Need advice on speaker purchase

[cardude99]

I currently have the onkyo ht s5500 htib system and well it has been nothing but a piece of crap lately. The sub that came with it has failed twice, and the receiver is starting to have a lot of compatibility issues. I am just gonna cut my losses and start from scratch with a new system. This time I will spend a little more in order to get a decent setup. I plan on getting the Yamaha RX-A1020 receiver to start with. As far as speakers go I am completly unsure of what to go with. I have been looking at all sorts of brands but I am not sure of what to go with. I have some criteria that I am looking for that hopefully someone on here can help me pinpoint a good direction to go in.

1. My budget for the speakers and sub is $2000 or less.
2. I want a 7.1 system
3. I plan to hang the surrounds on either the wall or ceiling so a smaller profile would probably be best for those.
4. I would like them to have a good look and appeal to them.
5. I would prefer if they had a screw in mount hole and the ability to use banana plugs rather than bare wire.
6. Obviously this goes without saying but I would like them to all be great quality without being overpriced.

I look forward to your responses. I seem to know what I want but have no idea what I should get.

 

[hizzaah]

What are your room dimensions?

Good looks is subjective, but great quality w/o being overpriced would be Ascend Acoustics
340SE Fronts and Center
170SE for Surrounds and Rear Surrounds (maybe 200SE for rear surrounds if you need them a bit smaller)
1390.00 shipped

HSU VTF3 MK4 for the sub. 800shipped.
VTF-3 MK4 Subwoofer

These are just my go to suggestions as I have them myself and they're recommended frequently here. They come in a tad over your budget after shipping though.

Tell us a bit more about the room and we'll go from there!

 

[English210]

IMHO, speakers are way too subjective and environment-dependent for any recommendations to be much use. Your ears, the room they'll be in, and the budget are the only things that can determine the 'best'. There are lots of great manufacturers out there, and lots of variations in opinion on what makes a good speaker. I know that doesn't help you much, but buying what someone else thinks is 'best' is risky at best. If you can listen to some speakers, and take notes on what you like/don't like, then post up those findings, then you can get more help. Many of the brands I've seen written about here I've never heard of, but if you post up that you like 'Speaker x' for the reasons that it had 'great vocals' and you like that, perhaps someone here familiar with 'Speaker x' can say 'I've heard those, and for that price, look at 'Speaker y' which you may find has even better 'vocals' and improved bass response.'

 

[cardude99]

room size is about 20 x 20 but it is open on two sides.
You have a point I should go to best buy and listen to some different brands.

 

[psbfan9]

You may want to take a look at EMP. I have the E55Ti towers with an E56Ci center in red burl.

Here's one system.

Cinema 7 Compact Home Theater System

For an upgrade, I would suggest a pair of E55Ti, the 56Ci center, a pair of E5Bi bookshelf speakers, and to round out the 7, a pair of E55Wi. For the sub two options; the Es10i or the Es1010i.

EMP E55Ti Tower / E56Ci Center / E55WI Surround & ES1010i Subwoofer Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

EMP offers a free 30 day in home trial and they pay return shipping if you're not satisfied.

 

[lsiberian]

IMHO, speakers are way too subjective and environment-dependent for any recommendations to be much use. Your ears, the room they'll be in, and the budget are the only things that can determine the 'best'. There are lots of great manufacturers out there, and lots of variations in opinion on what makes a good speaker. I know that doesn't help you much, but buying what someone else thinks is 'best' is risky at best. If you can listen to some speakers, and take notes on what you like/don't like, then post up those findings, then you can get more help. Many of the brands I've seen written about here I've never heard of, but if you post up that you like 'Speaker x' for the reasons that it had 'great vocals' and you like that, perhaps someone here familiar with 'Speaker x' can say 'I've heard those, and for that price, look at 'Speaker y' which you may find has even better 'vocals' and improved bass response.'

I've found recommendations made here to be very helpful and useful. While people may have preferences on a 2k budget it's fairly straight forward. The OP is coming from a HTIB so anything will sound better.

I recommend getting the best pair of speakers you can afford and adding a sub and surrounds down the line.

For 2k you can get world class speakers if you buy 2. If you want 7 and a sub it's gonna be lower quality.

SongTower speakers

Salk Songtowers.

Emp has some packages in your price range, but remember you get what you pay for. You've lived with bad speakers why not get something amazing. A great stereo pair does wonders

 

[fuzz092888]

I've found recommendations made here to be very helpful and useful. While people may have preferences on a 2k budget it's fairly straight forward. The OP is coming from a HTIB so anything will sound better.

I recommend getting the best pair of speakers you can afford and adding a sub and surrounds down the line.

For 2k you can get world class speakers if you buy 2. If you want 7 and a sub it's gonna be lower quality.

SongTower speakers

Salk Songtowers.

Emp has some packages in your price range, but remember you get what you pay for. You've lived with bad speakers why not get something amazing. A great stereo pair does wonders

I agree. Since you're coming from a HTIB, you be amazed what a great pair if speakers can do. My guess is that you don't have much experience with the soundstage and imaging a competent pair of speakers would deliver. Sounds like you may be used to a lot of localized sound so going with a big upgrade might amaze you. Get the song towers or similar and then add a sub later.

However if you are totally against this, you'll be sacrificing a lot in one area or another, but can still get a darn good system. Ill throw out the pioneer HT speakers as a recommendation. I think they're excellent, especially for the price.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers

 

[twoeyedbob]

Not sure what's available in the states...but ..personally
I'd go quality rather than quantity
I.e 5.1 over 7.1
Most of the demo systems over here are still 5.1
I'd also say get spkrs from makes who just does spkrs
And sub/s from makers who just do subs
$2k sounds like alot but the more pieces you buy the thinner it's spread
Just my shillingsworth

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[zieglj01]

1. My budget for the speakers and sub is $2000 or less.
2. I want a 7.1 system
3. I plan to hang the surrounds on either the wall or ceiling so a smaller profile would probably be best for those.
4. I would like them to have a good look and appeal to them.
5. I would prefer if they had a screw in mount hole and the ability to use banana plugs rather than bare wire.
6. Obviously this goes without saying but I would like them to all be great quality without being overpriced.

I look forward to your responses. I seem to know what I want but have no idea what I should get.

It is easy to pancake that/your Onkyo system.

I would aim at 3.1 or 5.1 to start

Look at Focal 705V - Looks good and sounds real good. Get 2 pair and use one as a center channel,
it woud be cheaper and better than the regular center.
Dedicated Audio - Focal Chorus 705V Loudspeaker -- WENGE

They (705V) can be wall mounted and used as surrounds -
or look at the Focal Sib
http://www.musicdirect.com/p-4905-focal-sib-compact-speaker-pr.aspx

The HSU VTF-2 Sub, will pancake the Onkyo sub
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk4.html

 

[ousooner2]

Emp has some packages in your price range, but remember you get what you pay for. You've lived with bad speakers why not get something amazing. A great stereo pair does wonders

The e55ti's certainly aren't bad

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

SVS PB12-Plus for $1400 (piano black).
PB12-PLUS - SVS

NHT SuperZero for $100 x 5 = $500 (piano black).

 

[cardude99]

These are all great suggestions, I really appreciate all of the advice. I like the idea of spending my budget on the fronts but I really dont want to spend 1k per speaker. I was looking at the Martin Logan Motion SLM speakers for the front three and then a sub to start then get the surrounds later. I have heard great things about that brand, and I really like the profile of the speakers, but because of how slim they are I am worried they might not produce good enough sound. Are these speakers worth the money? Will the slim factor be a huge negative?

http://www.martinlogan.com/motionSeries/models/ultra-slim.php

I am no audiophile so I prob can not tell the difference between a 5000 speaker and a 2000 one. I just want a good quality setup that I can be proud of and love it every time I listen. Also I am bigger on movies and TV than I am on music. I would say the ratio is about 95/5.

On the sub I would really like to try to keep the price between 500-700, is that price range gonna get me anything good?

 

[twoeyedbob]

Martin logan is a proper audiophile brand..at least last time i looked
Not sure whether these present an awkward load to the amp?
Maybe check that out..might determine what amp you can use?
Sub budget seems low compared to spkrs...doubt you'll get
Something comparable (sq wise) to the front's for that money.
My sub was £800-1000...spkrs were £150-200/pair
The surrounds are definatly the place to save money anyway

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[cardude99]

I just plan on the Yamaha receiver I mentioned in my first post, I really do not want to get a separate amp. Is one of those really necessary?

 

[psbfan9]

These are all great suggestions, I really appreciate all of the advice. I like the idea of spending my budget on the fronts but I really dont want to spend 1k per speaker. I was looking at the Martin Logan Motion SLM speakers for the front three and then a sub to start then get the surrounds later. I have heard great things about that brand, and I really like the profile of the speakers, but because of how slim they are I am worried they might not produce good enough sound. Are these speakers worth the money? Will the slim factor be a huge negative?

MartinLogan Motion® Series, Premium compact home theater speakers

I am no audiophile so I prob can not tell the difference between a 5000 speaker and a 2000 one. I just want a good quality setup that I can be proud of and love it every time I listen. Also I am bigger on movies and TV than I am on music. I would say the ratio is about 95/5.

On the sub I would really like to try to keep the price between 500-700, is that price range gonna get me anything good?

Again, I'm going to suggest EMPTek. They seem to fit your needs. You also get a free 'in home' trial. So you'll be able to hear them in your room as opposed to the listening room at BestBuy. I am very happy with my E55's. Are they as good as the Salks? Probably not, but at their the price point ($795.00 a pair or less), they're damn good speakers.

I just plan on the Yamaha receiver I mentioned in my first post, I really do not want to get a separate amp. Is one of those really necessary?

Nope. You don't need an external amp unless you want one.

 

[cardude99]

Okay that is good to know, I will look into those, thanks again for the recommendation.

 

[lsiberian]

I am no audiophile so I prob can not tell the difference between a 5000 speaker and a 2000 one. I just want a good quality setup that I can be proud of and love it every time I listen. Also I am bigger on movies and TV than I am on music. I would say the ratio is about 95/5.

I am nearly that ratio and I understand the desire for surround sound. The Pioneer set or the EMP set is perfect for that.

FWIW you can use your old speakers for surrounds. They should do fine.

I recommend using your old HTIB speakers for the surrounds and getting a front 3 with a nice receiver and maybe a subwoofer like the SVS 1000