Newbie - Looking for speaker advice

[XtremeM3]

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Hi everyone I'm new to the forums but I've been lurking a bit lately and thought I would join up and ask for a couple opinions. Alot of you guys are WAY over my head in the home entertainment area so you'll have to bear with me. I am wanting to move out of the cave that is Bose speakers (so I'm told) so I'm looking for some advice on what to actually move to.

I currently have 2 Bose systems. An Acoustimass 10 setup on a Yamaha RX-V640(which I honestly don't feel sounds bad) connected to a Optoma HD72 projector for the living room - fed by a 360 with HD-DVD add-on for movies. I also have a Lifestyle 35(which I honestly think is HORRID) connected to a 50" Samsung plasma in the bedroom - currently running just a p-scan dvd connected to the Bose for audio with an HD-A2 on order. I am perfectly content with ridding myself of the Lifestyle 35, as that was quite possibly the worst purchase ever, and moving the Acoustimass and RX-V640 setup into the bedroom. For the casual bedroom listening they would work for me. Which leads me to the living room...

I have already purchased a Yamaha RX-V2700, but I don't have speakers for it. After reading so much negative towards Bose the last couple years(after buying mine of course) I would like to step into something else and try and see what I'm apparently missing. Here is part of the problem. My g/f does not like to see the speakers. Part of the reason we went with the Bose before because they were small and therefore have a small precense in the room. (An in-wall setup is not an option right now because where we currently live all the walls are concrete).

What I was thinking about purchasing was the Mirage OMNISAT V2 FS(2), CC, and Sat(2) to make a 5.1 combo with an OMNI S10 sub. This combo would set me back about 2400 bucks from what I've seen, and I'm just wondering if it will be worth it. These speakers don't seem to have too much of a precense and I think she can deal with these rather than some big boxier styled speakers. I definitely do not want to purchase speakers based on cosmetic reasons, but it is something I have to consider in the purchase. Based on reviews these speakers have performed well and seem to look good to me so far. I just wanted to see what type of experience or opinions people here had about the Mirage OMNISATs or the Mirage line in general, or if anyone had any other recommendations.

I also was looking for opinions on the RX-V2700. The only negative I see with my setup is no HDMI 1.3, but it's not like I have options right now for that. I love the HDMI (or component)upconversion option and it just looks like a good well rounded receiver. My RX-640 has been pumping for 4 years now with no problems so I guess I'm a little partial to Yamaha.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help.

Jeff

 

[robot]

How are the acoustics of your room? Concrete tends to be very good at reflecting

Do you have a B&W dealer close by? If bookshelves aren't too big I would suggest a system using the 600s for fronts and rears and then the matching center channel. They're pretty small even for a bookshelf but after hearing them last week I was impressed. They have many of the qualities of the 603s that will be picking up maybe today. I'm not very partial on this one though... I'm obsessed with B&W at the moment.

 

[XtremeM3]

really?...that's it? no one else?

 

[mike c]

dump the girl ...
get decent speakers.
(that your house or hers?)

kidding aside, the 2700 is a bit of an overkill for a satellite setup.
what about in-walls? or stylish speakers? (nice looking but still bookshelves)

 

[XtremeM3]

I've been thinking about getting rid of her and going for the speakers....still on the fence about that, lol. And if you ask her..it's "our" house. read: hers.

Anyway, yeah I was trying to sell her on the Mirage OMNISATs because I've been reading good reviews about them. In-wall is just not an option with the concrete walls in the apartments here (currently working overseas).

I feel the 2700 is overkills for my old Acoustimass 10 as well. My 640 handles them well, but knowing that the 2700 could do it with SO much left over really makes me want to get something to try and get a fuller range of sound out of. Where I am located now though doesn't give me a chance to demo anything, so I'm stuck with internet research and sorting through the opinions of others. A horrible way to choose speakers I know, but I'm starting to feel pretty confident about ordering the OMNISATs, I'm just looking for that last nudge I guess to click the "checkout" button. lol

Also I was looking at the JBL Cinema Series, they seemed pretty comparable and have a nice cosmetic appearance as well. A first for me, as I've never really cared for JBLs. I've never really been into home audio, I have a car full of a few thousand $ of JL Audio, but JL doesn't make home audio...except for an insane subwoofer.

Anyway, hoping to hear more from you guys!

Jeff

 

[mike c]

my first system was a JBL SCS system, they're pretty good for the price. but the included sub is not that good.

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker options

There are some good looking bookshelf speakers with real wood veneer that can add to the asthetics of your room. One example is the Onix speakers from av123 which range in price from $200-$1500 a pair.
There are a lot of options in your price range so listen to several before you decide on a satelite system.

 

[XtremeM3]

I wish I could listen. Unfortunately they are a little short of showrooms where I'm at right now. I'm not sure when I'll be in an area to do auditions but I really don't want to wait until then. (could be 6 months from now). Basically what I would like is a nice, discreet system with 2 towers for the front, 2 sats for the back, and a nice center. Black is pretty much a necessity. 90% of listening will be home theater, the other 10 random music from alt, rock, country, small amount of rap/r&b. I really just want something that will help immerse my g/f and I into a movie. It's an amazing experience watching HD-DVDs on a 110" screen provided by my HD72, I just want the sound to go with it. I feel my bose sound is just lacking a bit in that category. I've heard good things about the Mirage OMNISAT V2 line and I think that may be the way I'm heading. I came across the JBL Cinema series which look to be comparable in price/performace. I'm just looking for that last nudge as I mentioned before to go ahead with the order on either I guess.

Thanks for the advice though, guys, I'm taking it all in so keep it coming

Jeff

edit: I was looking for something with a crossover range around 80. That's what I used in the car and love it for sound, but that's mostly music. How is 80 for home theater? Or would I be better off looking for a crossover range of 50? Thanks....

 

[tman]

You should figure out what you want.

Personally I am not an audiophile but I think you should figure out what you like and don't like about your current speakers before you buy something new. Listen to other speakers, even mass-market ones and try to think about the many ways they differ. From this you can figure out what you admire and don't admire about your present speakers and start focusing on speakers that match what you like about your speakers while also delivering the things you miss. It won't replace listening to speakers or taking risk ordering speakers unheard, but it may help narrow your list.

I would suggest reading some of the reviews of Hsu Ventriloquist linked at www.hsuresearch.com. I found those informative deciding between bookshelf and satellite. If you read the first two articles thinking Bose<=4" woofer you will understand some of what Bose design chooses not to do.

Also think about what a subwoofer will do. A couple friends of mine have acoustimass systems--One is always impressed by my speakers (which go down to around 40-45Hz), while the other was impressed, thought about it for a day or two, and bought a pretty decent Velodyne sub that goes way low and he is very happy with his "immersive" home theatre. Is my speaker system as "immersive"? Certainly there is a lot of cannons, explosions around 25Hz my speaker won't even show.

I don't particularly care for bose (nice looking though, was impressed with their size in the 1980's), but I don't care for Klipsch either (sounded bright to me) and a college friend who was a college DJ, musician and real audiophile loved Klipsch so I get sense there's no right answer, just what you like-- he was using Harmon Kardon amp, I think...

Side note: That friend at one point almost invented directional bass. When he tried to patent it, the patent office sent him back Klipsch's patent on the same... I wonder what he did with the massive carcass of his demo unit?!