speaker recommendations for a noob

[zinprogress]

Hey everyone, first post here. So I decided about a year ago to step up from my cheap pre-packaged 5.1 sony setup and found a good deal on a new STR-DH790 that i have been running up till now in 5.1 with the speakers from my old setup. Im looking for recommendations but im having a bit of a hard time coming up with anything thats helping me make any decisions. They claim its 90rms at 6ohms and im looking to upgrade my front left and right at the moment and move my old fronts to the rear for 7.1 then upgrade in pairs when i can.

I contacted sony just out of curiosity to see what they would recommend but i got some real uninformed text book answers. I was a car audio installer for about 7 years and this home audio stuff kind of has me feeling like im out of my element.

Thanks
Corey

 

[lovinthehd]

What's your budget? There are a lot of choices out there but I'd only worry about the front three matching, and a mis-matched center (or just using a phantom center) isn't the end of the world while you save up if money's an issue.

 

[zinprogress]

Im going to say that my budget for the front left and right is $250 but that could easily change depending on what i learn.

 

[lovinthehd]

Not a lot....consider used?

 

[mazersteven]

Forget used buy these

CBM-170SE BOOKSHELF MONITOR PAIR

The Benchmark Bookshelf Loudspeaker "The State Of The Art Of Budget Loudspeakers" -Jeff Van Dyne, GoodSound Setting new performance standards for affordable accurate sound reproduction for two channel stereo reproduction and multi-channel home theater. Signature Edition... Legendary performance...

www.ascendacoustics.com

Build these

Home

TriTrix MTM Speaker Kit Pair with Knock-Down CabinetsThe TriTrix MTM vented speaker kit is a compact design that delivers high performance full range audio without breaking the bank. With an F3 in the low 50's and an F10 of 40 Hz, you can expect solid low end from the modest sized enclosures...

www.parts-express.com

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS5-3-Driver-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00O8YLMVA/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=sony+core+speakers&qid=1611074303&s=aht&sr=1-2

and center:

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS8-3-Driver-Channel-Speaker/dp/B00O8YLNRS/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=sony+core+speakers&qid=1611074303&s=aht&sr=1-3

If you want to improve music quality even further then these:

CBM-170SE BOOKSHELF MONITOR PAIR

The Benchmark Bookshelf Loudspeaker "The State Of The Art Of Budget Loudspeakers" -Jeff Van Dyne, GoodSound Setting new performance standards for affordable accurate sound reproduction for two channel stereo reproduction and multi-channel home theater. Signature Edition... Legendary performance...

www.ascendacoustics.com

 

[ski2xblack]

@zinprogress you probably know more than the average joe about the fundamentals.

Ideally, you pick speakers first, based upon your desired results, and considering local acoustics. A room is a bit different than the cabin in an automobile, but the point is that the speakers are where the rubber hits the road, so to speak, so that's where you should focus your efforts, rather than starting with the Sony AVR. It will suffice, with what we would recommend given your budget.

Don't quote me on this, but I think Dennis Murphy is going to again offer the Dayton/PE based AA monitors. If so, those are worth considering.

 

[zinprogress]

the budget can definitely go up, its more just an uneducated starting point and a number to keep my wife from paying too much attention to what im up to.

Ill look into those for sure! Im pretty good at getting a car to sound good, but a large room is a whole new ball game for sure. At least i feel like i was somewhat on the right track since i found the page for the aa monitors and was interested in them before i realized they were no longer available

thanks for the replies!

 

[lovinthehd]

How large is your space? You still using the HTIB sub or ?

 

[zinprogress]

21' 6" x 18' and the ceiling vaults from 12' to 8'. Im still using the HTIB sub, but ive been eying the klipsch R-115SW

 

[lovinthehd]

21' 6" x 18' and the ceiling vaults from 12' to 8'. Im still using the HTIB sub, but ive been eying the klipsch R-115SW

That's a fairly big space ... if you haven't see this article might be interesting https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/subwoofer-room-size

If you got a really good deal on that Klipsch, perhaps two of them. I'd still look at the main sub specialists tho...Hsu, SVS, Rythmik, Power Sound Audio, Monolith and a few others.....

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Don't quote me on this, but I think Dennis Murphy is going to again offer the Dayton/PE based AA monitors. If so, those are worth considering.

Source? Because based on his post here it seems highly unlikely:

Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

Yeah, a lot of folks procrastinating on buying the AA+ - I'd had in the back of my mind to buy 4 once I got a little further from the Holiday expenditures. Too late now. Fortunately, since I have BMRs for my LR, he's planning on doing the BMRs so I'm going to get another BMR to use as a center...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[ski2xblack]

Source? Because based on his post here it seems highly unlikely:

Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor Bookshelf Speaker Review

Yeah, a lot of folks procrastinating on buying the AA+ - I'd had in the back of my mind to buy 4 once I got a little further from the Holiday expenditures. Too late now. Fortunately, since I have BMRs for my LR, he's planning on doing the BMRs so I'm going to get another BMR to use as a center...

forums.audioholics.com

Like I said, don't quote me. I thought his site mentioned offering the networks, if not complete AA builds. Lemme check on that...ok, looks like I may be starting rumors.

 

[mazersteven]

but ive been eying the klipsch R-115SW

You can take your Eyes off that. Better subs out there

 

[lovinthehd]

Speaking of the AA speaker, you could get the BR-1 kit from Parts-express.com and I could perhaps part with a set of crossovers from Dennis/Philharmonic for them I never got around to installing....

 

[ryanosaur]

Don't quote me on this, but I think Dennis Murphy is going to again offer the Dayton/PE based AA monitors. If so, those are worth considering.

Source? Because based on his post here it seems highly unlikely:

The Affordable Accuracy + will be returning as a 30-minute kit from Philharmonic Audio. It is slated to appear very soon. Previously, Dennis had said by Groundhogs Day.
My understanding is that you get the Cabinets, Drivers, Fabricated Crossovers, Damping Material, and all screws needed. All you have to do is connect wires, stuff the cabinets, and screw things in place. I don't remember the pricing... perhaps in the $350 neighborhood?... for a very good quality speaker that will be ±3db from around 40Hz-20kHz IIRC.
The usable bass output on these is pretty solid, and they routinely fool AVRs into thinking they are full-range speakers! And that's just with the stock Dayton Driver!!! The Morel Tweeter and Dennis' updated XO is where the magic happens.

 

[zinprogress]

well, i knew this would happen. ive completely fallen down the rabbit hole. I think im just going to grab some stuff for this receiver and ill start slowly collecting things for my next setup. Im planning on moving back half way across the country here in the next year or two and i think ill have a room setup just for movies.

 

[ski2xblack]

Yeah, hold off on any big investments until setting up a room you'll live with for a while. The room will dictate a lot in terms of appropriate speakers and subwoofage, so save your ducats for now and cross that bridge when you come to it.

Thank you @ryanosaur for the AA+ update, that's good news for champagne-taste-on-a-beer-budget music lovers.

 

[Eppie]

If for a HT setup, I recommend also getting the center channel when you replace the mains. You want all 3 fronts to sound the same. When I got my Paradigm Studio 20 v5 I purchased a used Studio CC center for the interim and it drove me crazy. The Studio CC was several versions older and noticeably different sonically. I eventually found a used matching Studio CC-590 center but that was long after having to put up with mismatched fronts. Depending on the model, you may have difficulty finding a matching front later. The Studio 20s for example are out of production and the matching center is now very difficult to find.

 

[lovinthehd]

well, i knew this would happen. ive completely fallen down the rabbit hole. I think im just going to grab some stuff for this receiver and ill start slowly collecting things for my next setup. Im planning on moving back half way across the country here in the next year or two and i think ill have a room setup just for movies.