Need help choosing 5 speakers for 7.1 Home theater soft dome tweeters mandatory $2,000.00 Budget

[Erice Dice1]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post and I´m happy to be here, I´ll introduce myself;

I´m Erick and have been an enthusiast since maybe 10 years ago.

I need your suggestions on a set of 5 speakers for my 7.1 Onkyo HT-R990 Receiver (I think it has almost the same specs as the TX-NR609 95w @8ohm 1 channel driven) which came with my ht-s9400thx HTIB.

Though I really liked the sound of my s9400thx I recently got stung by the upgrade bug and I´m looking into replacing all but the rear surround speakers main reason being that I feel the main front, center and side surround speakers are nice they sound a bit boxy and lack impact on the middle bass and middle section (125hz to 350hz maybe?)

System will be used 90% video games (ps3 and ps4) and 10% Movies (mainly action and gunshot and explosion-filled stuff) no music.

Room is 14x14x16 (LXWXH) yeah I know square room

I´m mainly focusing on the speakers because I already own a pair of Velodyne CHT-12 Subs which more than suffice my bass and sub-bass needs but I really feel that those 5" drivers on the stock S9400thx htib speakers are just not cutting it.

Following are mandatory;

Soft dome tweeters (I´ve listened to a bunch of home speakers equipped with metal cone tweeters (KEF, Focal and Klipsch and top of the line Alpine car speakers mainly) and to me all of them sound harsh from the beggining or begin to get fatiguing after a while. I´m not saying these are bad speakers at all I´m basically saying that to my ears, which I´m beggining to suspect are quite sensible to high frecuencies, they sound fatiguing and I don´t want to invest $2k on something that will give me headaches from prolongued listening periods.

The opposite happens when listening to modestly priced dome tweeters, they just have this mellow, silky and not tiring sound that I´d prefer over any metal dome tweeter.

Next mandatory thing would be floorstanding for L&R and 6.5" drivers as minimum (I listened to some KEF Q700 the other day and though I didn´t like the highs for the reasons mentioned above, the mid bass and mid punch and clarity of those speakers I really liked so I´m guessing it has to do with the size of the cones and the size of the enclosure, that´s why I´m leaning towards floorstanders.

Dipoles or Bipoles for side surrounds is quite desirable I really like the difference.

Given the low power of my receiver I´m guessing I have to go for sensitive speakers, or would you recommend upgrading the reciever too? Budget is 2k to $2,300.00 for speakers but might stretch out another 500 to 800 for a reciever to match since I bet these HT-R990 receivers are probably hitting 65wpc @8 ohms All channels driven.

Finally it is of capital importance to mention that I live in Mexico and auditioning speakers is out of the question, that´s why I tried to be as specific as I could to determine what is the sound signature that I´m looking fot.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Erice Dice1]

I forgot to mention, I´ve been looking into Aperion Intimus line and it seems they are getting quite positive reactions though I read this review on goodsound.com and it seems this guy appointed the issue of these speakers being bass-shy (Though I´m thinking this will not matter since I will be pairing them with my 2 "12 subwoofers.

 

[JohnnieB]

Check out Ascend Acoustics

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/

 

[Seth=L]

The harshness you attribute to the tweeter material isn't entirely accurate. KEF speakers are voiced to be fairly even on the frequency response and some find the highs to be a bit exhausting. It has a lot more to do with the crossover than the tweeter material.

 

[afterlife2]

Also check out the new Elac made by Andrew Jones:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=elac+speakers&rh=n:172282,k:elac+speakers

http://elac.us/speakers/

 

[Erice Dice1]

Thanks for your replies.

I´ve been stalking the EMP TEK Owners thread on another forum site and from what I´ve been reading they seem to be a perfect match for my tastes (and budget). People usually regard them as being "laid back" and recessed on the highs with a warm and smooth high end.

I´m particularly looking into the Impression series R55Ti towers and R56Ci center channels to begin with; anyone have any opinions on these? I´ve read EMP is a division of RBH sound which seems highly regarded in audiophile circles.

Will I be able to drive these with my current AVR? I´m seriously considering an upgrade to Marantz 6009 on A4L I like the fact that it´s 7.2 so I could manage my two subs independently and rated at 110 wpc seems like a better option.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Erice Dice1]

Also check out the new Elac made by Andrew Jones:

I´m certainly digging thos ELAC Debut F5 tower speakers
speakers, never heard of them before, any chance you could share your thoughts on the highs on these?

By any chance how would you compare these to the EMP TEK R55Ti in case you have auditioned both?

Thanks in advance.

 

[afterlife2]

I´m certainly digging thos ELAC Debut F5 tower speakers
speakers, never heard of them before, any chance you could share your thoughts on the highs on these?

By any chance how would you compare these to the EMP TEK R55Ti in case you have auditioned both?

Thanks in advance.

I don't have them and never heard them, but Adam a forum member here will review them soon. They are getting rave reviews.
You can ask here: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2170761-elac-owners-thread.html
Overview: http://www.cnet.com/videos/elac-f5-floorstanders-deliver-phenomenal-performance/

 

[Erice Dice1]

Thank you, I hope Adam can help me out with his impressions on these speakers, can you please tell me how can I keep updated regarding Adam´s post?

 

[afterlife2]

Sure thing. You can check this thread. He posted recently so it should not be long: http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/andrew-jones-and-chris-walker-now-with-elac.94655/

 

[KEW]

I´ve been stalking the EMP TEK Owners thread on another forum site and from what I´ve been reading they seem to be a perfect match for my tastes (and budget).

Based on what you have said, I would agree that the EMPTek's have the sound character you are looking for. They are a very nice and smooth sounding speaker without any emphasis on the high end. It sounded clear and was present, but never fatiguing.

I have heard the ELAC B5 and it was disappointing. Don't know if the F5 will have the same character or not.

 

[afterlife2]

Based on what you have said, I would agree that the EMPTek's have the sound character you are looking for. They are a very nice and smooth sounding speaker without any emphasis on the high end. It sounded clear and was present, but never fatiguing.

I have heard the ELAC B5 and it was disappointing. Don't know if the F5 will have the same character or not.

What was wrong with the B5 you heard?

 

[KEW]

What was wrong with the B5 you heard?

Hoping to finish write-ups on Friday, but the B5's sounded dull and lacked the energy of the performance. It was most apparent when trying to reproduce a snare drum. It was out of balance. The tone of the drum skin was too strong compared to the sound of the snare (springs against skin)..
It was also weak on HF extension. The sound of a triangle is muted, and not crisp. I was comparing to the new AA Monitors, so it was soft dome against soft dome.

 

[Erice Dice1]

Hoping to finish write-ups on Friday, but the B5's sounded dull and lacked the energy of the performance. It was most apparent when trying to reproduce a snare drum. It was out of balance. The tone of the drum skin was too strong compared to the sound of the snare (springs against skin)..
It was also weak on HF extension. The sound of a triangle is muted, and not crisp. I was comparing to the new AA Monitors, so it was soft dome against soft dome.

This I consider a quite detailed and sensitive review good Sir, thank you.

I´m still wondering how these B5´s or more precisely B6´s would perform on video games and movies but I´m definitely leaning towards EMP Teks they do seem to be what I´m looking for.

Still the question stands; what do you people think about my current AVR? Does anyone by any chance know the exact output all channel driven @8 ohms? I´m curious because in Onkyo´s site the HT-R990 is listed as being 95w @8ohms 1 channel driven which I suspect would be like 60 w @8ohms all channel driven? would this suffice for Emp Teks?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I heard EMP Teks in person - Laid back, smooth and warm sound.
I think you'd like them