Looking for Towers for my Living room

[graydodge14]

Ive been researching all through the weekend and think i have decided on purchasing towers for my front left and right.

I cant audition any speakers around here so im going off of reviews and have came up with these brands that seem to suit me.

Klipsch
B&W
Paradigm
SVS

I want a speaker that can play pretty low since i wont be getting a sub right away, but also want something crisp, clear, and natural.

My budgest is around 1000-1500 for the front left and right but if there is something cheaper out there for the price i am open to suggestions. It doesnt have to be brand new either i have been searching on audiogone so im open to all suggestions.

Thanks.
Justin

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would like to suggest the Infinity Primus P362:

The specified response is 38Hz - 20kHz +/-3dB (probably in-room response since Stereophile measured the "anechoic" bass response of 42Hz @ -6dB).

http://store.audioholics.com/product/2021/66333/infinity-primus-p362-floorstanding-speaker--each-

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/605infinity/index3.html

"...note how evenly spaced the contour lines are in this graph, and how consistently the Infinity maintains its off-axis response across the audioband up to 9kHz or so. This means that the reverberant field generated by the speaker in a room will be as uncolored as the on-axis response. Again, this is impressive speaker engineering, even if you don't take the Primus 360's price into account. In the vertical plane (fig.5), the Infinity maintains its flat response over quite a wide listening window."

A $200 speaker that has great on-axis and off-axis frequency response is amazing. I gotta get a pair myself just for the heck of it.

 

[ohskigod]

I'm a Polk fan so I would say add that to the list, there RTiA line seems to fall right in your budget wheelhouse. Some say they can be a bit bright, however they are not going to be as bright as the Klipsch by a long shot

they also have the LSi line, but they are a beast to drive (4 ohms, you will need external amplification for the most part to dive them at there best)



The Klipsch are definitly a little bright and forward to me but I really like my sound warm and laid back, this is subjective.

I've never heard Paradigm but rarely hear complaints either, can be pricey though.

I have no experience with the SVS towers so I'll let others chime in on that. They make AWESOME subs though so I can't see them being bad.

remember, you might be geting towers left and right now but if 5.1 or more is your goal, your going to want to stick to being timbre matched (i.e. speakers all around from the same line......it makes a difference, trust me on this.)

 

[ohskigod]

I would like to suggest the Infinity Primus P362:

38Hz - 20kHz +/-3dB

http://store.audioholics.com/product/2021/66333/infinity-primus-p362-floorstanding-speaker--each-

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/605infinity/index3.html

I genuinely believe he can do far better from a variety of speaker companies for what his quoted budget is. now if his budget was say below 400.0, then your recommendation would be far more fitting. just my .02

 

[sholling]

I suggest reading the $1000/pr floorstander faceoff. And maybe give the $1500-2000 faceoff a read to. That will give you a place to start. There are lots of good choices. But I'd still try to work a sub into the budget. Maybe budget $1000 for mains and $500 for a starter sub. That's because darn few $1500/pr speakers will do 20-20,000hz. You might get down to 40hz but below that most start losing output.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I genuinely believe he can do far better from a variety of speaker companies for what his quoted budget is. now if his budget was say below 400.0, then your recommendation would be far more fitting. just my .02

...Better in terms of bass output maybe, but the key here is off-axis requency response, and quite a few speakers, including B&W 802D don't even have great off-axis response.

 

[ohskigod]

. But I'd still try to work a sub into the budget. Maybe budget $1000 for mains and $500 for a starter sub. t.

certainly an excellent point here, espescially if theater use is your primary goal, which I assumed since you metioned the sub in the first place.

if thats the case, then sholling is giving you some gold for advise.

if this is primarily a music system, then I would go all tower and keep it just 2 channel, but i'm old fashioned like that

 

[fredk]

Axiom Audio M80 34Hz - 20KHz, $1,300
Aperion T6 Similar response and price. Maybe not quite as low on the bottom end.
Something from PSB??? I'm not that familiar with their product line.

 

[graydodge14]

My main goal is about 70 % movie and 30 % music, im in college and me and all my friends like watching movies at my house because frankly im one of the only ones concerned with sound quailty and HT. But we do have parties and i love cranking up the music and listening to music loud but still be able to hear the voices clear.

For now ill spend the 1000 dollars on a good set of full range tower speakers, that can play down to around 50 hz or so but im not to worried about the low notes because ill be adding a sub in about 2 weeks. I plan on timbre matching everything for the front left, center and right channels and then adding a good quailty surround after i have everything else in place.

i know i wont get the best low bass out of towers but since im adding a sub in a few weeks i dont think it will be much of a concern for the time being. Ill have another 700-800 dollars to spend on a sub and amp and all so i should be able to find a sub that plays down real low for those movie scenes.

 

[GO-NAD!]

My main goal is about 70 % movie and 30 % music, im in college and me and all my friends like watching movies at my house because frankly im one of the only ones concerned with sound quailty and HT. But we do have parties and i love cranking up the music and listening to music loud but still be able to hear the voices clear.

For now ill spend the 1000 dollars on a good set of full range tower speakers, that can play down to around 50 hz or so but im not to worried about the low notes because ill be adding a sub in about 2 weeks. I plan on timbre matching everything for the front left, center and right channels and then adding a good quailty surround after i have everything else in place.

i know i wont get the best low bass out of towers but since im adding a sub in a few weeks i dont think it will be much of a concern for the time being. Ill have another 700-800 dollars to spend on a sub and amp and all so i should be able to find a sub that plays down real low for those movie scenes.

If the mix is 70/30, in favour of movies, then going a bit lighter on the towers to save a bit of money to go towards a good subwoofer would be your best option, IMO. The bass in the vast majority of music does not go nearly as low as what you'll find in movie soundtracks (action movies, at least) - not even close. So, the P262 should stay in contention. They offer great bang for your buck.

 

[graydodge14]

Im definately checking those out, now that i think about i guess its about 50/50 im in a frat and we have alot of parties at my house and listen to my sytem but since i only have a htib were not getting that good of sound.

Im definately gonna check out all yalls recomendations as i dont want to make an uneducated purchase, i just wanna make sure i get that mellow natural sound that im after but something that can get loud when needed to.

 

[walter duque]

Did you ever consider a good pair of bookshelfs and dual subs? You would be surprised how good a combination like this can sound.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Im definately checking those out, now that i think about i guess its about 50/50 im in a frat and we have alot of parties at my house and listen to my sytem but since i only have a htib were not getting that good of sound.

Im definately gonna check out all yalls recomendations as i dont want to make an uneducated purchase, i just wanna make sure i get that mellow natural sound that im after but something that can get loud when needed to.

In a frat house, the P362's make even more sense. I'd be losing sleep at night if I had expensive speakers in it.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Did you ever consider a good pair of bookshelfs and dual subs? You would be surprised how good a combination like this can sound.

That's my personal setup and I'm very happy with it. So, if towers aren't an absolute neccessity, I'd endorse that as well.

 

[sholling]

In a frat house, the P362's make even more sense. I'd be losing sleep at night if I had expensive speakers in it.

That's for sure. I've seen one that made Animal House look mild.

 

[graydodge14]

Well its not our personal frat house, its a house i have on my own but every once in awhile we have nice little parties over there.

The reason i was looking at towers is for one i like the way they look in the room. i like the more modern look and i dont have any space to really hang up front speakers in my setup.

Also for some reason in my mind i feel like i can get better sound out of tower speakers then normal bookshelves so thats mainly why i was set on towers.

 

[walter duque]

That's my personal setup and I'm very happy with it. So, if towers aren't an absolute neccessity, I'd endorse that as well.

I've been playing around with my extra pair of bookshelfs (MTM) and a sub and am getting some killer sound out of that combination, beats a lot of floorstanders.

 

[Matt34]

Ive been researching all through the weekend and think i have decided on purchasing towers for my front left and right.

I cant audition any speakers around here so im going off of reviews and have came up with these brands that seem to suit me.

Klipsch
B&W
Paradigm
SVS

I want a speaker that can play pretty low since i wont be getting a sub right away, but also want something crisp, clear, and natural.

My budgest is around 1000-1500 for the front left and right but if there is something cheaper out there for the price i am open to suggestions. It doesnt have to be brand new either i have been searching on audiogone so im open to all suggestions.

Thanks.
Justin

For $1k and under I think you might be surprised by the Infinity P362, price isn't everything. The only clear issue where some of the more expensive towers with trump the P362 are in the aesthetics, but the are a solid and well constructed speaker. Plus that leaves you with a decent amount for a nice sub from SVS, ED, HSU, (dual Dayton Sub120), etc. which when crossed over at 80hz with take some of the strain off your towers and give you a overall better, distortion free sound when you want to crank it up.

 

[graydodge14]

For $1k and under I think you might be surprised by the Infinity P362, price isn't everything. The only clear issue where some of the more expensive towers with trump the P362 are in the aesthetics, but the are a solid and well constructed speaker. Plus that leaves you with a decent amount for a nice sub from SVS, ED, HSU, (dual Dayton Sub120), etc. which when crossed over at 80hz with take some of the strain off your towers and give you a overall better, distortion free sound when you want to crank it up.

i think im gonna check these out, i keep looking at more high dollar stuff but it is my first full HT system so maybe i need to look at something a little cheaper and buy it so i can hear what i like.

As long as i have a good receiver then no matter what i can always upgrade my speakers correct?

I did find monitor 9's though on audiogon for 700 for the pair would the p362 still be the better option?

 

[Matt34]

i think im gonna check these out, i keep looking at more high dollar stuff but it is my first full HT system so maybe i need to look at something a little cheaper and buy it so i can hear what i like.

As long as i have a good receiver then no matter what i can always upgrade my speakers correct?

I did find monitor 9's though on audiogon for 700 for the pair would the p362 still be the better option?

As long as the future speakers remain efficient and don't present, say a 4-ohm load then yes.

From what I've seen the Paradigm monitor 9 are a good speaker as well. You won't have the warranty or customer service support however.