Look, Looked, and then Heard oF... help wanted!

[Mani-aX]

Ok, i know this thread's subject is a bit odd, but so am i when it comes to Audio.

I am troubling a distortion issue with a SONY STR-DB940 and a pair of Cerwin Vega CLSC-15 Loudspeakers. This is hard to describe -via- text. But I will give you the best description of what is going on. I started out with just running the 15's in stereo and just powered by the Sony receiver. When i first turned these monsters on i thought i liked what i heard. then as i started to tweak the cross-over in the receiver i tweaked them to the best of the receiver's ability. First of all i have owned the receiver from day one and previously owned a set of Infinity Studio Monitor 3-way 12" and ran them for a while until i needed some money for a down payment on a truck when i was 17. Miss them badly!!! ok, back to the Vega's... These new CLSC series in my most honest opinion : SUCK! I have bought an Carver TFM-45 amplifier and used my pre-outs on the back of my receiver and even with an EQ in the line I couldn't tune them to my listening ear. Most noticably is the HARSHNESS of the tweeter's output. the midrange is very high and most times distorts really quick when listening to rock. i am guessing these speakers where more designed for rap/dance/r&b because they stand out in that aspect. But as for movies / rock / jazz - i do not recommend them.

ok, so this is where i am now.
i am currently taking inventory on my setup and will be selling EVERYthing!
except the SUBwoofer!!! it can stay since it has already proven itself. "lets just say my house doesn't have a lot of picture frames on the walls"

I am starting over with a new sound to discover and would like some advice as to what i need and what to look for.

I like my music to stand out on the high end : especially with sword fighting movies with the swords clash i like it to feel as if i was just cut myself the sound was SO sharp.

I like it loud and clean.

I decided to go ahead and step up to an 7.1 reciever.

I just ordered a YAMAHA HTR-5990 receiver. which the main reason i liked it was because of the power rating "120wpc @ 0.04%thd" I had prospected the Sony ES line, but the THD ratings were very high in my opinion 170wpc @ 0.6%.

I also considered the Onkyo - TXSR703 for the power -vs- distortion ratio but didn't like the limit of tweaking the speaker setup.

I just like the way the YAMAHA looks and feels. i was able to demo both of them on a set of quintets.

----------------------------

This is what i am looking for :

and i am willing to spend about 1500.00 on a SET of FloorStanding speakers.
I have been reading up on a lot of the reviews here on the Polk RTI12's -vs- LSi15's and do not have a local store to demo these babies. but favor the "specs" of the RTi12's.

These are some of what i have been looking through.

There are so many brands out there so i am going to list a few and see what you guys think of :

Boston Acoustics - VR3

Bose - 901 ® Series VI

Infinity - BETA50

Polk Audio - RTI10

Polk Audio - RTI12

Klipsch RF-3 - "used"

I will be looking to order a set in about 1 week or so. pending this weekend i plan to hit some out of town browsing @ some audio / video stores to see if i can't get my ears a demo from a set of RTi12's.

 

[jcPanny]

New system

The yamaha will be a great foundation for your new system. You might also consider the Yamaha RX-V1500 or HTR-5890 models which you should be able to find for a little cheeper. These are last years models without HDMI.

For the fronts, drop Bose from the list. Then add the Axiom M60s or M80s as contenders. Demo as many speakers as possible to determine the sound that you prefer.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Sony STR-DB940 - Receiver
Cerwin Vega CLSC-15 - FloorStanding L/R
Cerwin Vega CLSC-15S - SubWoofer
BIC DV-62CLRB - Center Channel
BIC DV-62SIB - Surround L/R
JVC AV-56P575 - Projection HDTV
PIONEER DV-363 - DVD Player
AUDIOSOURCE AMP-THREE - Stereo Amp
PANAMAX MAX-5100 - Line Conditioner/Surge

What about the BIC's You already own? Do you like them? The dv-62clrs is highly regarded buy most who own them. Two more as l&r's would match perfectly and would not cost that much.

 

[jaxvon]

If you like sharp and clear sound, I don't think there's any other way to go than Klipsch. Polks tend to be a little rolled off and "soft" in the treble. Axioms are also somewhat "bright" in character, so those would also be a good consideration.

 

[fergusonv]

I'm a big Polk fan and would normally recommend them but I don't think your going to have enough power for them. The 12's are 4ohm (polk says 8, but ohm meters don't lie) speakers and will dip lower than that and seperate amplification would be needed to get the most out of those speakers.

 

[jaxvon]

Oh, I almost forgot, NO on the Bose. The 901s use 4.5" full range drivers which means NO extended treble. Another idea: Acoustech Towers. They're horn loaded like Klipsch for the more dynamic treble sound.