Need Help Choosing Speakers

[timoteo]

Afterlife welcome!

I checked out your SCS500 sub online. That sub is meant to be paired up with the 5 satellite speakers it came with. It is not a good sub im sorry to say. I just want to be honest with you it is not a slam.

If you dont mind the size of the Infinity 363 then i would recommend them for 2 channel music. They will sound better set to large rather than set to small & paired with the sub. By the way that is how you either do or dont have the sub on when listening to 2 or even 5 channel.

Setting speakers to large will send ALL info to the speaker & set to small with a crossover # set, tye speaker will get all the info above the crossover # (i.e 80hz) & the receiver will redirect the info below that # to the sub. You always want to set to small UNLESS....you have an uncapable sub as in your case or your speakers can handle bass down to 20hz (which almost is never the case)

Ok back to subject, if towers seem like they will take up too much space the get a good pair of bookshelves & a decent sub. This will go a bit over budget but will yield better results because a decent sub will handle the bass better then the towers alone. Infinity's bookshelves are great for the $. But dont go with one of their subs if you fo that route. For a sub, look up HSU, SVS, Rythmik, Outlaw or maybe Epik. If your room is small & you cant crank it too high then an 8" sub will be fine. If you can swing a 10" sub then even better.

Hope this help a little!!

 

[zieglj01]

The guy sold them.

For your budget and apartment - I would get the Cambridge S30
speakers, and this Outlaw sub. This should be a nice budget set
up for you.
M8 Powered Subwoofer

If you like this system - then sell your JBL system and buy a center channel. You
can save up for surrounds. A decent 3.1 system, can work well in apartments.

 

[zieglj01]

I checked out your SCS500 sub online. That sub is meant to be paired up with the 5 satellite speakers it came with. It is not a good sub im sorry to say. I just want to be honest with you it is not a slam.

Thanks for checking into this - I was too tired to check it out.

 

[afterlife2]

Hello, $150 is rediculously low for the 363 towers, are you sure that was not for a single speaker? I would get 5 Infinity Primus 163's @ $85 apiece and free shipping, get a decent sub and you will be good to go, Epik Legend if you could swing it. With shipping on the sub, total investment under $1000. I forgot to mention stands, sorry. Something else to consider, Ascend Acoustics (3) 170's upfront, about $500 plus shipping.
Jeff

Jeff Thanks for the help! The speakers were the 362's and yes he claimed they were 2 speakers for $150.00. I think I might invest in a pair of Primus 163's and go from there. I might be able to score a pair for $120.

timoteo great thanks great advice too. I'm on a budget woofer wise. Is there a decent $150-200 woofer? I think a 8 inch would suit my small apt. or Maybe those Monoprice 12" ones? For only $78.30 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 12 Inch 150 Watt Powered Subwoofer - Light Wood Finish | Subwoofers

zieglj01 That set Sub/Cambridge looks nice. I wish I had the money.

 

[zieglj01]

I would not rush into budget subwoofers - they tend to
boom a lot, and are more for home theater than music.
For a low price sub - I would stick to the brands mentioned
by timoteo. From your origional budget around $450 max,
the Infinity Primus 163 (if $120) and the Outlaw sub, will fit.

"Looking to spend $200-450."

 

[afterlife2]

Good eye zieglj01. I put the JBL 5.1 up for sale. Once they sell, if they sell. I'll go with the recommendations you guys gave. Anyone have the M8's? If you do can you tell me your experience?

 

[timoteo]

Beware of that Monoprice sub. There are no reviews yet & it looks like the driver is similar to PartsExpessesmlow end sub that ive heard & it was JUNK!!! if you want an inexpensive sub the go for the BIC F-12. Many people love it for the price & i think its designed by Dr. HSU of HSU Research. That goes for i think $175-$225. Its a 12" too which would do good in a smaller room.

 

[zieglj01]

Good eye zieglj01. I put the JBL 5.1 up for sale. Once they sell, if they sell. I'll go with the recommendations you guys gave. Anyone have the M8's? If you do can you tell me your experience?

Here is a small review of the M8 sub
Outlaw M8: Easily the best budget subwoofer? | The Audiophiliac - CNET News

 

[afterlife2]

Thank for the review zieglj01. Soooo Outlaw M8 or BIC F-12(thanks timoteo) ??? Which would produce better natural bass?

 

[zieglj01]

Thank for the review zieglj01. Soooo Outlaw M8 or BIC F-12??? Which would produce better natural bass?

The word on the Bic is that it is more boom than musical - more for
the Home Theater crowd - the M8 attracks me more. The Bic should
play louder - However, I would be surprised if it went much deeper.
I do not believe that Outlaw would put their name on a sloppy product.

This is a little test of the Bic sub, from a review on Amazon

This review is from: BIC America F12 12-Inch 475-Watt Front Firing Powered Subwoofer (Electronics)
I actually have a pair of 10" SVS subs, and then purchased this 12" sub for a friend. I did some testing with not only music but since wave test tones. Running 1/3 octave sine wave test tones through both brands, this 12" sub is very peaky at around 60hz, and output starts to fall rather steeply beyond 40hz-35hz... It does produce 25hz sine wave tones, but at very low levels that is basically not audible relative to the higher frequencies this sub can make. And at about 20hz, you can obviously hear doubling effects from this sub, where there is quite a lot of 2nd harmonics at 40hz present... So, this sub is not very loud at low end bass below 30 hz, has a rather poor bass response linearity (very peaky), and produces too much of 2nd order harmonics at its low end response (will make some music such as pipe organs sound like one note bass). It is great for making explosion sounds or pop music that is heavily equalized from 50hz to 80hz, but very poor at producing loud and clean low frequency notes of a large pipe organ below 35hz...

 

[afterlife2]

Thanks zieglj01! Where can I get M8 besides the link you gave me? Maybe somewhere else that is less expensive?

 

[its phillip]

The only seller of the Outlaw M8 is Outlaw Audio.

 

[afterlife2]

Thanks Phil. I think I found a bargain we will see.

 

[Crackerballer]

With your budget, I'd do this deal:

Infinity Primus™ Theater 5-pack II Home theater speaker package at Crutchfield.com

and then spend the rest on a sub, since you sold your 5.1 setup. Then when you listen to music, set it to 5 channel stereo and you should have no problems filling your studio.

 

[afterlife2]

With your budget, I'd do this deal:

Infinity Primus™ Theater 5-pack II Home theater speaker package at Crutchfield.com

and then spend the rest on a sub, since you sold your 5.1 setup. Then when you listen to music, set it to 5 channel stereo and you should have no problems filling your studio.

That looks like a great deal Crackerballer! Thanks. Are the 4 speakers the Infinity Primus P163? While Is was doing a search for them these came up too? Jamo A340PDD any good? http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544083057/jamo-a340pdd-5

 

[Crackerballer]

That looks like a great deal Crackerballer! Thanks. Are the 4 speakers the Infinity Primus P163? While Is was doing a search for them these came up too? Jamo A340PDD any good? Jamo A340PDD.5 5.1 channel home theater speaker system (A 340 PDD. 5) at Vanns.com

I doubt that Jamo set touches that Primus setup. That Primus setup will be hard to beat at that price point. Unless you are sure you want floorstanding speakers, I jump on the Primus deal as you could easily get almost all of your money back selling them second hand, or could reuse 4 of them as rear surrounds in a 7.1 setup and then just buy your floorstanding fronts.

 

[afterlife2]

I just called crutchfield the (4) bookshelves are the Infinity Primus P143 (4"). The Center is 4". Hmmm what should I do guys??? Are these gonna be loud enough for Music/HDTV? or should I get (5) Infinity Primus P163? These should last me a good 5+ years Help!!!!

 

[Crackerballer]

I just called crutchfield the (4) bookshelves are the Infinity Primus P143 (4"). The Center is 4". Hmmm what should I do guys??? Are these gonna be loud enough for Music/HDTV? or should I get (5) Infinity Primus P163? These should last me a good 5+ years Help!!!!

I think you would be fine. There are many other options. I am a sucker for surround sound, so I think you need 5 speakers out of the gate. You could always do any combo of 4 of these:

Amazon.com: Infinity Primus Two-Way 5 1/4-Inch Bookshelf/Satellite Speaker (Black, Each): Electronics

Amazon.com: Infinity Primus Two-way 6 1/2-Inch Bookshelf/Satellite Speaker (Black, Each): Electronics

However thinking long term, the P363 really is one of the best deals going right now. $400 plus shipping for two awesome floorstanding speakers that will last you 20+ years with proper care is hard to beat. Literally EVERY review I have seen on them has been positive.

I still think the Primus theater pack will be good too, even with only 4" drivers all around.

Edit: After just rechecking Amazon, the P363s are $199 each with free shipping. That would seal the deal for me, I'd order two and go ahead with the center channel instead of the sub. Buy some of the P143s as rear surrounds whenever funds permit.

 

[afterlife2]

CB Thank you! I think I'm gonna go for a pAir of Infinity Primus P163 then go from there. I have a pair of Whafedales WH2 in storage that I might use as surrounds and see how they fare. Any advice on a good budget center speaker?

 

[Crackerballer]

CB Thank you! I think I'm gonna go for a pAir of Infinity Primus P163 then go from there. I have a pair of Whafedales WH2 in storage that I might use as surrounds and see how they fare. Any advice on a good budget center speaker?

P163s or the 363 floorstandings? If you meant the 363, then don't worry about the center right now, that front sound stage will be nice as it is.

If you truly meant the 163 book shelves with the 6.5" driver, I'd get the matching PC251 for $150 or better yet get the PC351 for $200. Best of all, you can support Audioholics and get all the speakers with free shipping for the same price as Amazon has them!

Food for thought:
P163: 2x $85 = $170
PC251: $150 or PC351: $200
Total: $320-370

P363: 2x $199= $398

I'd opt for the 2 363s over the 163/251 combo, only spending $70 more.