SVS or AV123?

[Soundman]

OK I've had to adjust my budget a bit. I put some money into a good amp, figured i'll need it long term. So, here's the situation, both the av123 X series speakers, and the SVS scs speaker packages fall in the same price range. This is a HT setup. So, here's the question: Who would you go for? I like the great HT reviews of the SVS's, but I also like the real wood av123 speakers. Both seem to have great reviews, I've posted something similar before, but decided to post this one because I realize that getting x-series towers could be just as economical as bookshelves (no stands to purchase), so that's an option. Not sure if quality would suffer though. Anyway, cast your vote here: If you were looking for a nice budget system for HT use, which way would you go? I haven't seen anything in this price range that looks as good as these. Please correct me if I'm wrong. All opinions are welcome.

 

[j_garcia]

Sound wise, I actually like the X-series better than the SBS-01s. I think 3 SCS-01s up front might change that though; but if you are interested in the towers, the choice seems clear. For strictly HT though, I'd probably lean towards SVS simply for the sub, unless you intend to upgrade the sub that comes with the X_packages to something larger from them or someone else.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I am neutral on the choice. HT is just not that difficult to do; I would say go for the one that has the best center and best sub.

 

[Soundman]

I am neutral on the choice. HT is just not that difficult to do; I would say go for the one that has the best center and best sub.

I'm not sure who has the best center, but i think it is clear that an SVS sub is the way to go. Either way, I'll get an SVS sub, prob. go with one of their plus subs, but not sure about speakers. I still havent decided about bookshelves or towers, but its nice to know its an option with the X series. Their speakers do look prettier too.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Well then I am going to change my answer.

I would go with the AV123s and the SVS sub.

I'm not sure who has the best center, but i think it is clear that an SVS sub is the way to go. Either way, I'll get an SVS sub, prob. go with one of their plus subs, but not sure about speakers. I still havent decided about bookshelves or towers, but its nice to know its an option with the X series. Their speakers do look prettier too.

 

[j_garcia]

How big is your room?

 

[Soundman]

How big is your room?

my room is about 16x16 with a vaulted ceiling that is about 12ft 8in at the highest point. It also opens up into the kitchen. The kitchen ai about the same size room, slightly larger. However, the ceiliing is not as high in the kitchen. All other rooms can be closed off.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Holy cow; that's going to require quite a sub!

 

[j_garcia]

Yep. A decent sub at the very least. I'd look at the SVS package and step up to the PB-12 rather than the PB-10. I've heard the PB-12 in a room about that size and it did fairly well. I had the PB-10 in a room that was 19x20 high vaulted ceiling and open to the kitchen and it did quite well but I wanted a bit more.

 

[zumbo]

I don't see an actual budget, but you may want to look at Aperion for your speakers. There are members here who really seem to like them. I know they look good, and the specs are decent as well.

http://www.aperionaudio.com/home.aspx

For a sub, I would spend a little more for the HSU 12".

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2-mk3.html

Another idea I haven't heard much about lately:
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast2.html

There is the Athena Audition option as well. Available all over the net.
http://www.athenaspeakers.com/v2/productlines.php?ident=Audition+Series+2

 

[mazersteven]

In my humble opinion. This is what I would do if I was looking for an HT system between $1000-$1500.

2- x-mtm Tower
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=105.1

3- x-cs Center/Main/Surround
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=91.1

1- Rocket UFW-10 Subwoofer
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=subwoofers&product=1.1

or -----------------------------------------------------

5- x-cs Center/Main/Surround
http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=91.1

1- SB12-Plus
http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-sb12plus.cfm

or -----------------------------------------------------

System 33-3000
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340mhts.html

This system would come to $1145 plus shipping with this offer.

This is a e-mail I received from Ascend this morning.

We have a limited quantity of fully recertified CMT-340 SE pairs that we are now offering for sale at only $458 per pair. These speakers, what we are now calling "340 Recerts" for short, have been fully refurbished using brand new woofers and tweeters.

The majority of these units are trade-ins from customers that have upgraded; others are units that we have marked as B-stock due to a very minor scratch or nick. We have fully cleaned and touched up the cabinets where appropriate, installed new woofers and tweeters, and each unit has passed our industry-leading production line performance assurances.

I guarantee you, these units are as good as new, and if not, they are still backed by our 30-day satisfaction guarantee. The only stipulation is that we are using unshielded tweeters in these models. The woofers are fully shielded but because the tweeters are not, we recommend at least 2 feet of clearance from a CRT style monitor. The lack of shielding on these tweeters has absolutely no affect on performance. I assure you, these are our award-warning CMT-340 SE through and through...

The 340 Recerts are available right now and these are fully eligible for our standard package price discounting.

Order here http://www.ascendacoustics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=BASK&Store_Code=AD&Action=ADPR&Product_Code=9CM34SBM2R&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1

Just add subwoofer.

 

[abboudc]

Both.

I'd go with:
1 X-CS
4 X-LS
SVS 25-31PCi or PB-10 if your budget doesn't allow the 25-31

 

[autoboy]

my room is about 16x16 with a vaulted ceiling that is about 12ft 8in at the highest point. It also opens up into the kitchen. The kitchen ai about the same size room, slightly larger. However, the ceiliing is not as high in the kitchen. All other rooms can be closed off.

I have the exact same room. My room is cut off by a 10x7 open doorway though that might make my room appear smaller than yours to the sub. My SVS PB12-NSD is enough sub for my room. I'm not an audio expert but I'm really wondering how much more boom can you get?

 

[Derrleak]

Hey I was in your EXACT same situation and just now getting out of it. I ended up settling with the x-series speakers even though they are quite large. My room is about the same minus the ceiling. I am considering getting the MTM's due to the bass and the fact they reach the listeners ear better...I hear you just have to prepared for there size. I didn't get an x-sub though...SVS obviously dominates there so I got a PB-10 with a Onkyo 605, a x-cs center speaker (big also) and still waiting to get into my place to make measurments to see if the MTM's would be a bit to large...i'll probably get them anyways =P Hope that helps considering I've been going through this fight with myself for 3 weeks after MUCH research...Let me know what you end up doing

 

[Soundman]

Hey I was in your EXACT same situation and just now getting out of it. I ended up settling with the x-series speakers even though they are quite large. My room is about the same minus the ceiling. I am considering getting the MTM's due to the bass and the fact they reach the listeners ear better...I hear you just have to prepared for there size. I didn't get an x-sub though...SVS obviously dominates there so I got a PB-10 with a Onkyo 605, a x-cs center speaker (big also) and still waiting to get into my place to make measurments to see if the MTM's would be a bit to large...i'll probably get them anyways =P Hope that helps considering I've been going through this fight with myself for 3 weeks after MUCH research...Let me know what you end up doing

reach ear better? with proper stands, wouldn't any speaker in the x-series work? i was actually starting to consider getting 3 x-cs's across the front and x-ls's for rears. When you say settle, what do you mean? content with the settup? i know there are better speakers out there, but for the price this seems pretty good from everything i've heard and read. thanks for the input.

 

[avaserfi]

reach ear better? with proper stands, wouldn't any speaker in the x-series work? i was actually starting to consider getting 3 x-cs's across the front and x-ls's for rears. When you say settle, what do you mean? content with the settup? i know there are better speakers out there, but for the price this seems pretty good from everything i've heard and read. thanks for the input.

With proper stands and tweeters appropriately placed (ear level) it shouldn't matter. Getting 3 x-cs's for the fronts and then using x-ls's for the rears is a great idea, I would suggest placing all the x-cs's vertically if at all possible as it should give you better sound quality.

If these speakers max out your budget or even stretch it a little I would think you would be more than content with them .

 

[Soundman]

With proper stands and tweeters appropriately placed (ear level) it shouldn't matter. Getting 3 x-cs's for the fronts and then using x-ls's for the rears is a great idea, I would suggest placing all the x-cs's vertically if at all possible as it should give you better sound quality.

If these speakers max out your budget or even stretch it a little I would think you would be more than content with them .

thanks for the input. Question though. How does placing the center channel vertically giving me better sound quality? I will obviously be placing the LR channels vertically, but placing the center channel vertically may present more of a challenge.

 

[avaserfi]

thanks for the input. Question though. How does placing the center channel vertically giving me better sound quality? I will obviously be placing the LR channels vertically, but placing the center channel vertically may present more of a challenge.

This is an article explaining the situation and shows that you are on the right track using the same speaker as the fronts and center but the next step is all vertical placement :

http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/vertical-vs-horizontal-speaker-designs

I have actually had a chance to meet the author of this article and talk to him about it. It was a very interesting conversation and I learned a lot . I was lucky enough to have met his neighbor on avrant and got introduced to Chris as well.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You should really consider putting in a ceiling. Not only will it make your system sound better but it will also keep you warm and dry

Hey I was in your EXACT same situation and just now getting out of it. I ended up settling with the x-series speakers even though they are quite large. My room is about the same minus the ceiling.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You could do it like this. This is how I did mine which I thought was a temp solution but now I actually like it and may leave it.

thanks for the input. Question though. How does placing the center channel vertically giving me better sound quality? I will obviously be placing the LR channels vertically, but placing the center channel vertically may present more of a challenge.