Keep an eye on the FS/FT forum, occasionally some nice stuff pops up in there. Few days back someone had a pair of Titans for $190.
BigSmooth
Lifer
- Aug 18, 2000
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You can get them for less than $340, and "bookshelf" is misleading. The ones I have have a 7" woofer and a 1" tweeter and are much larger in size than what I would normally consider a "bookshelf" speaker.
Paradigm gets excellent review on that site too, but I have no experience with them personally.
Paradigm gets excellent review on that site too, but I have no experience with them personally.
I think I'm going to stop by an audio specialty store, "Hillcrest High Fidelity" and compare these speaker offerings this evening.
Having worked in a stereo store for 4 years, I can say that Bose is absolute crap. Take any decent CD into a store and listen to Bose speakers and then ANYTHING else in the same price range from Infinity, Klipsch, Boston Acoustics, etc, and the difference will blow you away.
I will agree with Thraashman that Bose is better than speakers you can buy at Best Buy. But if you listen to good speakers (ie, at a hifi shop) you cannot go wrong. I would VERY highly suggest this site:
goodsound
I recently purchase my first set of mid-fi speakers (Titans), and this site was a great help for me. They define a lot of terminology you will hear at the shop.
The speakers they recomend in the <$250 range are the Tannoy MW1, Paradigm Atom/Titans, PDS Alphas, and some others. Paradigms will probably be easier for you to find and audition. They seem to be a little less obscure than the others.
I would also recomend you get a good center and mains, instead of a sub and mains. The Center is THE most important speaker for an HT setup. It makes a huge difference in movies. It seems hard to believe at first, but one listen and you will understand.
goodsound
I recently purchase my first set of mid-fi speakers (Titans), and this site was a great help for me. They define a lot of terminology you will hear at the shop.
The speakers they recomend in the <$250 range are the Tannoy MW1, Paradigm Atom/Titans, PDS Alphas, and some others. Paradigms will probably be easier for you to find and audition. They seem to be a little less obscure than the others.
I would also recomend you get a good center and mains, instead of a sub and mains. The Center is THE most important speaker for an HT setup. It makes a huge difference in movies. It seems hard to believe at first, but one listen and you will understand.
Yeah, in a AC3 5.1 movie, something like 80% of all of the output comes from the center channel.
I agree a good center is critical.
I picked my Boston setup based on the $300 center having excellent sound matching and good voice quality.
I agree a good center is critical.
I picked my Boston setup based on the $300 center having excellent sound matching and good voice quality.
Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
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<< I would also recomend you get a good center and mains, instead of a sub and mains. The Center is THE most important speaker for an HT setup. >>
<< Yeah, in a AC3 5.1 movie, something like 80% of all of the output comes from the center channel. >>
OK, you're right to an extent. Having a centre is MUCH more important that having a sub. However, if I only had $300 to spend on speakers, I'd much rather have just the mains than spread the money over the mains and a centre. For movies, I find with proper speaker placement, using phantom mode (with the centre channel's info divied up to the mains) a centre is not necessary if you're always sitting in about the same area. It makes the biggest difference if you have several seating areas, or the room is very oddly shaped.
BigSmooth
Lifer
- Aug 18, 2000
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Elemental007, what you suggested before is a very good idea. Go into one of the "premium" audio stores that have a whole bunch of speakers setup that you can listen to, and listen to whichever ones you are interested in. You can do it "blind" if you want, i.e. don't have them tell you which brand you are listening to. That way you can get a good idea of which brands/models sound best to your ear. The only problem is that no store carries every brand, and some speakers will be impossible to find in local stores. Still, it would be a good idea IMO.
<< Somebody said Bose was bad sounding. WHAT?!? Bose is probably the absolute best brand out there for sound. I have a pair of cheap (and I mean really cheap) Bose speakers. They sound amazing. They sound better than nay other brand of speaker I've had. (Sony, Aiwa, JBL, Panasonic) The problem with Bose is that they're expensive, but they're worth every cent of their cost. >>
Hahahahahahaha Boy this cracks me up! Bose speakers really have some people brainwashed, I used to think they sounded good...... when I was 12. I hadn't really heard much of the offerings from companies like Paradigm, Boston Acoustics, Mirage, PSB, etc.
Please listen to some other speakers (Panasonic, Sony and Aiwa (both made by sony)) do not count! JBL actually does make a couple nice subs in the PB-10 and PB-12 so I can't say horrible things about them, but man, come on! Listen to something else.
<< I bought a Yamaha 5230 receiver for about $239 online. I then would pick up a pair of good front speakers and a subwoofer for another $200 or so. That way I could get good 2.1 sound...it won't be 5.1 but that's fine if it sound's better anyways. >>
There ya go! I recently redesigned my home theatre and built a pair of bookshelfs (which again is misleading, they are rather LARGE and serve as my front mains, they have extension down to 40hz) and I used to listen in 5 channel stereo. I only listen in stereo now because these 2 speakers have such awesome efficiency and output, that I really cannot complain. If you want to do it the right way, you're on the right track so far. Denon or Yamaha is the receiver you want and some nice bookshelfs would work out great. Don't forget to pick up speaker stands for the bookshelfs, these will help tremendously!
dm
Are there any worthwhile speakers in the $180-$220/pair range other than the Paradigm Atom and Titan. Is there any noticable difference betwene the quality of the Atom and the Titan?
From the Paradigm web site:
The frequency response of the Atoms is 70hz-20khz, +/-2db. Crossover at 3khz.
The frequency response of the Titans is 60hz-20khz, +/-2db. Crossover at 2khz.
So the Titans go a bit lower, but you give up some high-end clarity since the tweeter on the Titans has to cover down to 2khz instead of only 3khz on the Atoms.
The frequency response of the Atoms is 70hz-20khz, +/-2db. Crossover at 3khz.
The frequency response of the Titans is 60hz-20khz, +/-2db. Crossover at 2khz.
So the Titans go a bit lower, but you give up some high-end clarity since the tweeter on the Titans has to cover down to 2khz instead of only 3khz on the Atoms.
Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
- 24,153
- 1,798
- 126
<< Is there any noticable difference betwene the quality of the Atom and the Titan? >>
Yes. I've had both and like them both, but the Titans have slightly more bass response. However, the Atom is great if you want a physically smaller speaker.
For PSB, the Alpha AV competes against the Titan, and the Alpha Mini competes against the Atom.
I think the Alphas are shielded, but I'm not 100% sure. I know for sure with the Atoms/Titans, you have to pay a bit extra for shielding, if you plan on sticking them within a foot of your TV.
An electrical engineer I work with used to work for Bose. Even he makes fun of the sound quality. One day in a meeting, before I knew this fact, I started trashing Bose. Another guy at the table informed me of the situation, and I apologized. The former Bose-guy laughed and said, "go right ahead, they really do suck".
Anyway, from the research I've done, Kenwood seems to be a very highly regarded "theater-in-a-box" solution and their prices are great.
Try the HTB-453. It's got a slightly lower wattage, but other than that it's the same as the 503. Of course, it's only available at Costco, so you have to be a member. $329 out the door.
Anyway, from the research I've done, Kenwood seems to be a very highly regarded "theater-in-a-box" solution and their prices are great.
Try the HTB-453. It's got a slightly lower wattage, but other than that it's the same as the 503. Of course, it's only available at Costco, so you have to be a member. $329 out the door.
Yes go for the HTB-503 from Kenwood.
Or if you really like Sony go for their DD/DTS setup for $500. That is what I have and if I had known better I would have bought the Kenwood, although the Sony does sound decent for a $500 setup and for my apartment it works great, but the Kenwood has a much better sub (although I would replace it with a Sony Sub (can't remember Model # it goes for $199.99 at Best Buy) that will knock the soxs off a lot of subs that cost hundreds more (don't believe me, well its true!
) Anyways, go take a look at the Kenwood, I am pretty sure you can find the HTB-503 online for $399.99, print out the price and take it to sears they will pricematch it.
Or if you really like Sony go for their DD/DTS setup for $500. That is what I have and if I had known better I would have bought the Kenwood, although the Sony does sound decent for a $500 setup and for my apartment it works great, but the Kenwood has a much better sub (although I would replace it with a Sony Sub (can't remember Model # it goes for $199.99 at Best Buy) that will knock the soxs off a lot of subs that cost hundreds more (don't believe me, well its true!
) Anyways, go take a look at the Kenwood, I am pretty sure you can find the HTB-503 online for $399.99, print out the price and take it to sears they will pricematch it.If you want to play music as well as movies, I would say go with the Titans (if you are torn between Titans and Atoms)
When I was audtioning, there is very little quality difference between the Atoms and Titans. But when I played some Rock (Weezer, Radiohead), there was a HUGE difference. The salesman would swithc speakers, and I could tell immediately which were the atoms.
In the $220 range, sony makes some decent floorstanding models (MFM 515). I mentioned them before, but I neglected to mention that they supposedly recieve a great benefit from a new crossover. They are very cheap, and that is their major plus. If you look around, you might find some B&W 302's. A store in town has those for $99 a piece. Not too shabby.
When I was audtioning, there is very little quality difference between the Atoms and Titans. But when I played some Rock (Weezer, Radiohead), there was a HUGE difference. The salesman would swithc speakers, and I could tell immediately which were the atoms.
In the $220 range, sony makes some decent floorstanding models (MFM 515). I mentioned them before, but I neglected to mention that they supposedly recieve a great benefit from a new crossover. They are very cheap, and that is their major plus. If you look around, you might find some B&W 302's. A store in town has those for $99 a piece. Not too shabby.
We'll I'm going to try out speakers tonight. the HiFi store I am going to however does not sell receivers under the $800 or so mark....I'm looking for receivers between calls today.
One more question -
If I were to get two Paradigm's and a receiver, would I be running those speakers in stereo until I could afford 5.1 or would I run them in surround and will the receiver attempt to render 3D with 2.0 or 2.1 sound (a la A3D or EAX...)
If I were to get two Paradigm's and a receiver, would I be running those speakers in stereo until I could afford 5.1 or would I run them in surround and will the receiver attempt to render 3D with 2.0 or 2.1 sound (a la A3D or EAX...)
<< If I were to get two Paradigm's and a receiver, would I be running those speakers in stereo until I could afford 5.1 or would I run them in surround and will the receiver attempt to render 3D with 2.0 or 2.1 sound (a la A3D or EAX...) >>
You'll be running them in stereo for the time being.
dm
In the price range of the receivers aRyll has recommended, those are probably good buys, I still recommend a Denon or Yamaha over those, simply because I've owned a Sony and a Technics both and they've never been able to match the sound reproduction of my Denon.
Oh I should also mention, my Denon is one of the lower end models they make, but it did cost me $350.
dm
Oh I should also mention, my Denon is one of the lower end models they make, but it did cost me $350.
dm
Because of your limited budget I strongly suggest putting your money
into a decent set of speakers because that's what will make the most difference. As far as HT goes I would wait on the center channel because
most modern surrond recievers offer a "phantom" mode which simulates
the effect a center channerl would have. Also this money would be better spent on a sub. This is a wiser decision because most speakers in the $200-$300 range aren't gonna have the low bass that's needed to playback movie soundtracks in all there glory. And from personal experience i've found that the paradigm's budget line (titan,atom) don't sound all that great, if your gonna go paradigm i suggest looking into their monitor line
which sound a ton better.
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