Help me Choose

[Joban]

I'm currently in the process of trying to find a set of floorstanders. I would really appreciate hearing back from some of you on my short-list. Here are my motivations:

- I'm really not sure that I can handle going above $1100 (before
tax) on my budget.
- 2 channel audio is my main priority. HT comes in a far second.
- I listen to a diverse range of music but electronica seems to be a
style that I listen slightly more often. Therefore, a set of towers
that can handle some low end would be important for me. I would
normally buy a sub for this but I live in an apartment and my
neighbour would kill me if I went that route. This is not to say
however, that sound-stage, imaging, clarity, etc are not important to
me.
- I lean more towards function over fashion

I am interested in the following:
Monitor Audio SR6
Monitor Audio B6
Paradigm Monitor 7's and 9's
Axiom M60s
Acoustic Energy - Aegis Evolution 3
PSB Image T55
Energy C-500

I would very much like to hear your feedback on this and am totally
open to suggestions. Are there some other options I should be
considering? Having not auditioned any of the above yet, I find
myself leaning towards the B6's for some reason. However, when I
discuss my search for speakers everyone seems to be pushing me in the
direction of the SR6's and it seems to be relatively little info on
the B6's out there. Honestly though, the SR6's would absolutely have
to blow everything out of the water before I could justify the extra
$400.

I look forward to your feedback.

Best regards,

Jordan

 

[kgb540]

is used an option? I know they are not on your list but you can get nearly mint Paradigm Studio 60V.3 for your price-range. Possibly the best for $1500 and below. Of your choices I would lean towards the Paradigm Montior 9's. Very good extension and no real weak spots in the entire frequency response. A very very good value speaker that will provide excellent sound for a long long time.

 

[j_garcia]

For music, I would tend to disagree about the Monitor line. Music is their weakness, IMO. I listen to a lot of electronic music too, and found the Monitor series not up to the task because they lacked a bit in the midrange. The 60s will definitely perform better than anything in the Monitor line, but I would not go so far as to call them the best for the price (one of the best yes, but not top dog )

Check out the Mordaunt Short 906 and 908. Very musical speakers for the money. They sound great with electronic music due to an overall neutral midrange with clear, crisp (not harsh) highs.

 

[JonBaker99]

First thing I would ask is what you are going to power these with. While it is true that speakers make a bigger difference than the amplification or the processing...they still make a pretty good difference when matched to the right pair of speakers.

If it were my money I'd look at the following:
Onyx Reference 1.5 from AV123.com - $699 pr (Crazy special right now, normally like $1700) I would definitly buy a small sub for these though. LIke a UFW-10 and set the crossover low, like 60-80hz. Nice 2.1 system

Axiom Audio M-60s are also a great speaker for less than $1k

 

[einsteinjb]

Actually, going with a 2.1 system with a sub doesn't mean you need to run it in such a way that your neighbor will feel the need to bust yer door down and do bad things to ya. You can p*** off the neighbors just as quick with hard-hitting floorstanders as with smaller mains and a sub!

Why not consider good bookshelfs and a decent little sub like a Hsu STF-1 or 2. In fact you could do Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE with an STF-1 for $674 shipped, or upgrade to STF-2 with the CBM-170SEs for $783 shipped and be loving life. Within your budget you could do 340SEs with a sub too. Of course you could do the same with any number of other brands that turn you on. One advantage to taking this route is that your sub will be powered and smaller mains will be a much easier load for any reasonable receiver to drive than full-range towers. Just don't go nuts with the sub to maintain peace with your neighbors.

If you're still stuck on towers, may I suggest Swans from theaudioinsider.com. I have the new 5.2s which have very reasonable bass performance, though I've heard more defined and impressive bass response from other speakers in their class. However I LOVE the mids & highs on these, really sweet sound. The 6.2s should have all the bottom you could want, but they're pushing the limits of your stated budget. You might consider the older x.1 line from newegg.com such as the 6.1s which should rock your world for an excellent price. Only problem with any Swans is stock availability but Jon Lane assures us they're coming soon.

Might also want to audition some B&Ws while you're out there looking. Try the DM604 S3s or at least DM603 S3s for a really nice set of towers with clean sound and nice extended bass performance. You may or may not find the 604s within your budget; I've seen them as high as $1200 and as low as $900 - $1000 if you really catch a good deal. Just make sure you have solid amplification to drive these to their potential. They might disappoint you with cheaper/lower-powered receivers. Personally I prefer the mids & highs on my Swans over the B&W 600 series, but the 604s do have better (deeper and more defined) bass response. Matched with a sub it's a no-contest IMO, Swans all the way.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[BMO]

The MA -RS 6's are a very sweet speaker IMO.but they'll need a sub to complement them. I originaly went with MA RS 8's because of there better bass. Had I known I was adding a sub latter ( Hsu VTF 3) I could have saved a bit by getting the MA - 6. I bought the 8's for $ 1100 and could have gotten the 6's for $800.( The 6's are great for music , just needed alittle more bass for Movies,as most do)
On another note, although it's not a Tower, MA Golds GR-10, which usualy retails for $ 1500 are being discounted as they are being replaced by the GS serries. Read there reviews, it's a great bookshelf speaker that will fool most.They, as I have heard are being bought sometimes at 1/2 price.
As I own both the Silvers and Golds, and love them both, the golds are a step up.

 

[3db]

My 2 cents

I'm currently in the process of trying to find a set of floorstanders. I would really appreciate hearing back from some of you on my short-list. Here are my motivations:

- I'm really not sure that I can handle going above $1100 (before
tax) on my budget.
- 2 channel audio is my main priority. HT comes in a far second.
- I listen to a diverse range of music but electronica seems to be a
style that I listen slightly more often. Therefore, a set of towers
that can handle some low end would be important for me. I would
normally buy a sub for this but I live in an apartment and my
neighbour would kill me if I went that route. This is not to say
however, that sound-stage, imaging, clarity, etc are not important to
me.
- I lean more towards function over fashion

I am interested in the following:
Monitor Audio SR6
Monitor Audio B6
Paradigm Monitor 7's and 9's
Axiom M60s
Acoustic Energy - Aegis Evolution 3
PSB Image T55
Energy C-500

I would very much like to hear your feedback on this and am totally
open to suggestions. Are there some other options I should be
considering? Having not auditioned any of the above yet, I find
myself leaning towards the B6's for some reason. However, when I
discuss my search for speakers everyone seems to be pushing me in the
direction of the SR6's and it seems to be relatively little info on
the B6's out there. Honestly though, the SR6's would absolutely have
to blow everything out of the water before I could justify the extra
$400.

I look forward to your feedback.

Best regards,

Jordan

I've heard both the Axiom M60s and the Monitor 7 and 9s and I can say that to my ears, the PSB Image T55s are better than them. The T55s have tight tight bass that goes nice and low, the mids are open and revealing and the highs are sweet without sounding bright.

I cannot comment on the rest of your short list as I've not heard them. I'm curious to find out what the Monitor Audio sounds like myself. I do recommend that you bring along with you on your auditions, music you know very well so that you can have a somewhat easier time selecting the speaker that is right for you. Good luck

 

[masak_aer]

I have Mordaunt Short 902 and 905C for the center. How do you like yours Garcia? I find mine very pleasant on music.

 

[j_garcia]

I've tried a lot of small bookshelf speakers in my bedroom setup (music only) and these are the ones that are still here I am very happy with these guys. There are some that I'm really curious about though, like the X-LS and the EPOS ELS-3.

 

[Joban]

My "short-list" seems to be getting bigger

Many thanks for all the great feed-back. It appears that my short-list grew rather than shrunk. That's ok. I'm willing to spend some time finding the right speaker for me.

To answer some of the questions posed:
- buying used could be a possibility but I'm a bit hesitant to buy on ebay etc.
- J_garcia, when you mention "monitors" did you mean the Paradigm line or as in "Monitor Audio" brand?
- I'll be sure to take a look at Mordaunt Short, Swans, and B&W
- I currently don't have much in the way of an amp / av-receiver. I have a JVC RX6043 which says 5x100 but I'm sure it doesn't come close. That's why it would be good if I could stick with an 8 ohm speaker. Does anyone know if I could run a 6 ohm speaker on this receiver because the Monitor Audio line is 6 ohm rated.
- The sub and book-shelves isn't a bad idea at all. I considered this but I wouldn't mid piecing together a decent system anyway so a sub isn't too far off. I just thought that a set of floorstanders would be a good place to start and could tide me over in the bottom end until a sub was in the picture.

I'm going to audition the Axiom M60s this weekend. I will even see if I can squeeze in the monitor audio and paradigm speakers as well.

Keep the advice coming as I am all ears.

Many thanks again,

Jordan

 

[Joban]

Swans?

Wow. Swans has a vast array of speakers available. Any suggestions as to what might suit me?

 

[jcPanny]

Onix Reference

I second the recommendation for the Onix refrence 1.5's. I recently purchased a used pair of the Refrence 1's (normall $1200) and love them. They look and sound great in the real rosewood veneer.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

Check out the Mordaunt Short 906 and 908. Very musical speakers for the money. They sound great with electronic music due to an overall neutral midrange with clear, crisp (not harsh) highs.

I had considered getting Mordaunt Short 908, which are now available half off for <a href=http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/TSTO.storefront/446b970b0032ecd82740ac100341063d/Product/View/2510>$550</a>

 

[Pyrrho]

I'm currently in the process of trying to find a set of floorstanders. I would really appreciate hearing back from some of you on my short-list. Here are my motivations:

- I'm really not sure that I can handle going above $1100 (before
tax) on my budget.
- 2 channel audio is my main priority. HT comes in a far second.
- I listen to a diverse range of music but electronica seems to be a
style that I listen slightly more often. Therefore, a set of towers
that can handle some low end would be important for me. I would
normally buy a sub for this but I live in an apartment and my
neighbour would kill me if I went that route. This is not to say
however, that sound-stage, imaging, clarity, etc are not important to
me.
- I lean more towards function over fashion

I am interested in the following:
Monitor Audio SR6
Monitor Audio B6
Paradigm Monitor 7's and 9's
Axiom M60s
Acoustic Energy - Aegis Evolution 3
PSB Image T55
Energy C-500

I would very much like to hear your feedback on this and am totally
open to suggestions. Are there some other options I should be
considering? Having not auditioned any of the above yet, I find
myself leaning towards the B6's for some reason. However, when I
discuss my search for speakers everyone seems to be pushing me in the
direction of the SR6's and it seems to be relatively little info on
the B6's out there. Honestly though, the SR6's would absolutely have
to blow everything out of the water before I could justify the extra
$400.

I look forward to your feedback.

Best regards,

Jordan

I think you should go audition as many speakers as you can find in your area in your price range. It is your preferences that matter, not mine or anyone else's, as we are not going to be listening to them. Also, I absolutely agree with einsteinjb that you can annoy your neighbors just as easily with tower speakers as with a subwoofer. It doesn't matter to your neighbor whether the loud obnoxious bass is coming from a subwoofer or a tower speaker.

For dealing with neighbors, it is best to be proactive. That is, go have a talk with them before you annoy them with loud music, and let them know that if you ever bother them, you will be happy to turn it down whenever they ask, as soon as they ask (assuming, of course, that you are willing to do that, which you should be). You may also want to give them your phone number so they don't have to get dressed to come up (or over) to complain. No one who is sick, needing a nap, wants to get dressed so they can tell their neighbor that the music is too loud. And you don't want to catch their flu or whatever, either.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I am interested in the following:
Monitor Audio SR6
Monitor Audio B6
Paradigm Monitor 7's and 9's
Axiom M60s
Acoustic Energy - Aegis Evolution 3
PSB Image T55
Energy C-500

The best speakers are the ones that sound best to YOU. Give them a listen, and decide. IMO.... Klipsch offers the best bang for the buck. I'd give the RF-82s a listen from the new Reference line.

 

[Joban]

Hi all,

I started this thread and then is trailed off a bit and then here it is. I feel that I should chime in again then.

I listened to the speakers on my short-list. I don't think that I could have chosen a poor speaker from that group, however, some faired better than others.

I was really surprised at how good the AE Aegis Evo 3's sounded. They had the best soundstage of nearly all the speakers I listened to. I was a bit disappointed with the Paradigm 9's. Not that they are bad speakes, but they just sounded a bit hollow in the mid range. I thought that I would like the MA B6's from what I could find on them but they were so-so compared to the others.

I ended up placing an order for the Axiom M60's and will give them a chance in my home. As much as I liked the Evo 3's I felt that the M60's had deeper punchier bass which was an important element for me. So, the final test will be the 30 day trial. If they pass that they are here to stay.

Cheers,

Jordan