Speakers...what to do?

[ivseenbetter]

I’ve been looking around at speaker packages. I have a fairly large room and want to put in a 5.1 system (will grow to the 7.1 later down the road. Anyway, I have about 4K to spend on speakers and I have been doing a lot of reading. While this 4K puts me within reach of a ton of speaker brands, I keep coming back to the ID companies for value. I’m not opposed to purchasing used so can anybody point me at some speakers that will beat out a Rocket system from AV123 or an Aperion system in terms of value? This system will be used almost exclusively for HT and video games. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of demo experience I can share to help describe the sound I like. I love the Swan Divas I have in my living room. I have an old pair (year 1995) of Sony floorstanders that sound ok to me. I have demo’d Paradigm Monitor 7s and I thought they were too bright. So, at the 4K range, should I just stick with the IDs or is there something else I should consider?

Thanks.

 

[Midcow2]

Nice Budget

4 k is a pretty nice budget, you can get very nice sound for that price.

If you can audition at a homw thetere store that is best. I would spend most of your money on fronts and center they should be matched to maintain timbre. A very good choice ( just one of many) is Def Tech suprt towers ( 7002s) and a CLR3000 sneter channel , discounted you can get for around $2500-$2700. http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/supertower/supertower.html
These are a little better than AV123s , but AV123 rockets are good speakers also. There are many many choice, again it is you speaker preference.


Then buy a good sub SVS or Hsu ( $400- $1600); Porbably for your room size either SVS PB12-plus ( $948-$1149) or SVS PB12-Plus2 ($1099) or PB13-Ultra ($1399-$1699). http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box.cfm

Then surround , they are for enchancement onlym can be small and don't have to match either the frons , center or sub. You can spends as little as $219 for some excellent bookself speakers for the rear surrounds, Cambridge Audio S30. http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/c...0-speaker.html


Anyway , listen and audition and find a sound you like. I would spend $2,500 on the fronts and center, $1,000 on the sub woofer and $250 on the rear surrounds.


Good luck !

 

[bandphan]

The rockects are a nice choice, dynaudio lines would be another, but if you like the swans already, that would be my suggestion.

 

[trnqk7]

While DefTech's may very well be good speakers-saying that they are better than the Rockets or any other brand in anywhere near the same price class is not a unbiased suggestion at all and can be misleading.

Look at DefTechs, sure-you may love them.
Look at Axiom Audio (any of their packages probably)
Look at Aperion (see above)
Look at AV123 (see above for the most part)
Look at SVS's speakers, not just their subs (see above)
Look at Dali (shameless plug ) (stay in the Ikon line for price...)
Look at Energy (don't know much about them)
etc
etc

ID is very good and you do get a lot for your money. My friend got Axiom M60's about the same time I got my Dali's...my Dali Ikon 6's retail for almost 2x the cost, although I got them for about 1.5x the cost of his M60's. Is there $400-$500 worth of difference in MY home in terms of sound quality...no, probably not. Do I like the way mine sound better (especially in an at least mildly treated room, which is another situation), yes. I also paid for a little bit of "exclusivity" b/c not many people, at least in STL, own the brand.

Point being, I listened, liked what heard, and bought what I wanted.

The rest of Midcow's advice is great-I just meant it as a kind "warning"...certain brands have their fans around here and DefTech is one of them. SVS is another. Both make great stuff-it's just hard to get their owners to admit that there are other choices every now and then that are just as good if not better than their "chosen" ones.

 

[satish536]

I believe the RBH Signature Series line falls around that budget, definitely worth a listen i've heard and read good things about these speakers.

For your sub woofer except if your going for JL go for ID brands (HSU/SVS) as they are better value for money.

satish

 

[calnbs]

Same experience as yours. No matter where I look, I always ended up coming back to ID. Sound is subjective. People will have their preferences. What was really important to me as much as sound was....is the look. I have looked at B&M and I CAN NOT find a nicer finish for the same price as ID. Swans, Rockets, and Aperions have some of the nicest finishes I have seen in their price range.

From my readings, a few Swan owners jumped ship over to the Rockets. Based on a few shoot out, Rockets also edged the Swans. But in the end, those are just opinions. Overall reviews, all three of them are exceptional speakers for their price range. My deciding factor for in the end was the best bang for the almighty dollar....Out of the three, knowing that I could be happy with any them, I went with the one that was on sale. LOL.

With the current sale price of the Rockets 850, Bigfoot, and 450 for under $2K, plus getting a discount on the MFW 15 if ordered at the same time with the Rockets. That alone will be hard to beat. The only draw back is that it is back order and you will not be getting them anytime soon...I believe it's a 3 month wait.

But no matter what we say, in the end, its your wallet and your ears that needs to be please with the purchase.

 

[Midcow2]

Good Point

While DefTech's may very well be good speakers-saying that they are better than the Rockets or any other brand in anywhere near the same price class is not a unbiased suggestion at all and can be misleading.

Look at DefTechs, sure-you may love them.
Look at Axiom Audio (any of their packages probably)
Look at Aperion (see above)
Look at AV123 (see above for the most part)
Look at SVS's speakers, not just their subs (see above)
Look at Dali (shameless plug ) (stay in the Ikon line for price...)
Look at Energy (don't know much about them)
etc
etc

ID is very good and you do get a lot for your money. My friend got Axiom M60's about the same time I got my Dali's...my Dali Ikon 6's retail for almost 2x the cost, although I got them for about 1.5x the cost of his M60's. Is there $400-$500 worth of difference in MY home in terms of sound quality...no, probably not. Do I like the way mine sound better (especially in an at least mildly treated room, which is another situation), yes. I also paid for a little bit of "exclusivity" b/c not many people, at least in STL, own the brand.

Point being, I listened, liked what heard, and bought what I wanted.

The rest of Midcow's advice is great-I just meant it as a kind "warning"...certain brands have their fans around here and DefTech is one of them. SVS is another. Both make great stuff-it's just hard to get their owners to admit that there are other choices every now and then that are just as good if not better than their "chosen" ones.

Trnqk7 is correct. There are other brands besides Def Tech and SVS. As you can probably tell I am a fan of Def Tech and SVS, but as I was trying to say there are a lot of good choices and you should try to audition different speakers and buy the ones that sound best to you.

 

[ivseenbetter]

All great brands and great advice regarding the need to demo. I’m really interested in hearing the Def Techs as they do get a lot of great reviews from the folks that have them here. Unfortunately, I don’t know of anyplace near me that has them available. I also have not been able to find them at a discounted price. It seems like nobody lists their prices for them online. But it looks like you all are primarily telling me to stick with ID brands. I might try the Aperion brand since there is no cost for demoing them. I do have some questions and concerns about the sub I will pick but I figure I will post a thread in that forum later after I have already chosen what speakers I will purchase so that I can better know what I have left over $ wise.

 

[mazersteven]

I’ve been looking around at speaker packages. I have a fairly large room and want to put in a 5.1 system (will grow to the 7.1 later down the road. Anyway, I have about 4K to spend on speakers and I have been doing a lot of reading. While this 4K puts me within reach of a ton of speaker brands, I keep coming back to the ID companies for value. I’m not opposed to purchasing used so can anybody point me at some speakers that will beat out a Rocket system from AV123 or an Aperion system in terms of value? This system will be used almost exclusively for HT and video games. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of demo experience I can share to help describe the sound I like. I love the Swan Divas I have in my living room. I have an old pair (year 1995) of Sony floorstanders that sound ok to me. I have demo’d Paradigm Monitor 7s and I thought they were too bright. So, at the 4K range, should I just stick with the IDs or is there something else I should consider?

Thanks.

IF i was going to spend $4k for a HT system this would be the system.

MTS-01 Full size 5.1 channel system with matching PB13-Ultra subwoofer**
http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-mts01.cfm

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I’m really interested in hearing the Def Techs as they do get a lot of great reviews from the folks that have them here. Unfortunately, I don’t know of anyplace near me that has them available.

1) DefTech speakers do get a lot of great reviews from professional reviewers like Home Theater Magazine, Sound & Vision, Audio-Video Revolution, and Ultimate AV Magzine. After reading a lot of these reviews, you almost feel like buying the speakers on the spot because the reviewers use terms like "engineering masterpiece" and "sound like 4 times their prices"! But you will be the final judge in the end.

2) Do you have any Best Buy (Magnolia HT) stores around? They carry them.

3) DefTech speakers may be more picky in terms of placement. They sound better in larger rooms with higher ceiling because they need to be placed 3-5 feet from the walls.

4) Free 30 day return policy is a must. Your HT room is the final step. It has to sound great here.

5) Just get out there and listen to as many speakers as you can. Bring your OWN CDs!

6) There is nothing wrong with ID companies. But I got all my speakers @ 30% off MSRP. So if you can get 30% off on big brand speakers (B&W, Pardigm, DefTech, Mirage, Vienna Acoustics, Martin Logan, etc.), you might not want to buy from the little guys.

 

[ivseenbetter]

Same experience as yours. No matter where I look, I always ended up coming back to ID. Sound is subjective. People will have their preferences. What was really important to me as much as sound was....is the look.

Looks have a lot to do with my decision as well. That is really what has held me off from just getting rockets. The look is very similar to the Swans and I want something different for my theater room. However, I just don’t think I can beat the price/performance that everybody talks about.

 

[ivseenbetter]

1)

6) There is nothing wrong with ID companies. But I got all my speakers @ 30% off MSRP. So if you can get 30% off on big brand speakers (B&W, Pardigm, DefTech, Mirage, Vienna Acoustics, Martin Logan, etc.), you might not want to buy from the little guys.

If I could find a discount like that then I would definitely be excited about B&M options! Lucky!

I have a Best Buy near me, but no Magnolia. I think they might have some Def Techs there but they were small and didn't look like they could fill much of a room.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I’m going to see if I can find a place where I can check out RBH, Dali, and Energy. I really want to listen to some PSB, Monitor Audio, and Def Tech but I don’t think I can find them near me.

Does anybody know if the Swan sound is similar to any other brands (that way I can stick with something I know I like instead of gambling)?

 

[mazersteven]

1) DefTech speakers do get a lot of great reviews from professional reviewers like Home Theater Magazine, Sound & Vision, Audio-Video Revolution, and Ultimate AV Magzine. After reading a lot of these reviews, you almost feel like buying the speakers on the spot because the reviewers use terms like "engineering masterpiece" and "sound like 4 times their prices"! But you will be the final judge in the end.

Boy o Boy do you sound more, and more like a billboard advertisement everyday.

 

[fredk]

I think trnqk7 and several others have given you lots of good options.

On ID speakers, check out various manufaturers to see what sort of auditioning programs they offer. As an Axiom owner I know that they have a forum dedicated to arranging auditions with local owners of their speakers.

Looks is a very personal thing. Lots of people like the looks of the Rockets. Again, I know that Axiom offers custom wood finishes and a couple of custom vinyl finishes that look pretty much like the real wood at a much smaller premium.

I expect that other ID manufacturers offer similar custom finishes.

In your price range there are probably some nice B&W speakers, but I don't know much about them.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I figured B&W would be out of my price range. I thought they were expensive. I see them listed on Audiogon for a lot of moola so I assumed they were expensive.

I agree, everybody here has given me a lot of options to look at. Most I have already been considering. I am using this thread to make sure there wasn't something I was overlooking. I really appreciate all the inputs everybody has had.

 

[trnqk7]

I figured B&W would be out of my price range. I thought they were expensive. I see them listed on Audiogon for a lot of moola so I assumed they were expensive.

I agree, everybody here has given me a lot of options to look at. Most I have already been considering. I am using this thread to make sure there wasn't something I was overlooking. I really appreciate all the inputs everybody has had.

They CAN be expensive...on audiogon, you're probably seeing the 800 series, such as 802D. Those are very expensive. down in the realm of mortals, you could afford the 600 series, cm series, and maybe 700 series if you wanted to stretch and maybe make some compromises on other things.

 

[calnbs]

I figured B&W would be out of my price range. I thought they were expensive. I see them listed on Audiogon for a lot of moola so I assumed they were expensive.

I agree, everybody here has given me a lot of options to look at. Most I have already been considering. I am using this thread to make sure there wasn't something I was overlooking. I really appreciate all the inputs everybody has had.

Almost forgot. Salk has been getting a lot of love lately especially at Avsforum. Look up the Speakerquest thread by Funkmonkey and Nuance's "search for the perfect speaker".

Here is a link to the ID speaker shoot out. Very interesting read between Rocket, Swans, Salks, and a few other speaker:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931069&highlight=rocket+850

Nuance's Thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=919069&highlight=rocket+850

Funkmonkey's:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=995082

Both threads are long but very informing. They both did a ton of comparison and their opinions on each of those speakers. In the end, both had the Salks come out on top as their choice. Pretty interesting that both did their own thing and ended up with Salk. I believe Nuance picked the Salk Songtower and Funkmonkey picked the Salk's higher end, The Veracity HT3. But the price range are higher, especially the HT3. Boy, I wish I had the opportunity to test drive the HT3.

Have you get a chance to read up on AV123's LS line? Those things look amazing....I might take a look at the LS when they make the the smaller model LS4 (which won't be out anytime soon).

 

[ivseenbetter]

Almost forgot. Salk has been getting a lot of love lately especially at Avsforum. Look up the Speakerquest thread by Funkmonkey and Nuance's "search for the perfect speaker".

Here is a link to the ID speaker shoot out. Very interesting read between Rocket, Swans, Salks, and a few other speaker:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931069&highlight=rocket+850

Nuance's Thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=919069&highlight=rocket+850

Funkmonkey's:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=995082

Both threads are long but very informing. They both did a ton of comparison and their opinions on each of those speakers. In the end, both had the Salks come out on top as their choice. Pretty interesting that both did their own thing and ended up with Salk. I believe Nuance picked the Salk Songtower and Funkmonkey picked the Salk's higher end, The Veracity HT3. But the price range are higher, especially the HT3. Boy, I wish I had the opportunity to test drive the HT3.

Have you get a chance to read up on AV123's LS line? Those things look amazing....I might take a look at the LS when they make the the smaller model LS4 (which won't be out anytime soon).

Awesome info Calnbs. I actually read some of this stuff a little while back but it had totally slipped my mind. The Salk Songtowers do look like a great option. I need to go through and finish reading those threads though. I really appreciate the links. This is exactly why I posted a thread like this. Sometimes there is so much info you forget about previous stuff you might have come across earlier. That is exactly what happened regarding these speakers for me. I’m still leaning toward the Rockets 850 sig but after finishing this reading that might change.

 

[calnbs]

MLS just announce the risk free return policy at av123. Definately, making your decision even better if you decide to go with Rockets.

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=33585