Upgrading Home Theater Speakers

[Chris Burdick]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Just like the title says, I've got the go ahead to redesign our basement to improve it's home theater performance.

It used to consist of an Onkyo "Home theater in a box", but that receiver died and I replaced it 6 years ago with a Pioneer VSX-92THX (7.1 capable). I also received a Boston Acoustics 10" powered sub as a present from my brother.

Display is a 55" Panasonic Plasma that I really like and will not replace until it dies.

The room is 16' (wide) x 20' (long) with a 7'6" ceiling. Floor is carpet over tile and I'll be adding acoustic treatments as needed once the system is set up.

The weak link in my system is the L/C/R and surround speakers, the crap that came in the Onkyo box. As I have a decent powered sub, I don't feel the need to purchase a set of towers for my Left and Right.

I've read great things about the Elac Uni-Fi series, and think that a set of UF5 speakers with a UC5 would be the start of a pretty nice setup. I like the ELAC's for a few reasons: everything I have read says that they punch way above their weight class and sound far superior than their retail price.

Here's the question:

The bill of sale on the ELAC's would be around $850. I still need some decent surround speakers, so recommendations are welcome. Figure I can get out the door for another $400, so $1200 - $1300 all in for speakers.

At that price point, what other speaker systems might I consider? Thanks, I appreciate any replies.

 

[lovinthehd]

While for a space that big you need more sub IMO, for speakers I'd suggest you check out Ascend Acoustics. A set of 340SEs across the front with 170SEs or 200SEs for surrounds should do nicely, comes in at $1370 shipped for a 7ch system (mixing a 170SE set and 200SE set for surrounds). Great sound and value.

Personally I've read more marketing for Elac than anything else, not a lot of satisfied customers so far but they're relatively new in the US.

 

[Chris Burdick]

Thanks for your reply. I forgot to mention that I will add another sub at some point, though a little down the road. I'll check out Ascend Acoustics, thanks for the tip.

 

[Mechanizmo]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Just like the title says, I've got the go ahead to redesign our basement to improve it's home theater performance.

It used to consist of an Onkyo "Home theater in a box", but that receiver died and I replaced it 6 years ago with a Pioneer VSX-92THX (7.1 capable). I also received a Boston Acoustics 10" powered sub as a present from my brother.

Display is a 55" Panasonic Plasma that I really like and will not replace until it dies.

The room is 16' (wide) x 20' (long) with a 7'6" ceiling. Floor is carpet over tile and I'll be adding acoustic treatments as needed once the system is set up.

The weak link in my system is the L/C/R and surround speakers, the crap that came in the Onkyo box. As I have a decent powered sub, I don't feel the need to purchase a set of towers for my Left and Right.

I've read great things about the Elac Uni-Fi series, and think that a set of UF5 speakers with a UC5 would be the start of a pretty nice setup. I like the ELAC's for a few reasons: everything I have read says that they punch way above their weight class and sound far superior than their retail price.

Here's the question:

The bill of sale on the ELAC's would be around $850. I still need some decent surround speakers, so recommendations are welcome. Figure I can get out the door for another $400, so $1200 - $1300 all in for speakers.

At that price point, what other speaker systems might I consider? Thanks, I appreciate any replies.

Sup Chris,

New member here as well, and this is my very first post

I will be swapping out my rear speakers next week ( PBN Montana Mini Monitors ), for their larger brothers, the M2 monitor pair. Since this is my very first time navigating this site, and I'm sure their may be a section to sell/trade equipment, I'll leave it at that...


Cheers bro!!! enjoy the weekend!!

 

[Brian H.]

Hi Chris, just thought I would put my 2 cents worth about the Elac's. Please give them an extended listen before you purchase them. I was at the Montreal audio show 2 years ago, was in one of the rooms that was showcasing the Elac's (sorry I forget just what model it was) ,and at first I was really impressed with them. I think they were going for around 3-5gs.Anyway, after around 5 songs worth, they started to sound very brittle & bright in the upper end. I started to not feel as comfortable with them as I did when I first listened. I returned the next day & even though they were playing different songs, I still found them to be really bright in the highs. I would not recommend them for extended listening periods. Please make sure you listen for an hour or two first before you make your decision , with your favorite music.I'm sure there's people who will completely disagree with me, but I just want you to be happy with your purchase. I for one am not rich, so I would want to make every penny count. Just saying. Happy listening,Brian.

 

[Chris Burdick]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your feedback. If you were listening to a set that cost "3-5g's" then those are certainly not what I am looking at. My entire speaker budget is 1300 - 1400. I appreciate the heads up, once I get my list narrowed down, I'll figure out a way to audition the speakers.

 

[shadyJ]

Noaudiophile reveiwed some B5 speakers, liked them except for the low dynamic range.