Replacing old Towers ideas

H

HeavyM

Enthusiast
Hello all,
New to the forum and I'm sure this has been asked out a thousand times over. Any good ideas on main tower replacements ,staying in or under 1k? My old set are OLD AAL 223's. Also my current receiver is a ONKYO TX NR747. Which is also to be replaced soon, probably going to Marantz.
I do tend to rock out a bit but will also be listening to av through these. Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated. Haven't as you can see been keeping up on new gear.
Thanks in advance
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Without getting into your story and goals, too heavily, the first thing that comes to mind is the JBL Studio 590 towers. Many friends here like the Studio 5 series, and better still, they can often be had for over 50% off on sale. They are supposed to be easy to drive and have a sensitivity that doesn't require extreme amounts of power to reach ear-bleeding SPL.

Just an idea to get the ball rolling.

These are still n sale right now for 56% off, but backordered until later this month.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
You can definitely rock out with the JBLs. Use factory direct for the discounts.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
These DCM TFE100s can hang with 1000/pr speakers from what I've been seeing from some members here who've purchased them. I bought a pair of bookshelf speakers from DCM's TP series (a step down from their TFE series) and am still surprised at how good they sound. I keep them in my living room on my subs still and hook them up every once in a while because they're fun to listen to.

Don't let the low price fool you, I'll bet you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of tower speakers under 1000 bucks that will outperform these. I'm just throwing it out there as a very, very good budget option. $1000 budget does give you some other choices.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What do you mean by listening to av? This just a 2ch system for both music and tv/movies? Or eventually a surround system? You want towers only or will you supplement with a sub?

ps I have the 590s and use subs fwiw. Just because it's a tower doesn't mean a sub/subs won't be beneficial....
 
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H

HeavyM

Enthusiast
Well towers being the mains, Don't have a sub at the moment, Not saying not open to the option..Im mainly a stereo guy.
 
H

HeavyM

Enthusiast
using a onkyo TX NR 747b receiver. thinking of swapping this out for a Marantz
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Hello all,
New to the forum and I'm sure this has been asked out a thousand times over. Any good ideas on main tower replacements ,staying in or under 1k? My old set are OLD AAL 223's. Also my current receiver is a ONKYO TX NR747. Which is also to be replaced soon, probably going to Marantz.
The DCM TFE100 and JBL Studio 590 are in a much higher league over the MTX AAL 223 speakers
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Well towers being the mains, Don't have a sub at the moment, Not saying not open to the option..Im mainly a stereo guy.
If you go with the DCM TFE100s you'll have a healthy chunk of your speaker budget left over for a really nice subwoofer...

I'm mainly a stereo guy also and I wouldn't want to go without subs now that I have them. A good, clean playing subwoofer can elevate a whole system, I think you'd be surprised. I'm not talking about rattling the roof either. Just enough to fill in the lower frequencies. This will take some load off your speakers and amp and IME they play cleaner, clearer and can go louder without distortion. It's not about adding boom or thump. I'm talking very clean bass, tastefully balanced. My subs don't call attention to themselves. Done right the effect is subtle and really only becomes noticeable when you turn them off.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
using a onkyo TX NR 747b receiver. thinking of swapping this out for a Marantz
I'm gonna start sounding like a broken record, lol. If your Onkyo is doing the job swapping it for a Marantz will be more of a lateral move. If you're updating or need certain features that's one thing, but it's the wrong tree to bark up if you're wanting a sq upgrade.

I vote subwoofer! :p
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Yes, I would run the new speakers with the Onkyo receiver first ... most of the difference in sound comes from the speakers

I'm gonna start sounding like a broken record, lol. If your Onkyo is doing the job swapping it for a Marantz will be more of a lateral move. If you're updating or need certain features that's one thing, but it's the wrong tree to bark up if you're wanting a sq upgrade.

I vote subwoofer! :p
 
M

Merkules2001

Audioholic
These DCM TFE100s can hang with 1000/pr speakers from what I've been seeing from some members here who've purchased them. I bought a pair of bookshelf speakers from DCM's TP series (a step down from their TFE series) and am still surprised at how good they sound. I keep them in my living room on my subs still and hook them up every once in a while because they're fun to listen to.

Don't let the low price fool you, I'll bet you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of tower speakers under 1000 bucks that will outperform these. I'm just throwing it out there as a very, very good budget option. $1000 budget does give you some other choices.
I have seen you champion this product several times. I am very close to pulling the trigger on floorspeakers. I am looking at 3 things. Klipsch Rf82ii, Klipsch Heresy 1, Wharfdale diamond 10.7 or 240. In your opinion could the dcm be apple to apple as far as mid level bass, not thump, the musical kind? Sorry for thread hijack
 
H

HeavyM

Enthusiast
So I shall start with the Speakers. So I need to find a shop that carries DCM and compare them to the JBL's..Is what I'm hearing. Good ideas to start. The sub, thing I'm assuming more for the movie end of the spectrum??
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
So I shall start with the Speakers. So I need to find a shop that carries DCM and compare them to the JBL's..Is what I'm hearing. Good ideas to start. The sub, thing I'm assuming more for the movie end of the spectrum??
Depends on your music. But for me a sub is included in my music too. Some music benefits more and setup is key, but yeah... I’d say a sub is a worthwhile inclusion. Even with decent towers.
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
I have seen you champion this product several times. I am very close to pulling the trigger on floorspeakers. I am looking at 3 things. Klipsch Rf82ii, Klipsch Heresy 1, Wharfdale diamond 10.7 or 240. In your opinion could the dcm be apple to apple as far as mid level bass, not thump, the musical kind? Sorry for thread hijack
The Klipsch will have more bass -- but the DCM will hang with many speakers, and will have some real good bass for music fans
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
So I shall start with the Speakers. So I need to find a shop that carries DCM and compare them to the JBL's..Is what I'm hearing. Good ideas to start. The sub, thing I'm assuming more for the movie end of the spectrum??
I somewhat doubt you're going to find a store carrying both of those. I'm thinking a demo of either one might even be difficult to locate. Might have to take a chance....I don't live very close to a place that has much to audition, and that's a Best Buy, anything better is driving a heck of a lot longer. My last several sets of speakers and my first good sub were all based on research and purchased without audition. Some are from internet only dealers anyways. I bought the JBLs unheard due quite a few good reports around the net on this series and the price was right, liked them so much I later added a full suite for a surround set (530s for rear surrounds, the 520 center and 580s for surrounds....).

I listen to all kinds of music, including multi-ch, as well as use my systems for tv/movies so a sub I consider a must have myself, and am somewhat a bassoholic in any case. With most speakers I'd add a sub, as I like to be able to cover all my bases so to speak (pun intended), if I put on some killer low organ music I want to hear what it's got so to speak. If I listened to only 2ch content with no lower bass I could possibly live with the 590s alone, but I see no reason to do so on the other hand. Subs have other benefits in terms of room acoustics, allows separate placement from the mains as necessary for best response in a given room. YMMV but I recommend trying a good one.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
If you can wait a couple of days, I will get a comparison of the JBL 580 versus the TCM TFE 100 speakers.
Will do my best to communicate the differences I hear.
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
So I shall start with the Speakers. So I need to find a shop that carries DCM and compare them to the JBL's..Is what I'm hearing. Good ideas to start. The sub, thing I'm assuming more for the movie end of the spectrum??
The DCM's have been discontinued. If you're in the US, there's a liquidator on eBay who sells them with free shipping and free returns.

 
H

HeavyM

Enthusiast
I can wait a few days without an issue, I do have a fairly descent audio shop not far from me. I'll give him a call see what he carry's. I've heard a klipsch setup with sub, wasn't bad but seemed a bit bright. I like to hear the whole spectrum, from good vocals to a good bass riff. Thanks for all the responses, definitely helps.
 
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