Suggestions for Speakers on my Pioneer Elite VSX-23THX

[Nezrel]

Just wanted to get some insight from those of you who have experience/knowledge in this area. This is my first full-fledged surround sound system, and I'm getting it piece by piece. Currently I'm putting a budget of MAX $300 per piece (on average throughout the set purchase), but am willing to listen to suggestions a bit higher.

I primarily have the system for my Blu-ray/DVD experience; I love movies and hope to recreate the experience as best I can at home (minus the talking, cell phones, spills...). Outside of that, probably some gaming but nothing major. I'd love to have some advice in this area.

Again, I am new to this, so please don't assume I know anything because I probably don't Buy hey, you have to start sometime/somewhere, so why not here with friends?

Very respectfully,
Jason

 

[Ares]

We will need a little more info like the size of the room this will be in, whether you prefer towers or bookshelfs and if you are looking for ID companies or B&M stores.

 

[Nezrel]

We will need a little more info like the size of the room this will be in, whether you prefer towers or bookshelfs and if you are looking for ID companies or B&M stores.

Size of the room is roughly 25 x 15 with the upper left side open into a hall. The TV is currently in the Bottom Right Corner as seen below:


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l
l
l l
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TV Here

(*Upon previewing my post, it looks like the picture didn't turn out: I have 3 complete walls with a 4th only half way in length, opening into a hallway. The t.v. is on the opposite corner of where that opens; the room is in the basement.)

As for towers or bookshelfs, I'm new to this so no real preference at this time. Looking for something that will fall in/near my range with the best optimal results, which may add some versatility if we decide to move.

As for type of stores, I love going into the ole Brick and Morter, especially to get eyes on things, but the final purchase tends to be online, so no super preference here. Again, I'm looking for most bang for my buck here, but I'm an admitted beginner here, so any tech talk simplified will be appreciated. Besides, it will help me build a foundation to learn and become more qualified on my decisions. Thanks again!

Very respectfully,
Nezrel

 

[Knucklehead90]

Do I understand your post correctly? You are willing to spend $300 for each speaker? Or is that for all speakers?

This isn't clear - at least to me.
What is your total speaker budget?

 

[Ares]

Do I understand your post correctly? You are willing to spend $300 for each speaker? Or is that for all speakers?

This isn't clear - at least to me.
What is your total speaker budget?

I thought he said $300 per piece or did I misread that?

 

[Halon451]

I read it that he's willing to spend up to $300 per speaker. To the OP - do you have a sub, or are you planning to get one? That might help better dictate where you want to be with your speaker purchase from both a money and a performance standpoint.

 

[Ares]

It sounds like he is calling the sub a speaker as well because he mentions on average throughout the set purchase, so if my math is right the total budget will be $1800

 

[Halon451]

It sounds like he is calling the sub a speaker as well because he mentions on average throughout the set purchase, so if my math is right the total budget will be $1800

Well, if it were me, I would bump up my budget on the sub above $300 by a healthy margin. Don't think he's going to find a good performing sub at that price point - thinking more like $600-800 (at least) on a good sub, with the remaining funds put towards speakers.

 

[Nezrel]

I have flexibility in the budget, and I do not have a sub, nor have I begun pricing, so I am willing to pump double into that if recommended. I am in the military guard, so my drill check is my spending money. I have some extra here and there as well, and could use tax time to go ahead on that sub.

Let's put he budget between $2,000 and $3,000, and maybe go with a preference model, and perhaps a close second for parameters. I am making a long term purchase so don't mind taking time and money to do it right.

Thanks for the interest.

Very respectfully,
Nezrel

 

[Ares]

Well, if it were me, I would bump up my budget on the sub above $300 by a healthy margin. Don't think he's going to find a good performing sub at that price point - thinking more like $600-800 (at least) on a good sub, with the remaining funds put towards speakers.

I would have to agree, I was thinking of a 5.1 setup from SVS or HSU would provide the OP the best bang for the buck. I was also thinking in terms of % as well something like this

Fronts 25%
Center 25%
Rears 15%
Sub 35%

 

[Halon451]

I have flexibility in the budget, and I do not have a sub, nor have I begun pricing, so I am willing to pump double into that if recommended. I am in the military guard, so my drill check is my spending money. I have some extra here and there as well, and could use tax time to go ahead on that sub.

Let's put he budget between $2,000 and $3,000, and maybe go with a preference model, and perhaps a close second for parameters. I am making a long term purchase so don't mind taking time and money to do it right.

Thanks for the interest.

Very respectfully,
Nezrel

Seems like you have the right attitude going into this purchase - rather than do what some do, quick to get something that will get them by and then end up spending more in the long run anyway. A budget of $2 - $3K should get you well within range of some very decent setups that will compliment that Pioneer receiver nicely.

Ares put up a pretty good breakdown as to what you might want to consider investing in each component, and using those guidelines puts you within reach of some very impressive subs by SVS, Hsu, and Elemental Designs to name a few. All three of those companies do manufacture speakers as well, although I can only speak for the SVS brand (as you will notice from my sig, I also own the same Pioneer Elite receiver as you with SVS speakers). I'm extremely happy with my setup, however had I gone into this with your budget, I might have opted for the PB12-Plus or even the PB13-Ultra sub, and either stuck with the SVS speaker line, or gone a bit higher end and considered other brands. You should be advised that these subs are enormous and take up a lot of space (you can click the link to my system in my sig to get an idea of a typical SVS sub setup in a real life application).

So I say, start with the sub - then build to the system from there. The sub is (in most cases) going to either make or break your system, no matter how great the speakers are.

 

[Knucklehead90]

SVS has some very nice packages - Axiom - Salk - as well as others. These are all internet direct (ID). For subs I'd look at Velodyne - Elemental Designs & HSU for starters.

There are other good sub and speaker manufacturers as well.

 

[Ares]

I will admit I am bias towards SVS, not to say that the other companies don't make good speakers. There build quality is second to none and as Halon said the PB subs are massive. Very few companies enjoy the Rep. that SVS and HSU do.

 

[BESLC]

Recommendations

Given your room size and layout there are a couple of setups you may want to give serious consideration to.

The first is the Aperion Audio, Intimus 5T Hybrid HD or the Intimus 5T DB Hybrid HD setups. You can locate these at Aperion.com. Aperion is a very highly regarded company that makes an excellent product at a very reasonable price. With Aperion you have a no risk 30 day in home trial, if you are not 100 percent happy , they pay return shipping and you get a 100 percent refund. One other benefit, if during the first year you decide to upgrade something in your system, you are given 100 percent of your purchase price towards the upgrade.

With these setups you have tower speakers to the front, excellent center channel, amazing dual10" powered subwoofer with 300 watts power. bookshelf or dipole speakers for the rears depending on which system is chosen.

I am currently running an Aperion setup using 4x 5T's. 5C center channel and the powered sub. I could not be happier, the sound and finish on the speakers is amazing. I spent a great deal of time looking and listening before I purchased the Aperions, I found you can certainly spend a lot more and get a lot less than you do with Aperion.

The Aperion staff are very knowledgeable , with excellent service from technical to sales assistance.

I wish you luck..in the end it is what makes you happy that matters.

 

[Nezrel]

Any specific types you would recommend?

 

[Nezrel]

Given your room size and layout there are a couple of setups you may want to give serious consideration to.

The first is the Aperion Audio, Intimus 5T Hybrid HD or the Intimus 5T DB Hybrid HD setups. You can locate these at Aperion.com. Aperion is a very highly regarded company that makes an excellent product at a very reasonable price. With Aperion you have a no risk 30 day in home trial, if you are not 100 percent happy , they pay return shipping and you get a 100 percent refund. One other benefit, if during the first year you decide to upgrade something in your system, you are given 100 percent of your purchase price towards the upgrade.

With these setups you have tower speakers to the front, excellent center channel, amazing dual10" powered subwoofer with 300 watts power. bookshelf or dipole speakers for the rears depending on which system is chosen.

I am currently running an Aperion setup using 4x 5T's. 5C center channel and the powered sub. I could not be happier, the sound and finish on the speakers is amazing. I spent a great deal of time looking and listening before I purchased the Aperions, I found you can certainly spend a lot more and get a lot less than you do with Aperion.

The Aperion staff are very knowledgeable , with excellent service from technical to sales assistance.

I wish you luck..in the end it is what makes you happy that matters.

I'll look into that for sure!!!

 

[Ares]

Any specific types you would recommend?

I will assume you meant me, So here is a list from SVS.

Fronts STS-01 Towers
Center SCS-01
Surrounds SBS-01
Sub PB12-NSD or PC12 NDS $1699 shipping not included.

or

Fronts SCS-01M
Center SCS-01
Surrounds SBS-01
Sub PB12-plus or PC12-plus $1888 or $1688 shipping not included.

 

[styrbjorn]

I recently got the VSX21, and had a very similar dilemma

The advice I received (and followed, which has left me completely satisfied) was to get the best front speakers I could afford, and buy the other pieces later. I picked up a pair of B&W 683's and love them.

The next item on my list is a sub - I ordered a eD A5-350 and am looking forward to receiving it. It's probably overkill, as you can get some great subs in the 600 range, but again I want to make sure I won't be tempted to upgrade anytime soon. I'll buy the center later in the year, and then start looking into surrounds.

This approach has worked great for me, but then I am about 50/50 music/HT so the fronts were critical. The B&W's sound awesome even without the center or sub, and I don't think I'll need to upgrade them anytime soon.

 

[Nezrel]

Thanks for each of your input. I have quite a bit to go off of here and will continue to do some research and prepare for the purchase of the sub which sounds to me as if is the jewel of the system.

Very respectfully,
Nezrel

 

[Ares]

I recently got the VSX21, and had a very similar dilemma

The advice I received (and followed, which has left me completely satisfied) was to get the best front speakers I could afford, and buy the other pieces later. I picked up a pair of B&W 683's and love them.

The next item on my list is a sub - I ordered a eD A5-350 and am looking forward to receiving it. It's probably overkill, as you can get some great subs in the 600 range, but again I want to make sure I won't be tempted to upgrade anytime soon. I'll buy the center later in the year, and then start looking into surrounds.

This approach has worked great for me, but then I am about 50/50 music/HT so the fronts were critical. The B&W's sound awesome even without the center or sub, and I don't think I'll need to upgrade them anytime soon.

A/V gear is like women you will always be tempted and upgrading 9 times out 10 is never about the need.