Stuck on what to jump on

[Ulrezaj]

I want to put a pair of speakers in my bedroom, ~15' x 11'. I'm stuck between splurging on towers or getting bookshelves. My budget is either ~$1500 or ~$800 depending on which one I go. The reason for the dual budget is because I won't be in this room for more than another 6-8 months so whatever I get will be moving into part of a 5.1 system (or trading for an equal part), at which point I'll be getting whatever I'm missing, so in the end the expenditure will be the same.

My main question regarding which route to go is whether or not towers are even warranted for a room of this size. Would they be too powerful? Would bookshelves at that price point be enough to fill the room?

Pertinent details:
Receiver = Onkyo 706
Purpose = 50% movie/game soundtracks (instrumental focus), 25% musicals, 25% whatever's streaming on XM (rock, alternative usually).
Subwoofer = HSU VTF-1 if needed

For around my budget it looks like I can get veritas 2.4i or paradigm studio 100 class floorstanders, or veritas 2.2i class bookshelves.

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[fightinkraut]

I'm afraid I don't have time for specific recommendations right now, but I would encourage you to purchase the best your budget allows for. Looking at your listening purposes, it looks as though you may be satisfied with some nice floorstanding speakers for the time being, but if you are going to use the set up for HT I would highly recommend including a good sub in your initial purchase.

Your budget has a decent amount of leeway, you could get a very nice pair of bookshelves paired with a sub, which is typically the most cost efficient way to get full range sound.

Towers or bookshelves paired with a sub would be enough to fill that size room.

I'll check back later and see what's been recommended, got to run right now.

 

[JerryLove]

This post from another thread would seem to fit the size and budget.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60739

Seriously.... Get 3 pairs of Behringer B2030P 2 way monitors : LINK : ($150 per pair) + 2 of the Dayton 12" powered subwoofers :LINK : ($80 each on sale)

All you need now is a decent home theater receiver with a decent built in active crossover. Set all speakers to SMALL and set xover to 80-100Hz and you will be good to do. Since you will have two subs, one on each side of room, 100Hz is a better choice for crossover point selection.

No how, no way, are you going to get anywhere near the performance for the dollars spent buying new equipment if you choose any other 2 way speakers.

If the speakers are too large or ugly, you can substitute them with Infinity Primus P152 2 ways. These may cost a bit more - but are smaller and offer great performance for the $$. They don't have the superb wide dispersion, extension, smooth treble or dynamic range of the Behringer units, but they are smaller and look better. You need to use 100-120Hz crosover point using these speakers if you want to have ability to do considerable dynamics in movies. With the dual subs - 120 Hz is not a problem. Just keep each sub within 3-4 feet near each main Left and Right speaker.

 

[Ulrezaj]

Thanks for the feedback so far.
I already have the subwoofer and amp, so all the budget will go in the 2 speakers.

So from what I'm hearing, floorstanders aren't "too" powerful, but bookshelves will also be good enough?

 

[fightinkraut]

Thanks for the feedback so far.
I already have the subwoofer and amp, so all the budget will go in the 2 speakers.

So from what I'm hearing, floorstanders aren't "too" powerful, but bookshelves will also be good enough?

That's about right, it's difficult to really have a speaker "too powerful" for a room, you should be looking for an accurate speaker which will sound detailed at any volume level and shouldn't overpower your room unless you want it too.

with a budget of $800-1500 you have a stellar selection to choose from for towers or bookshelves...if you're ok with used, in that price range you could pick up some very nice higher-end speakers from Audiogon.