LF advice on Home theater speakers

[Waikru]

Hello all,

I would love/appreciate any advice regarding speaker selection. I will be setting up a 5.1 system in my 15x15 living room, and am not sure where to start with speaker selection. I have an unfounded aversion to HTiB, which makes selection daunting. But perhaps there are HTiB's worth looking at in my price range? I'm pretty unfamiliar with audio brands, and i've had poor luck finding nice shops locally(aside from the usual suspects, bestbuy,circuitcity,etc), so i'm worried that i will not be able to sample most brands.

I would like to keep my budget for speakers at ~$1200.

I will most likely be connecting these speakers to a Pioneer VSX-920-K receiver.

I currently have two Klipsch floor standing speakers (which i'm not all that impressed with), somewhat equivelant to the F-10 model, but from 1999. Should i replace these, if only to keep the 3 front channels sonically on par?

Regarding the sub, i'm more interested in quality over quantity, and do not want to kill my downstairs neighbors(i live in an apt.).

Thank you in advance
-J

 

[zieglj01]

Hello all,

I would love/appreciate any advice regarding speaker selection. I will be setting up a 5.1 system in my 15x15 living room, and am not sure where to start with speaker selection. I have an unfounded aversion to HTiB, which makes selection daunting. But perhaps there are HTiB's worth looking at in my price range? I'm pretty unfamiliar with audio brands, and i've had poor luck finding nice shops locally(aside from the usual suspects, bestbuy,circuitcity,etc), so i'm worried that i will not be able to sample most brands.

I would like to keep my budget for speakers at ~$1200.

I will most likely be connecting these speakers to a Pioneer VSX-920-K receiver.

I currently have two Klipsch floor standing speakers (which i'm not all that impressed with), somewhat equivelant to the F-10 model, but from 1999. Should i replace these, if only to keep the 3 front channels sonically on par?

Regarding the sub, i'm more interested in quality over quantity, and do not want to kill my downstairs neighbors(i live in an apt.).

Thank you in advance
-J

If you are not impressed with th Klipsch speakers - then try to
sell them to help with a new purchase. Look for a good subwoofer
from HSU (hsuresearch) or SVS (svsound) for quality. Go over to
onecall.com and look at the Boston VR1 tower speakers and the
VRC center for your front channels. They are a good online dealer.
You can buy entry level Boston bookshelf speakers for the rear.
If you don't mind bookshelf speakers then go to Nhthfi.com and
look at getting 5 NHT Absolute Zero speakers for your 5.1 surround.
A third option which is a good surround package is the Definitive
Pro Cinema 800 system - this is head and shoulders above normal
HTIB systems that can be bought from Crutchfield. A good online
store. Since you are in an apartment - you can control the sub
volume.

 

[Waikru]

If you are not impressed with th Klipsch speakers - then try to
sell them to help with a new purchase. Look for a good subwoofer
from HSU (hsuresearch) or SVS (svsound) for quality. Go over to
onecall.com and look at the Boston VR1 tower speakers and the
VRC center for your front channels. They are a good online dealer.
You can buy entry level Boston bookshelf speakers for the rear.
If you don't mind bookshelf speakers then go to Nhthfi.com and
look at getting 5 NHT Absolute Zero speakers for your 5.1 surround.
A third option which is a good surround package is the Definitive
Pro Cinema 800 system - this is head and shoulders above normal
HTIB systems that can be bought from Crutchfield. A good online
store. Since you are in an apartment - you can control the sub
volume.

Thank you for the advice. Is it a poor idea to mix front and center channels from different companies? For instance, if i did keep my old front L/R Klipsch speakers, should i definately stick with a klipsch center channel, or would it not even matter because they are so old?

Does anyone know about Fluance speakers? The price makes me skeptical, but it does leave a lot of room in the budget for a sub.

What other brands are similar to boston acoutics, klipsch for price/quality ratio?

Thanks much.
-J

 

[jumpnblues]

Check out SVS. Huge bang for the buck and highly regarded by forumites and those who've heard 'em. Just ordered both 7.1 and 5.1 SVS systems for 2 separate rooms. I've not heard them, so it's a bit of a gamble for me. But forum participants have told me I'll really like them. And their prices are right up your (and my) alley. Check 'em out at the link below.

www.svsound.com


Tom

 

[GranteedEV]

Have you considered moving the klipsches behind/beside your sofa as surrounds? It's not written in stone that surrounds have to be bookshelves. Pllus the less linear, more "effect"y sound of klipsches might not sound too bad for..well..effects. Plus they're probably high sensitivity which is useful for surrounds.

Then you can buy a tonally matched 3.1 front stage instead.

Like

2x Aperion Intimus 5t - $500 + 1x Aperion 5c - $350 = $850 for the fronts

You can't go wrong with the SVS', Axiom, or EMP Tek either.

...which leaves 350 for a sub(or you can step down to the 4t and 4c and spend more on a sub, which is understandable if it's for HT). A couple suggestions:

HSU STF-2 - $350
elemental designs A2 - 250 - $350
SVS PB-10 NSD - $499
Epik Legend - $499
Axiom EP125 - $375
Aperion Bravus 8D
Outlaw LFM1-Compact

Or if you're okay with no finish or self-finish, DIY Kits are fairly easy and offer better bang-for-buck (which is my recommendation):

A few you might look into are

Elemental designs e3.12 - $180
Dayton 10" Titanic Mk III - $399

 

[fredk]

Thats a fair sized room. How close are you going to be to the speakers when listening?

 

[zieglj01]

Thank you for the advice. Is it a poor idea to mix front and center channels from different companies? For instance, if i did keep my old front L/R Klipsch speakers, should i definately stick with a klipsch center channel, or would it not even matter because they are so old?

Does anyone know about Fluance speakers? The price makes me skeptical, but it does leave a lot of room in the budget for a sub.

What other brands are similar to boston acoutics, klipsch for price/quality ratio?

Thanks much.
-J

Do not mix up the brand on front channels - I would not make Fluance
my first choice - the reviews are not that strong.

 

[Waikru]

I really would like to post links, so i apologize for this message.

 

[Waikru]

Have you considered moving the klipsches behind/beside your sofa as surrounds? It's not written in stone that surrounds have to be bookshelves. Pllus the less linear, more "effect"y sound of klipsches might not sound too bad for..well..effects. Plus they're probably high sensitivity which is useful for surrounds.

Then you can buy a tonally matched 3.1 front stage instead.

Like

2x Aperion Intimus 5t - $500 + 1x Aperion 5c - $350 = $850 for the fronts

You can't go wrong with the SVS', Axiom, or EMP Tek either.

...which leaves 350 for a sub(or you can step down to the 4t and 4c and spend more on a sub, which is understandable if it's for HT). A couple suggestions:

HSU STF-2 - $350
elemental designs A2 - 250 - $350
SVS PB-10 NSD - $499
Epik Legend - $499
Axiom EP125 - $375
Aperion Bravus 8D
Outlaw LFM1-Compact

Or if you're okay with no finish or self-finish, DIY Kits are fairly easy and offer better bang-for-buck (which is my recommendation):

A few you might look into are

Elemental designs e3.12 - $180
Dayton 10" Titanic Mk III - $399

That's some great advice. I'm very interested in a diy sub, because spending 300-$400 is pretty much my price cap for a sub atm and i'm all for getting bang4buck. I didn't think of moving the klipsch to the rear, which i really wish i could do, however the room is a little cluttered so the rear's will pretty much need to go on furniture. There are cabinets and a large computer work space behind the couch.

The center of the couch is ~8 feet from the front channels, the rear's will most likely be placed ~5 ft behind the couch. I might be able to fit the rears directly to the side of the couch, depending on the size of the speaker/stands, but it might be obtrusive to the walkway around the couch. The sub will go in one of the rear corners, about 6ft behind the couch.

 

[Waikru]

i guess 5 posts prevents link spammage, understandable.

 

[Waikru]

I'm thinking along the lines of:

-DIY 12" sub
-EMP E5ti and matching center OR This Boston AcousticVR3 set.
-Rears are undecided but will probably be bought last.

What do you guys think between two two choices for front channels? They are pretty much on par price wise.

Also i've changed my mind on the receiver, do either of these have a significant difference in quality?


-Onkyo Tx-sr707l
-Marantz Sr5003l

 

[fredk]

I don't know anything about either of the speakers you posted. A diy sub will give good value if you can build one.

In that space, you might end up needing more than one sub.

 

[zieglj01]

The Boston is a discontinued price - it use to cost more. I can not
speak for the Emp. The Bostons sound good and are built well. If
you are confident - then diy the sub.