Hey everyone.
Love this website. I've been using the reviews and the forums to help guide myself in the right direction, in what has become the begining of my adventure and addiction to the hifi/audiophile world. I apologize for posting such a generic thread and something that I'm sure you regulars get tired of seeing but I can't find any postings that are similar enough to my requirements that I think I could choose the right speakers for my application.
Right now I live in small apartment. The room the system will be in is about 12 ft long by 10 ft wide. I have $1500 to spend and I really hope to keep my price around that. The system will be used 95% for music and 5% for movies. I watch maybe 2 movies a week and honestly movies aren't that important to me. My current plan is to spend the 1500 on two bookshelf speakers, a sub, and a reciever. Then, when I get a house I'll convert the bookshelves to surrounds, pick up towers to replace them and obviously buy a center channel speaker to complete the package. Bookshelves as surrounds may not be optimal, but I'm sure they will meet my needs just fine.
How the speakers sound with music is extremely important to me. 5+ hours a weeknights and 10+ hours on weekends my current speakers bellow out music, so non-fatiguing is very important. I also have diverse musical tastes but I mostly listen to hard alternative, alternative and indie. Tool, Slipknot, Breaking Benjamin, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, Muse, etc. When I'm in a chill mood I'll also do techno, classical and jazz. Small bits of country and hip hop are mixed in if I'm in the right mood.
What really concerns me after reading through various thread and also doing some listening tests is that I frequently listen to death metal, cds released by local bands and live bootlegs. Knowing that all of these things are poorly produced and recorded doesn't make me enjoy them any less. Basically, I need your help in finding a very forgiving and laid back speaker. If I have to give up some clarity and flat/truthfullness in response to be able to listen to some of my favorite albums without grimacing b/c of the way they (really) sound, I'm willing to do that.
Speaker wise, so far I have listened to
Polk Tsi - Sounded good but nothing special.
Klipsh - to sharp for my taste in music.
KEF - seemed to lack a bit in the bass department.
The recent shootout article seemed to suggest Yamaha and Behringer. I don't like the idea of the Behringer because its a studio monitor, which in my mind says precision response, which in turn will likely lead to poorly recorded things (things I enjoy) sounding like ****. If those assumptions are wrong, please let me know. The Yamaha's look interesting, but I do have a higher budget than what the article had, so if there is something better I'd definately consider those instead. I've read lots of suggestions for more obscure brands on this website, PSB, Energy, Wharfedale come to mind quickly. Not being able to easily listen to any of these more obscure brands, I'm hoping your expertise coupled with knowing what kind of stuff I listen to will help me windle down the mail audition list or possibly just help me settle on speaker without spending several more weeks researching.
Thanks a ton for you help. Sorry for the long post.
