bookshelf+sub or floorstanding?

[apac]

So I just bought an Onkyo TX-DS575 5.1 receiver and am starting a high quality speaker setup. I only have enough for the front LR speakers, so the question is what setup will benefit the most in the long run. The current inexpensive stereo setup I use is mostly for tv and music + divx via modded xbox. However I just bought the HD adapter for my xbox, which has surround outputs, and I watch dvds etc. So the question is whether I

a) buy a pair of $300-400 bookshelf speakers, I was looking at klipsch RB-25s, for high quality treble and eventually get an expensive sub to accomodate them, along with 2 rears and a center channel

b) save and buy a pair of $600 floorstanding speakers for the front L/R and then later buy the rear and center speakers, without a sub.

 

[vi edit]

How big of a room, and are you in a rental unit?

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

what is that white box thing there?

 

[ElFenix]

floorstanding + bass module

 

[Anubis]

Pick up a pair of these and yull be all set

 

[isekii]

get a fluance 5.1 setup.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
How big of a room, and are you in a rental unit?

The room is probably300 sq. feet. Yes it's a rental unit, but the guy above me practices his electric guitar on an amp, and he parties on the weekends, so I don't think he'll mind. I'm also on a ground floor wing, so no neighbors on either wall.

This is also looking quite far into the future. I won't have enough money to buy a good sub for a long time, so what I'm really getting at is whether it's better to invest in 5 bookshelf speakers or 2 floorstanding and 3 bookshelf speakers.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: isekii
get a fluance 5.1 setup.

Also, I don't want some weak ass 5.1 setup thats sold as a boxed set (I'm assuming that fluance is one of them). I'm looking for real speakers, not 5 6" plastic satellites and a huge subwoofer trying to cover for them.

 

[rootaxs]

Fluance AVHTB - Try it before you make your comments. 🙂

This thing can be had pretty cheap on E-Bay. I doubt you'll find anything of similar or better quality (soundwise) for the same or 2x the price of the set.

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: isekii
get a fluance 5.1 setup.

Also, I don't want some weak ass 5.1 setup thats sold as a boxed set (I'm assuming that fluance is one of them). I'm looking for real speakers, not 5 6" plastic satellites and a huge subwoofer trying to cover for them.

 

[MustISO]

For movies you really need a sub, there are very few full-range speakers out there in a reasonable price range. Also for movies, get a really good center channel as it does a lot of the work up front. If you think you'll be doing multi-channel music someday go for identical speakers that have some decent bottom end. Planning it out now will help reduce the mistakes in the long run.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: rootaxs
Fluance AVHTB - Try it before you make your comments. 🙂

This thing can be had pretty cheap on E-Bay. I doubt you'll find anything of similar or better quality (soundwise) for the same or 2x the price of the set.

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: isekii
get a fluance 5.1 setup.

Also, I don't want some weak ass 5.1 setup thats sold as a boxed set (I'm assuming that fluance is one of them). I'm looking for real speakers, not 5 6" plastic satellites and a huge subwoofer trying to cover for them.

Oh sorry I do know of those, just didn't recognize the name. I am aware that they're very good for the price, but I'm not going for a "budget" sound system. The receiver I just bought was $500 MSRP new, so I'm trying to find some high quality equiptment to match it. Klipsch is looking real nice, but the question is between bookshelf vs. floorstanding.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Floorstanding for sure.

These are pretty inexpensive, they sound IMO about as good as Cerwin Vegas, however, they do not have the best seperation.

http://www.buy.com/retail/elec...&loc=111&sp=1


I have a cheap 100 watt KLH subwoofer, and these speakers provide much deeper and cleaner bass than the sub. The only problems with these speakers are that they take up a lot of space and weigh about 90 pounds each.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
Floorstanding for sure.

These are pretty inexpensive, they sound IMO about as good as Cerwin Vegas, however, they do not have the best seperation.

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.buy.com/retail/electronics/product.asp?sku=90051566&amp;loc=111&amp;sp=1
">http://www.buy.com/retail/elec...;loc=111&amp;sp=1
</a>

I have a cheap 100 watt KLH subwoofer, and these speakers provide much deeper and cleaner bass than the sub. The only problems with these speakers are that they take up a lot of space and weigh about 90 pounds each.

Care to elaborate why? Just FYI a 100W subwoofer is not what I had in mine, more like a 500W.

How detailed are highs/mids in a floorstanding in comparison to a bookshelf?

 

[Anubis]

look on ebay and see if you can find some KLIPSCH FORTE speakers, god damn they are nice even if they are 20 years old

i did a quick scan and you can get a set for less then 500$

 

[Viperoni]

Floorstanding speakers.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: Anubis
look on ebay and see if you can find some KLIPSCH FORTE speakers, god damn they are nice even if they are 20 years old

i did a quick scan and you can get a set for less then 500$

Damn those look awesome. Why were they taken out of production?

edit- hm but can they be run out of a standard receiver? Some sellers list an amplifier that they've used.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: Anubis
look on ebay and see if you can find some KLIPSCH FORTE speakers, god damn they are nice even if they are 20 years old

i did a quick scan and you can get a set for less then 500$

Damn those look awesome. Why were they taken out of production?

no idea, cause they made new ones? most likely morketing....

but IMO they sound better then most of the speakers Klipsch makes today except the highest of high end ones

they also have great bass, and are probibily the best stero speakers i have ever heard, and ive heard most of them

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: Anubis
look on ebay and see if you can find some KLIPSCH FORTE speakers, god damn they are nice even if they are 20 years old

i did a quick scan and you can get a set for less then 500$

Damn those look awesome. Why were they taken out of production?

no idea, cause they made new ones? most likely morketing....

but IMO they sound better then most of the speakers Klipsch makes today except the highest of high end ones

they also have great bass, and are probibily the best stero speakers i have ever heard, and ive heard most of them

I'm a relative novice at home theater setups, will floorstanding still work with a center channel and 2 rear bookshelf speakers?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: Anubis
look on ebay and see if you can find some KLIPSCH FORTE speakers, god damn they are nice even if they are 20 years old

i did a quick scan and you can get a set for less then 500$

Damn those look awesome. Why were they taken out of production?

no idea, cause they made new ones? most likely morketing....

but IMO they sound better then most of the speakers Klipsch makes today except the highest of high end ones

they also have great bass, and are probibily the best stero speakers i have ever heard, and ive heard most of them

I'm a relative novice at home theater setups, will floorstanding still work with a center channel and 2 rear bookshelf speakers?

Any combination will work, and any power supply with a +/- output will power a speaker (but there isn't much fun listening to a constant 60Hz signal).

 

[Apex]

Bookshelf + sub for home theater
Floorstanding for music

 

[Pacfanweb]

When you say "buy a pair of 600.00 floor standing speakers", are you talking 600 for the pair, or 600 for each?

There are craploads of speakers for 600 a pair, and many are good. None would be considered "high quality" as far as sound goes.

Then again, high quality sound is a matter of opinion, at least to a point.

A 500.00 receiver isn't exactly "high quality" as far as receivers go, either....but that doesn't mean it won't sound great.
That's considered "mid-fi" and you should get speakers of equal or better quality. That leaves almost as many options as there are people that will tell what those options are.
I will say that those McIntosh speakers that someone linked to would laugh at any 500.00 receiver, not to mention your budget. 😉

My $.02: I have Definitive Technology speakers and am very pleased with them. They make floor-standing towers with and without the subs built in. The lower-priced towers Here fit in your budget and will sound great.
Bottom line, get what sounds good TO YOU. There is no "best" in audio equipment.
Just remember that Bose sucks, though. 🙂

 

[Anubis]

i linked thoes Mcintosh speakers, the cost something like $30,000 for the set and need a stupid ammount of power, but i will have them when i have all the money in the world

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
When you say "buy a pair of 600.00 floor standing speakers", are you talking 600 for the pair, or 600 for each?

There are craploads of speakers for 600 a pair, and many are good. None would be considered "high quality" as far as sound goes.

Then again, high quality sound is a matter of opinion, at least to a point.

A 500.00 receiver isn't exactly "high quality" as far as receivers go, either....but that doesn't mean it won't sound great.
That's considered "mid-fi" and you should get speakers of equal or better quality. That leaves almost as many options as there are people that will tell what those options are.
I will say that those McIntosh speakers that someone linked to would laugh at any 500.00 receiver, not to mention your budget. 😉

My $.02: I have Definitive Technology speakers and am very pleased with them. They make floor-standing towers with and without the subs built in. The lower-priced towers Here fit in your budget and will sound great.
Bottom line, get what sounds good TO YOU. There is no "best" in audio equipment.
Just remember that Bose sucks, though. 🙂

Yeah I know it's not THAT high quality, but relative to an entry level system it is.

Actually Anubis really sparked my interest with those klipsch fortes, as thats exactly the type of speaker I'm looking for. I tend to invest exorbant amounts of money on things that I expect to use for quite a long time. Ah, the life of a perfectionist 🙂.

 

[rootaxs]

I wouldn't say these are budget, more like "smart purchase". I see a lot of "high-end" systems here that could be purchased for way less than it's being retailed here should i buy them outside the country. There are times you shouldn't be swayed by the price - this is one of them.

Then again, Fluance doesn't exactly ring "high-end" in terms of its name and that may be important to you.

Originally posted by: apac
Oh sorry I do know of those, just didn't recognize the name. I am aware that they're very good for the price, but I'm not going for a "budget" sound system. The receiver I just bought was $500 MSRP new, so I'm trying to find some high quality equiptment to match it. Klipsch is looking real nice, but the question is between bookshelf vs. floorstanding.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: rootaxs
I wouldn't say these are budget, more like "smart purchase". I see a lot of "high-end" systems here that could be purchased for way less than it's being retailed here should i buy them outside the country. There are times you shouldn't be swayed by the price - this is one of them.

Then again, Fluance doesn't exactly ring "high-end" in terms of its name and that may be important to you.

Originally posted by: apac
Oh sorry I do know of those, just didn't recognize the name. I am aware that they're very good for the price, but I'm not going for a "budget" sound system. The receiver I just bought was $500 MSRP new, so I'm trying to find some high quality equiptment to match it. Klipsch is looking real nice, but the question is between bookshelf vs. floorstanding.

Well the real reason I don't intend to buy the Fluances is because I suffer from buyers remorse. If I invest in something, it might as well be 100%, because otherwise I'll end up spending infinitely more in upgrades to satisfy the audiophile within.