway, the wife and I are both (aspiring) professional classical musicians (trumpet, and viola respectively), and I'm starting to get into audio recording, so I want something that's more true to sound, even, and clear, rather than something that's especially nice to the sound all the time. And again, I need an amp, and the two speakers for under $1500.

I really appreciate any advise you can give me.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I think there is some confusion here judging by some of the posts on this thread. Is the purpose of this system primarily for music/HT or to be used for work use? Recording? Is this for a studio? Suggestions may be dramatically different depending on your intended use.

I suspect that you will both appreciate a neutral clean speaker that reproduced what is on a recording as it was recorded.

Speakers that I have listened to that fall into this category are: Paradigm studios, PSB Image, Axiom audio M22/M60/M80.

Axiom being an ID seller makes it harder to audition the speakers, but you can try the Hearing Things forum to see if there is someone close to you that will give you an audition.

I'm sure there are other speakers out there that fit the bill as well.

Soundman et all,

I'm basically looking for music/HT speakers, I am getting into sound recording and the like, but as I don't yet have the money to purchase the matched mics that I want, or the board, I may as well just get some speakers that my wife and I will fully enjoy. That said, I want speakers that are fairly even throughout the range so as not to make everything sound "warmer" or something. I'm gonna try to go to a couple audio shops here in Montreal this weekend to start sizing things up a bit better and will post again when I know a little more of what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the help so far everybody!

trumpetlore said:

Soundman et all,

I'm basically looking for music/HT speakers, I am getting into sound recording and the like, but as I don't yet have the money to purchase the matched mics that I want, or the board, I may as well just get some speakers that my wife and I will fully enjoy. That said, I want speakers that are fairly even throughout the range so as not to make everything sound "warmer" or something. I'm gonna try to go to a couple audio shops here in Montreal this weekend to start sizing things up a bit better and will post again when I know a little more of what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the help so far everybody!

Click to expand...

Alot of Canadian speaker manufacturing is based out of Quebec. I know Totem right off hand is one. Montreal should have quite a few audio dealers around and there are alot of top quaity speakers being produced in Canada;
PSB, Paradigm, Totem, Energy, Mirage, Gershman, Coincident etc. Check them all out if you can and have fun.

questions about loudspeakers

What is the preference between 8ohm impedance and 4 Ohms and why?

3db said:

PSB, Paradigm, Totem, Energy, Mirage, Gershman, Coincident etc. Check them all out if you can and have fun.

Click to expand...

Ok, today I auditioned some speakers. Below are my thoughts on each. If anybody has suggestions for other brands to look into or avoid based on my thoughts, please let me know. These are in the order I listened to them. Again, my deepest thanks to you all.

Paradigm - 60's
-nice round sound
-not too much bass
-highs seem decent
-overall sound seems more full than it should be, not distinct enough, kind of muffled

Paradigm - M9's
-same concepts as the 60's but nicer overall, sound less muffled

Warfedale - (forgot to write down model number, but they may have been the vr400's? they were on sale for about 750 or so for the pair I believe)
-too full, not a real sound.

B&W 683's
very nice sound, much cleaner, nice representation. sounds even throughout

B&W 684's
even nicer sound. again, cleaner than the 83's, I can how an orchestra is 100 feet across, and about 50 feet deep. Sound is way better.

Klipsch RF 62's (tested in a noisy room at Best Buy)
-sound pretty clean and clear from what I can tell, like to try a better model, and better room

Energy RC70's (also in Best Buy)

Good sound, clean, but not as clear as I remember the B&W 684's being.

Summary: From the first store I went to, the B&W 684's were a clear winner. All of those speakers were tried on a Carat A57 (C57 cd player) which I probably cant afford, but at least gave me the best opportunity to hear what the speakers can do. The 684's also sounded better when I tried on the Rotel RA1520. I definitely want to test some Klipsch's and Energy's in a different room, though I'm not hopeful about the Energy brand. This weekend, I'm testing some av123 Rocket 850's, and hopefully next week, I can continue testing a few more of the speakers suggested here, including the totems.

Oh, and I figured out the 8 vs. 4 thing...
Best,
Jeremy

Keep us informed. All very interesting.

Ok, more speakers have been tested.

I had a chance to listen to not only the Rocket 850's, but the whole system as well (bigfoot center, surrounds etc.) I'll start with just the rockets.

The rockets have a really nice sound. good, round, clear and even. The stereo imaging was good, but not perfect. The bass is easily sufficient, but not overpowering, and doesn't make everything seem too dark. High's are good, not perfectly accurate, but they're slightly softened in a way that I don't mind. I was listening to a track of solo piano where the high notes get very "pingy". It gave a good, clear sound without hurting my ears. I quite enjoyed listening to these speakers.

Upon returning to Montreal, I retried the 684's and realized they were not the speaker for me. The voice was unfocused, and the sound, while nice, just wasn't as good as the rockets.

I also tried some PSB Imagine Tseries. These had very nice imaging, but the highs really got on my nerves. I decided to leave and come back to them later. When I came back, I felt the same. The imaging was great, but they were lacking in the low range, and I could tell that my ears would get fatigued pretty quickly if I was listening to the "wrong" music.

Following this, I went to a place in Montreal that sells Totem speakers. I tried out the arro and sttaf speakers. Sttaf were clearly superior, and more in line with the price and quality ranges of the other speakers I was liking (and able to possibly afford).

The Totem Sttaf speakers had fantastic imaging, and a really nice sound, though again, they were missing a little of the impact of the bass that the Rockets had during non-classical music. The sound of the voice was natural and focused. highs weren't fatigeing, and I was really enjoying the experience. (just for kicks, I tried the "forest" model, and was really impressed. The store just received the new "wind" models on the weekend, and those weren't even unpacked. I'll go listen in a few weeks for fun.)

After more research, I've decided that the Klipsch speakers probably aren't for me. They have a fantastic sound, but I'm fairly certain that the horn design will tire my ears very quickly.

I still want to audition a pair of Axiom M80's, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. Nobody near montreal has responded to my calls for an audition.

So, if all stands as it does now, I'm likely to go with the Rocket850's, and maybe get the bigfoot as well (is that strange to get the two floorstandings and a center speaker? I can't afford the surrounds or a sub yet. would I be better to get a sub before the center speaker?).

Again, thoughts and suggestions are very welcomed.

Best

Some light reading (and I'm sure it's completely void of any sort of marketing push):

Hi-Fi (stereo) overview: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=760

Home theater overview: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=761

Buying Advice: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=763

My guess is that, at best, what you read at these locations won't be that deep and will probably reflect a lot of the non-product specific advice you might get here.

I'm just a fanboy, though.

If you like the “slightly softened” highs of the Rockets it’s unlikely you will like the Axiom M80s, I‘ve heard both and own the M80s so I’m not trying to bash Axiom.

Two things about the Rockets. Don’t pay MSRP they are always going on sale. And only order from what’s in stock.

I’m curious if you liked the “accuracy” of the B&Ws so much why the softer highs of the Rockets are so appealing. I also liked a set of B&Ws when last shopping but couldn’t justify the price.

Cheers,
Dean

Your audition comments are interesting. Have you paid any attention to the types of rooms the speakers were in? The room can make a huge difference to the sound of the speakers.