Looking to upgrade speakers

[Mryusef1]

I am looking to upgrade my front speakers and center channel. I figured I will upgrade my front speakers first and then get a center channel next. I am wanting to keep the price for the front speakers below $500. I have looked at several review and two speakers that I am seeing on several list are Pioneer SP-FS52 by Andrew Jones and Fluance XL7F. I can get a pair of the Pioneers for about $260 on Amazon and the Fluance for about $500 on Amazon. The Pioneer floor speakers get really good reviews however the center channel gets horrible reviews. The Fluance center channel gets great review as wells as the book shelf speakers. There is a sub-woofer next to each front speaker so do I need floor speakers or would Bookshelf speakers be just as good for Movies? Any thoughts or suggestions on these speakers or any other speakers in this price range?



Current Setup

TV: Sony XBR-65-850E

Receiver: Sony STR-DN1080

Front Speaker: Sony SS-F600P

Center Channel: MTX in wall center channel

Sub: 2 Dayton Audio Sub-1200

Surround Sound: Dayton Audio CS620W in wall speakers

Surround Back: Polk Audio RC8I in wall speakers

Setup: 7.1 Mainly used for movies and TV



Insignia MS-STR514

Speakers: DCM KX10

Setup: Stereo. Hooked up to Echo Dot and only used for music

 

[shadyJ]

Here is a $500 front stage setup that would be a significant step above the Pioneers and Fluence: Get a pair of the KEF Q100s and use a single as the center. The way that they are constructed makes them ideal for a center as well as front left/right main speakers.

 

[lovinthehd]

Are you keeping the center in-wall? The $500 is for left/right only?

 

[zieglj01]

Since you have a sub -- then look at the JBL Studio 2 series that are on sale

Studio 230
https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-230-Bookshelf-Loudspeaker/dp/B00GJXSWZW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1520440065&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=studio+230&psc=1

No tax and free shipping from JBL
https://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+230.html

 

[Mryusef1]

I don't think I will keep the center in the wall. I know I was sacrificing some sound quality for appearance. I have an infinity Video 1 center channel that I have had for about 10 years that sounds better than the in wall center so I plan on using that until I get a new center channel. However, I could get the center and sides for under $500 if I went with the JBLs. Do you know how the JBLs compare to the polk audio signatures?

 

[sterling shoote]

From experience, JBL has worked in my upgrade scheme. That's to say, my JBL speaker upgrades over time have integrated well with retained JBL speakers. Thinking about this aspect might support a system for music, as well as movie sound where speaker performance on music is very important. In other words, you can upgrade mains for bigger sound and still have tone consistent with center, and surrounds. I once used JBL Control 5's for front, center, and surround. Gradually, I replaced these, one or two channels at a time, all the while having surround sound that was very seamless. This is good because, no matter the sub, you might find yourself constantly adjusting its output to sound right for particular recordings.