Polk monitor 65t vs infinity primus p253 vs Boston a250 vs pioneer sp-fs52

[nbaylot46]

I was wondering which of these are the better speaker. My wife won't let the speaker be too much taller than the console.
The room it will be in will be an open concept room with a 18x17x11 living room.

I listen to movies primarily and like the treble to be dynamic. I have a sub for low end.

Possibly klipsch f20?

Any other suggestions would be great.

 

[j_garcia]

Haven't heard the Bostons, but based on your PM, I'd say the Klipsch is a likely candidate. Not sure how you feel about internet direct, but Audiophile Loudspeakers and Subwoofers for Home Theater and Music - Ascend Acoustics, renowned speakers,subs,audio has the CMT340-SE, which is technically a bookshelf but can be ordered with a pedestal that makes them appear as a tower (and they were providing the pedestals free with a purchase recently, not sure if that deal is still going on). If they meet your height requirements, they will likely also work very well. When I had my Infinity P163s, I did feel they were well suited to rock, so I wouldn't count them out either, but I'd probably lean toward the Ascends as they are more even handed with a wide variety of material. All of them will be fine with movies.

 

[Pyrrho]

The best way to decide such questions is to go to your local audio shops and listen to the speakers for yourself, preferably with a wide variety of music with which you are familiar (taking a CDR of selections of your favorites is a good idea). With speakers, one person's heaven is another person's hell. Klipsch is a good example of this, as many people love them, and many hate them. For me, I appreciate what they do well, but I have never really liked them much. But it is you who will be listening to the speakers, so it is your opinion that matters, not anyone else's.

My advice is to go to as many of your local audio shops as you can stand to visit, and listen to as many different types of speakers (e.g., ribbon, horn, dome, whatever) and of as many different brands as you can stand, and then decide what sort of thing you like and make your decision based on that. For me, nothing beats a good ribbon from what I have heard so far, but you may feel differently (not to mention that a good ribbon will increase the price from the speakers you are considering).

 

[nbaylot46]

Haven't heard the Bostons, but based on your PM, I'd say the Klipsch is a likely candidate. Not sure how you feel about internet direct, but Audiophile Loudspeakers and Subwoofers for Home Theater and Music - Ascend Acoustics, renowned speakers,subs,audio has the CMT340-SE, which is technically a bookshelf but can be ordered with a pedestal that makes them appear as a tower (and they were providing the pedestals free with a purchase recently, not sure if that deal is still going on). If they meet your height requirements, they will likely also work very well. When I had my Infinity P163s, I did feel they were well suited to rock, so I wouldn't count them out either, but I'd probably lean toward the Ascends as they are more even handed with a wide variety of material. All of them will be fine with movies.

Forgot to mention bookshelves on stands is not WAF rated.

The max budget would be 450 for Floorstanding pair and center together.

I have listened to the pioneers at Best Buy and I guess I liked them enough. The only problem is around here there are only High end speakers such as B&W,PSB,Paradigm,Def Tech, Monitor and Episode. I only have Best Buy to listen to the speakers in my price range. I'm trying not to listen to the better ones so I don't get spoiled on there sound. It's hard to compare the Pioneer's to anything. The BB had Klipsch Icon series towers and the Polk TSI 300. The Polk's sounded a little boomy and got in the way of the higher frequency. The Klipsch sounded ok to me but I am afraid they may be a tad bit fatiguing to my wife. (We also have hardwood floors and windows on the left wall.) But we both like forward sounding speakers.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Another option is to skip the center for now, and with 2.0. You can utilize a phantom center effect and put all of the $450 in to two good fronts. This would let you get those Ascends mentioned above, which are a notch above everything else mentioned. If you like the Infinities, you could go with the P363s, and later on add the matching center.

 

[j_garcia]

The Ascends actually attach to the base via a bracket, so they aren't going anywhere. TP-24 Pedestal Stands The setup I heard the 340s in multiple times had them like this.

I really like the Pioneers for the price and if you must have the center at the same time, they would be the way to go IMO. The Ascends are a little brighter than the Pioneers, so it may give you a little more of that "crisp" sound without being harsh or fatiguing. I found the Ascends and the Pioneers to go well with everything I threw at them though, but obviously the Ascends are more pricey in this case.

 

[nbaylot46]

As mentioned before, these will be primarily for movies. So I will most likely need the center.

The pioneers are around 300 total.
Ascends at 500.

Knowing this, are the Ascends worth the extra money and without the center? I will get the Ascends if it is truly worth it and the dialog be on par with the pioneers with a center.

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[nbaylot46]

Actually the Ascends might be too big. The pedestal is 24" and the speaker is 21". Making it 46" which is way too tall. I think max the wife would allow is 40"

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[nbaylot46]

If I went with the 2.0 suggestion, what would be a good solution for that at 500 pr or less. This is all superceded by the fact the Phantom center will be on par with having an actual center(pioneers).

I want to mention that I will be about 10-12 feet from the TV and the Towers would be about 6 feet apart. I will be having more than one person to entertain and I have a sectional with chaise that creates a U shape towards the TV. I read on phantom centers and the main concern is more than one listener because of off axis performance.

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[j_garcia]

Phantom does work, but it is not as good as having a dedicated center, especially for movies IMHO. Off axis isn't a huge issue, but may affect dialog for those who are off axis, but you are also sitting a good distance away. Proper placement and calibration will mitigate that issue: a little toe-in to give good coverage, not favoring the ideal sweet spot, proper spacing apart for the seating area which might need to be more like 7-9ftft sitting at 12ft while keeping them a few feet from any side walls, etc... My second setup is 2ch only and I sit about 10-11ft away also and dialog isn't a problem, but I also spent a lot of time dialing in their placement and they have very good off axis performance. I have them probably 9ft apart and toed in. If you can get it sounding decent BEFORE running calibration, half the battle is won. Despite all that, I still prefer to have a center, I just don't need one in my second setup

 

[nbaylot46]

I believe the max I could put them apart would be 7 ft and that is extremely pushing it since the wall is only 85 inches. I'm a little restricted on what I can do about proper placement.


But what you're probably saying is..... get the Pioneer's? (read like Ron Burgundy)

 

[j_garcia]

Not an issue - placement will obviously vary depending on your room, so that will entirely have to do with what you are working with. You've heard them and you were OK with their sound; for the price I think they are a solid choice.

 

[nbaylot46]

Thank you for your time and effort!

 

[Jimz711]

I really enjoy the Pioneers as well, you do get an at home trial with Best Buy, it used to be 30 days but I remember someone in one of the threads here mentioning it had been shortened. An in home trial is always better than anything you can hear in store. I will say that for me the Pioneers sound so much better in house than they did in store.

Make sure you like them, because the worst thing you can do is settle, then you'll be looking to upgrade in the future and you'll end up spending more. If you are not happy with the Pioneers when you get them home, consider going with 2 towers and save the matching center for later. If you don't mind white, A4L sells the Boston A360's for 200 each new not refurbs. A definite option to the Pioneers.

If your taste is anything like mine you'll get the Pioneers home and be perfectly happy with them.

 

[nbaylot46]

Just got the pioneers at best buy with a price match from tiger direct for 98 for towers and 68 center!

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