Finding the BEST HT Speakers for $2000

[asethi]

Hi,
I am trying to buy a home theater speaker system for my big screen (119"). I have a farely large basement and was looking at buying my speakers including sub for around $2000. I have a YAMAHA rxv-2400 reciever. I wanted FLOOR STANDING SPEAKERS for the front. Here is what i am thinking:

Paradigm:
System Four.1: Legend(Front) CC-270(Center) ADP-170(Surround)

maybe(if i can get it for around 1700): Monitor 7(Front) CC-370(Center) ADP-370

POLK:
RTi8 (FRONT) , CSi5 (Center), FXi3 (Rear)

B&W:
DM602_5S3 (Front), LCR60_S3(Center), DM601_S3 (rear)

Any suggestions on subswoofers for ~$400? I was thinking velodyne. I am pretty confuzed on which speakers to get above and I am leaning towards Paradigm but not sure about differences btwn Legend and Monitor 7. Thanks for the input.

 

[Leprkon]

The Paradigm(s ?) are very highly regarded in most posts I've seen. I think you'll like those much better than the Polks. Other good subs in that price range come from SVS or HSU. The Outlaw Audio LFM-1 is a little more, but seems to be a winner.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Hi,
I am trying to buy a home theater speaker system for my big screen (119"). I have a farely large basement and was looking at buying my speakers including sub for around $2000. I have a YAMAHA rxv-2400 reciever. I wanted FLOOR STANDING SPEAKERS for the front. Here is what i am thinking:

Paradigm:
System Four.1: Legend(Front) CC-270(Center) ADP-170(Surround)

maybe(if i can get it for around 1700): Monitor 7(Front) CC-370(Center) ADP-370

POLK:
RTi8 (FRONT) , CSi5 (Center), FXi3 (Rear)

B&W:
DM602_5S3 (Front), LCR60_S3(Center), DM601_S3 (rear)

Any suggestions on subswoofers for ~$400? I was thinking velodyne. I am pretty confuzed on which speakers to get above and I am leaning towards Paradigm but not sure about differences btwn Legend and Monitor 7. Thanks for the input.

You said you have a fairly large basement and an enormous tv! None of the speakers you listed are really floor standers. IMO, your budget is not going to allow you the sound you need to back up that tv with the brands you listed (all very good, but the lower end stuff). Why not get Energy's sister company - Athena's full top of the line set up which will give you the big sound you are looking for with an SVS $450 sub? Check out the review at www.stereophile.com and www.soundandvisionmag.com for the Athenas, and anyone here for the SVS subs.

 

[asethi]

Hey thanx I am def liking the athena site and pretty reasonable in price. Are most of the tower speakers that have a built in sub in the bottom powered and do they need a sub cable. Wasnt sure because most of the websites dont show the back.

 

[rgriffin25]

If you are refering to the Athena speakers they do not have a built in powered subwoofer. I would also recommend the AS-F1 or F2 speakers. They are hard to beat for the money and would fit your budget better than the others mentioned. They are quite effecient so you shouldn't have any problem getting alot of sound out of them with the Yamaha.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Hey thanx I am def liking the athena site and pretty reasonable in price. Are most of the tower speakers that have a built in sub in the bottom powered and do they need a sub cable. Wasnt sure because most of the websites dont show the back.

Most of the higher end speakers with side firing woofers do have built in amp and preamp controls, like a subwoofer. You wouldn't need an rca cable to run to that type of speaker. Most receivers don't have two rca subwoofer outs. The problem is you lose the control from your receiver over your bass if you choose this type over a dedicated sub. Bass management is handles solely by the speaker amp. The cheaper towers with built in side firing woofers won't have a separate amp and preamp, but will have crossovers in the speakers to handle the frequency splits. They are just woofers, and won't take bass down to what a good subwoofer will do. They do this to save space. Polk has an LSi line with side firing speakers. They are very pricey. My suggestion is to find some towers with front firing midbass drivers, 8" if you can find them (like the Athenas), because an 8" will carry sound you'll want directed at you, not to the side, and will better reproduce the mid bass 5 and 6 inch drivers miss. Then you can add a very good subwoofer which will complete your system hidden in a corner. The Athena's will allow you to afford the SVS sub made in Youngstown, Ohio, and then you can brag you have the best system in town.

 

[Tex-amp]

You say large room. How large? A $400 sub isn't going to cut it in a large room.

I'm in the why buy your bass twice camp. This is especially true if you're using your receiver to crossover at 80hz then you're buying bass that you are not using. Look at something like Ascend Acoustics 340s across the front and 170s for surrounds and bump your sub budget up to $7-800. Look into subs from; Hsu Research, Outlaw Audio, and SVS. A dedicated sub will be easier to work with than those speakers with side firing woofers as well as playing louder and lower.

 

[3db]

try PSB

http://www.psbspeakers.com/HomeTheaterST.html

I've got system#4 except for the sub which is one model down; the subsonic5. The imageT45s are an amazing speaker, clear highs with out sounding spitty or tinny, bass that is defined and tight, midrange that is as large as life without sounding in your face. Very hard to beat in imaging. They are a very effecient speaker and can play very loud. Give it a try. You won't regret it

 

[WooHoo]

I've got to put in a plug for the Energy Connoiseuer Series. I have the C9's, CC1 and CR-1's in a 6.1 set up. I also have the 10.3 sub which is OK but I only got it because it helped with the package price. Got everything for $1800 USD. I'll upgrade the sub at some point. Great HT system!

http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/

At $2000 you have a lot of choices. Suggest you look at Axiom as well.

 

[Audioholics]

FWIW, those Axiom Audio M80ti(s) I had could also fill a pretty big room... And I basically sold B&Ws to get them.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Woo,

The Athena's are basically the Energy speakers, except the drivers are larger in the Athena's. Notice the subwoofers look very similar. I'm sure they are using similar parts for the drivers. API, Inc. owns Energy, Mirage and Athena and are located in Toronto. They are highly respected in the field. All the speakers are made in the same plant. He is a budget based on the best Athena's and a killer sub.

The Athena Package would run as follows:
AS B2 $209 pair rear centers
AS C1 $142 center
AS F2 $480 pair towers
AS R1 $190 pair dipole rears
SVS 25-31PC Plus $775

Total $1556
Hard to touch that setup at that price.

 

[MacManNM]

Do yourself a favor, go and listen to several sets of speakers. Speakers are the most important part of any audio setup. The other thing, take a look at some of the BIC tower systems. They sound great, built well, are pretty cheap (thats why a lot of people dont like them) and come with a 7 year parts and labor warranty. I have the center chan speaker dv62, it sounds great. If i had it to do all over again, I'd buy their entire setup. I'd also go with the SVS sub.


Venturi DV84 front tower $150 each
DV62si Rear $120 pair
DV62CLR-S Center $110


Hey, for $530, isn't it worth giving them a listen? I guarantee you will be impressed.

 

[WooHoo]

Woo,

The Athena's are basically the Energy speakers, except the drivers are larger in the Athena's. Notice the subwoofers look very similar. I'm sure they are using similar parts for the drivers. API, Inc. owns Energy, Mirage and Athena and are located in Toronto. They are highly respected in the field. All the speakers are made in the same plant. He is a budget based on the best Athena's and a killer sub.

The Athena Package would run as follows:
AS B2 $209 pair rear centers
AS C1 $142 center
AS F2 $480 pair towers
AS R1 $190 pair dipole rears
SVS 25-31PC Plus $775

Total $1556
Hard to touch that setup at that price.

Buckeyefan,

Sure they are the same company, but the Athena's are NOT the same as the Energy Connoisseur series. They have an inferior tweeter, are lacking the sloped crossover technology and the subs from Athena don't match up. I am not dissing the Athena products and have recommended them before but saying it the way you are, is like saying skip the Benz and go with the Chrysler. Both have a purpose and serve a market, but interchangeable they are not.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

And although its practically a crime to try and sell mass-market gear, I'm gonna suggest you give a listen to JBL's Northridge speakers. The E50's are probably good enough to use as surround duty even for other brands of main speakers (I think surrounds don't have to be matched for HT purposes, unlike mains..... 5-channel music is another matter).

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Buckeyefan,

Sure they are the same company, but the Athena's are NOT the same as the Energy Connoisseur series. They have an inferior tweeter, are lacking the sloped crossover technology and the subs from Athena don't match up. I am not dissing the Athena products and have recommended them before but saying it the way you are, is like saying skip the Benz and go with the Chrysler. Both have a purpose and serve a market, but interchangeable they are not.

Woo, sorry man, I definitely wasn't dissing your setup. It's sweet. I just think AMI over did it with the Athenas and priced them too low. Have you heard them side by side with your set up? They don't look anywhere near as nice as yours. I just feel the sound and price point are way off. Have you seen the awards they've won? I think they hit a home run with the Athenas. Sort of like BIC's Venturi. Way underpriced for the sound and fidelity.

I do have to comment on the Benz/Chrysler comment though. Have you read the reliability of the Merc's lately? They are the best status car in Germany, but last on their list for reliability. I love the design, but it stops there. M5 or RS6 for similar cash. Heck, even a Chrysler 300C SRT8 with dubs over a loaded C240 isn't out of the question. That thing is a rocket, and has a ton of street cred.

 

[WooHoo]

I do have to comment on the Benz/Chrysler comment though. Have you read the reliability of the Merc's lately? They are the best status car in Germany, but last on their list for reliability. I love the design, but it stops there. M5 or RS6 for similar cash. Heck, even a Chrysler 300C SRT8 with dubs over a loaded C240 isn't out of the question. That thing is a rocket, and has a ton of street cred.

Come a long way from the K car right? There are a lot of things they are doing right with there current line up. Out of the box thinking and moving technology from the upper end down into cars we can afford! Kind of like eventially we'll see HDMI switching move into the $1000 AVR's!

 

[warpdrive]

Woo,

The Athena's are basically the Energy speakers, except the drivers are larger in the Athena's. Notice the subwoofers look very similar.

No, they are not the same speakers. Especially if you actually heard them side by side.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

No, they are not the same speakers. Especially if you actually heard them side by side.

Are you saying they are inferior? Have you demo'd them side by side? Has any speaker won the awards these Athena's have? The C9's have won one award while the AS F2's have won three.

http://www.athenaspeakers.com/awards.php

 

[warpdrive]

Are you saying they are inferior? Have you demo'd them side by side? Has any speaker won the awards these Athena's have?http://www.athenaspeakers.com/awards.php

Yes I have heard them side by side with C-7's, in an home environment trial no less. They sound VERY different.

The difference in clarity, smoothness, bass definition, imaging is very evident. The company API does not price the Energy's at a much higher MSRP for nothing....they are better speakers.

The C9's have won one award while the AS F2's have won three.

Oh brother

First, the Athenas are at a lower price range, so all the awards mean is that they are good sounding for their price. But the Energy's play at a much higher price range. And using the fact that the C-9 "won an award" at its price of over $1200 USD MSRP a pair, that would mean it's an awesome speaker if it still beats out other $1200 speakers.

And I am in the camp that doesn't believe everything I read. There are a number of speakers out there that are average that have won awards. Unless a magazine/reviewer doesn't accept advertisements, then how can you know if they aren't biased? And just because it hasn't won an award doesn't mean it's not the best....there are thousands of speaker models, and unless the reviewer compared them side by side, and listened to every model, you can only assume it's the best they've had a chance to review.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I am a subscriber to Stereophile magazine, and if you are too, you know how many speakers they have tested. You also know the depths they go to rate and recommend speakers, and how they are not afraid to slam a speaker or manufacturer. Have you read the article on the AS F2? You also have to take into consideration the poster's budget. Would you recommend a system that cannot afford a good sub? I'd recommend everyone to read this article if they have time. From time to time you learn to trust some reviews if you've made solid purchases stemming from those reviews. I am familiar with Energy's Connoisseur series speakers. I am also familiar with price points. You don't want to drive those speakers with a plane jane receiver like you would the Athenas. They need, as well as deserve a separate amp or a very high end receiver for you to get what you've paid for out of them. The Athenas are a much better choice for the guy wanting the best bang for his buck if he's trying to keep the price range between $1500-$2000, especially if he's wanted a home theater setup with a giant tv in need of some killer bass.

www.athenaspeakers.com/awardImages/ASF2 Stereophile final.pdf