Home Audio System Build [Archive] - Beyond.ca - Car Forums

hoamic11

01-02-2009, 12:17 PM

Alright, so I have a dilemma, and am kinda stuck with it.

First off, my receiver is a yamaha RXV-659, and so I'm now I'm building from it. My options for what I'm looking at are these; let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.

Option 1: Energy EXL-Series (Circa 2002)
Fronts: EXL-25
Center: EXL-C
Rears:EXL-15
Sub: Encore 8", tighter then the matched EXL-S8

Option 2: Polk Audio Monitor Series
Fronts: Monitor 70
Center : Monitor CS2 or new Tsi-CS20 (Newer model is brighter)
Rears: Monitor 40, or entry level R150
Sub: PSW303 (8") or 505 (12") both are long throw subs. An entry level, lower end matched sub would be the PSW10

I have heard both, however not in awhile, the energy's are a great product, sound great but need that sub as they are a brighter setup with a titanium tweeter. The Polk's would be smoother sounding, newer and have a soft dome tweet to them. If I could compare the Polk's to something that would be in the same year/circa as the energy's it would be PSB. Those would some really nice speakers too, smooth sounding, just harder to find. I know other brands are out there but there is also a price difference too.

Thanks for reading

Mitsu3000gt

01-02-2009, 01:59 PM

What's your total budget for speakers?

86max

01-02-2009, 03:10 PM

I'd lean towards the Polk setup, but with a different subwoofer. Perhaps an SVS PB-10, Velodyne DPS-10, or ED A2-300.

hoamic11

01-02-2009, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
What's your total budget for speakers?

Well Since the monitors series are not discontinued and are replaced by the TSI-series, I would be getting them at a great deal. I already have the R150 Bookshelfs. As for a budget I'm not looking to really spend more than $1200 ish.

Originally posted by 86max
I'd lean towards the Polk setup, but with a different subwoofer. Perhaps an SVS PB-10, Velodyne DPS-10, or ED A2-300.

I never really got much of a testing with the polk sub, they had it onsale, and when I checked out futureshop's site they had the 8" on it forsale. I'm sure the ED would be a nice one, the other option I had was to basically do a build home sub with using a JL10W3.

03ozwhip

01-03-2009, 08:28 PM

im not sure you know, but dont use a home sub near your tv it will fuck up the picture. youll know what i mean when you put the sub beside it. anyways, i have the same amp, and im running a mixed system because thats what i found sounded nicer.

my towers/center/sub is all Sinclair Audio, very nice and crisp sounding and pretty good pricing on it too. my rears are Nuance, older ones now, but they sound awesome too. check out Sinclair at Soundsaround. hope this helps/ if you have any other questions let me know.

Mitsu3000gt

01-03-2009, 09:45 PM

I would suggest something like this for a budget system that sounds amazing:

Paradigm Titan Monitors up front (Mini Monitors if Titans are too expensive)
Paradigm CC-290 Center Channel (CC-190 if your trying to cut costs)
Paradigm Atom Monitors for Rears
Paradigm DSP 3100 (10") or 3200 (12") for the Sub

It's important not to skimp on the center channel either, as especially with movies it's going to be doing the vast majority of the voice and on-screen audio. Same thing if you watch any music DVDs or Blu-rays. Also if you are going to be putting these in a bookshelf, I would recommend front ported speakers over rear ported (the Titan monitors are front ported)

Might be a little bit more than $1200 (probably not too much over) and it will blow the doors of the KEF system or any other home theater in a box for that matter. I would also be shocked if you didn't like the above setup significantly better than the two you are already looking at. Feel free to do all your own research on the above speakers and you will see why I recommend them to everyone. For my upstairs/everyday system I am using titan monitors and atom monitors and they are absolutely unbelievable for the price, and the room they fill with sound is huge and very open with a 20' ceiling. Paradigm also trickles their technology down to their "lower end" speakers when they release new reference speakers, and the Monitor series in particular is definitely one of the best values out there if not the best. They are also all made in Canada (they sell for 2-3 times the price in Europe) and the markup on them is nowhere near what it is for speakers at soundsaround/fs/bb, etc.

If you choose to go another route, the best advice I can leave you with is to go to an actual audio store (either General Audio or even better for Paradigms is Sounds of Music), and stay far away from Future Shop, Best buy and especially Soundsaround. Standard procedure is 15-20% off of MSRP for the Paradigms at Sounds of Music (I've always gotten 20%). When you go to the store, bring with you your favorite CDs for listening and a movie or 2.

Don't buy speakers until you listen to them either. Any of the good audio shops in Calgary are more than happy to set up any speakers you want so you can A/B them (Sounds of Music is very good for this). Also sound quality is very personal, so what I like might not be what you like, so make sure you listen to a few different types before you make your decision.

Oh, and please don't buy Nuance speakers - they are famous for being one of the biggest rip offs in the audio world. Nuance won't let any reputable organization/magazine review their speakers (Nuance threatened to sue a magazine if they borrowed a pair for review), Nuance won't let journalists attend demos, they are only sold by soundsaround and international stereo (before they went out of business surprise surprise), they don't publish the speaker specifications (their website has no pictures, info, or specs), and you need to be a member to discuss on the nuance forums. Take a minute and google them, you will see what I mean. Also, try find specificaton info about them - I bet you can't without serious effort. Everything I've read about their customer service is just as bad as they sound. I have never encountered a worse speaker in my life, nor one that was so outrageously priced. They even had a class action law suit against them, I think in Edmonton, for severely misleading customers. The ONLY people who say anything "good" about them are the ones who got owned and shelled out the money for them, because nobody wants to admit they've been had for thousands of dollars. Check this out as a starting point if you are interested in just how bad they are (this took me less than one second to find and saves me some typing) http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/1155646-post.html

ecstasy_civic

01-03-2009, 09:46 PM

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
im not sure you know, but dont use a home sub near your tv it will fuck up the picture. youll know what i mean when you put the sub beside it. anyways, i have the same amp, and im running a mixed system because thats what i found sounded nicer.

my towers/center/sub is all Sinclair Audio, very nice and crisp sounding and pretty good pricing on it too. my rears are Nuance, older ones now, but they sound awesome too. check out Sinclair at Soundsaround. hope this helps/ if you have any other questions let me know.

Please dont tell me your going to compare Sinclair to Polk or Energy:nut:

03ozwhip

01-04-2009, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by ecstasy_civic

Please dont tell me your going to compare Sinclair to Polk or Energy:nut:

bash it all you want, if you heard my setup, you would understand. ive had energy and ive heard polk and im not saying they dont sound good, but if youre looking for something that is VERY comparable look into Sinclair.

Chandler_Racing

01-04-2009, 01:57 PM

Originally posted by ecstasy_civic

Please dont tell me your going to compare Sinclair to Polk or Energy:nut:

My Sinclair setup sounds great (Front towers and Center channel). The rears are energy as well as the sub.

r3ccOs

01-04-2009, 03:48 PM

Paradigm Studio series @ minimum for Home Theatre IMO

Prefer Signature

ecstasy_civic

01-04-2009, 04:06 PM

Ive heard all too many Sinclair/Yamaha systems. Thats why I made that comment.

Mibz

01-04-2009, 08:21 PM

If you're balancing metal tweeters with a subwoofer you're doin' it wrong.

Mitsu3000gt

01-04-2009, 08:27 PM

Originally posted by r3ccOs
Paradigm Studio series @ minimum for Home Theatre IMO

Prefer Signature

His budget is $1200, a Paradigm Studio setup is over $5000. You can make an amazing home theater for the money with Monitor stuff that would sound better than most setups costing more than double the price, you do not need Studio as a minimum for HT.

r3ccOs

01-04-2009, 10:09 PM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

His budget is $1200, a Paradigm Studio setup is over $5000. You can make an amazing home theater for the money with Monitor stuff that would sound better than most setups costing more than double the price, you do not need Studio as a minimum for HT.

Personally if I were to look, I would move past the Monitor series with the exception of the 11 towers... not bad I must admit

Axiom audio's line of products of which I've heard the M80's setup with a full setup is incredibly affordable and I think might just rival the Studio series or Monitor audio Silver series

axiomaudio.ca

If you call them, they'll fill you in and you can even find someone to demo for you.

p.s. their Sherwood Newcastle stuff is excellent, General Audio carries it as well and I think its exception value

Others to look @...
Outlaw Audio

Mitsu3000gt

01-04-2009, 10:27 PM

Originally posted by r3ccOs

p.s. their Sherwood Newcastle stuff is excellent, General Audio carries it as well and I think its exception value

Others to look @...
Outlaw Audio

I agree with you on sherwood, its awesome stuff. Their 972 receiver (if its out yet, its been delayed like 2 years) will be the one to beat.

I prefer Paradigm to Axiom on all levels, but its all awesome stuff, can't really go wrong. Each to his own I guess.

The only speaker I've heard that I like better than the Paradigm S8's were a pair of $25,000 Focals, and those blew my mind. I'd love to own a pair one day.

r3ccOs

01-05-2009, 12:52 AM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

I agree with you on sherwood, its awesome stuff. Their 972 receiver (if its out yet, its been delayed like 2 years) will be the one to beat.

I prefer Paradigm to Axiom on all levels, but its all awesome stuff, can't really go wrong. Each to his own I guess.

The only speaker I've heard that I like better than the Paradigm S8's were a pair of $25,000 Focals, and those blew my mind. I'd love to own a pair one day.

There are plenty of speakers that I "prefer" to any of the ones listed, but for home theater, these are pretty much the game for producing that visceral reference level sound that most movies are mastered for nowadays

I'm guessing you've heard those Focal Utopia's at General, those are fabulous speakers, and Focal and B&W are other companies that can function for both Hifi & Home Theatre well.

The energy Veritas too are supurb for HT reproduction.

Otherwise, I'm a bigger fan of Totem, Mordaunt Short, Sonus Faber, Martin Logan, Opera, Dynaudio, Harbeth and a select few others.

hoamic11

01-05-2009, 12:54 AM

I'll check out general audio this week and see what they have, thanks for the info.

as for matching the or balancing the titanium tweets to the sub, the encore 8 is matched very well with the EXL-Series, just the encore is tighter sounding then the EXL-S8 sub. I know Paradigm makes great stuff, just didn't who sold them around here.

Mitsu3000gt

01-05-2009, 01:21 AM

Originally posted by hoamic11
I'll check out general audio this week and see what they have, thanks for the info.

as for matching the or balancing the titanium tweets to the sub, the encore 8 is matched very well with the EXL-Series, just the encore is tighter sounding then the EXL-S8 sub. I know Paradigm makes great stuff, just didn't who sold them around here.

General audio doesn't have much in your budget on display, I would recommend going to Sounds of Music instead, they have a floor/demo model of EVERY single speaker and can easily set them up for you. Sounds of Music also will do better pricing on Paradigms than General will.

Mitsu3000gt

01-05-2009, 01:23 AM

Originally posted by r3ccOs

There are plenty of speakers that I "prefer" to any of the ones listed, but for home theater, these are pretty much the game for producing that visceral reference level sound that most movies are mastered for nowadays

I'm guessing you've heard those Focal Utopia's at General, those are fabulous speakers, and Focal and B&W are other companies that can function for both Hifi & Home Theatre well.

The energy Veritas too are supurb for HT reproduction.

Otherwise, I'm a bigger fan of Totem, Mordaunt Short, Sonus Faber, Martin Logan, Opera, Dynaudio, Harbeth and a select few others.

Martin logans did absolutely nothing for me, personally, but a lot of people seem to like them.

Ever heard Era speakers? Another brand that is unbelievable for the price, but I don't think they make anything bigger than bookshelf's and very small towers.

hoamic11

01-05-2009, 01:27 AM

Where is 'Sounds of Music', never heard of the place

calgarys_finest

01-05-2009, 01:38 AM

i have the 303 for a sub and its awesome i love it. Right now im using monitor 20s for my fronts because i was super cheap. i think the m70s would sound amazing i love polk audio stuff for their price its hard to match.

Mitsu3000gt

01-05-2009, 01:38 AM

Originally posted by hoamic11
Where is 'Sounds of Music', never heard of the place

Address : 820 - 10th Street SW

Phone : 403-265-1393

r3ccOs

01-05-2009, 09:11 AM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

Martin logans did absolutely nothing for me, personally, but a lot of people seem to like them.

Ever heard Era speakers? Another brand that is unbelievable for the price, but I don't think they make anything bigger than bookshelf's and very small towers.

heard of them, but can't say I've heard them ;)

A few of the QUAD bookshelves are quite spectacular along with a couple, though Chinese made, Warfdales

My friend right now is designing his own line of speakers using Moral, Seas and Peerless drivers/tweeters mostly in a larger bookshelf size

Can't wait to hear them

Another interesting couple of companies is: Coincident speakers: http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/
Very exclusive but effecient, so perfect for Tube amps, even SETs.

Green Mountain Audio: http://www.greenmountainaudio.com/

Brilliant concept
Take away unwanted resonance by casting, literially casting, the cabinets out of marble
Don't adjust your room, phase align the speakers for the position you desire.

Plus they are incredibly defined and have terrific bass presence.

modded46

01-05-2009, 10:08 AM

Polk are the best sounding speakers for the money I've ever heard.. Here is what my system consists of.. I also have a Yamaha Amp but a RX-V2600..

Polk LSi7 Fronts

Polk TSi100 Rears

PSW110 Sub

Polk CSi A6 Center

Altogether I did this for just over a grand and it sounds amazing. :) Ebay FTW!!

Super_Geo

01-05-2009, 10:33 AM

I was in the same spot as you about a year and a half ago... knew very little about speakers and thought my choices were down to Infinity/Polk/Bose/etc.

Made a thread on Beyond and Mitsu3000gt and ICEBERG made the same points for Paradigm and SoM. I had been speaker shopping every weekend for about a month at this point.

Went to SoM and within two hours was lugging out a set of Monitor 9s. Marvin @ SoM was a great guy to deal with.

I was looking to buy a set of Paradigm Studios (~$2000 for a pair of towers) and he let me know that on my Harmon Kardon AV-340 receiver that I might as well get the Monitors (~$1200 for a pair of towers). Nice to see a salesman who isn't all about upselling... he actually downsold me!

Just one thing though.... do not get your speaker cables there. Go get generic ones from Radio Shack or Future Shop, they'll sound the same and cost hundreds less.

hoamic11

01-05-2009, 10:56 AM

Well I've been around the industry for abit, just as I use to work at a few electronic stores back in the day, so i got familiar with alot of stuff. Since then, I fell out of it and haven't really researched it much.

And with that, I'm going to check out sound of music and see what they have.

89coupe

01-05-2009, 10:57 AM

If you guys want top notch speakers for a bargain, check out

www.jamesloudspeaker.com

Mitsu3000gt

01-05-2009, 10:58 AM

r3ccOs

01-05-2009, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by Super_Geo
I was in the same spot as you about a year and a half ago... knew very little about speakers and thought my choices were down to Infinity/Polk/Bose/etc.

Made a thread on Beyond and Mitsu3000gt and ICEBERG made the same points for Paradigm and SoM. I had been speaker shopping every weekend for about a month at this point.

Went to SoM and within two hours was lugging out a set of Monitor 9s. Marvin @ SoM was a great guy to deal with.

I was looking to buy a set of Paradigm Studios (~$2000 for a pair of towers) and he let me know that on my Harmon Kardon AV-340 receiver that I might as well get the Monitors (~$1200 for a pair of towers). Nice to see a salesman who isn't all about upselling... he actually downsold me!

Just one thing though.... do not get your speaker cables there. Go get generic ones from Radio Shack or Future Shop, they'll sound the same and cost hundreds less.

Sounds of Music...
I like their inventory of Sonus Faber and Classe equipment
other than that... they are nice guys who really believe in the products

When it comes down to anything... judge by your own ears and buy what sounds best to you in your means.

Cables are not snake oil, and honestly its easy enough to prove, granted you have the conditions to prove it.

I have Grant Fidelity PC 1.5 power cables, which bested power cables that I've heard from a number of big companies, inlcuding Tara Labs, Nordst, Eichmann, and even Kimber (let alone crap cables like Monster)

Why do cables work? There is sound science to prove, but essentially its a number of factors ranging from Gauge (AWG), Purity of the material (i.e. the N factor 5n being 99.999% pure & oxygen free, Materials as Silver is a faster conductor than copper but can provide sibilance, often blends, brading and shielding such as ferrite magnets on the termination ends.

Now... If this was all snake oil, why do Hospitals invest huge $$$$$ in ensuring a high stand level of all electrical components?

If you go see Pete at the Audio Room, Rod at General, Ross at Absolute, or Lawrence at Loyalty Sounds... they can setup a room for you to A/B test (even blind tests) the cables for you.

When it comes down to it, this is the most important way to build your system:

Source -- Whether DVD player, CD player, Squeezebox, or Turntable --- like shit, it all flows downhill

Amplification -- Choosing quality amplification is incredibly important to ensure that this is not the point of which will alter the corse of the signal path...
How?
Most amplifiers, such as the cheapo FS specials from Yammie/Sony/HK are rated @ Max or RMS at 1K cycles

Now some amplifiers can push HUGE power at 1K cycles in A/B push pull... but now how it deals with different loads are all different.

We used an Oscilloscope w/ Sine wave meters pushing different frequencies through a Yamaha RX series amplifier testing its output range at a consistent impedance of 8ohm.
Results? Staggering
It hit 80 WPC @ 1K
dropped to 35 @ 120htz
dropped to 17 @ 35 hrtz

What does that mean? It means you'll have dynamic humps where in this case, the midrange will seem far too present and the bass recessed

Now these lower class amps usually don't have the transformers to cope with Impedance loads that vary drastically... (remebering that we had used a consistant 8ohm for testing)
Speakers are usually rated for their "typical" or lowest reached impedance... but even in my case of my Totems, rate @ 4ohms, can jump to 60ohms of impedance at the 11K area... alot is to do with the efficiencies of the drivers, cross overs and enclosures.

Now Speakers, they are actuality often chosen for the flavor
Matching speakers to your equipment is incredibly important, again for the same reasons above.
However speakers can often be or project the limitations of your setup
Match your speakers based on the your preferences of:
Dynamics, detail (often tweeter material dependant), imaging, loudness, power efficiency (rated by db for 1 watt 1 meter), and most importantly tone.

Cables: You can spend gratuitous amounts of money here, but you should buy what you need to allow your system to perform at its optimum potential.

If you own $30 dynex dvd player and a Sony boxing day special amp to a set of FS special speakers... cables really don't matter

Now if you have a system that can showcase its finess, pace, details, dynamic range and imaging well yes
Buy what you can to allow your source, amp and speakers to play to their potential.

I've had huge success with Grant Fidelity's power cable and conditioning units
My interconnects are hand built here by an interesting individual, Moray James
My speaker cables are old favorites and are bi-wired Tara Labs RSC Prime 1500s

My speakers: Totem Hawks & Arros are powered by a Grant Fidelity KT-88 Tube amplifier with a number of different NOS and reissue tubes
My source? Tube CD player from Jolida JD100A with Telefunken 12AX7 ECC83 NOS tubes

Mitsu3000gt

01-05-2009, 12:06 PM

^^^ Grant makes great stuff, I have nothing but good to say about them. I believe that is what was powering the Focals when I listened to them at General.

I'm using a Marantz CD player that weighs about 30lbs (gotta love Marantz lol) that I am extremely happy with. It was between ths and an AMC model that I can't remember (this was 8 years ago).

As for speaker wire, if you can tell a difference, then sure buy the better stuff, if you can't tell a difference, then I don't think you should waste your money on it.

I've read articles on the following situations:

1) Audiophiles with supposed "golden ears" not being able to tell the difference between speaker wire and a stretched out coat hanger when each was used in an A/B comparison.

2) Audiophiles with supposed "golden ears" who wouldn't take a $1,000,000 bet that they could tell the difference between $5000/ft speaker wire and the cheapest crap available in an A/B test using the same equipment except for of course the wire. If there was a significant difference, every one of them would be silly not to take the bet.

Good wire is obviously better, but I'm of the opinion that only the people who can actually hear the difference should invest in it. It's far easier to hear the difference between 2 sets of speakers IMO for the majority of people.

As for power conditioning, I personally think its all in someone's head if they think they can tell any significant difference, but if it makes someone think it sounds better than it might be worth it. I've read a ton of stuff "debunking" power conditioning, and I personally can't hear a difference, so maybe its just me.

89coupe

01-05-2009, 12:28 PM

Who uses CD's anymore? LOL

I think for the average joe all you need is a good AMP/Receiver and a 7:1 speaker setup that is balanced properly and you will be happy as a peach in pie for music and movies.

r3ccOs

01-05-2009, 12:39 PM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
^^^ Grant makes great stuff, I have nothing but good to say about them. I believe that is what was powering the Focals when I listened to them at General.

I'm using a Marantz CD player that weighs about 30lbs (gotta love Marantz lol) that I am extremely happy with. It was between ths and an AMC model that I can't remember (this was 8 years ago).

As for speaker wire, if you can tell a difference, then sure buy the better stuff, if you can't tell a difference, then I don't think you should waste your money on it.

I've read articles on the following situations:

1) Audiophiles with supposed "golden ears" not being able to tell the difference between speaker wire and a stretched out coat hanger when each was used in an A/B comparison.

2) Audiophiles with supposed "golden ears" who wouldn't take a $1,000,000 bet that they could tell the difference between $5000/ft speaker wire and the cheapest crap available in an A/B test using the same equipment except for of course the wire. If there was a significant difference, every one of them would be silly not to take the bet.

Good wire is obviously better, but I'm of the opinion that only the people who can actually hear the difference should invest in it. It's far easier to hear the difference between 2 sets of speakers IMO for the majority of people.

As for power conditioning, I personally think its all in someone's head if they think they can tell any significant difference, but if it makes someone think it sounds better than it might be worth it. I've read a ton of stuff "debunking" power conditioning, and I personally can't hear a difference, so maybe its just me.

Actuality... the power conditioning is for Peace of mind...

A proper power conditioner provides contingency and a clean path for power. The device should ultimately be "transparent" other than for the virtues mentioned, so performance at best should be as good as direct from wall, but with better continuity

Having a tube amp, which have a tenancies to blow tubes as being subjected to surges and spikes, is important to have behind a properly managed circuit.

Now when it comes down to cabling... well, its hard to provide and true to the point, we've even use the same oscillioscope on a number of IC's barely detecting any differences in signal degradation

However, you take one of these standard IEC13 plugs and plug them into an LCD tv, you can immediately see how much better the blacks and contrast ratios become.
Less noise and better ground from the Ferrite core, better terminations and purer materials.

Plasmas as well, and visual differences is less subjective (if not completely objective) to audio differences

benyl

01-06-2009, 09:45 AM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
I would suggest something like this for a budget system that sounds amazing:

Paradigm Titan Monitors up front (Mini Monitors if Titans are too expensive)
Paradigm CC-290 Center Channel (CC-190 if your trying to cut costs)
Paradigm Atom Monitors for Rears
Paradigm DSP 3100 (10") or 3200 (12") for the Sub

This isn't really a budget system as it will go over $2K.

I am going to go with Monitor 7s up front
the CC-190 (as my room isn't big enough to justify the 290)
Atoms for the rears and the 3100.

Went to Sounds of music last night. Will probably pick them up today.

Mitsu3000gt

01-06-2009, 12:50 PM

Originally posted by benyl

This isn't really a budget system as it will go over $2K.

I am going to go with Monitor 7s up front
the CC-190 (as my room isn't big enough to justify the 290)
Atoms for the rears and the 3100.

Went to Sounds of music last night. Will probably pick them up today.

I don't think what I recommended should be over 2K unless I made a mistake on one of the prices. Standard procedure is 20% off retail at Sounds of Music unless something changed since I was there last. How much is the sub? The MSRPs aren't on Paradigm's website anymore but I have a pricelist somewhere at home.

A friend of mine has EXACTLY the system you're planning on buying, and I'm sure you will love it. I've yet to hear better for the money.

benyl

01-06-2009, 01:00 PM

Titan Monitors $618.00/pr.
CC290 $529.00/ea.
Atom Monitors $338.00/pr.
DSP3100 $569.00/ea.

Total $2054

modded46

01-06-2009, 01:50 PM

I'll put my polk's up against Paradigm's anyday.. outside of Canada I really don't think Paradigms are very popular and I really don't think they are worth the money that you pay for them.

modded46

01-06-2009, 01:59 PM

Here is an excellent comparison..

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/speaker_only-specification-17-1-2-4.paradigm

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rtia/index.php#rtia5

benyl

01-06-2009, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by modded46
I'll put my polk's up against Paradigm's anyday.. outside of Canada I really don't think Paradigms are very popular and I really don't think they are worth the money that you pay for them.

I've done a lot of research over the last 2 months. Paradigms are popular outside of Canada.

Those Polks are more expensive than the Paradigms. 90% of people prefer Paradigms over polks in the research I have done.

Clever

01-06-2009, 02:30 PM

Can you post the price for those Paradigm CC-190 centers? I'm in the market for center speakers but also on a budget.

benyl

01-06-2009, 02:33 PM

The retail price I was quoted was $319 for the CC-190.

Clever

01-06-2009, 02:56 PM

That's a pretty good price for center speakers that I'm looking for, thanks.

r3ccOs

01-06-2009, 03:08 PM

Originally posted by modded46
I'll put my polk's up against Paradigm's anyday.. outside of Canada I really don't think Paradigms are very popular and I really don't think they are worth the money that you pay for them.

Sorry buddy

I've heard these Polks & their LSi brethern @ Visions one time, a friend asked my advice as he wanted a system through financing... (poor bastard)

Anyways short answer, they do the trick and are better than most Futureshop/Bestbuy (let alone BOSE) but they fall short compared to even Energy, let alone Paradigm.

Again though, don't put the Axiom speakers short...
Plus they will give you a free trial!

calgarys_finest

01-06-2009, 03:14 PM

The lsi15s are a crazy good sounding speaker i was very very suprised.. they have a small sub in the base of the speaker to i think.

89coupe

01-06-2009, 03:16 PM

Please people check out www.jamesloudspeaker.com

r3ccOs

01-06-2009, 03:34 PM

Originally posted by calgarys_finest
The lsi15s are a crazy good sounding speaker i was very very suprised.. they have a small sub in the base of the speaker to i think.

As compared to what though?

They just don't...

For the price of the LSi you can find far better speakers from PSB, Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Focal, really anything even the B&W 600 series

benyl

01-06-2009, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by 89coupe
Please people check out www.jamesloudspeaker.com

You keep saying that, but they have no dealer in Calgary.

Would you buy a car without test driving it first?

89coupe

01-06-2009, 04:06 PM

Originally posted by benyl

You keep saying that, but they have no dealer in Calgary.

Would you buy a car without test driving it first?

Yes they do have a dealer in Calgary, two in fact.

For some reason they have changed their website and they are not showing.

Call them and they will give you the numbers to the dealers here in Calgary.

lowryder99

01-06-2009, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

Glad to hear you're happy with your setup. Marvin actually doesn't work there anymore, I forget why. He's the one I've always dealt with as well. I thought he was the owner when I first was there but he isn't. We actually got our first setup at General Audio, when it was downtown and under different ownership. We shopped for speakers for a little over 6 months before settling on some Paradigm Studio 80's, 20's, matching center, and a Servo-15. At the time, the signature series didn't exist.

Getting any cables anywhere other than www.monoprice.com is pretty silly, unless you can find a crazy deal somewhere in town. I just made an order last night actually, 6ft 1.3a HDMI cables are $4.65, and 15 ft ones are $6.50 lol. They are built extremely well too. I feel bad for the poor suckers who paid $80++ at Future Shop or whatever. I got all of my speaker wire there too for next to nothing. Its so cheap it makes you want to buy stuff just because or just incase lol.

Thank you for the HUGE hook up on cables...I bought ONE 1.3 HDMI cable the other day locally just to test my blu ray and I thought I got a good deal at 60 bucks...yea that sucks as I just bought three more 1.3 hdmi cables (one 15 footer for an inwall run), three optical cables, sub cable all shipped for 60 bucks :( Oh well live and learn, I won't make the "retail cable mistake" again.

r3ccOs

01-06-2009, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by lowryder99

Thank you for the HUGE hook up on cables...I bought ONE 1.3 HDMI cable the other day locally just to test my blu ray and I thought I got a good deal at 60 bucks...yea that sucks as I just bought three more 1.3 hdmi cables (one 15 footer for an inwall run), three optical cables, sub cable all shipped for 60 bucks :( Oh well live and learn, I won't make the "retail cable mistake" again.

Again, its all relative to your equipment and all about research.

Monster is garbage, they can't even compete to the quality of blue jeans cable (which is very popular) who basically mass sells and terminate cables of high quality for fractions of the price.

correction... Monster isnt' garbage, just most of it is... their sigma retro Gold series are Fantastic, but even for its price, there are others, such as Nordst, Tara, Virtual Dynamics that are cheaper

You're buying a name with Monster

Though alot of manufactures won't admit it, they often get their copper manufactured by a mass OEM (often Taiwanese or Chinese)
Sometimes, just sometimes, you might run into an OEM supplied product, such as a Volex 17604 power cable, which can perform like a far higher priced cable for a fraction of the price (in this case, like $10 for a 14 AWG 1.5 meter cable)

Blue Jeans I think use Belden as well, but they apply their own shielding and methods to terminate the ends (very important)

89coupe

01-06-2009, 05:05 PM

I think people are wasting their money when it comes to speaker wire.

Its been proven time and time again that even the experts can't tell the difference between $5000/ft wire and .05c/ft wire.

Don't get caught up in the all the bullshit hype.

benyl

01-06-2009, 05:25 PM

Fawk.

I was all settled on a Onkyo 706 to make a budget system, but the Denon 3808 is calling my name. Anyone have one? Two totally different price points.

Mitsu3000gt

01-06-2009, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by benyl
Titan Monitors $618.00/pr.
CC290 $529.00/ea.
Atom Monitors $338.00/pr.
DSP3100 $569.00/ea.

Total $2054

$1640 is the price the customer will likely pay, though (unless they changed that policy too - I hope not).

When I did my upstairs system, I bought the Titan monitors for $550 and The Atoms were $250. Went with an ultracube sub so I could keep it hidden, and center channel from the Millenia series because it needed to be mounted on a wall. Then of course there was 20% off of everything to boot. This was about a year ago. When we did our actual home theater we bought from General Audio and also got 20% off the speakers' MSRP. General was under different management then though.

Originally posted by benyl
Fawk.

I was all settled on a Onkyo 706 to make a budget system, but the Denon 3808 is calling my name. Anyone have one? Two totally different price points.

The same friend I was talking about of mine that has the exact speakers you're buying is running them off of a 3808. It sounds great and he is happy with it as well. Denon's tend to have a slightly "warmer" sound than, say, a Yamaha, and a lot of people prefer that.

The 3808 is a very nice unit, however I think they raised the prices on them recently making it less of a bargain. It's $200 more than it used to be on Costco's website (now $1699), anyways. It is a year old, however it still remains fairly competitive. With this particular receiver, make sure you select "passthrough" for your native 1080P signals so they travel through unmolested. This receiver and many others without the greatest video processors actually damage a 1080P signal with their "noise reduction" and other things so it looks worse. Also whats nice about it (and all Denons) is that you can do firmware updates very easily after hooking it up to the internet. Its a good solid receiver. If you want to spend a little bit more, the Onkyo 906 is as good as it gets for the money and you will also have superior video processing from the Reon HQV chip, versus the average Faroudja in the Denon. Visions will sell you a 906 for just under $2000. If you can't do much better than $1700 for the 3808, I would suggest you spend the extra $300 and get the Onkyo 906, especially if you are going to be using it for upscaling your DVDs and HDTV to 1080P. The Onkyo is simply a re-branded Integra unit which sells for a lot more, making it a bargain.

EDIT: The Onkyo 876 is an excellent unit as well and uses the same video processor as the 906. The main differences between the 876 and 906 are that the 906 has a better amp section, a front USB port, and an ethernet port. The 876 will be priced much more closely to the Denon 3808. The 876 has the same internals as an Integra 8.9 and the 906 has the same internals as the Integra 8.8.

Mitsu3000gt

01-06-2009, 06:07 PM

Mitsu3000gt

01-06-2009, 06:45 PM

Originally posted by modded46
I'll put my polk's up against Paradigm's anyday.. outside of Canada I really don't think Paradigms are very popular and I really don't think they are worth the money that you pay for them.

Paradigms are very big in Europe, where they cost 2-3 times as much. We get a deal on them because they are made in Canada. Polks aren't really in the same league as Paradigm. As previously mentioned in this thread, Energy is probably the best brand sold at any of the chain stores. If you're happy with your Polks though, that is all that matters, regardless of what any of us think.

benyl

01-07-2009, 10:09 AM

I couldn't bring myself to buy a budget system.

I auditioned B&W XT against the Paradigms. Night and day difference. It was in the same room and same electronics. All we did was plug and unplug the speakers.

I spent 4 times more than I intended... Fuck. The discount on B&W isn't as good as Paradigm. Double fuck.

I ordered the Denon from Costco as it still falls under their unlimited return policy as they are not an authorized reseller. If it breaks after the warranty, I can return it. I love costco for that. (My PS3 died 2 months after the warranty was over (14months), they took it back no questions asked).

I don't plan on using any of the upscalling as the PS3 does all of that and so does my TV. I would only want the signal pass through. The only thing I am wondering about is my PVR. Bell only does 1080i, does that get upscaled by the receiver or will it pass through the signal so my TV can upscale it?

blownz

01-07-2009, 11:03 AM

^ nice choice.

Definitely post a review of the 3808 after you get a chance to play with it. I am planning on buying a new receiver soon and I was contemplating that on the high end and the HK AVR354 as a budget one.

I don't know if they have been mentioned yet, but I am a big fan of Klipsch speakers. Reasonably priced and they sound great. :thumbsup:

Mitsu3000gt

01-07-2009, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by benyl
I couldn't bring myself to buy a budget system.

I auditioned B&W XT against the Paradigms. Night and day difference. It was in the same room and same electronics. All we did was plug and unplug the speakers.

I spent 4 times more than I intended... Fuck. The discount on B&W isn't as good as Paradigm. Double fuck.

I ordered the Denon from Costco as it still falls under their unlimited return policy as they are not an authorized reseller. If it breaks after the warranty, I can return it. I love costco for that. (My PS3 died 2 months after the warranty was over (14months), they took it back no questions asked).

I don't plan on using any of the upscalling as the PS3 does all of that and so does my TV. I would only want the signal pass through. The only thing I am wondering about is my PVR. Bell only does 1080i, does that get upscaled by the receiver or will it pass through the signal so my TV can upscale it?

Haha I know the feeling, every time I've ever purchased something home theater/audio related, you start to try out better stuff and you get spoiled so you buy it. If you spent 4X the money of the Monitor 7's, did you happen to listen to a set of Paradigms around the same price as the B&W's? Maybe some higher end Studio series or something from the Signature line? Just curious of what your opinion was if you did an A/B test against the B&W's you chose. If its between B&Ws and Paradigm, you have a win/win situation anyways.

On your Denon, set the HDMI input that your PS3 is plugged into to "through" and set the HDMI input that your bell PVR is plugged into to "1080P" if you want the receiver to do the scaling. If you want your TV to do the scaling, also set the HDMI input for your Bell PVR on the Denon to "through". You can play around with it and see which device has the better scaler, and then just use what you think looks best. If you decide to scale your 1080i HDTV in the receiver, your TV will be getting a 1080P signal from the receiver and the TV should leave the signal alone - it should only be scaling it if it receives something less than 1080P. Unless your TV is massive, you're unlikely to notice much of a difference between 1080i and 1080p. A good receiver will have a much better scalar in it than a TV or PS3, but again, unless your TV is huge you are unlikely to notice it anyways.

Also, if your watching a blu-ray and your Denon doesn't display DTS HD or Dolby True HD, don't worry as the PS3 is just doing the decoding. Normally a receiver will only display the correct audio mode if it is doing the decoding. If you set your PS3 to "PCM" it i doing the decoding, if you set it to "bitstream" it should let your receiver do the decoding.

Mitsu3000gt

01-07-2009, 11:06 AM

Originally posted by blownz
^ nice choice.

Definitely post a review of the 3808 after you get a chance to play with it. I am planning on buying a new receiver soon and I was contemplating that on the high end and the HK AVR354 as a budget one.

I don't know if they have been mentioned yet, but I am a big fan of Klipsch speakers. Reasonably priced and they sound great. :thumbsup:

What do you want this receiver to do? Are you going to be using it for video scaling? Do you want to add it to your home network? If your shopping around the 3808 range you have a ton of options.

blownz

01-07-2009, 11:36 AM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

What do you want this receiver to do? Are you going to be using it for video scaling? Do you want to add it to your home network? If your shopping around the 3808 range you have a ton of options.

2 reasons I want to upgrade my receiver. One is video upscaling and the other is to have multiple HDMI inputs. My 7 year old Sony ES has none and my almost 4 year old grand wega only has one input which isn't enough. Plus my old receiver only has two digital audio inputs which isn't enough (I have a dvd player, hd-dvd player, bd player, and hd cable hooked up). TV is only 1080i but I won't be replacing it for another year or so only because of the two small kids that seem to like to hit the tv with toys still. lol

The HK AVR354 seems like a good choice for the price ($750) and looks like it will be plenty for what I need. The only reason I was looking at the Denon was that I like shopping at Costco because of the return warranty. But I kind of doubt that it is worth over double to me.

Mitsu3000gt

01-07-2009, 11:51 AM

Originally posted by blownz

2 reasons I want to upgrade my receiver. One is video upscaling and the other is to have multiple HDMI inputs. My 7 year old Sony ES has none and my almost 4 year old grand wega only has one input which isn't enough. Plus my old receiver only has two digital audio inputs which isn't enough (I have a dvd player, hd-dvd player, bd player, and hd cable hooked up). TV is only 1080i but I won't be replacing it for another year or so only because of the two small kids that seem to like to hit the tv with toys still. lol

The HK AVR354 seems like a good choice for the price ($750) and looks like it will be plenty for what I need. The only reason I was looking at the Denon was that I like shopping at Costco because of the return warranty. But I kind of doubt that it is worth over double to me.

The Faroudja video scaler in the HK and Denon are average, but its unlikely to matter unless you are upscaling DVDs or if you have a huge TV. The HK used to have an issue where if you sent a 60hz signal into the scaler, it output it at 50hz but I think they fixed that with firmware (people compalined of "jittery" blu ray playback). Also, if I remember correctly, the way the scaling works in the AVR 354 is that its all or nothing - you can't individually assign scaling or passthrough to each HDMI input, only to the single HDMI output that it has. What this means is that you can either pick to have your native 1080P signals damaged but anything less than 1080p upscaled, or you can pass it all through and upscale nothing. With better receivers, such as the Denon, you get the option to assign the level of scaling or passthrough to each individual HDMI input.

If video scaling is a big deal for you, I would look at the Onkyo 876, as it uses the HQV Reon chip rather than the average Faroudja stuff that a lot of other manufactuers use in their lower-end stuff. It is priced closer to the Denon 3808.

benyl

01-07-2009, 01:17 PM

mitsu, I have a 60" SXRD. it isn't small... haha But I never see anything but 1080p. When I get the Denon, I will play with the setting and see if the receiver or the TV does a better job at upscaling. If there is no difference, I will let the receiver do it.

blownz, the reason I went for the 3808 is the return policy, but I also wanted internet connectivity. I didn't want to have to turn on my PS3 to connect to my PC to get internet radio. This way, everything is done in the receiver.

The other bonus is automatic firmware updates. With the Onkyo 706, you have to take it to a service center for updates. I don't know about HK.

benyl

01-07-2009, 01:20 PM

ok, so another question.

Does anyone know what kind of cable crimpers I need for the following? Also, what other tools like strippers do I need.

Cat 5
Cable (you know the shaw kind)
Speaker wire termination (are they RCA)

I want to buy raw wire/cable/cat 5 from monoprice and cut everything to length and make my own terminations.

Mibz

01-07-2009, 02:18 PM

Originally posted by benyl
ok, so another question.

Does anyone know what kind of cable crimpers I need for the following? Also, what other tools like strippers do I need.

Cat 5
Cable (you know the shaw kind)
Speaker wire termination (are they RCA)

I want to buy raw wire/cable/cat 5 from monoprice and cut everything to length and make my own terminations. Cat 5 and Coaxial use different crimpers though I imagine you -may- be able to find a 2 in 1 tool. Usually the crimpers will include a good stripper as well. Monoprice sells the crimpers too ;)

Most people use banana plugs for speaker wire or just leave it bare. Banana plugs don't require any tools though soldering them with a GOOD solder will help.

benyl

01-07-2009, 03:17 PM

ok, now looking at speaker wire on monoprice.

I know 12 gauge is the thickest, but why would you go with 16 over 12?

msommers

01-07-2009, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by benyl
ok, now looking at speaker wire on monoprice.

I know 12 gauge is the thickest, but why would you go with 16 over 12?

Requires less amperage.

bighead2267

01-07-2009, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by msommers

Requires less amperage.

correct me if i'm wrong. i always though the small guages the better.

also, to whom who can give me advice will be much appreicated. i'm currently running Yamaha RX-V1(i know it's old but i'm too cheap to get new amp:D ) front, centre is energy veritas. i have found the centre doesn't perform as good as i though. anyone can give me advise how to solve this problem.

Also to the OP. sorry to jack your thread but i'm sure u won't go wrong with Paradigm. SOM is a good company to deal with as well. personally i never deal with General audio before so i can't give comment.

thank you

86max

01-07-2009, 06:29 PM

Originally posted by benyl

The other bonus is automatic firmware updates. With the Onkyo 706, you have to take it to a service center for updates. I don't know about HK.

With the Onkyos, you can manually update the firmware by burning the updates to a cd, then playing them in a cd player with an optical out, connected to the receiver. It's a bit of hassle though, I'd rather have it do it over the internet.

Originally posted by Mibz

Most people use banana plugs for speaker wire or just leave it bare. Banana plugs don't require any tools though soldering them with a GOOD solder will help.

I just recently replaced all my connections with banana plugs from monoprice, and I have to say that they're awesome. Especially if you switch speakers often or move stuff around.

msommers

01-07-2009, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by bighead2267
correct me if i'm wrong. i always though the small guages the better.

This is a good illustration I was taught in an electrical class.

Think of the gauge of wire as a pipe. You want to find a diameter of pipe that will fill up as close to perfect as the amount of water volume without restriction.

I'm not sure if I've worded that correctly but I think you get the idea.

Now determining the size of pipe will only be determined by the amount of water you have. Have a giant pipe for little water makes no sense, and visa versa. The same is applied to amperage. Only use as big as you need.

So yes, smaller is better, but only if the amperage is low enough to allow it to operate safely and efficiently.

This may give you a better idea what I mean. Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge#Table_of_AWG_wire_sizes)

Hope that helps.

EDIT: I just realized our interpretation of smaller/large guage vs. wire diameter may be different. Lots of people view this differently, including other electricians I've worked with. Either way, I think the way I've explained it should clarify the concept regardless.

Mitsu3000gt

01-07-2009, 09:14 PM

Originally posted by benyl
ok, now looking at speaker wire on monoprice.

I know 12 gauge is the thickest, but why would you go with 16 over 12?

16 is fine, you'll never tell the difference between 12 and 16. That said, there is probably like a $2 price difference on monoprice.

89coupe

01-08-2009, 11:00 AM

The most important thing to remember when wiring up your speakers is to be sure that all wires are the exact same length.

cet

01-08-2009, 11:18 AM

^^ even that isn't all that critical as you will never ever be able to tell a difference. Here is a post from someone over at AVS explaining it better than I can.

http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4931275&&#post4931275

Propagation delay in speaker wires is totally, completely irrelevant.

Waves in a wire propagate at a significant fraction of the speed of light, say 70%. That means in a second, a signal would travel about 130,000 miles.

So let's take an extreme case - let's use one speaker wire that's a mile longer than the other. Could we hear it? In this case, the delay would be about 7.7 microseconds.

Now consider this - once the speaker converts the signal into audible pressure waves in the air, it now only travels at the speed of sound - call it 700 mph (it varies with temperature). In the same 7.7uS it took that signal to travel a mile down the wire, the wave will only travel about .09 inches in air.

So, if you find yourself with a speaker wire a mile longer than you'd like, just move your speaker .09 inches closer. And make sure you hold your head very, very still, or micro-movements of your head will introduce so much variance that there won't be a difference.

hoamic11

01-12-2009, 01:16 PM

Do you guys deal with a certain person at sound of music?

Mibz

01-12-2009, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by 89coupe
The most important thing to remember when wiring up your speakers is to be sure that all wires are the exact same length. 90% of receivers these days have an auto-setup to account for whatever minor phase changes you get. Honestly, you're more likely to suffer from an off-center seating position than you would from different cable lengths.

EDIT: Grammar

Mitsu3000gt

01-12-2009, 05:15 PM

Originally posted by hoamic11
Do you guys deal with a certain person at sound of music?

The guy I've always dealt with isn't there anymore. Standard procedure, unless its changed, is 20% off MSRP for Paradigms.

One time when I was in there, and a second time with a friend, we were briefly helped by the older Asian gentlemen that works there, and he didn't seem to even want to entertain even 1% off. As soon as we went and talked to someone else, it was no problem whatsoever.

nnnnny

01-17-2009, 07:06 PM

Let's post some pictures of your home theater setup ......

trliniar

01-18-2009, 10:53 PM

Don't want to hijack a thread, but I didnt want to create a new one. Do any of you media buffs know where I can get a CD/DVD binder that holds CD's? locally? Found this one at staples but its only 240 Cd's? anything in the 500-1000+ range?

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/images/products/CA486107_1_enl.jpg

blownz

01-19-2009, 11:34 AM

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

The Faroudja video scaler in the HK and Denon are average, but its unlikely to matter unless you are upscaling DVDs or if you have a huge TV. The HK used to have an issue where if you sent a 60hz signal into the scaler, it output it at 50hz but I think they fixed that with firmware (people compalined of "jittery" blu ray playback). Also, if I remember correctly, the way the scaling works in the AVR 354 is that its all or nothing - you can't individually assign scaling or passthrough to each HDMI input, only to the single HDMI output that it has. What this means is that you can either pick to have your native 1080P signals damaged but anything less than 1080p upscaled, or you can pass it all through and upscale nothing. With better receivers, such as the Denon, you get the option to assign the level of scaling or passthrough to each individual HDMI input.

If video scaling is a big deal for you, I would look at the Onkyo 876, as it uses the HQV Reon chip rather than the average Faroudja stuff that a lot of other manufactuers use in their lower-end stuff. It is priced closer to the Denon 3808.

Thanks for the input. I will definitely look into that. It would be nice to individually set each HDMI input. 2 grand though is pricey.

Originally posted by benyl
blownz, the reason I went for the 3808 is the return policy, but I also wanted internet connectivity. I didn't want to have to turn on my PS3 to connect to my PC to get internet radio. This way, everything is done in the receiver.

The other bonus is automatic firmware updates. With the Onkyo 706, you have to take it to a service center for updates. I don't know about HK.

Return policy is one reason why I was considering it too. The updates are another good thing to look into. I can't believe how much stuff has changed in the 7 years since I purchased my last receiver!

Originally posted by benyl
ok, so another question.

Does anyone know what kind of cable crimpers I need for the following? Also, what other tools like strippers do I need.

Cat 5
Cable (you know the shaw kind)
Speaker wire termination (are they RCA)

I want to buy raw wire/cable/cat 5 from monoprice and cut everything to length and make my own terminations.

Any high end stereo shop should be albe to rent you the tools for free. Just a hefty deposit to make sure you bring stuff back. They should also show you how to use them there and let you practice.

I did that 4 years ago and I am so happy I did. Everything looks great with the cables all the exact length. The coax cables are really easy to do with the right tool.

And banana plugs for the speaker cable is the best imo and requires no tools.

msommers

01-19-2009, 01:39 PM

I'm really curious what some of you are using as a source. I'm currently trying to decide if I want go completely digital (ie: Audigy 2 ZS ->DAC->Amp->Headphones/speakers) or if I want to go CD player. Even iPods have a lot options now like iMod and iTransport with quality results.

An aside and probably doubtful, does anyone have a Little Dot MK II/III/VI I could try out?

tylere

01-19-2009, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by hoamic11
Do you guys deal with a certain person at sound of music?

When I bought my Rotel stuff I delt with John and Alec and both were great, did take a little convincing to get Alec to budge on price though

bbrannan

01-26-2009, 06:24 PM

a few things you may also want to consider before buying speakers....

-how big of a room is this stuff going into and what shape?
-do you like your speakers to have a pressence or prefer them to be less noticable
-are your floors carpet or hardwood?

that aside..

I would also try a few of these..

-make sure your fronts match your centre channel down to the series if possible

-if you have the space and placement available and don't care if the centre soundstage sounds a lil off to everyone but yourself you might want to consider matching your centre with your fronts right down to the platform. (3 towers/bookselves across the front). you might ask what do i do with the extra speaker? sounds like you are going for 5.1 but your receiver will do 7.1 so you could always connect the odd speaker as your rear centre for 6.1. Most 7.1 recievers treat channel 6 and 7 (rear effect) as a monarual output (or can be set manually), meaning there is no sound difference between the 2 channels just a clone of each other used to disperse the effects.

don't be affraid to buy used just be smart about it. check out places like canuckaudiomart (google it).

-recommendations:

-paradigm makes good stuff
-b&w (depending on budget)
-older axiom
-older energy, nothing new since they were aquired
-NHT classic series(don't buy the centre channel, sounds like @ss) or evolution series
-TOTEM Acoustics -can find really good deals used especially from people selling in montreal. something like the dreamcatcher system or even a setup using the Arro line will amaze you after you see their size.

Downside--> all these brands won't sound as good as they are intended to be unless you can feed them the juice.