Help choosing Front Speakers

[Rocky]

Ok, I'm in my senior year in high school, I should be moving out in less then a year, closer to 8 months. I decided to take up a new hobby, one in which I've had a growing interest for over the past few years. My mom gave me 800 bucks for christmas, I had another 300, and I should be getting another 400ish from family members for Christmas. Heres what I have sofar.

2x Polk Audio R15 Rear Surrounds
1x Polk Audio CSi25 Center (debating moving it to the back to have a 6.1 setup)
Kenwood VR-9050-s
Built my own HDTV HTPC
27" JVC TV (Should be replaced with a Infocus Screenplay4805 sooon)
HOPEFULLY, if my dads nice, a 12" 250W Sub


Now, I know im going to need, at the very least, two front towers. Im on a pretty tight budget, probably around $500-600 CAD for the two towers. Im in Canada, so the company has to have some sort of market share here. I've been looking closely at PSB and Energy, specifically the PSB Image T45's, and Energy Connoisseur C5 or C7's. Do you guys have any other suggestions? I want to get the best bang for my buck, as I am on a very tight budget. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
-Mike

 

[pearsall001]

Rocky

I've owned the C7's before. They are an excellent sounding speaker. You can probably pick them up pretty cheap now because the new Reference Connoisseur line is out now & is replacing them.

 

[Rocky]

yeah, thats what i have heard. im gunna go to the local AV store and see if i can get the guy to give em to me for fairly cheap =D

 

[marrypoppins]

You want to make your fronts match your center, so if your going to get a Polk center then get its matching fronts.

 

[Rocky]

But the thing is, whenever i get the money, the polk center is going to the back... and the center will be replaced by an energy center... most likely

 

[Rob Babcock]

The PSB Image T45's are pretty nice for the money. But I'd certainly consider buying used on your budget, too. Often you can get really nice, gently used speakers for $.30-$.50 cents on the dollar vs buying new. For instance, I recently got some Monitor Audio 8i's on Audiogon used for $400 including shipping! They definately showed some use, with a few scuffs and dings, but the seller was very honest in his description of the condition. Functionally they were flawless and they sound great. Retail on them was $1500 when they were new, and most of the 'rags called them a great deal at that price.

 

[Rocky]

I think im going to go and see what i can get tomorrow. If there isnt anything in my budget, then im gunna have to go online and look at something used

 

[shokhead]

Audioadvisor has some Demo Wharfedal 9.2 for $425 a pair.

 

[Sheep]

I say grab some C-5's on boxing day. Get the matching center down the road.

SheepStar

 

[Rocky]

What do you guys think about yamaha floor speakers, specifically the NS-555 and NS-777 and NS-7390 ???

 

[mike c]

What do you guys think about yamaha floor speakers, specifically the NS-555 and NS-777 and NS-7390 ???

the yamaha speakers are very very cheap, considering you get dual 8" woofers on the NS-777 model ... they have a nice piano gloss finish too.

 

[Sheep]

What do you guys think about yamaha floor speakers, specifically the NS-555 and NS-777 and NS-7390 ???

Havent heard many yamaha "speakers" only subs, and even then only a couple.

I personally like yamaha subs (YST-320, YST 800). And their HTIB systems are decent considering the price and the other crap out there for the same.

SheepStar

 

[3db]

love my Image T45s

Ok, I'm in my senior year in high school, I should be moving out in less then a year, closer to 8 months. I decided to take up a new hobby, one in which I've had a growing interest for over the past few years. My mom gave me 800 bucks for christmas, I had another 300, and I should be getting another 400ish from family members for Christmas. Heres what I have sofar.

2x Polk Audio R15 Rear Surrounds
1x Polk Audio CSi25 Center (debating moving it to the back to have a 6.1 setup)
Kenwood VR-9050-s
Built my own HDTV HTPC
27" JVC TV (Should be replaced with a Infocus Screenplay4805 sooon)
HOPEFULLY, if my dads nice, a 12" 250W Sub


Now, I know im going to need, at the very least, two front towers. Im on a pretty tight budget, probably around $500-600 CAD for the two towers. Im in Canada, so the company has to have some sort of market share here. I've been looking closely at PSB and Energy, specifically the PSB Image T45's, and Energy Connoisseur C5 or C7's. Do you guys have any other suggestions? I want to get the best bang for my buck, as I am on a very tight budget. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
-Mike

Please read my review of the Image T45s. You will not regret buying them. They are very much an audiophile quality speaker and I think one of the better new speakers out there for that money .

http://audioreview.com/mfr/psb-speakers/floorstanding-speakers/PRD_329036_1594crx.aspx

 

[The13thGryphon]

Watch Out...

I have to state that I've not heard the Yamaha speakers personally, so treat my comments with some skepticism.

However, I have yet to hear any speaker from a major Japanese company (Pioneer, Yamaha, Sony, etc.) that sounds decent. That's not a knock on the nation or the people... just my observation. Big companies like that are making speakers so they have something to go with their electronics, and to boost their profit margin, not to make high quality speakers (my opinion).

Stick with well regarded speaker manufacturers like the two you mentioned: PSB and Energy. Either will be head and shoulders above Yamaha. Even the Polks, which are really more mass market speakers these days, would still be a notch above the Yammies. At least Matthew Polk once strove to make high quality audiophile speakers, so he's got some engineering and R&D behind him.

For my money, go with the PSB's.

 

[Sheep]

I have to state that I've not heard the Yamaha speakers personally, so treat my comments with some skepticism.

However, I have yet to hear any speaker from a major Japanese company (Pioneer, Yamaha, Sony, etc.) that sounds decent. That's not a knock on the nation or the people... just my observation. Big companies like that are making speakers so they have something to go with their electronics, and to boost their profit margin, not to make high quality speakers (my opinion).

Stick with well regarded speaker manufacturers like the two you mentioned: PSB and Energy. Either will be head and shoulders above Yamaha. Even the Polks, which are really more mass market speakers these days, would still be a notch above the Yammies. At least Matthew Polk once strove to make high quality audiophile speakers, so he's got some engineering and R&D behind him.

For my money, go with the PSB's.

Interesting point of view. Although it "could" be true there are some very trustwothy members here that own Yamaha and recommend them.

SheepStar

 

[shokhead]

I always thought that Sony,Yamaha,Onkyo,Pioneer speakers were more of a sideline and they are counting more on the name value then the speaker quility. I could be wrong.

 

[Onabudgetguy]

Don't count out the yammies

Rocky,

I own the ns-777s and I cannot complain about them (especially for the price about 400 shipped).

Yes, they may not be as end-all be-all as some of the speakers mentioned prior, but unless you get all of them into the room and hear them, you don't know what you are missing. (at least that is what I tell myself).

As you can see by my name, I put together my system on a budget. I have an Onkyo reciever (tx-sr500) from Ubid (refurbished) which replaced a Denon avr-2000 bought from a friend. I have a cerwin-vega center from ebay (some cosmetic issues made it cheap), my rears are some old sony bookshelf speakers, and my sub is a sony sa-wx700 (good sale at circuit city). The yammies and sub are replacements for stuff damaged in some basement flooding (yamaha ns-55s and sa-w40). I also have a sony dvd recorder rdr-gx7 and sony 200 disc dvd player. rounding out the home theater is a 32in JVC tube TV. While this setup will not blow anyone away in the rarefied air of these forums, I have a good time watching movies and even listening to music.

Set a budget, look at what will fit in that budget, and pull the trigger. Watch out for those that will say, if you spend another xxx dollars you can get the _____ doohickey.

Oh well, I hope this was some help to you and I wasn't trying to piss off anyone in the forum. I really enjoy reading the threads and have gotten some good info from it. There is a lot of money being spent here in the threads, and sometimes I think it goes towards the newest or supposed "best" rather than what is in a budget and will sound good to that person.

 

[The13thGryphon]

Stay away from "mass market" speakers.

I've never found a pair of speakers from a major electronics manufacturer that I could stand the sound of for more than a couple of seconds.

Conglomerates like Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony, etc. don't make speakers to compete with true speaker manufacturers. They make speakers to that they can fill out their product line card, and frankly, to increase their profit margins. Cheap speakers' profit margins are way up there.

Dedicated speaker manufacturers such as PSB and Energy (and many others) put a lot of time, effort, and money into their research and development. They must make good sounding speakers, as they don't have a line of electronics, or pianos, or motorcycles to fall back on.

Do yourself a favor and stick with dedicated speaker manufactures.

 

[Sheep]

I've never found a pair of speakers from a major electronics manufacturer that I could stand the sound of for more than a couple of seconds.

Conglomerates like Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony, etc. don't make speakers to compete with true speaker manufacturers. They make speakers to that they can fill out their product line card, and frankly, to increase their profit margins. Cheap speakers' profit margins are way up there.

Dedicated speaker manufacturers such as PSB and Energy (and many others) put a lot of time, effort, and money into their research and development. They must make good sounding speakers, as they don't have a line of electronics, or pianos, or motorcycles to fall back on.

Do yourself a favor and stick with dedicated speaker manufactures.

So you've heard these speakers and are willing to say that they are so bad, you will not even want to listen for more then 3 seconds? You are aware of the Yamaha line he is talking about right?

So many people bash yamaha for their speakers. These are the saem people who think biwiring makes a difference. Go listen to all of the speakers you can, and you decide. Some poeple have bones to pick with company's, and it clouds their judgement.

But, never the less, you guys are keeping me warm with these blanket statements.

SheepStar

 

[The13thGryphon]

As I stated in my first post on this thread, I have not heard these particular Yamaha speakers; and I did indicate that what I was saying was my own opinion, and should therefore be treated with due skepticism. I don't know how much more honest and upfront I could have been.

My apologies to you Sheep if I've stepped on your toes, or trashed your beloved Yamaha speakers. That was not my intent.

However, I do stand behind my statements. I (me, myself, personally) have NEVER heard a Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer or other major conglomerate's speakers that I though worth MY money. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't be worth your money, or someone else's money... just not MINE.

I know what I like, and to date, I've not found it with those speaker lines. However, having said that, I did indicate that I had not personally heard the models that were being questioned. I was just trying to point out a potential pitfall with such products... and indicate my own personal history with such products. I hate to see people throw away their hard earned money on cheap junk (in my opinion).

Now, I'm not trying to upset anyone, and if you don't agree with me, that's fine... but don't tell me that I have a bone to pick with a company when you don't know me. If you check other posts on this board, and others, you'll see that I do favorably mention Yamaha receivers. I've nothing against the company.

Just for the record I have listened to lots of different speakers: B&W, Canton, Boston Acoustics, Klipsch, Soliloquy, Hales Design Group, Apogee, Martin Logan, Linn, Rega, Joseph Audio, Vienna Acoustics, Definitive Technology, Magnepan, Alon, Dahlquist, Energy, PSB, Phase Technology, Sonus Faber, ESS, Advent, Polk, Monitor Audio, Warfdale, Paradigm, Infinity, KEF, Snell, NHT, Revel, and Wisdom Audio all come to mind. In fact, I put myself through college selling mid to high end audio/video gear. So I think I do have sufficient background to have formulated an opinion. Thus I do not care for the insinuation that I have been limited in my exposure to a variety of speakers... though I readily admit that there are many speakers out there that I've not had the opportunity to audition.

Let's all keep in mind one thing... it's an opinion. You're welcome to yours, and please allow me mine!