Help for a first HT system for a music lover

[Shaft0rz]

Hey everyone,
I'm shopping around for putting together a HT system. I plan to purchase a part or two at a time, to spread the money out over a few months. I've decided to start with new speakers, that I will use with my current stereo.

I'm looking for a system that will play normal 2-channel music very well (not a huge fan of pro-logic surround on stereo CDs). Some of the (cheaper) surround systems I've heard haven't had the greatest sound on CDs, even when movies are great. I'm trying to avoid that, even if it means sacrificing surround sound performance a little.

Will there be a difference in the musical performance of a system based on tower vs. bookshelf as my mains? I'm trying to not spend a whole bunch of money (aren't we all?). I've been thinking about getting a pair of Infinity Primus 150's to start, then getting a second pair later as surrounds (after I get a receiver).

If anyone has any advice on even what kind of speaker I should be looking at for mains (trying to stay under 300-400/pair), I'd really appreciate it.

Oh, the room I will be using this system in will be rather small (don't have exact dimensions, but it's small. I have a 20w+20w sony stereo that does a good job of filling it)

Great forum, btw.

Peter L.

 

[jaxvon]

There are plenty of good speakers out there. You might want to hit some of your local hi-fi stores and check out brands like Phase Tech, Definitive Technology, and whatever else you can find in your price range. You might also want to check out some internet brands like AV123, Axiom, and Ascend. I've heard lots of good things about all these companies, and they all have something in your price range.

 

[mike c]

i presume you've heard the primus 150s already ... (i have) and coupled with a good subwoofer, it plays good music. but try to do auditions of other brands and models and see what sounds good to you. (e.g. infinity beta series, polk audio, b&w)

 

[sdy284]

i presume you've heard the primus 150s already ... (i have) and coupled with a good subwoofer, it plays good music. but try to do auditions of other brands and models and see what sounds good to you. (e.g. infinity beta series, polk audio, b&w)

since you mentioned the beta series...circuit city is currently selling the Beta 20's for $378/pair
Beta 20's

and I just checked ebay...they're going for $269/pair new with $30 shipping
or
I don't know how confortable you are with used items. but crutchfield has a set of Alpha 40's going for $400/pair
Alpha 40s

 

[AVRat]

Most definitely do the proper research before you purchase. Don't be intimidated by the stereotype that you can't afford what specialty shops offer. You'll generally get better service and gear going this route than the big box stores. Also, make sure you take along a good variety of your own music selections for auditioning equipment.

For small spaces, I definetely prefer bookshelf/monitor based systems. When mated with a good receiver for music and a sub for HT, these systems can be awesome. And as you've realized, you don't need a lot of power to fill the space, but good, clean power will bring out the best of the system.

 

[Bevan]

peter, you mention getting a pair of infinitys now and another later for rears. the only advice i could offer would be to rather spend significantly more on the front two speakers than the rears. just mho

cheers

b.

p.s from my side of the altantic i'll second the b&w suggestion, great speaker for the money i thought(maybe 602's up front and 600's or 303's in the rear?)

 

[mike c]

peter, you mention getting a pair of infinitys now and another later for rears. the only advice i could offer would be to rather spend significantly more on the front two speakers than the rears. just mho

cheers

b.

p.s from my side of the altantic i'll second the b&w suggestion, great speaker for the money i thought(maybe 602's up front and 600's or 303's in the rear?)

i was thinking that the first 2 he buys now would be used as surrounds in the future

peter, a room 20 x 20 is considered medium sized or more to me ... but in contrast any speaker can fill a room, even my teeny tiny satellites can ... but whats important is the quality of the sound (this quality only you can hear) good bookshelves will trump any sony/satellite speakers on a bad day. i have a smaller room than yours and you can see in my signature that im still getting front floorstanding speakers (this is to prevent buyer's remorse re: not buying the best) but in your case, you can use the speakers you buy now as surround speakers next time.

 

[abboudc]

Plan out what you want the entire system to be like when you're finished. Do you want a complete surround setup? What's your total budget? Etc.

You shouldn't just pair "any" fronts with any rears. You want speakers that are sonically matched. Otherwise the system won't sound right for movies as that jet thunders in the front and as it flies over you, it's a dull rumble in the back.

For your room, i'd go with satellites as opposed to towers. Put your satellites on a stand, and you'll be set.

There are quite a few good speakers within your budget. In addition to those previously mentioned, take a look at BIC Venturi DV62si. Also check out the Mordaunt Short Avant 902. Great speakers will last a long, long time.

If you're spending $400/pr on your speakers, consider upgrading your receiver as the next step as it'll definitely be holding your speakers back. Unlike speakers, your receiver will become obsolete more quickly.

 

[Shaft0rz]

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice so far.

I'm going out today to listen to speakers. Out of all the suggestions, I've only heard the infinitys (which I like so far). The Axiom M3ti's look pretty interesting too, I'd like to hear those. I'm used to buying stuff online without seeing it in person, so I guess I wasn't even thinking about having to hear speakers (even though it makes sense), so I'm going to follow the good advice of just doing a lot of listening.

Couple of clarifications:
- Yes, I want to buy speakers that will work well in a surround setup, so I'm trying to pick something where I can purchase the rest over the next couple of months. Ie, with the infinity primus 150, I could get the c-25 center, and some kind of surround. Like I saidthough, my main goal for just this speaker purchase is music.
- The room isn't 20x20, the stereo I use is 20w per channel, and it fills the room up pretty well. Speaking of the stereo, it's one of the best buys I ever made - Sony MHC-C305. It was $250 about 9 years ago, and after hearing other bookshelf systems like it, I'm still impressed with the sound quality, even when compared to some pretty decent systems I've heard. It doesn't have the most bass, but it's very punchy, and it has amazing presence and clarity.


I think the consensus seems to be that I don't necessarily need to go to towers, and that for the money I'm looking to spend, I might be better off going for a better bookshelf pair... We'll see how the listening goes today.

Thanks again

 

[Tex-amp]

You need to really pay attention to speaker efficiency if your receiver is only 20 watts per channel.

I'm a big Ascend Acoustics fan.

 

[Shaft0rz]

I'm going to be replacing the receiver as well, so I won't be at 20w for long. I was just using the 20w figure as an illustration of the fact that I'm happy with the volume level in this room from such a low-powered stereo, so I might not need a big huge tower.

 

[Shaft0rz]

Follow-up: Well I decided to go with the Infinitys. I did as much listening as I reasonably could in the area. I was able to hear a bunch of Paradigms, polk, infinity, mirage, klipsch and jbl northridge. The Paradigms were very nice, but sounded a little "dark" overall to me, plus they were pricier. The Klipsch synergy speakers had a real nice sound, but the horn tweeter bothered me. I didn't like the phase effects I heard when my head just a couple inches to either side, and they were little pricey for what they were. The JBLs were waay too bright for me, it sounded like someone had messed with the EQ, even when things were running flat.

So after a lot of listening, and deciding what my price range was going to be, the Infinitys came out on top. I felt like they had a little more definition and clarity than the Polk Monitors (which were practically the same price).

I regret not being able to hear any Axiom's (still a bit pricey for me, but it would've been nice), and some BIC bookshelfs, but I decided I didn't want to buy anything I hadn't heard.

Right now I just have 2 primus 150's and the c25 center channel. I'm going to buy my receiver next, and use my old sony speakers as the rear channel before buying either another pair of 150s, 160s or 250s (the primus 360 seems to be a little difficult to find, but it's a possibility).

Which brings up another question - has anybody used ecost.com to purchase a receiver? They have some great deals on factory refurbished Onkyos, but have a little bit of a sketchy reputation. BBBOnline gives them a BBB rating, which is decent.


Anyway, thanks all for the advice, I feel like I did the best I could on my budget and what was available to me.

Let's see how long it takes before I start getting the upgrade itch again...