speaker help for denon avr-x3000

[MJ5ELRB]

took advice from this forum and picked up a denon avr-x3000. my first ever avr. speaker upgrade time now that i have this new avr.

would like some suggestions on speakers please

1. living room size, 22 x 15 x 8.
2. budget for speakers, $2k.
3. listen to more music than say view movies or tv shows.


i'm tossing around one of these two models for front speakers. i'm new so this isn't written in stone.

Wharfdale diamond 10.5 tower
Ascend CMT-340 SE mini-tower

due to couch size i need to hang the rear small pair and have no idea about speaker for this. except names mentioned on this forum. and these one looked small with good specs and in budget. but i could be making a bad choice too.

HSU HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker
Ascsend HTM-200 SE monitor


i haven't given much thought to a sub or center as i want my purchase power to get what i can for the front and rear first. reading this forum i think that is the priority?

 

[JohnnieB]

Hey MJ,

I think you made some nice picks on speakers.

Since you stated music is the main use for your system, I would look at fronts, sub, center, rears. Probably in that order.

Is 2k your budget for fronts or are you thinking total for L/ R, center, rears and sub.

 

[MJ5ELRB]

Hey MJ,

Is 2k your budget for fronts or are you thinking total for L/ R, center, rears and sub.

thanks - ideas came from this forum so the education i owe them. ;-)

2k currently is the budget i set for the "speakers". could be just front and rear, combo, etc., i guess. kinda had it in my mind to get the front and rear, but...

that is without input from you folks. that is, 2k could go to just front L/R or, + another combo. maybe no rear, and get center and a sub, ??

due to heat in this areas climate, to run wire in attic would need to be within a month or two or wait till fall again. i don't need to rush on hanging rear speakers though just to have them. i can wait.

if $$ is better spent on 2.1 now then i'm fine with that. i just don't know diddly about center or rear speaker type specs, and such to go with front L/R, say, unless i purchase a combo set from same builder.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Few comments : Johnny has good point about lcr and sub are most critical. Ascend 340se are great choice for both music and movies. Whatever speakers you pick for surround duty, if hanging on the wall - a) make sure these would be front ported or sealed b) height should be 1ft above ears heigh
You can really skimp on surround speakers and get better sub.
If numbers don't work out for 340se for front plus sub, consider philharmonic AA 5.0 setup plus plenty of budget left for sub, hsu-vtf2 for example

 

[Irishman]

took advice from this forum and picked up a denon avr-x3000. my first ever avr. speaker upgrade time now that i have this new avr.

would like some suggestions on speakers please

1. living room size, 22 x 15 x 8.
2. budget for speakers, $2k.
3. listen to more music than say view movies or tv shows.


i'm tossing around one of these two models for front speakers. i'm new so this isn't written in stone.

Wharfdale diamond 10.5 tower
Ascend CMT-340 SE mini-tower

due to couch size i need to hang the rear small pair and have no idea about speaker for this. except names mentioned on this forum. and these one looked small with good specs and in budget. but i could be making a bad choice too.

HSU HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker
Ascsend HTM-200 SE monitor


i haven't given much thought to a sub or center as i want my purchase power to get what i can for the front and rear first. reading this forum i think that is the priority?

What kind of sound do you like? Because the speakers you named don't all sound alike.

 

[MJ5ELRB]

What kind of sound do you like? Because the speakers you named don't all sound alike.

music -
i dabble in a few genre as most do; various blues cats from mississippi acoustic blues guys to chicagoland electric blues, rock-blues-bands, jazz-blusey-jazz, some post-rock scene bands liked sigor-ros et al,, some space rock, & jazz-fusion.

movies - typically syfy, adventure, documentaries, pbs, natgeo, quello

hope that helps. thx

 

[markw]

Let's try this from another angle.

What kind of sound do you like? Because the speakers you named don't all sound alike.

What speakers have you heard that you DO like?

 

[MJ5ELRB]

Let's try this from another angle.

What speakers have you heard that you DO like?

haven't been anywhere to listen. there is a fry's in town. i'm going there to check some out. i did find a high-end a/v specialty store in town yesterday searching online. they are closed today. i'll go this week and audition some speakers. they actually have the wharfedales. didn't realize there was such a store here. i'll report back later in week

 

[markw]

haven't been anywhere to listen. there is a fry's in town. i'm going there to check some out. i did find a high-end a/v specialty store in town yesterday searching online. they are closed today. i'll go this week and audition some speakers. they actually have the wharfedales. didn't realize there was such a store here. i'll report back later in week

You do that. How do you expect us to be able to tell what you want/like if you don't even know yourself.

You've got to take some responsibility for your own destiny here.

 

[JohnnieB]

Take a mix cd of songs you like and know well.

 

[markw]

Oh, OP: concentrate on your front mains and center before worrying about your surrounds. They must match., It's nice if the rears match, but not quite so critical

 

[mtrycrafts]

took advice from this forum and picked up a denon avr-x3000. my first ever avr. speaker upgrade time now that i have this new avr.

...

Just something to think about next time as it is too late to think of it for the first time.
You should have looked for speakers first, not AVR/amp. Good hunting.

 

[MJ5ELRB]

great advice everyone. appreciate it. off to audition this week, and will report back, and pick up then.

i've been "out of this ball park" for so many years i didn't even know what ask, yes a little bumpy start, but making some progress, thanks to the advice here.

 

[MJ5ELRB]

Just something to think about next time as it is too late to think of it for the first time.
You should have looked for speakers first, not AVR/amp. Good hunting.

quite the setup you have there! paradigm is your choice for speakers i see (i think). they have some affordable series in my current budget and the store i'm off to may have some on the floor to listen to. i'm probably in for a big surprise in the diff in sounding amongst these various high end speakers that my ears aren't used too.

regardless i'll keep your advice in the toolbox for next time

 

[MJ5ELRB]

Oh, OP: concentrate on your front mains and center before worrying about your surrounds. They must match., It's nice if the rears match, but not quite so critical

appreciate this!

 

[MJ5ELRB]

Take a mix cd of songs you like and know well.

glad you suggested this, as ignorant as it may seem, hadn't crossed my radar. i will surely do this.

 

[mtrycrafts]

quite the setup you have there! paradigm is your choice for speakers i see (i think). they have some affordable series in my current budget and the store i'm off to may have some on the floor to listen to. i'm probably in for a big surprise in the diff in sounding amongst these various high end speakers that my ears aren't used too.

regardless i'll keep your advice in the toolbox for next time

My main speakers are the Ti 250 JBL, somewhat dated but I like them, looks good, etc.Plus, not infected by the upgradeitis.

 

[MJ5ELRB]

been awhile; i found shopping for speakers more time consuming [for me] than i realized.

couldn't audition most of the speakers i had on my list, like "martin login", "wharfedale", "ascend", "hsu", etc.

but two that were on my main list, "dali" and "tannoy" i was able to audition. found another store to check on my list, none on my list there but they had something called, "golden ears".

i did audition the "tannoy mercury v4i" but for my ears, i listen mainly to music, the "tannoy dc6" just sounded better.

so, my main list is now a short list of three, "dali zensor 5", "tannoy dc6", and "golden ears trident three".

i'll have to say they all sound really really nice to me, though no question the tridents really filled the space up and i don't think i would need a subwoofer either.

that's were i'm at today with this. anyone have pros/cons to these its all welcomed.

 

[zieglj01]

Go with what you like best.

 

[highfigh]

been awhile; i found shopping for speakers more time consuming [for me] than i realized.

couldn't audition most of the speakers i had on my list, like "martin login", "wharfedale", "ascend", "hsu", etc.

but two that were on my main list, "dali" and "tannoy" i was able to audition. found another store to check on my list, none on my list there but they had something called, "golden ears".

i did audition the "tannoy mercury v4i" but for my ears, i listen mainly to music, the "tannoy dc6" just sounded better.

so, my main list is now a short list of three, "dali zensor 5", "tannoy dc6", and "golden ears trident three".

i'll have to say they all sound really really nice to me, though no question the tridents really filled the space up and i don't think i would need a subwoofer either.

that's were i'm at today with this. anyone have pros/cons to these its all welcomed.

Where are you, Phoenix?

There are a few dealers with shops in Scottsdale, at least one in Fountain Hills- I would look on the sites for the speaker brands that interest you and use their 'Find A Dealer' button.

Don't listen to a lot of different brands in one session- get a baseline for the kind of sound you want and make a list of the ones that impressed you most, and why. If you plan to always use a subwoofer, it might be best to avoid main speakers with strong bass, so you don't have to worry about blending them as much.