Need help deciding FRONT speakers for < $500 ...

[kng]

Need help deciding a pair of front speakers for under $500.

I mainly use it for HT and a little bit of music. The dimension of the room is around 22' W x 14' L x 8 ' H.

I'd prefer floorstanding speakers to bookshelf speakers. But bookshelf speakers would be fine, also.

Also, I need some advice on what's the best subwoofer for your bucks.

Thanks

 

[Robof83]

For $500 I think your money would be better spent on a good set of bookshelves.

For bookshelf speakers I would recommend a pair of http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5B-Bookshelf-Speaker,108,20,250.aspx, or http://www.axiomaudio.com/m22.html, or http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html, or http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/fronts-monitor-minimonitor-model-2-4-1-14.paradigm

If you really wan't floorstanders you might try TST2 High Performance 3-way Tower Speaker (Pair). These have gotten great reviews right here on these forums, and are without a doubt an incredible value. Plus with these and some of the other id companies I mentioned above, you have a free 30 day in-home-trial.

 

[Gryfter]

Need help deciding a pair of front speakers for under $500.

I mainly use it for HT and a little bit of music. The dimension of the room is around 22' W x 14' L x 8 ' H.

I'd prefer floorstanding speakers to bookshelf speakers. But bookshelf speakers would be fine, also.

Also, I need some advice on what's the best subwoofer for your bucks.

Thanks

What receiver will you be using to power these speakers?

 

[fredk]

With your budget, you are going to get more performance for your money out of a good bookshelf.

I directly compared the Axiom M22 bookshelf + sub to the more expensive M60 floorstander. They sounded almost identical. The midrange and upper end of the M22 was on par with the floorstander and the sub made up for the missing bass.

Given your budget for the fronts, I would look as something like the SVS PB10NSD for a sub. Lots of bang for the buck!

 

[yeahman68]

you could try out the tst2's from the speaker company, read the review by audioholics, they're supposed to be really good for the price. Free shipping both ways, if you don't like them during the 30 day trial.

 

[kng]

Front speakers help...

For the receiver, I'm looking at the Onkyo TX-SR607. What other receivers would you suggest?

Robof83, what's your take on the Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 SE Main?
Are those bookshelf speakers powerful enough for my room size?
I'll take a look at all your suggestions. Thanks.

I'll give the TST2 a try, too. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[fredk]

As long as it has the features you want and the power to drive your speakers, most any receiver will do. Pick the receiver after you have decided on speakers.

 

[Robof83]

For the receiver, I'm looking at the Onkyo TX-SR607. What other receivers would you suggest?

Robof83, what's your take on the Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 SE Main?
Are those bookshelf speakers powerful enough for my room size?
I'll take a look at all your suggestions. Thanks.

I'll give the TST2 a try, too. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Those are great speakers, probably a step up from the ones mentioned so far, the only reason I didn't recommend them was because they were slightly above your budget.

 

[kng]

Robof83,

About the bookshelf speakers you mentioned earlier, do you think they will provide enough reasonable sound for my room size? The room size is about 22' W x 14' L x 8 ' H.

Thanks.

 

[Robof83]

I think all the speakers here could fill that room reasonably well. Of the bunch, the aperions would have the hardest time though.

 

[kng]

Ok. Thanks

 

[Gryfter]

The reason I was asking is because I was in a similar boat as you when it came to speaker budget and I ended up picking up 3 Emotiva ERM-1s and I love them but they are 4ohm speakers so it's important to make sure you have a receiver/amp that can run them. I then saved up a bit more and grabbed 2 ASW-8s from the Speaker company, one for the left channel and one for the right which really filled everything out nicely.

My next purchase will be a pair of Emotiva's ERD-1s for surround and then finally (if I ever have the money) a nice 12-15inch sub which will probably cost as much as my entire front setup so it'll be a while before that happens.

 

[corey]

Keep in mind the rule that you should spend more on your front speakers than on your TV stand