Not an audiophile, but need some new mains...

[Buddy17]

Hey all,

Its my first post here, but i have been trolling for awhile...

As of now, i'm living in an apartment going to college, just bought a Yamaha RX-V659 receiver and using my old Yamaha HTIAB system that i bought when i was 11 i believe...while at college, i left the sub at home and it was actually stolen not long ago.

I am on quite the budget, and i really need something more explosive. I don't really want a sub right now for the system, even though i know that will be the first thing everyone says, it just doesn't seem very practical in an apartment situation. When i do go to pick one up, it will be an HSU STF-1 or STF-2...but anyway, i wanted to pick up some new mains and possibly center to make the movie experience more fun. Like the title says, i'm not an audiophile...i will be listening to music, but i don't like a flat response and not really concerned about how accurate a speaker is...i just want it to be full sounding speaker that is really good for action movies, some loud music, etc...
BTW, i would like to stay around a 300 dollar budget...which i wouldn't think would be too hard...

On that note, about the only speakers i have found to like is the Klipsch RB-61, but i would really appreciate some other recommendations. I can pick up the RB's for 360 shipped.

Thanks again, i would really appreciate some help!

edit: I was gonna post links up of the RB-61's and my current system, but i can't post links yet. My current system is a Yamaha CLS-150...

 

[furrycute]

$300 is not a lot for "audiophile" speakers.

Anyways, are you looking for bookshelves or floorstanders? Since you will be getting a sub later on, I guess a good pair of bookshelves can be sufficient for now.

Ever heard of the Athena brand? I think it's a value brand introduced by the Canadian speaker company Energy, sold at Best Buy. Head over to your local Best Buy, and have a listen to the larger Athena bookshelf (the one with the 6.5 inch woofer) or listen to the Athena floorstanders.

For $300, I think they are quite a bargain. Especially the large Athena floorstander with the dual 8inch woofers in each tower (four 8 inch woofers total for a stereo pair), they can rock your house.

Audioadvisor.com currently has the Athena's on sale.

 

[gus6464]

$300 is not a lot for "audiophile" speakers.

Anyways, are you looking for bookshelves or floorstanders? Since you will be getting a sub later on, I guess a good pair of bookshelves can be sufficient for now.

Ever heard of the Athena brand? I think it's a value brand introduced by the Canadian speaker company Energy, sold at Best Buy. Head over to your local Best Buy, and have a listen to the larger Athena bookshelf (the one with the 6.5 inch woofer) or listen to the Athena floorstanders.

For $300, I think they are quite a bargain. Especially the large Athena floorstander with the dual 8inch woofers in each tower (four 8 inch woofers total for a stereo pair), they can rock your house.

Audioadvisor.com currently has the Athena's on sale.

Best Buy USA no longer carries Athena and Klipsch has canned the brand.

 

[rnatalli]

Here's a pair of floorstanders worth considering:

http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/TSTO.storefront/479b93790017538c2740ac100341063d/Product/View/2511

There are some bookshelves in the $300 range worth considering like av123 X-LS, Axiom M2 v2, Monitor Audio BR2, and PSB Image B25 just to name a few.

 

[Buddy17]

i know 300 is not much for an audiophile speaker setup, which is why i said 300 should be easy to fulfill considering i don't need something like that. Im not a really critical listener, i won't be listening to any classical music, i just want something to be very full and not boring to listen to.

I'm more looking towards bookshelves, mainly because of space and price. Most nice towers seem to be very expensive, so i would think a nice set of bookshelves would be best as of now. And when i mean later for a sub, i meant that it won't be for quite awhile actually. I would say a year or two...so i really need something that is going to fulfill the no-sub experience for awhile. Thanks for the quick responses though!

 

[DavidG]

If you like the sound of Klipsch and the horn tweeters, you make like the Bic Acoustech series speakers. The HT-75 tower speakers have been compared to Klipsch and can be found online for around $300/pr. Also, the H-100 12" subwoofer by Bic has been considered quite capable in the budget subwoofer department.

 

[Buddy17]

yeah i listened to the RB-51's at the local Magnolia, and found to really like them. I have yet to year the 61's, but from what i have read, they are that much better in the low's. I am not going to completely throw out the tower speakers, but i'm not sure if i really have the room for them, and if a cheaper set of towers is going to be worth it.

The system is slowly expanding, and i figured one day i could pick up a nice set of towers for mains and move the nice bookshelves i buy now into the surrounds.

 

[furrycute]

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/bookshelf/bookshelf-speaker-faceoff-2007/?searchterm=speaker comparison


Audioholics' own staff review of some bookshelf speakers.

 

[Buddy17]

Acoustech HT-75's seem to be a pretty good deal and comparable to the Klipsch, but again, not sure if i have the room for towers. I have read that review of the bookshelves, but it doesn't seem like they had much good to say about any of the sub 400 speakers. The x-ls possibly, but maybe i'm reading wrong or something?? As of now, i have yet to see much that will steer me away from the RB-61's, but don't get me wrong i am still looking so please keep giving me some reviews and pointers.

 

[gus6464]

Have you tried the used market? You can get some very good deals from audiogon or craigslist on speakers that you could get by buying new.

Epos ELS-3 w/ stands - $250
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1206475089

Silverline Audio Minuet - these are a little more than your budget but I had to recommend them because they are just superb little speakers.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1203875358

Totem Dreamcatcher $375 - Again a little over budget but great speakers nonetheless. Excel in midrange.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1206148679

Dali Ikon 1 - At $400 this is a steal considering they retail for $1000.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1205857057

Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 - $319 brand new and also great speakers.
http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/tsto.storefront/EN/product/2615

 

[Buddy17]

just curious, but how come no one even comments about the Klipsch? They get awesome reviews everywhere else, but no one on here has even said one thing. What does everyone here have against them? I guess i'm trying to get myself away from the RB-61's so i will actually look at other speakers...

 

[gus6464]

just curious, but how come no one even comments about the Klipsch? They get awesome reviews everywhere else, but no one on here has even said one thing. What does everyone here have against them? I guess i'm trying to get myself away from the RB-61's so i will actually look at other speakers...

Well have you heard the Klipsch? They are not bad speakers at all, it's just that they can be very bright and can cause listener fatigue. Some people love the bright sound and others don't. It's a love/hate relationship when it comes to Klipsch.

 

[Buddy17]

As i said, i listened to the RB-51's at the local Magnolia. Same horn as the 61's...I didn't find them to be too bright, but i guess i really like the bright sound... I compared them to the RF-82's, and found the 82's to be simply amazing but at 1000 bucks way out of my price range. Looks are also pretty important, they need to be black, and i have found the Klipsch to be absolutely beautiful.

 

[furrycute]

Nothing wrong with Kplisch at all. In fact, the kplich reference series are really nice speakers.

Just like gus said, some people are really sensitive to high frequency sounds, and these people find the bright sound of the Kplisch horns to be fatiguing. With Kplisch, it's either you love it or you hate it. Since you auditioned the Kplisch's, and like them, then by all means go for them! Always trust your own ears.

 

[gus6464]

As i said, i listened to the RB-51's at the local Magnolia. Same horn as the 61's...I didn't find them to be too bright, but i guess i really like the bright sound... I compared them to the RF-82's, and found the 82's to be simply amazing but at 1000 bucks way out of my price range. Looks are also pretty important, they need to be black, and i have found the Klipsch to be absolutely beautiful.

Well there you go. That's all that matters in speaker shopping so go buy the Klipsch. Most people end up making their life more complicated when they come to forums like these because they find out that there are a ton more options out there than they originally though. I personally prefer another type of sound so that is why I linked the other speakers.

 

[furrycute]

Well said!

Well there you go. That's all that matters in speaker shopping so go buy the Klipsch. Most people end up making their life more complicated when they come to forums like these because they find out that there are a ton more options out there than they originally though. I personally prefer another type of sound so that is why I linked the other speakers.

 

[Buddy17]

i can definitely see where some people find them to be too bright. i was just mainly trying to find some other choices before i purchased.

I guess there is one other option...even though i said isn't very practical, what about keeping my current set up and grabbing a STF-1. Now that i can finally post a link, lets see what you all have to say about that idea...

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200406&CTID=5003000&PF=1

 

[furrycute]

With regard to the Hsu sub, I would go with the VTF series rather than the STF series. The VTF series gives you a tighter sound than the STF series.

 

[gus6464]

i can definitely see where some people find them to be too bright. i was just mainly trying to find some other choices before i purchased.

I guess there is one other option...even though i said isn't very practical, what about keeping my current set up and grabbing a STF-1. Now that i can finally post a link, lets see what you all have to say about that idea...

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200406&CTID=5003000&PF=1

Get the Klipsch and upgrade to the STF-1 later

 

[Buddy17]

well the STF line seems to be the better budget minded option, which i am on quite the budget...althought the VTF line does seem to be much nicer.

But on the other hand, i was quite surprised the sub was recommended 2nd...i figured everyone would come up and say to get that first, but i really may have to consider pickin up the bookshelves now...