Speakers to go with Denon 3805?

[warpdrive]

Just a note from a Canadian. The API group of speaker companies is one powerhouse of a group consisting of brands Athena, Energy and Mirage.

The speakers from Athena are excellent entry level speakers. In the mid range, Energy and Mirage have been a longtime favorite among retail brands.

Energy makes the excellent Connoisseur line, a well valued, high accuracy line that adapts some of the lessons learned from their price no object Veritas line. I've been a longtime fan of their speakers after I was blown away in the eighties with their Reference 22 line, which quickly established themselves.

Mirage offers a very unique philosophy in the Omnidirectional designs which offer extremely wide dispersion, which lets you really experience great sound all over the room.

Other Canadian companies that make excellent products are PSB and Paradigm

Anyway, if you run across any of these brand names, give them a listen, they all have establish themselves as top grade speaker makers on a worldwide level.

As for the Internet brands, I personally tend to avoid them, just because it's a bit riskier to buy them.....unless they have a no-risk guarantee. While they may be excellent value, I'd rather hear them for myself and compare them in a properly set up demonstration room side by side with other competitors. With careful shopping around, you can do rather well on a retail-distributed brand, so no surprises. For some things like subwoofers, there is less to be worried about, although sometimes, having a dealer locally can be more beneficial if you run into problems or need advice. For example, one dealer (the owner) actually came to my house when I needed help on how to run my cables and where to set up my subwoofer.

 

[hootie10]

newaudiophile,

If you want to check out RBH (as I am), there are a couple of places in NYC where you can visit. This is thru a reply email I got from them when I requested to audition their Signature series.

Compushine, Inc.
212-371-1525
NY

and

Digi Sound & Light/Video
718-266-7072
Brooklyn

Give them a call. See what they have. Let me know how things turn out....

 

[newaudiophile]

Thanks for the great info!

I will definitely go check out the RBH system in NYC (compushine, inc,). Amazing how in city you can find anything, some speakers are hard to find!

I am leaning more towards the Axioms.

So what do you guys think, Axiom Epic 80 vs. Axiom Epic 60.....is it worth the extra cash to get the 80's? Also, is it worth it to get 7 speakers or should I go with 5 speakers surround? 7 speakers on the Epic 80's starts to push over $3,000. Although I can probably pull it off, I am wondering if I should just get 5 speakers on the Epic 80, or should I "settle" for the Epic 60's?

Thanks!

 

[karltl]

You had asked about best "bang for the buck"... a top of the line, full 5.1 system, from Ascend, including the HSU VTF-2 (see previous post....one of the best rated sub's out there) can be had for just over $1600...shipping included. This would get you their large L/R/C speakers (model 340's, dual 6.5" aerogel drivers) and their smaller (model 170, single 6.5" aerogel drivers) for the rear surrounds.

As I mentioned before, Ascend does offer a full money back, no questions asked guarantee. Keep 2 things in mind as you consider your options...

1. Buying speakers over the internet is intimidating (I felt the same way) but Axiom, Energy, and a hundred other brands are sold over the internet as well. As long as you get a guarantee and deal with a reputable company that values customer service (even if you end up personally not liking the sound of the Ascend speakers..unlikely...I can tell you from direct personal experience that they are VERY customer satisfaction oriented). They'll do right by you!

2. The retail markup on speakers is astronomical! I had an aquaintance who bought a set of Infinity speakers a few months ago (not a bad "consumer" grade speaker) and I also had a friend who owned a retail audio store. The average markup for these speakers was over 100%. The surrounds that my aquaintance bought, and paid $185 for, cost the retail outlet $87.

At $1600, including shipping and a top rated sub, in my humble opinion the Ascend's represent the best "bang for the buck" system available.

 

[wafflebird]

Proud Mirage Omnisat Owner

If you are looking to get a complete system, I highly recommend looking at Mirage speakers before you make your decision. I recently bought 4 Omnisats and the Omni CC for the center. I also went with the new Velodyne DLS-3750R sub. I live in a 2-2 condo in South Florida so I can't go as loud as I want, and did not want to go with floor standers but this combination is simply astounding. Sometimes I put my RXV2500 on two channel and turn the sub off only to marvel at the amount of sound that two of these Omnisats can put out. When the 2 of them are playing you really can't "Spot" them. I went for the Omni CC because it has a little more beef to it and it uses the same tech as the Omnisats and gives the true tonal ambience of the human voice.

The Velodyne sub is also equally incredible. I had a passive Sub before and did not know what to expect. It is a beast. I know there are many bigger louder subs out there but the ability of this sub to do it all is unbelievable. Please take a look at Velodyne if you have not already as well. As I have said we live in a great era when there is so much available to us. For my speakers I spent right about $1760.00 before taxes after haggling a bit. I bought the receiver and speakers all in one place so I had a little bit of bargaining power.