Just got Onkyo 605 -- Around $1000 for L,R, and Center

[Systembuilder]

Man! What a night! So I had the opportunity to listen to the VR2s and polk audio monitor 70s(local circuit city) and I must say, that the VR2s sounded much clearer and crisper to my ear. I'm not sure how the Rti series would compare, but out of those two, I'm def leaning BA. I think I need to listen to a few more for sure though.

 

[zumbo]

Man! What a night! So I had the opportunity to listen to the VR2s and polk audio monitor 70s(local circuit city) and I must say, that the VR2s sounded much clearer and crisper to my ear. I'm not sure how the Rti series would compare, but out of those two, I'm def leaning BA. I think I need to listen to a few more for sure though.

The Rti's are much better than the monitor's.

 

[Systembuilder]

The Rti's are much better than the monitor's.

I'm going to try and find some more speakers locally again today for auditioning. (Yesterday was packed and didn't really have too much time.) I've noticed that the VR3 and Rti10 are 3 way speakers while the Rti8s are two way --- is that a big deal? Any opinions on the Lsi9s?

 

[mazersteven]

I'm going to try and find some more speakers locally again today for auditioning. (Yesterday was packed and didn't really have too much time.) I've noticed that the VR3 and Rti10 are 3 way speakers while the Rti8s are two way --- is that a big deal? Any opinions on the Lsi9s?

I PM'd you my thoughts on the LSi9's. Without a doubt the LSi series is Polk's best. If you can find the deal I mentioned at $500 a pair for the LSi9's I would jump on that. Just to let you know that the LSi's love plenty of power and an amp is recommended. But if you find them for under $500 that makes purchasing an amp and speakers about the same as purchasing the RTi series.

 

[Systembuilder]

I PM'd you my thoughts on the LSi9's. Without a doubt the LSi series is Polk's best. If you can find the deal I mentioned at $500 a pair for the LSi9's I would jump on that. Just to let you know that the LSi's love plenty of power and an amp is recommended. But if you find them for under $500 that makes purchasing an amp and speakers about the same as purchasing the RTi series.

The onkyo 605 doesn't have a preout for an amp nor do I think I'll be able to fully utilize a setup that would necessitate an amp (live in an apartment and will be heading back to grad school next year so at least a couple more years of apt dwelling.) I think the onkyo with some well matched speakers would make me completely happy.

Without an amp will the receiver not do much with those speakers (LSI9s)?

 

[mazersteven]

Without an amp will the receiver not do much with those speakers (LSI9s)?

The LSi9's are 4ohm speakers. A 4 ohm load may drive your receiver to hard and cause it to shut down or go into protection mode from running to hot.

 

[sholling]

When I'm looking at the specs on a speaker, what should I really concentrate on?

Speakers are highly subjective so concentrate on what sounds good to your ear.

Also, are their tiers in which one price range blows away another. I don't wanna fall short of a good class by a small margin, nor do I want to spend too much on some speakers that I will want replace in the near future.

The BA VR3s are excellent speakers at twice the sale price. If you like the sound there will be no reason to replace them in the near or distant future. They will not need a sub woofer for music, and if (for movies) you need more/deeper bass than they can output then you need to look at moving to a house because you're going to get yourself evicted from an apartment.

How do I know which speakers would pair well with my receivers power output?

Look at speaker efficiency. This is expressed as 'X' db at 1watt at 1 meter. Because it you need to double the power output for every 3db increase in volume the BA's (extremely efficient) 93db rating requires roughly half the power of a speaker rated at 90db etc.

 

[billy p]

Man! What a night! So I had the opportunity to listen to the VR2s and polk audio monitor 70s(local circuit city) and I must say, that the VR2s sounded much clearer and crisper to my ear. I'm not sure how the Rti series would compare, but out of those two, I'm def leaning BA. I think I need to listen to a few more for sure though.

You said it best, in your last sentence!! Listen to as many speakers in your budget and go from there, only you can determine what sounds good to you. I've audtioned the Rti's and found them to be quite good, but not my cup of tea!

 

[zumbo]

If you liked the sound characteristic of the BA's over the PA's, you probably will like them better than the Rti's. The Rti's are much better than the Monitor's, but they have a similar sound characteristic. Just cleaner, and tighter. The cabinets of the Rti's are also much better looking than the Monitor's.

One thing to note. If you find the Rti's locally, they will probably be on better equipment than CC had available. Also, there is no way to remember which was better unless demoed at the same place and time.

You will need your sub no matter which one of the speakers listed you choose. None of them can effectively reproduce 20-40hz frequencies with authority. They need to be crossed-over, and the LFE sent to a sub for proper set-up.

 

[Systembuilder]

Speakers are highly subjective so concentrate on what sounds good to your ear.

The BA VR3s are excellent speakers at twice the sale price. If you like the sound there will be no reason to replace them in the near or distant future. They will not need a sub woofer for music, and if (for movies) you need more/deeper bass than they can output then you need to look at moving to a house because you're going to get yourself evicted from an apartment.

Look at speaker efficiency. This is expressed as 'X' db at 1watt at 1 meter. Because it you need to double the power output for every 3db increase in volume the BA's (extremely efficient) 93db rating requires roughly half the power of a speaker rated at 90db etc.

Great advice...thanks! I'm gonna try and find the VR3s. I'm not sure where to look. I'm in the DFW area --- if anyone has any recommendations on places to audition (VR3s or other potential candidates) please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[sholling]

The VR3s are going to sound similar to the VR2s but with a little more authority on the low end.

 

[gus6464]

I just saw that you are in the Dallas area so I would go to Fry's to check out the JBL Studio L line. Even though I don't like Fry's demo room (when I went to check out the LSi9's they sounded like crap but I have heard them in another place so that sounded great so I know it had to have been the room). Audioholics did a review of the of L880 tower sometime ago:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/jbl-l880

Buy.com has the L880 tower on sale for pretty much half off along with the rest of the studio L line.
http://www.buy.com/prod/jbl-l880-studio-l-series/q/loc/111/202988554.html $314 each
Center JBL LC2
http://www.buy.com/prod/jbl-lc2-ch-center-speaker-4-way-dual-6-in-1-in-dome-transducer-gold/q/loc/111/202988559.html
$260

The LC2 is a wall mount center but amazon has the LC1 black for $334 and free shipping
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-LC1-Center-Channel-Loudspeaker/dp/B000LRA6TM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1794203-9832704?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185127025&sr=8-1

 

[ucyimd1]

Well the setup I just ordered is my Onkyo 605 w/ Polk Rti10's, CSi5 Center, and the RTi6 for the rear...was deciding between teh RTi series and Kef's IQ...but after realizing that the 605 won't be able to handle the Kef's decided to save a few bucks and invest in a better sub (which i'm still looking for)

 

[zumbo]

Great advice...thanks! I'm gonna try and find the VR3s. I'm not sure where to look. I'm in the DFW area --- if anyone has any recommendations on places to audition (VR3s or other potential candidates) please let me know.

Thanks.

Just put in your zip code here:
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/dea_us_dealers.asp

 

[Systembuilder]

I listened to the polks at frys today and although they were nice, I think I lean towards the BA speakers....they (BAs) sound more raw --- I don't how to describe it. What's the deal with the BIC EFE speakers? How would those compare to what we are talking about here? I want a really good center channel for movies.

Well the setup I just ordered is my Onkyo 605 w/ Polk Rti10's, CSi5 Center, and the RTi6 for the rear...was deciding between teh RTi series and Kef's IQ...but after realizing that the 605 won't be able to handle the Kef's decided to save a few bucks and invest in a better sub (which i'm still looking for)

 

[gus6464]

I listened to the polks at frys today and although they were nice, I think I lean towards the BA speakers....they (BAs) sound more raw --- I don't how to describe it. What's the deal with the BIC EFE speakers? How would those compare to what we are talking about here? I want a really good center channel for movies.

Did you get to listen to JBL?

 

[Systembuilder]

Did you get to listen to JBL?

I don't remember seing those hooked up although I must admit I didn't remember to look for them in particular either(plano location). I was kinda dissapointed because they didn't have a way for me to play my own music. The guy said the disc player was locked or something so I didn't spend too much time there.

What's your take on them compared to the BAs and Polks?

 

[Systembuilder]

So I think I'm digging the BAs. Does anyone think the Onkyo rated at 90 watts ch will have a problem pushing the VR3s vs VR2s? Both show 93dB rating. The VR3 shows 15-250 watts vs VR2 15-200.

 

[no. 5]

Does anyone think the Onkyo rated at 90 watts ch will have a problem pushing the VR3s vs VR2s? Both show 93dB rating.

Assuming the BA's don't have any weird phase angles or impedance dips (and I don't think they do), it should be fine. Hypothetically, you could even get SPL peaks around 108dB... Hypothetically.

 

[gus6464]

I don't remember seing those hooked up although I must admit I didn't remember to look for them in particular either(plano location). I was kinda dissapointed because they didn't have a way for me to play my own music. The guy said the disc player was locked or something so I didn't spend too much time there.

What's your take on them compared to the BAs and Polks?

I listened to the RTi6, LSi9, and JBL L830 bookshelves at my Fry's and I liked the L830's out of the three in music. They seemed to have a lot more detail when compared to the Polks. Even though the JBL's compete with the LSi you can get them at RTi price.