Speaker advice (keep Klipsch F-2's?)

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Looking for a little advice please...

I am currently in the middle of a 30 day Best Buy trial period. I have the following components:

Poineer 1015TX receiver
Klipsh Synergy F-2 Speakers

I had $500 in gift certs, so I think I will keep the receiver, but I am looking for advice on the speakers. My impression is that they sound very nice for this price range. They are a little bright, but I really like the detail.

But, I am wondering: Any other speakers I should look at? The F-2's cost $316.00ea. I wouldnt mind paying a little more if it delivers a lot more bang for the buck. I also don't mind shopping used (ebay, audiogon, etc.).

My goal is to get the speakers in my budget (700-800 - maybe a little more if its suggested) that put me the closest to sitting in front of a live symphony!

Thank you for any advice/suggestions!

-Steve

 

[jaxvon]

I have the receiver and it's a great piece for the money. However, I would opt out of the Klipsch Synergy speakers. Klipsch makes and has made great speakers , but the Synergies do not live up this herritage (pun intended for those who know ). Anyway, since you crave that LIVE! sound, horn loaded speakers might just be the way to go. I've heard lots of good things about BIC Acoustech speakers and I own a setup of BIC speakers from their Venturi line that I'm very satisfied with. I believe that Costco carries BIC Venturi speakers (which are geared more towards music) so you might be able to pick them up for a good price.

But all that stuff above might be moot depending on what you want to achieve with your setup. What do you want to do? Stereo, 5.1, 7.1? And how large is your room?

 

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jaxvon,
The wife is expecting our first, so I think I will be missing a season subscription to the Nat'l Symphony! My goal is the most life like experience I can have in my budget. That may be 7.1 in the future, so I would like a system I can expand upon.

The room is about 20x40. Although, I would like speakers that I can grow with (when we finally buy our own place!).

Thank you for advice!!

 

[ExtraCheese]

My living room is similar in dimension. Not sure which wall you have the speakers on. I have mine on the 20ft wall, but I really am feeling a lack of bass. I'm looking to get a small sub to fill out the sound as soon as I can scrape together the funds.
Based on what I've experienced I think you are definetly going down the right path in getting ultra efficient hornloaded speakers. Also keep in mind that that size room can really affect the sound you are getting. Be patient with the speaker placement, it might be hard to find the right positioning (my speakers are right up on the wall to get better bass response).

Good luck!!

 

[jaxvon]

Since you love symphony music, I think that you might want to start with a pair of quality bookshelves and perhaps a subwoofer. That room is big, but I can't think of any floorstanders that really offer supberb sound at the price range. Let me mull for awhile and see what I can come up with.

Here's some food for thought though...

http://linkwitzlab.com/orion_us.htm

While you can't afford them right now, they just might be what you're looking for in the future. You can save a bunch of money by building them yourself (if you're handy) and they sound amazing. I did a few hour listening session with them and it really created an amazing live sound. Their dynamic capabilities, both micro and macro were supberb, as was the overall tonal balance. So far the Orion was the only speaker I've ever heard with great bass extension and slam that wasn't overdone. It sounded..."right".

 

[stink]

jaxvon, I have been looking for info like that! Very cool indeed... but at that price, the build kit is def on my "someday" list. (feel free to pass along any other info on highend type kits

Yeah, I have pondered the high quality bookshelves route. I dont need booming sound - just want to fill my listening position with high quality, detailed sound (I like to hear the instruments - prob why I like "bright" speakers).

I have thought about maybe demoing some Axioms...or checking the used market for a high end a couple of years old.

ExtraCheese: Yes! I have been thinking alot about speaker placement... I havent tried up against the wall though. prob try that for the education.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[jaxvon]

Hi again,

If you are handy, you should really think about building your own speakers. At your budget, you can build speakers that will compete with those you would pay 3x more for if they were already assembled. Keep in mind you'd have to do some soldering, sawing, etc. but if you're up for that, then awesome! I understand the Orions are expensive (the tweeters cost $170...each), but they sound like it too. If you were to go for some high quality bookshelves, I think a MTM design would be the best approach because of the extra driver area and ability to crank out more sound.

As far as placement goes, up against the wall will boost bass, but get too close and the bass will get boomy and you'll get the dreaded "one note" bass.

Check out the kits found here:

http://www.gr-research.com/index.htm

And if you have any questions, PM jGarcia, he owns a pair of GR-Research speakers.

 

[rikmeister]

well i would look on audiogon.com there you could look at

1400 to 1600 speakers. they sell used and demos. i would look at the quad 21L they would be about 890.00 there or less. you could find others too. onix and axiom and ascends and swans should be on your list. look at used you will have greater spending power and get better speakers for less.

 

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rikmeister: Thats just the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks for the advice!

jaxvon: Many thanks!! I pondered building my own speakers in the past, but gave up - too worried about ending up with something that sounded horrible. These high quality, proven kits have me thinking again. Using the names you provided, I did some searching and found these: http://ldsg.snippets.org/, http://www.diyspeakers.net/. This got me motivated again.

I am seriously thinking about starting w/some A/V-1's


Thanks for the advice/education!!

-Steve

 

[The13thGryphon]

1400 to 1600 speakers. they sell used and demos. i would look at the quad 21L they would be about 890.00 there or less. you could find others too. onix and axiom and ascends and swans should be on your list. look at used you will have greater spending power and get better speakers for less.

I am a former Klipsch Heritage series owner. My particular forte will be obvious to anyone who knows that vintage of Klipsch speakers. I would state that the Klipsch sound is a love it or hate it affair. And I would also state that their legacy speakers are the ones to own. But then I'm probably just a little biased by my exposure to Heresy II's and Forte's. I'd stay away from the Synergy series... but that's just one person's opinion (well, maybe two persons based upon Jax's comments).

In addition to the Quads, which I also like, and the Axioms, which I personally find a little bright (but which you might like), and the Onix and Swans which I've not heard but have heard good things about, here are a few other suggestions.

Soliloquy - either their 5.0i or 6.0i Monitor Loudspeakers and a sub. Very smooth, yet detailed, and very musical to my ears. Not a rock speaker; but really good for classical, jaz, acoustic music, etc.
http://www.solspeak.com/menu.html

Amphion - particularly their Helium model. Incredibly detailed without being harsh. Very lifelike and musical. Fantastic soundstage.
http://www.amphion.fi/index.htm

Magnepan - if you're willing to try something different, and can deal with their finiky room placement, then this is a very pleasing speaker. Take a look at the MG-12 for a start. Transparent, very fast, incredible micro-dynamics, just plain sounds lifelike. You close your eyes and you are transported to the venue and the music surrounds you. The MG-1.6QR's are a personal favorite of mine, though at $1,750 their a bit more than you want to spend.

You can read reviews at all three of the manufacturer's web sites. Keep in mind that with any of these speakers you'll likely need a good sub at some point. However, you can get the main speakers and be enjoying your "concert at home" and then add the sub for a real thrill down the road.

Hope you find something that floats your boat.

 

[jaxvon]

I'd have to recommend against Magnepans in his situation. While I do love the sound of them, Magnepans are incredibly inefficient. They need beefy external amps, something he just doesn't have. They are also all 4 ohm speakers, with dips into the 1 ohm (or lower) range. They are NOT speakers one should pair with a receiver that can't handle low impedance loads (like the 1015tx). Also note that he has a big room, so he'll need at a very minimum a 200wpc separate amp to get reference volume in his room with Magnepans.

Oh, and for reference, here are some other speaker kit sites. Keep in mind not all of the projects are great quality, nor are all of them affordable, but it's never wrong to look at all the viable options.

www.madisound.com
http://www.****.com/projectshowcase/homeaudio.html

Replace the **** in the line above with "************".

 

[The13thGryphon]

I'd have to recommend against Magnepans in his situation. While I do love the sound of them, Magnepans are incredibly inefficient. They need beefy external amps, something he just doesn't have. They are also all 4 ohm speakers, with dips into the 1 ohm (or lower) range. They are NOT speakers one should pair with a receiver that can't handle low impedance loads (like the 1015tx). Also note that he has a big room, so he'll need at a very minimum a 200wpc separate amp to get reference volume in his room with Magnepans.

You're absolutely right. I don't worry about it because I have separate 2-channel and 5-channel amps; and the Citation 2 channel is a high-current design that gets along well with low impedance speakers. I should have thought that recommendation through better. Good catch.

 

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The13thGryphon: Thank you for widening my speaker pallet. Yeah, based upon my experience w/the synergies, I believe I would be a big fan of the Higher end Klipsch stuff. Man, those Soliloquy's are beautes... Thanks!

jaxvon: Another good link - if I do the DYI route, I think I will start with one of those lower end kits first (call it a practice run for some bedroom speakers). Hey, What am I supposed to put in place of "***" for that other link??

Thanks again....