Speakers or Amplifier on limited budget

[bfrisch]

I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my money.

I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older) recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)

I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.

I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers (Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size) or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20 v.3s and upgrade my power supply.

Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.

What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog on speakers or split the cash?

When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.

Any ideas?

 

[Beegowl]

Pragmatism

It is my experience that no matter how much dough I blow on part of my audio setup, I always end up spending more down the road. If you have a finite amount of money, spend more on one component, live with it until you have enough for another piece, etc. Electronics seem to become less expensive as the technology advances, so, buy the best speakers you can scrape up the dough for, enjoy them for a couple of years on your current equipment, then buy new electronics. You'll get more electronic pizzazz for less and will have enjoyed better sound from good speakers in the meantime.

 

[Leprkon]

wise old owl

I completely agree with the owl. Spend good on speakers now. With all the uncertainty in the electronics side (51, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1, SACD, DVD-A), it won't hurt you much to wait a year or two to upgrade that side. Today, (much like in computers, unfortunately) the receiver you buy won't be able to deal with some new trick they come out with tomorrow. Speakers, on the other hand, really don't go out of date. You can use them with any foreseeable format for the next 10 or 15 years, so good ones are a "sound" (sorry, I had to) investment.

Don;t get me wrong, Receivers will always be in some state of flux. It just seems that right now we are at a peak of uncertainty. This is compunded by the relatively small number of available movies and DVD's that take advantage of the greater quality. Waiting on a receiver will allow the movie industry to catch up some as well. In the meantime, you'll already have the cornerstone of your next great HT.

 

[Shinerman]

Here is what I would do. Like the others have said, hold off on the amp. You can always get that.

Warning - this is based on reviews, not actual listening.

If you are sold on Paradigm, from what I have read the Ref. 20 holds up very well against the S-3 and is actually the better deal given it's cheaper price tag. I have read that the S-3 is the better speaker but not by much at all. I would probably go with the Ref. 20 v3 and invest the extra money in a sub. Your current receiver, a pair a Ref. 20's and a decent sub should make a great setup.

As time goes, by you can upgrade the rest.

Anyway, that's my .02 cents.

Shinerman.

 

[BluesDaddy]

I won't make any specific recommendations on speaker models, but with $2500 to spend, I would like at a $600 receiver and then spend the rest on DIY speakers and subwoofer. If you aren't the DIY type, forego the receiver for now and choose a good sub in the $500 to $700 range (SVS and VMPS come to mind) and then the rest on a good quality pair of front L/R speakers or even L/C/R speakers. I like monitor style fronts, but your tastes may differ.

If you like the idea of kits, check out PartsExpress and, even better, Madisound. You can get gets with just electronics and plans for cabinets or the whole thing with cabinets. The quality of speaker, as long as you can solder and screw in the drivers, will be much better than comparable $$ spend on manufactured speakers.