New on forum looking for suggestions for best setup vs budget

[Joefromct]

Greetings to all,

It should be an easy question but somehow is not. I am basically looking to put together a great sounding system on a decent budget. This is what I had but recently lost to a fire.

Setup1 (family room) Crown amp, parasound preamp with Bose 901's. The constant hum from the amplifier was annoying and the Bose didn't have enough bass for some of the music I like to listen to.

Setup2 (in basement) Yamaha M-4, C-4 with a pair of Klipsch Forte II. Not bad but would like something better.

Now, I have a friend whose wife is nagging him to get rid of his big speakers and he is willing to sell them to me for $800. A pair of Klipsch Cornwalls. I was thinking of matching them up with MC2105, MC32 that I read some many people raving about but can I do better?

My budget is around 4k if I buy the speakers above, if not, 5K for 1 setup. I will put the other one together later on.

What I like to listen to is Jazz, Latin music that have a lot of bass involved

Please give me your suggestions.

Regards,

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Pair of of Cornwalls for $800? Not bad, depends on condition these go on fleebay for 3-4 times that.
If they are not damaged or need fixing, I think you'd like the sound. They don't need lots of power, so anything with 10-20 watts is enough to power them very loudly.
If you love bass, then you should invest in great sub. Your target budget for sub would heavily depend on your room size. but anything under $500 is nearly junk and good subs start around $800-1000
Brands to go to for sub are: HSU, SVS, Rythmic, plus new Monoprice THX series subs

 

[Bucknekked]

Pair of of Cornwalls for $800? Not bad, depends on condition these go on fleebay for 3-4 times that.
If they are not damaged or need fixing, I think you'd like the sound. They don't need lots of power, so anything with 10-20 watts is enough to power them very loudly.
If you love bass, then you should invest in great sub. Your target budget for sub would heavily depend on your room size. but anything under $500 is nearly junk and good subs start around $800-1000
Brands to go to for sub are: HSU, SVS, Rythmic, plus new Monoprice THX series subs

I agree. A pair of Cornwalls in good working order for $800 is a pretty good deal.
If they need work, maybe not so much.
Pairing them with a sub (a good one like BSA said) should make beautiful music

 

[ski2xblack]

Forte II are arguably as good or better than CW, slightly less sensitive but slightly deeper bass, and the mid horn on the FII are less colored than the ones in the CW. They both require eq to sound their best IMO.

Something a couple of us have done that's in the same realm as Klipsch Heritage is to build a pair of Fusion 12 Tempests from diysoundgroup. A pair of those and capable subwoofage makes for an incredible experience. The kits cost about what your buddy wants for the CW, but Tempests are the better speaker.

 

[Joefromct]

Any suggestions on the amp / preamp? I have read a lot of good things on the ones I listed but I haven't heard them personally. Am I better off with a intergraded amplifier?
Regards

 

[lovinthehd]

McIntosh amps are pretty (expensive). I would first choose the speakers before settling on amp needs. If sticking to high sensitivity speakers you certainly can do well with more modest preamp/amp combo, or an integrated amp or even a receiver. Unless you really like pretty blue lights or care about resale value...they do have that going for them.

 

[ski2xblack]

Speaker choice comes first, so start there. Also, with a $5K budget, you could get some primo speakers (Salk, Philharmonic are the usual suspects, just ask Buck about his recently built system). The speakers you go with will help dictate amp choice, so save that decision until you've arrived on the speakers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I'd totally run 9k speakers with $1 electronics and it would much better than 1k speakers and 9k electronics.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, speakers should be the bigger investment over electronics.

 

[Joefromct]

They are selling these around me too cheaper than the Klipsch. Anyone familiar with them?
https://newhaven.craigslist.org/ele/d/dahlquist-dq-20-floorstanding/6553296241.html

 

[Mikado463]

I agree. A pair of Cornwalls in good working order for $800 is a pretty good deal.
If they need work, maybe not so much.
Pairing them with a sub (a good one like BSA said) should make beautiful music

x2, agreed

 

[Mikado463]

Any suggestions on the amp / preamp? I have read a lot of good things on the ones I listed but I haven't heard them personally. Am I better off with a intergraded amplifier?
Regards

Myself, I love tubes (I know, I'll get boo'ed here) paired with Klipsch. For the $$ , IMO Rogue Audio is top notch, American made right here in Pennsyltucky ! Rogue makes a nice integrated

 

[Mikado463]

They are selling these around me too cheaper than the Klipsch. Anyone familiar with them?
https://newhaven.craigslist.org/ele/d/dahlquist-dq-20-floorstanding/6553296241.html

I owned a pair of DQ10's back in the day, loved 'em, if these 20's are truly in fine working order then they might be worth considering. Are local for you to audition ?