Would like L/C/R Suggestions on a $1k budget. Used is fine. Towers preferred.

[ErinH]

I'm nearing the end of my HT construction and am now looking for the gear.

• Room is ~ 17x23x8'. Carpeted. One window in the back.
• The setup will be FP. I started a thread on this here if you have suggestions for a $2000-2500 FP/screen combo.
• I have a denon 587 currently. I do have plans to upgrade later this year, though.
• I currently own a set of Aperion Intimus 4, previous generation. They sound pretty dang nice, really so I'm going to keep them for rear surrounds just to keep the costs down a tad.
• I will be using the room for 80% movies, 20% music, mos tlikely.
• I'm looking for Towers for the 2 mains simply due to aesthetics. Was going to try to get a vertical center, but just can't seem to incorporate it so a standard horizontal it is.
• Budget is $1k, max (including shipping). I could MAYBE stretch it $100 or so, but that's it.
• Prefer black or dark colors in general.
• I do not mind buying used or b-stock at all.
  

Now that I've kind of given specifics, let me say this...
I've been on the lookout on this board for quite a while for suggestions that might suit me. The problem is that there are so many various companies I'm unaware of, that it's very likely I could easily look over something that would be perfect for me.
Additionally, I don't know much about mfg's and their products.
Coming from car audio, I've messed a lot with raw drivers (seas, vifa, tang band, peerless, scanspeak, etc). I've also ran Dyn drivers in my car, too. So, I have experience with different brands... just not any mfgs who use these drivers in their products.

I love the neutrality of the Dyns, but also really enjoy the warmth of scanspeak.
I was looking at the av123 elt525t's for only $300 and pick up a center from them for another $200 or so (bstock for $130). But, with all the bad press they've been receiving, I'm not sure I want to go that route.

My wife is the 2nd party here, so she doesn't really care about sound. Ultimately it's my decision as she just wants me to have it up (honestly think she's more pumped on this than I am right now, lol).

So, any suggestions you fellas could give would be great.

Currently I have a BIC h100 10" sub. I might go IB on the sides of the walls because the HT room is upstairs. So, yes, I will be running a sub. But, at the same time would prefer the towers to get pretty dang low on their own because when I do listen to music, it's subjectively. I'd like to have a decent reference system, but ultimately the HT portion will trump the true music portion.


Hope I haven't ran you guys off by all this typing. I"m just trying to be really clear about my wants and needs. Thanks again.

- Erin

 

[captiankirk28]

Not sure if you are interested but i am selling my SVS MTS-01 and my center the MCS-01 for $1400 and i will pay for half the shipping. They are about 5 months old and in mint cond.

Kirk

 

[ErinH]

That $1400 is about $400 out of my budget, lol.

But, thanks for the offer. I just have to stick to this budget.

 

[Davemcc]

Have you considered just getting two towers for now and running a phantom center until you can afford a center speaker? That would get you into the Focal Chorus or B&W 684 range.

 

[CraigV]

Vanns, Onecall or accessories4less KEF IQ5 & IQ6c

 

[ErinH]

thanks for the suggestions. I've ran phantom center before in a temp setup. Then ran a true center. I just preferred the true center. I'll consider your suggestion, though.


Just an updated picture:

 

[Tomorrow]

Hi Erin.

For a quality, new, decent looking pair of mains and center, neutral, dynamic, undervalued, I'd strongly suggest these...http://store.audioholics.com/product/1171/0/yamaha-ns-777-3-way-tower-speaker--each- with one of these...http://store.audioholics.com/product/1156/66353/yamaha-ns-c325-2-way-center-channel-speaker. This set will leave you a little change for cables, etc. No one should knock these speakers until they've A/B'ed them with others in their price class (and above). Yamaha is really putting out some nice speakers for the money.

For "warm" sounding speakers, ERA puts out a pair of fine looking towers that are voiced similarly to Aerials, but they are a bit over your price point (unless you can find a dealer willing to haggle). http://signalpathint.com/index.php/Design-10-Series/

And if you're going to keep your Aperions...what about the 4T towers plus center? They're within your budget.

For used loudspeakers, should you be interested, bandphan seems to have a knack of finding nice deals on a-gon. Maybe he'll chime in.

 

[Tomorrow]

A quick perusal of a-gon showed this nice little setup of mains and center. Perhaps you could negotiate a deal with the seller. (I have no interest or connection.)

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1248806540&/Monitor-Audio-RS-8-Rose-Nut and

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1248806543&/Monitor-Audio-rs-lcr-Black

The MA silver series won't be as warm as some speakers, but they're not in-your-face either. I think of these as very nice HT speakers with musical clarity.

 

[Matt34]

Ascend Acoustics is having a moving sale.

http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4000

 

[ErinH]

Thanks guys. I had looked at the Ascend but you have to spend an extra $145 or something close to that for stands, which I wasn't really a fan of.


I'll keep checking out the suggestions. Those yamaha's actually do look nice.
The aperions are a possibility, but I think I'd like to try something else. Still not out of question, though.

Thanks again fellas.

 

[Matt34]

Thanks guys. I had looked at the Ascend but you have to spend an extra $145 or something close to that for stands, which I wasn't really a fan of.


I'll keep checking out the suggestions. Those yamaha's actually do look nice.
The aperions are a possibility, but I think I'd like to try something else. Still not out of question, though.

Thanks again fellas.

The stands are only $100 if ordered with the 340's. Those Yamaha's do look interesting, too bad they don't come in a cherry finish, I would give them a try if they did.

 

[Tomorrow]

By way of a late edit...if you consider the Yamahas, you may want to look at the NS-444. It's a better match for the towers, I think, and comes in at half the 325's price.

 

[ErinH]

those yamahas are looking pretty nice, man.

http://www.etronics.com/p-36659-yamaha-ns-777-three-way-bass-reflex-speaker-system-each.aspx
^ best price short of $10 by a trusted etailer.

I may order the aperions and take advantage of the 30day trial just to compare the 2.

any other suggestions, guys?

 

[jostenmeat]

Without looking up the specs, the one thing I'd be concerned about with Aperion, most particularly in a dedicated HT situation, is low sensitivity. I've even seen 82 db/w listed before. That's just too low IMO.

The one thing with towers, for music, at entry/mid price points is that I haven't heard a pair with good midbass clarity. For HT, I don't really care; I want that extension even at the expense of its clarity. I mean, if I'm on a budget. IOW, I'll take midlevel towers over hi-fi monitors for dedicated HT mains.

How about just buying the front three? You can mismatch the surrounds for now with nearly anything for the time being. For instance, you can find PSB T65 + C60 at the top limit of your budget. Or substitute with T55 or T45 and have change left over.

EDIT: otherwise, I think the Ascend deal will be extremely hard to beat if going bookshelves. Will be relatively easy to drive, with excellent offaxis performance. Sure, some will say go with "pro" monitors, like Yamaha, Behringer, KRK... but outside of that kind of thing... I really like Ascend.

 

[agarwalro]

• Room is ~ 17x23x8'. Carpeted. One window in the back.
• I currently own a set of Aperion Intimus 4, previous generation. They sound pretty dang nice, really so I'm going to keep them for rear surrounds just to keep the costs down a tad.
  [*]I will be using the room for 80% movies, 20% music, mos tlikely.
• I'm looking for Towers for the 2 mains simply due to aesthetics. Was going to try to get a vertical center, but just can't seem to incorporate it so a standard horizontal it is.
• Budget is $1k, max (including shipping). I could MAYBE stretch it $100 or so, but that's it.

- Erin

Erin, just get bookshelf speakers from Aperion to complete the setup. Given that you are looking mostly for movies, there is no point spending the money on towers. Rather, put the money towards a better subwoofer or maybe 2 subs...

 

[lsiberian]

Erin I used to run a Beta front set and for a theater I've found little better.

2 Beta 40 or 50s paired with a 360 would make an amazing front sound stage for home theater. The Beta's have great extension and bass which is what a person wants in their theater room. For home theater I've found few speakers with that kind of bass.

I'd probably have gone that route if I hadn't gone DIY.

 

[bandphan]

Aldo consider the Swan Diva 4.2s @ 799pr right now, with the center your over budget by a couple of dollars, without shipping. You might be able to work with Jon
http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php/loudspeakers/swan-diva/p/swan-diva-4-2/cPath/21_25_22/products_id/35

 

[lsiberian]

Aldo consider the Swan Diva 4.2s @ 799pr right now, with the center your over budget by a couple of dollars, without shipping. You might be able to work with Jon
http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php/loudspeakers/swan-diva/p/swan-diva-4-2/cPath/21_25_22/products_id/35

That would be a slick deal. Still he seems kind of set on the budget. With Home theater fidelity isn't as big of a deal as LFE IMO. This is why I push my speakers against the wall in my room.

Those swans would sure look nice in my setup though. I can't wait till I build my speakers someday though.

 

[ErinH]

hey, guys, thanks for the suggestions.

i've been on jury duty all week and am typing from my BB so this will be quick.

I appreciate the suggestions. i'll try to come back here when I get some time to look at them.

I contacted aperion about b-stock and had some good feedback about their 5-series speakers. May be able to swing something just a tad over budget.

Thsoe swans are SICK! I'll definately look into that. I was going to go the DIY route, but am so limited with time I just can't put that much effort into it right now so I'm considering just not going that route.

Thanks again.