Should I get new speakers...if so which ones?

[dg2016]

Would love to get some opinions!

Here is my current setup:

Receiver: Denon AVR-S910W
Front Speakers: Advent Heritage (these things are old!)
Center Speaker: Advent
Rear Speaker: Polk RM7
Subwoofer: BIC V-1220
Atmos: Pioneer SP-T22A-LR (these are on their way I have ordered them but not tested yet)

First question...I'm debating how good these front speakers are, and if it's time to replace them. They are old...somewhere from the early 1990's. The cabinet's wood on one speaker is splitting a little. Maybe it's time to replace? I believe the speaker surrounds are still ok but I haven't looked. Not sure if these are even good speakers regardless of condition. Does anyone know anything about the quality of them?

Second question...if it's time to replace, what is a good Front Speaker, and matching Center channel that is below $399? I want the best bang for my money...a good speaker, but I'm very price sensitive. I don't want to go above that price per speaker, and the less money the better!! Anyone have a suggestion? I came across these in my mind but not sure about quality:

1) Something in the BIC line....BIC America Venturi DV64? bic acoustech (not sure which model)?? I'm happy with the BIC subwoofer I have, but know nothing about their other speakers

2) Something in the Polk line? Polk Audio TSi400? Polk Audio Monitor 70 Series II?

3) Something in the Pioneer line I've heard good things about the Pioneer SP-FS52-LR and the SP-C22 (I have the atmos speakers arriving soon so this is a perfect match)

4) something else to consider?


Thanks!


EDIT:

I sit about 15 feet back from the TV...
Mostly use the system for TV/Movies and PS4. Sometimes I listen to music...streaming from the Internet

 

[j_garcia]

1) BICs are probably fine for that price range. See #3

2) I can give you a definite answer here: no

3) I've owned pretty much all of the Andrew Jones Pioneers (22s, 52s, C22) and for the price, I really enjoy them. Those may not be a timbre match for the Atmos speakers you ordered since the other ones are older, but I am sure it will still work fine.

4) The Philharmonic Audio Affordable Accuracy monitors are actually probably your best bet, but there's currently not exactly a formal matching center that I know of.

 

[rojo]

1) BICs are probably fine for that price range. See #3

2) I can give you a definite answer here: no

3) I've owned pretty much all of the Andrew Jones Pioneers (22s, 52s, C22) and for the price, I really enjoy them. Those may not be a timbre match for the Atmos speakers you ordered since the other ones are older, but I am sure it will still work fine.

4) The Philharmonic Audio Affordable Accuracy monitors are actually probably your best bet, but there's currently not exactly a formal matching center that I know of.

4) Dennis does offer an Affordable Accuracy center, still based on the Pioneer center. He sells it for $120 (last I heard), but it's not on his website. Anyone interested in an AA center just needs to contact him.

3x WaveCrest HVL-1 would be another worthwhile option, although I'd probably favor the Affordable Accuracy LCR myself.

 

[slipperybidness]

Would love to get some opinions!

Here is my current setup:

Receiver: Denon AVR-S910W
Front Speakers: Advent Heritage (these things are old!)
Center Speaker: Advent
Rear Speaker: Polk RM7
Subwoofer: BIC V-1220
Atmos: Pioneer SP-T22A-LR (these are on their way I have ordered them but not tested yet)

First question...I'm debating how good these front speakers are, and if it's time to replace them. They are old...somewhere from the early 1990's. The cabinet's wood on one speaker is splitting a little. Maybe it's time to replace? I believe the speaker surrounds are still ok but I haven't looked. Not sure if these are even good speakers regardless of condition. Does anyone know anything about the quality of them?

Second question...if it's time to replace, what is a good Front Speaker, and matching Center channel that is below $399? I want the best bang for my money...a good speaker, but I'm very price sensitive. I don't want to go above that price per speaker, and the less money the better!! Anyone have a suggestion? I came across these in my mind but not sure about quality:

1) Something in the BIC line....BIC America Venturi DV64? bic acoustech (not sure which model)?? I'm happy with the BIC subwoofer I have, but know nothing about their other speakers

2) Something in the Polk line? Polk Audio TSi400? Polk Audio Monitor 70 Series II?

3) Something in the Pioneer line I've heard good things about the Pioneer SP-FS52-LR and the SP-C22 (I have the atmos speakers arriving soon so this is a perfect match)

4) something else to consider?


Thanks!


EDIT:

I sit about 15 feet back from the TV...
Mostly use the system for TV/Movies and PS4. Sometimes I listen to music...streaming from the Internet

If I were you, I would seriously be considering the B-stock from EMP
http://emptek.com/bstockZ1744.php

Or the Ascends
http://ascendacoustics.com/

 

[rojo]

If I were you, I would seriously be considering the B-stock from EMP
http://emptek.com/bstockZ1744.php

Or the Ascends
http://ascendacoustics.com/

B stock is a great idea. Ascend has some B stock as well.

I'm digging that RBH B-stock center. Wish I could see measurements of it somewhere.

 

[dg2016]

Interesting responses so far. thank you!

So I've eliminated the Polk.
BIC...maybe
Pioneer Andrew Jones...maybe a bit more...maybe, lol

The Affordable Audio monitors are very interesting. Two reasons I say this:
1) Never considered monitor/bookshelf speakers before. Makes me curious if I should dump the tower and use something like this and my subwoofer
2) Never heard of them before! But I see a lot of mentions in the forums

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Interesting responses so far. thank you!

So I've eliminated the Polk.
BIC...maybe
Pioneer Andrew Jones...maybe a bit more...maybe, lol

The Affordable Audio monitors are very interesting. Two reasons I say this:
1) Never considered monitor/bookshelf speakers before. Makes me curious if I should dump the tower and use something like this and my subwoofer
2) Never heard of them before! But I see a lot of mentions in the forums

I also think that AA monitors are your best bet for the budget in mind. You are right, you can find quite a lot information about them from these forums.

 

[j_garcia]

Interesting responses so far. thank you!

So I've eliminated the Polk.
BIC...maybe
Pioneer Andrew Jones...maybe a bit more...maybe, lol

The Affordable Audio monitors are very interesting. Two reasons I say this:
1) Never considered monitor/bookshelf speakers before. Makes me curious if I should dump the tower and use something like this and my subwoofer
2) Never heard of them before! But I see a lot of mentions in the forums

The previous generation of AAs were based on the Pioneer BS22LR and Dennis modified them to get more out of them. There were some issues and he then selected a replacement and those are what you see now. That's why the center is still based on the Pioneer C-22, because the new bookshelf does not actually have a matching center.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

The previous generation of AAs were based on the Pioneer BS22LR and Dennis modified them to get more out of them. There were some issues and he then selected a replacement and those are what you see now. That's why the center is still based on the Pioneer C-22, because the new bookshelf does not actually have a matching center.

That's correct. The "issues" were an increase in the wholesale price I had to pay for the pioneers, and the small woofer's limited bass reach. That's not so much of an issue for an mtm center channel used with a dedicated sub. BTW, I've had to increase the price of the center to $120.

 

[speakerman39]

That's correct. The "issues" were an increase in the wholesale price I had to pay for the pioneers, and the small woofer's limited bass reach. That's not so much of an issue for an mtm center channel used with a dedicated sub. BTW, I've had to increase the price of the center to $120.

Dennis, if someone goes with the AA monitors I think that I remember you saying a single AA monitor put on the side horizontally is a very good option. That is, if I understood you correctly. Think that we discussed that in a PM, but it has been a good while ago. Just checking for clarification purposes. Thanks!

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Dennis, if someone goes with the AA monitors I think that I remember you saying a single AA monitor put on the side horizontally is a very good option. That is, if I understood you correctly. Think that we discussed that in a PM, but it has been a good while ago. Just checking for clarification purposes. Thanks!

Cheers,

Phil

An AA on its side will work as well as most any MTM. Like any MT 2-way on its side, a suckout will start to appear around the crossover frequency as you move off axis horizontally. But it's less severe than the dip you get on an MTM due to destructive interference between the woofers, and the in addition the MTM will have the same crossover suckout as the MT. If you have the room, the best solution is a single AA mounted in its normal vertical orientation.

 

[Mmo]

i just bought a pair of goldenear triton 1. not cheap and i tried not to buy them. went in intending on the triton 2+, as reckoned the bottom end would be too over powering from the triton 1. nope.
just incredibly rich, powerful and immersive sound.
and that folded ribbon tweeter is rich and powerful, even outside the room. surprising.
their less pricey 3-7 line up is surely worth a listen.
i went in not overly fond of the name, the "sock" covering or active speakers in general. went out with the best audio experience i've ever had and $5000 lighter. sound is sound.
even better at home, in 3 different large rooms without much acoustical adjustments.
they're honestly too good to be true.

 

[TLS Guy]

Those speakers date from 1994. The Advent Heritage is well regarded speaker.

I have not heard a pair in a while. From memory they were excellent speakers from a great designer Roy Allison. They are +/- 42 to 23 KHz. with 150 watt power handling and a slightly understated sensitivity of 89.5 db 1 watt 1 meter.
The cabinets were very well made.

On your budget you will end up with speakers far worse than those. You won't come close to besting the quality of those speakers. In 1994 those speakers sold for $699 per pair. So today that is $1,140. I suspect though that you would have to spend 2 to three times that to best those speakers.

What I would do is put those funds into whatever is required to restore those speakers. If the woofers need refoaming, which they probably do, then do it.

 

[dg2016]

Those speakers date from 1994. The Advent Heritage is well regarded speaker.

I have not heard a pair in a while. From memory they were excellent speakers from a great designer Roy Allison. They are +/- 42 to 23 KHz. with 150 watt power handling and a slightly understated sensitivity of 89.5 db 1 watt 1 meter.
The cabinets were very well made.

On your budget you will end up with speakers far worse than those. You won't come close to besting the quality of those speakers. In 1994 those speakers sold for $699 per pair. So today that is $1,140. I suspect though that you would have to spend 2 to three times that to best those speakers.

What I would do is put those funds into whatever is required to restore those speakers. If the woofers need refoaming, which they probably do, then do it.

Yep those are the speakers. Over time the cabinets have got beat up. They are in acceptable condition although I have a small crack in the wood on top, and a stain. I suppose I can seal that up and I dont think it goes all the way through. Plus the sit on top atmos add on speakers will cover the stained wood on top Sure the speaker foam is old, but as far as I know it's in good condition and not detached. I never looked into re-foaming a speaker. I wonder if that's something I could handle myself...

Your post is interesting. Thanks for the link, I'm going to read it. I say it's interesting because it's nice to finally find a review of them. Also to hear you say they are good and how expensive they are makes me think about staying with them....
Wish they were smaller, but it's not too bad and they fit in the room.

I was never able to find a review of them. I bought them back in the day on the suggestion from an "audiophile" friend...guess he knew what he was talking about