Best pair of speakers around $1K with solid state Yamaha AVR?

[Ponzio]

When it comes to deciding what speaker model to buy for less than $1K, I think the words of the great philosopher, Professor Foghorn Leghorn, come to mind in describing my current dilemma; “the boy is more mixed up than a feather in a whirlwind.”

The proliferation of speaker reviews on the internet is mind boggling and the lack of manufacturers’ dealerships to listen to them just adds to the confusion. I will be hooking up these speakers to a Yamaha RX-V2600. I have no plans to get a separate amp or mono-blocks (tube or solid state) though I recognize/understand/verified their superior advantages; it’s just not in the budget. They will go into a 14’x14’x8’ room with an existing sweet sounding Athena P1 sub, 2 Polk Monitor 50’s & a Polk CS2 center channel speaker. 90% of the time I will be listening to 2 channel music, fed from my PC to the Yamaha, of MP3/FLAC files. I care not one whit whether they are bookshelf/floor-standers/powered monitors and the aesthetics to me are secondary to the sound. I currently own a pair of Focal 1027Be and associated center (CC100Be) & surround speakers (1007Be) in the living room, with a Velodyne DLS-4000 sub, that I’m very, very happy with. All were purchased pre-owned on Audiogon and eBay. Everything is powered by a Yamaha RX-V4600 AVR with an Oppo BDP-105 player. But this is a shared 20’x20’x8’ family room and the missus is a casual music fan at best, so I really don’t spend enough time in there as I’d like to. Realistically I should just take the Focal 1007Be surrounds and move them into my office (the overall sound with the Athena sub was magnificent) and be done with it but Princes Mawa objected strenuously when I put back the PSB B-4 surrounds, for aesthetic reasons; she loves the complements we get from friends and family on the Focal Classic veneer & design aesthetics and since I recently went on long term disability her vote carries greater weight at this time. While the B-4’s sounded good as mains, surprisingly the Monitor 50’s I bought used as a stop gap measure sounded better and I think I can do way better than them; hence my quest. I’ve been able to audition the current Totem, Paradigm, Focal, B&W, Klipsch, Dynaudio & PSB speaker lines locally the last 8 months and some have stood out, the Focal Chorus 726v, the Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.5 and the Dynaudio Excite X12’s come to mind, and I like what I’ve read about the Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1s NrT, the LSA 1 and Aperion Audio Verus Forte models on the internet. After purchasing the used Polk Monitor 50 floor-standers though it got me to thinking that I might get more bang for the buck buying a set of floor-standers. Side note; I sold a pair of Polk LS-70 speakers I owned 4 years ago, which I now truly regret, but I was so impressed, at the time, by the advances in speaker technology that I thought I could purchase something better in that price range. Sorry to be long winded but what I wanted to give you the reader an overview of where I stand and to ask whether I’m better off with a floor-stander vs. bookshelf. I will keep the Athena sub no matter what because I occasionally watch TV/streaming movies from Netflix and I can always buy a matching center speaker in the future. I realize everyone has their manufacturer preferences and being objective is subjective … does that make sense? … but as a novice to this whole audiophile thing I don’t want to wake up 4 years from now and realize I could’ve bought a floor-stander under/around/slightly more than $1000 and gotten better depth, soundstage, imaging and dynamics than a similarly priced bookshelf speaker.

Thank you for your patience and I look forward to your response.

 

[ImcLoud]

So this is a PC Ran to your AVR? Do you have a picture of where this is going, I am having trouble picturing this as a HT setup or a office desk??? And you want it to work with your sub and fronts to complete a 5.1 or?

IMHO, I like the Ascend Sierra's the best for your budget. Although, I think the Ascend line sounds MUCH better with a lot of power, I'm not sure why, but when powered with an amplifier that has a ton of headroom they sound like they are not even trying, deeper bass, full mids, and defined highs like no other speaker I have heard in their price range.... Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they don't sound great with a lesser amp section, I have played them with my 20x20 t class and they sound fine, but for some reason if you play them with a 300 watt amplifier at the same sound level they sound a lot better...

If you are into "something different", I bought a pair of Tekton Lores and they constantly surprise me, I power them with a 40w tube amp {aesthetic reasons, not quality or longevity} and they sound amazing, live music sounds like you are there. They produce music you can feel if that makes any sense... There are some people that aren't fans of the brand but I have never heard a bad review from someone that actually heard them (actually no bad reviews at all), and Eric the owner makes every speaker by hand himself, and has no shortage of work {so be prepared to wait}... But for your budget they are worth looking into, and down the line when you want a center, he will custom make you one... Out of all my systems, the Tektons get the most compliments, ours are Ferrari satin red but he will do them in any color you want, or veneer... I never owned red speakers before so I went for it... I'm thinking of getting a set of M-lores for my office foyer and think White to match my trucks with my company logo will be next, one of the nice things about the Tekton line is you don't need a huge power hungry amplifier, a $30 lepai 2020a will make them scream and sound very clear...

But anyway there are a lot of options out there, just have to plug in your ears and make a decision... I also just got my Wharfedale Denton anniversary bookshelfs, and they are awesome, I'm powering them with a small a-b amplifier rite now and an ipod since I haven't decided where to put them and I have to say they were well worth the cost, sound wise they are up there with anyother bookshelf I have ever heard, I used to think my Evo08's were the fastest most musical Bookshelfs I ever heard {to me the evo2 08s are one of the most capable bookshelfs that no one paid any attention to}, but the new Dentons have surpassed them.. And the retro look with the new technology is just something that other companies aren't picking up on, so much character with the sound of something that should cost much more... WHARFEDALE DENTON LIMITED EDITION BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS (PR) at Music Direct

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

CMT-340 SE MINI-TOWER MONITOR - you are probably not going to find better speakers for the money, add optional stands and shipping you should be well below your budget
You'll have 30 days 100% money back guarantee.

Another option which I have heard and like a lot is Emptek E55Ti towers at $350/ea
EMP Tek E55Ti Tower Speakers

I have been unimpressed with anything Polk, south of LSi series and their bang for the buck ratio are terrible

 

[Ponzio]

ImcLoud - The PC 3.5 analog sound card is outputted to the Yamaha RX-V2600 analog CD input (no DAC). Now if I could purchase a CD/DVD player with the Sabre-32 DAC chip proccesor, like my OIppo BDP-105 has, for less than $300 I’d jump on it like a kid at an ice cream tasting fair. Ain’t gonna happen, I know. It’s currently setup in a 2.1(?) configuration [2 mains, center & sub]. Most of the time I’m listening in stereo mode to the mains & sub; I only engage the center channel for TV/streaming video in the office. Musically I’m all over the place, from rock, early country, blues, early jazz and their sub-genres, to the occasional classical & rap. So I’m looking for a Swiss army knife type speaker. The Tekton Lores are news to me and I will be following up on them soon, as well as the Wharfdale Denton’s. Thanks for the heads up.

BoredSysAdmin – As ImcLoud stated above you can’t go wrong with the Ascend Sierra 1’s and I would assume the CMT-340’s are close/similar considering their price point. I simply don’t know because I have yet to hear either one. If I can pick up a pair of 1 year old used Sierra 1 NrT'’s at less than $700 I’m going to cast caution to the wind, based on the reviews, and scarf them up. Otherwise I’m going to keep my money in my pocket, continue my search for a good/great used speaker for less than $1K, in the next 6 months and if nothing pops up I’ll probably audition the Sierra 1 NrT’s and take it from there. I can’t say anything about the EMP Tek E55Ti’s since I haven’t heard them but I did eliminate them based of the mixed reviews regarding poor build/materials quality but everyone agreed they had a sweet sound. Regarding Polk, I couldn’t agree more. Even their high-end stuff nowadays leaves a lot to be desired at their price point and yes I know the Monitor 50’s are poor but for the $100 I paid for them, I can’t complain. I loved my LS-70's and still curse myself for selling them. I don’t know whether they got fat & happy or moving the manufacturing to China is the issue but either way they’ve come way down in my estimation.

 

[GranteedEV]

I can’t say anything about the EMP Tek E55Ti’s since I haven’t heard them but I did eliminate them based of the mixed reviews regarding poor build/materials quality but everyone agreed they had a sweet sound.

Dunno where you got that they have poor build quality. They're well-braced, use quality drivers, smartly selected crossover components for the price point, and they look stunning. They might not use a wood veneer, but the red burl glossy vinyl wrap used "looks" better than the majority of veneers I've seen (and the black oak looks pleasant too), and the gloss black baffles also look nice, if not quite mirror finished. The grills are also quality. Finally, I can tell you that EMP has great customer service.

The only part of the EMP speakers I would re-do would be the carpet spikes, but all-in-all I don't consider that remotely enough reason to disqualify them as an option. I've had them for a while now, and while they're not the bassiest speakers in the world, they sound awesome most of the time... never too bright or too dull.

 

[Ponzio]

GranteedEV - I hope I haven’t given offense to any EMP owners out there and my opinion should be taken with all the seriousness of a person who is commenting on nuclear disarmament, another subject I know nothing of. This is why I’ve come to this site to solicit opinions instead of asking my lawn guy for his recommendations. Sadly my circle of friends and acquaintances do not include any audiophiles, so I’m dependent on the kindness of strangers. BTW thanks for your opinion; I’m not trying to be sarcastic with my response.

 

[GranteedEV]

I wasn't offended so much as I wanted to make sure you got good information. The EMP speakers are not exactly Vapor / Salk build quality either, but they're well built enough for $800/<acronym title="Google Page Ranking" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: help;">pr</acronym>. I don't think their build quality was quite on the level of the 2k/<acronym title="Google Page Ranking" style="border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); cursor: help;">pr</acronym> SVS Ultra Towers, but I also thought they sounded more neutral overall above 100hz. My only hope is that you pick the speakers that are right for you, and not to disqualify anything without full information.

 

[Ponzio]

Duly noted; thanks for the input.

 

[Ponzio]

Update: I finally got back out to a local audiophile brick & mortar shop to keep pursuing Moby yesterday.

I auditioned some I liked [Epos M12.2 (nice, real nice as a near-field monitor speaker), Sinclair Audio Brighton 260T (very respectable at its price point of $500, on sale from a few of internet vendors), Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.5 (basically reinforced my impressions of what I heard at another shop)] and some not so much [Opera Audio Consonance Eric 3 (flat sounding), Wharfdale Diamond DIA 10.5 (great looks but too laid back; to be fair the salesman did warn me that they had less than 150 hours break-in)].

But one model did stand out and that was the KEF LS-50 Anniversary Edition. It’s more than I bargained to pay, above my $1K ceiling but I brought along the missus and she was quite enthusiastic about them, aesthetically and she loved the sound quality compared to the other models we auditioned and she insisted the increased price was worth it and that we purchase them. It was like shooting fish in a barrel; this was a repeat of when I got her to agree to buy the Focal’s even though they were way above our set speaker budget. I resisted the urge to compulsively buy; especially knowing I could purchase them cheaper on the internet. I’ve salved my conscience with the owner by agreeing to have them repair my Onkyo CP-1055F II turntable.

I would still like to get the Ascend Sierra’s, based on aesthetics, but I’m having a hard time making that leap without auditioning them. Anyone out there heard both and tell me why I should go the extra mile and request Ascend Acoustics send me a pair to demo, with its attendant restocking hassle/price?

 

[gene]

When it comes to deciding what speaker model to buy for less than $1K, I think the words of the great philosopher, Professor Foghorn Leghorn, come to mind in describing my current dilemma; “the boy is more mixed up than a feather in a whirlwind.”

I love it when we have fellow Looney Tunes fans posting on this forum. As Bugs Bunny used to say "one's man's meat is another mans poison". This is a very appropriate comment relating to loudspeakers and people's preferences.

This article should help you narrow down your choices. Note that some of the allegedly cheaper options actually become the most expensive when you start factoring in premium finishes and/or drive components.

Internet Direct Speaker Brand Comparison | Audioholics

Good luck and happy hunting....

 

[ImcLoud]

The Sierras are a great speaker, take the test drive if you don't like them all you are out is the shipping charges... I am confident if you like a warm, neutral , (dare I say real) sound they are the guys for you...

 

[Ponzio]

Thanks gene.
Well mates, it looks like I’ve speared Moby … I think!?!?!? Let’s hope I don’t reel in a tug boat.

I purchased a pair of KEF LS-50’s yesterday and eagerly await their delivery soon. Aesthetically they are ugly as sin, in my eyes; I’m more of a cherry/maple wood veneer kind-a guy. My ears and the wife’s smile sealed the deal. Point of fact she was the one who was roaming about the shop listening to other speakers, who insisted I come into the other showroom to audition the LS-50’s. My initial reaction was to discount them because of the looks and price but what the hell, there was nowhere I had to be and I’d like to think I’m open minded. I wasn’t aware of their existence up until Saturday and as I often say, “once in a while God smiles”. Surely this was one of those days. I plopped in my reference CD, Jellyfish’s Bellybutton, track 8, took a seat … and at 3:30 into the track the smile came on and couldn’t be wiped off my face. At that point I forwarded to the next track; yep the magic was still there. I turned to the salesman and asked what he had in the way of some Chicago blues, classical, jazz and rap. After 25 minutes of sampling all the genres I knew these puppies were for me. Could I be passing up better speakers like the Sierra NrT’s or the Tekton Lore S’s? Maybe but I’ve always been a hands-on sort of guy and the idea of a mail-order bride frankly doesn’t appeal to me; time will tell if made the right decision.

If anyone’s interested I’ll post my impressions after the 100 hour recommended burn-in. Thanks to all who responded.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks gene.
Well mates, it looks like I’ve speared Moby … I think!?!?!? Let’s hope I don’t reel in a tug boat.

I purchased a pair of KEF LS-50’s yesterday and eagerly await their delivery soon. Aesthetically they are ugly as sin, in my eyes; I’m more of a cherry/maple wood veneer kind-a guy. My ears and the wife’s smile sealed the deal. Point of fact she was the one who was roaming about the shop listening to other speakers, who insisted I come into the other showroom to audition the LS-50’s. My initial reaction was to discount them because of the looks and price but what the hell, there was nowhere I had to be and I’d like to think I’m open minded. I wasn’t aware of their existence up until Saturday and as I often say, “once in a while God smiles”. Surely this was one of those days. I plopped in my reference CD, Jellyfish’s Bellybutton, track 8, took a seat … and at 3:30 into the track the smile came on and couldn’t be wiped off my face. At that point I forwarded to the next track; yep the magic was still there. I turned to the salesman and asked what he had in the way of some Chicago blues, classical, jazz and rap. After 25 minutes of sampling all the genres I knew these puppies were for me. Could I be passing up better speakers like the Sierra NrT’s or the Tekton Lore S’s? Maybe but I’ve always been a hands-on sort of guy and the idea of a mail-order bride frankly doesn’t appeal to me; time will tell if made the right decision.

If anyone’s interested I’ll post my impressions after the 100 hour recommended burn-in. Thanks to all who responded.

Congrats!

I think you have made an excellent purchase.

The ONLY qualm I have is that they don't have any grilles.

Otherwise, they measure about as superb as the $6,000 KEF Reference 201/2.

 

[GranteedEV]

Could I be passing up better speakers like the Sierra NrT’s or the Tekton Lore S’s? Maybe but I’ve always been a hands-on sort of guy and the idea of a mail-order bride frankly doesn’t appeal to me; time will tell if made the right decision.

If anyone’s interested I’ll post my impressions after the 100 hour recommended burn-in. Thanks to all who responded.

Not sure the tektons woukd even be in the same league, and from a design standpoint i suspect the KEFs are better than the Ascends too. As long as the small monitors don't strain at your desired listen levels they should be wicked. You'd have to shell out 3-4 grand on some KEF R series towerw to get similar performance with more output.

I definitely getting yourselves a pair of quality subs.

There is no need to reserve judgement for 100hours. Chances are great that the sound will not change.

 

[Ponzio]

AcuDefTechGuy – I couldn’t agree more about the lack of grilles but they’re going into the “Fortress of Solitude” (my office) which all my family knows is a no-go zone with the exception of my beloved and she knows how anal I get, if you even stare at my equipment the wrong way.

GranteedEV – I’m going to work them in with my single Athena P1 Sub and take it from there. The days of listening to music at mind numbing levels are long gone, so I doubt that will be an issue. I’ve got my stands and my eye out for the FedEx guy.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

AcuDefTechGuy – I couldn’t agree more about the lack of grilles but they’re going into the “Fortress of Solitude” (my office) which all my family knows is a no-go zone with the exception of my beloved and she knows how anal I get, if you even stare at my equipment the wrong way.

LOL.

Yes, gotta love that Fortress of Solitude.

Those KEF are the perfect speakers for Superman himself.

 

[nogaro]

But anyway there are a lot of options out there, just have to plug in your ears and make a decision... I also just got my Wharfedale Denton anniversary bookshelfs, and they are awesome, I'm powering them with a small a-b amplifier rite now and an ipod since I haven't decided where to put them and I have to say they were well worth the cost, sound wise they are up there with anyother bookshelf I have ever heard, I used to think my Evo08's were the fastest most musical Bookshelfs I ever heard {to me the evo2 08s are one of the most capable bookshelfs that no one paid any attention to}, but the new Dentons have surpassed them.. And the retro look with the new technology is just something that other companies aren't picking up on, so much character with the sound of something that should cost much more... WHARFEDALE DENTON LIMITED EDITION BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS (PR) at Music Direct

I agree with your take on the Evo2-08. They are very good bookshelves. Very detailed with a great mid-range. I've been tempted by the Denton myself. Then I see the Jade 1 for a couple hundred more and spin around in a circle of indecision! Oh, well. Back to the Evo2-08s

 

[Ponzio]

A month late and a couple of dollars short.

Initial subjective thoughts after 2 hours of listening to high-bitMP3/FLAC files from my PC fed to the Yamaha RX-V2600 AVR CD input:
Fresh out of the box these puppies are hungry; set the volume level to -5dB’s on the AVR to get them to my normal listening level of-10dB. Wide, I mean wide soundstage and this is before I even hooked up the KEF R200c center channel for HT. The whole room is immersed in sound. Played with and without my Athena P1 sub; preferred with sub but at a way lower volume and decreased the cutoff at 60Hz instead to my normal setting of 80Hz. Very neutral sounding, nothing seems forced or colored, but good dynamics and imaging (I’m assuming with break-in time this will improve). Source material is revealed much more than I anticipated, both bad & good; the old axiom, crap in-crap out has never been more true. Will definitely have to play with placement, height adjustment, possible bung insert in the reflex ports (you can tell they want room to breathe but that’s a physical impossibility in this 14’x14’ room) and run the Yamaha YPAO equalization program (yes, it does work … for me). I don’t know if it’s a placebo effect or what but they keep sounding better and better. My Polk’s are hanging their head in shame … now, now boys nothing to be ashamed, you tried.
I’ll report back in a couple of weeks after they’re broken in and also let you know my impressions of the KEF R200c center channel. I can tell you unequivocally though that it’s heavy as a constipated hippo. I better make sure some Chinese immigrants didn’t squeeze themselves in there at the factory to get out of Dodge City.

 

[Ponzio]

KEF LS50 & R200c Notes

Well I’ve got about 120 hours of break-in on the speakers and there is a noticeable improvement in the highs & depth and I feel the best is yet to come. I have found for best results, run the Yamaha 2600 in straight analog stereo mode along with your sub. I’ve decreased the volume from-5dB to -8dB but the speakers crave power. The clarity & dynamics increase as the volume is turned up. Bass is more than acceptable on a stand-alone basis but without proper placement or proper room acoustics a good musical subwoofer is a must. This is where my Athena P1 falls short of its goal, so I’m now in the market for a simpatico sub. While I would love to purchase the KEF R400b for a smooth integration with the KEF LS50’s & R200c, the price is way out of bounds for my needs. I just want to musically anchor the LS50’s in this horrid 14’x14’ bare square room without getting into the whole acoustic panels thing. I’m now looking for a sealed powered sub to play nice with rest of the setup. Any recommendations for a used powered sub under $350 would be appreciated. Prime used sub candidates include the Sunfire HRS8 or HSU Research STF-1/STF-2 and I’m scheduled to audition a Definitive Technology Pro 800 from a local seller today.
BTW I can’t recommend the R200c center channel enough with the LS50’s or any other neutral mid-range/treble heavy bookshelf speakers. Matched with a more laid back speaker, like the Wharfdale’s, may draw too much attention to its self and skew the overall sound. Even though it’s only used about 10% of the time to watch TV/Netflix streaming video in a 3.1 (?) configuration, the sound is fantastic.
I want to thank everyone for travelling down this road with me, making recommendations & pointing out the potential hazards.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well I’ve got about 120 hours of break-in on the speakers and there is a noticeable improvement in the highs & depth and I feel the best is yet to come. I have found for best results, run the Yamaha 2600 in straight analog stereo mode along with your sub. I’ve decreased the volume from-5dB to -8dB but the speakers crave power. The clarity & dynamics increase as the volume is turned up. Bass is more than acceptable on a stand-alone basis but without proper placement or proper room acoustics a good musical subwoofer is a must. This is where my Athena P1 falls short of its goal, so I’m now in the market for a simpatico sub. While I would love to purchase the KEF R400b for a smooth integration with the KEF LS50’s & R200c, the price is way out of bounds for my needs. I just want to musically anchor the LS50’s in this horrid 14’x14’ bare square room without getting into the whole acoustic panels thing. I’m now looking for a sealed powered sub to play nice with rest of the setup. Any recommendations for a used powered sub under $350 would be appreciated. Prime used sub candidates include the Sunfire HRS8 or HSU Research STF-1/STF-2 and I’m scheduled to audition a Definitive Technology Pro 800 from a local seller today.
BTW I can’t recommend the R200c center channel enough with the LS50’s or any other neutral mid-range/treble heavy bookshelf speakers. Matched with a more laid back speaker, like the Wharfdale’s, may draw too much attention to its self and skew the overall sound. Even though it’s only used about 10% of the time to watch TV/Netflix streaming video in a 3.1 (?) configuration, the sound is fantastic.
I want to thank everyone for travelling down this road with me, making recommendations & pointing out the potential hazards.

I would look for a used sub from Rythmik, HSU, SVS, PSA, Outlaw, etc, and forget about subs from DefTech, KEF, or any BM brands.