Looking to massively upgrade my mains

[ddjr]

So my main speakers are Optimus pro lx 10's with the lineaum tweeter. I'd like to upgrade them, but not just a step up, I'd like to really make a move here on these. Upstairs I have allison seven and meadowlark kestrel hot rods. Down here, radioshack... I'm not looking for $2500 speakers, but a real definitive upgrade in sound. I'll most likely have to scour ebay and Craigslist to be able to afford whatever suggestions I get here. My system consists of: denon avr s500bt
The Optimus pros
Jbl stage a125c for center
Micca mb42x for surround
Dayton audio titanic 10" sub
I think now the weakest link is my Optimus speakers. Let me know if you have any experience with upgrading these. Thank you
Ddjr

 

[Movie2099]

So my main speakers are Optimus pro lx 10's with the lineaum tweeter. I'd like to upgrade them, but not just a step up, I'd like to really make a move here on these. Upstairs I have allison seven and meadowlark kestrel hot rods. Down here, radioshack... I'm not looking for $2500 speakers, but a real definitive upgrade in sound. I'll most likely have to scour ebay and Craigslist to be able to afford whatever suggestions I get here. My system consists of: denon avr s500bt
The Optimus pros
Jbl stage a125c for center
Micca mb42x for surround
Dayton audio titanic 10" sub
I think now the weakest link is my Optimus speakers. Let me know if you have any experience with upgrading these. Thank you
Ddjr

Besides JBL, I have no idea what those other speakers are. I would just throw them out. You should look at SVS Primes and their Subs. Check Audiogon.com for used speakers and other equipment. You can find good deals on there once in a while. First things first though is set your budget. You will have to spend some more to get that upgrade. I would say for a decent front stage plus sub you're going to spend around $3k.

 

[ddjr]

Throw out my kestrels and allison sevens? No. They are (were) highly regarded in their time. I won't use either of them down here because they are brown wood, all the stuff down here is black. (They just don't match). Thanks for the tip.

 

[ryanosaur]

Ah, linaeum tweeters... I still have a pair of The bookshelf’s! Not in use, though.

 

[ddjr]

Is that because they aren't as good sounding as people thought they would be? I honestly can't hear the difference

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Those Radio Shack speakers sucked when they were new... age didn't make them any better I bought a pair back in the 90's... returned them for a refund pretty quickly.

Lots of options out there, and you will probably want to change out your center speaker with one closely matching your front two. On a budget maybe look for older Paradigm speakers. They are mid-high end but the 90's-00's models didn't hold their values and can be found pretty cheap.

Older JBL's wouldn't be a bad option either. The after-2000 models with the silver/gray face accents go for cheap...probably because of the looks... but from all I've read do still sound good. Same for the late model Infinity speakers. JimZ could tell you more about them.

 

[ddjr]

Thank you! To ebay I go!

 

[MalVeauX]

Hi,

What's your all-in budget limit, what style are you looking for, what size are you comfortable with?

Very best,

 

[ddjr]

Size... I like towers. I'm not sure id get what I want from bookshelf speakers. Budget, I guess it would depend on the speaker, but maybe $400? I know, its not much.

 

[Benni777]

DIY...

 

[ddjr]

You mean make my own speakers?

 

[Benni777]

You mean make my own speakers?

Correct, there are a toon of DIY kit companies out there, just buy it and build it. Save a ton of money and get a speaker worth ten times that which you would buy brick and mortar. Just my opinion and what I am looking to do currently. Still not sure what company but seem to keep being pulled towards GR-Research AV series.

 

[MalVeauX]

Size... I like towers. I'm not sure id get what I want from bookshelf speakers. Budget, I guess it would depend on the speaker, but maybe $400? I know, its not much.

Hi,

$400 is plenty to get something great sounding. You don't have to spend thousands to get great audio. It's more important to simply have competent speakers and then put effort into placement, room treatment, and having high quality source media. Huge diminishing returns after a few hundred bucks.

Check out:

Airmotiv T-Zero+ Pair Floorstanding Tower Loudspeakers

The Airmotiv T-Zero+ is a floor standing tower loudspeaker that delivers superb listening experience with both stereo and surround sound systems. Shop today!

emotiva.com

YAMAHA NS-F150 Floor Standing Speaker Piano Black Each

Yamaha Factory Refurbished

www.accessories4less.com

JBL Stage A180

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

And yes, DIY is a great way to go if you want to learn more about speaker building and get more for your money.

Very best,

 

[Hetfield]

Hi,

$400 is plenty to get something great sounding. You don't have to spend thousands to get great audio. It's more important to simply have competent speakers and then put effort into placement, room treatment, and having high quality source media. Huge diminishing returns after a few hundred bucks.

Check out:

Airmotiv T-Zero+ Pair Floorstanding Tower Loudspeakers

The Airmotiv T-Zero+ is a floor standing tower loudspeaker that delivers superb listening experience with both stereo and surround sound systems. Shop today!

emotiva.com

YAMAHA NS-F150 Floor Standing Speaker Piano Black Each

Yamaha Factory Refurbished

www.accessories4less.com

JBL Stage A180

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

And yes, DIY is a great way to go if you want to learn more about speaker building and get more for your money.

Very best,

I agree with this. I used to buy very, very expensive home theater gear. A wife, a kid, mortgage now so I have to find great sounding equipment that doesn't get my divorced. You can find brand new speakers that sounds awesome and not break the bank.
I'm rocking RSL speakers and it's amazing. I did splurge a bit on the PB-2000 Pro recently but that was from the outlet and saved 100 bucks. Maybe a pinch more.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[ddjr]

Thanks, guys!!

 

[Benni777]

I agree with this. I used to buy very, very expensive home theater gear. A wife, a kid, mortgage now so I have to find great sounding equipment that doesn't get my divorced. You can find brand new speakers that sounds awesome and not break the bank.
I'm rocking RSL speakers and it's amazing. I did splurge a bit on the PB-2000 Pro recently but that was from the outlet and saved 100 bucks. Maybe a pinch more.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Yeah, I was on the fence about buying RSL myself. Seems like a good deal but, DIY man. IDK, just feel like that's the better deal at the moment.

Them Emotiva's I looked at some time ago as well and through much research ended at the DIY side of things. So, that's where i'm currently at myself. Something really nice will have to pop up to convince me otherwise. But thats just me

 

[Benni777]

Thanks, guys!!

Keep us posted

 

[Hetfield]

Yeah, I was on the fence about buying RSL myself. Seems like a good deal but, DIY man. IDK, just feel like that's the better deal at the moment.

Them Emotiva's I looked at some time ago as well and through much research ended at the DIY side of things. So, that's where i'm currently at myself. Something really nice will have to pop up to convince me otherwise. But thats just me

Emotive I hear are good speakers. Never heard them but never heard anything bad about them. I love my RSL speakers. I'm quite surprised at how good they are and it's the CG3 line. I wonder about the CG5 line now. Someday I'm sure I'll get the itch and try them.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[ryanosaur]

Emo Airmotivs aren't bad... but not great, either. That's beside the way they look, btw. The Tweeter isn't done very well is what I have heard more often than not. I do know of a modded pair of the B1s, I think, that were a significant step up in SQ, but I don't know what Dennis did to the XO to improve them.
I keep hearing rumors that they are revamping their speaker line, too... so who knows? They aren't that old of a line, but Emo is known for relatively short product lifecycles.

 

[ryanosaur]

Is that because they aren't as good sounding as people thought they would be? I honestly can't hear the difference

They aren't great speakers. Somehow they developed a bit of a cult following. To be fair, I don't remember them as sounding wretched... but at the end of the day, that tweeter is rife with issues and is very difficult to integrate with other drivers. Dennis Murphy did a mod of one of the later bookshelf versions:

MurphyBlaster Productions

murphyblaster.com

MurphyBlaster Productions

murphyblaster.com

Anyway...
Yes you can find significantly better gear.
Somebody mentioned JBL Stage...
I would recommend watching for sales on the Studio 5 line instead. The Studio 580 or 590 go on sale frequently at ~50% off, making the some of the best bargains in audio. The owners I have talked to are all solidly impressed with them.

Studio 5 Series Speakers | JBL

Best-in-class JBL studio 5 home speakers & subwoofer delivers robust sound at a professional level and can work with multiple power amplifiers and fit any home decor.

www.jbl.com