Looking for Speakers for a Home Theatre... any suggestions?

[Spook]

Well, I'm putting together and HT, and I've picked a RPTV for the system, but I need speakers...

I want 2 standups(Fronts). 2 Small Rears, and a Center. If the Standups have enough range, I shouldn't need a Base box.

I'm not to familiar with all the names out there, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions....

If you suggest Bose, I'll just stop reading your entry...

Thanks
Spook

****Edit**** Oh yeah, forgot to say what budget im on... No more than $2k...

Room is a 15'x12', and I'm going to get a Marantz or Denon Reciever... that's in the ~$500 budget range

 

[glen]

I use these in my HT:
http://www.legacy-audio.com/

 

[Rallispec]

hmm. best advice any one can give is that you need to hear them first, and then get what sounds good to you.

i like klipsch, but cant recommend any specific speakers.

what kind of budget are you on,
what kind of reciever do you have?
how big is the room?

im 'sure the audiophiles here can help you out

 

[Ameesh]

2K for speaker should get you something nice, if you are anywhere close to canada then i would suggest driving up there to pick up paradigms, they sell the speakers for the same price in us dollars as they do in candian dollars, thats like an instant 33% off and they are great quality.

 

[ATLien247]

If at all possible, audition as many different speakers as you can. I pity the fool who buys speakers without actually listening to them first...

With that in mind, have you looked at Polk's LSi series?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Like they said, listening before you buy is a good thing

I'm very happy with my Polk RT55 mains at around $550 USD. Their new RTi70 at $760/pair look nice, plus $400 US for the CSi40 center channel and $500 for matching 2-tweeter surrounds FXi50.

I've read many good things in magazines and forums about Paradigm's speakers.

Also check out www.audioreview.com

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: Spook
If you suggest Bose, I'll just stop reading your entry...

Well sheesh. I mean, if "Better Sound Thru Marketing" isn't good enough for you, I don't know what will be?!

Anyway, I suggest checking out B&W's 300 series (305's for floorstanding, 303's for bookshelf, and matching center). I have the 303's for front and rear with the matching center paired with an HK reciever. Sounds excellent.

But the best thing to do is find an audio store that carries these kinds of speakers (Best Buy doesn't count). Bring along an audio CD and possibly a DVD that you like. Make sure its one with a lot range to truly test the speakers. And listen/watch it.

Only way to buy.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Since I was looking to spend as little as possible for a decent system, I liked Cambridge's upgrade policy. They let you return your speakers for a 80% refund towards a new set of speakers up to a year later. That percentage drops 5% every year up to like 10 years or something. My dad, who just bought a no-expenses spared home theater system, almost chose some high end Cambridge speakers before going with some other brand. Something to consider.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: Spook
Well, I'm putting together and HT, and I've picked a RPTV for the system, but I need speakers...

I want 2 standups(Fronts). 2 Small Rears, and a Center. If the Standups have enough range, I shouldn't need a Base box.

I'm not to familiar with all the names out there, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions....

If you suggest Bose, I'll just stop reading your entry...

Thanks
Spook

****Edit**** Oh yeah, forgot to say what budget im on... No more than $2k...

Room is a 15'x12', and I'm going to get a Marantz or Denon Reciever... that's in the ~$500 budget range

You can get the klipsch for under $2000 at

Klipsch

FREE SHIPPING


Text

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Like they said, listening before you buy is a good thing

I'm very happy with my Polk RT55 mains at around $550 USD. Their new RTi70 at $760/pair look nice, plus $400 US for the CSi40 center channel and $500 for matching 2-tweeter surrounds FXi50.

I've read many good things in magazines and forums about Paradigm's speakers.

Also check out www.audioreview.com

I definitly second Polk Audio- you won't find better speakers for the price, guaranteed. I regard them as entry-level audiophile equipment. Start at Circuit City, and find other specialty HT stores that carry them for a proper audition. I've got RT400s for my front channels, R10s for surrounds, and a CS175i for my center. I've got a Velodyne CT100 10" sub as well.

 

[Gunbuster]

JBL S38

Reviews


S Center

 

[whiteboyatcal]

As everyone already said, buy POLK!!! They are the only reasonably priced H/A speakers that even compare to high-end equipment. I have 4xRT25i's as the front and surround with the center channel of the same series (I forget the model #). The subwoofer is a 10" Onkyo 350w and the reciever is a Harman/Kardon AVR310. I built this entire system for ~$1600 and I am more impressed by it everyday. I use the system mostly for audio listening, and the warm midrange of the Polk's is astounding. I listened to just about EVERY speaker out there before deciding on these. Cost wasn't really an issue but it just so happened that they were cheap as well =).


Here's what Stereophile magazine said about them:

"It [the Polk Audio RT25i] is far superior to any speaker I've heard for less than $500/pair, and has become my favorite speaker for under $1000/pair... I've never been more impressed by an inexpensive loudspeaker."

Just wait until they go on sale at Good Guys...that's what I did.

 

[ElFenix]

polk R50s here... need to fill out the system with a set of R20s or R10s for rear, and a nice center. R50s are the least expensive real wood floor speaker in their catalog. the plastic R40s sound thin in comparison.

one nice thing about the polks is they're all video shielded, which you won't find on lots of other good sounding speakers in heir price range. and they come with floor spikes in the box.

 

[divinemartyr]

Anyway, I suggest checking out B&W's 300 series (305's for floorstanding, 303's for bookshelf, and matching center). I have the 303's for front and rear with the matching center paired with an HK reciever. Sounds excellent.

This is some very good advice. B&W makes some of the nicest pre-built speakers that I've heard, for the money.

A lot of people are mentioning Polks. I personally prefer my sound a bit 'brighter' than what most Polks offer, but I can't stand how bright Klipsch's are. I wanted something inbetween so I built a set of HT speakers for about $350 for the pair and they compare with some of the best speakers, costing 3-5 times as much as I spent.

If you don't want to build, my recommendations are to check out Paradigm and B&W as two of the best values for the money, out there.

dm

 

[whiteboyatcal]

Also, don't forget to buy good wires! I'm really anal about this kind of thing so I actually did a blind experiment to see which cables sounded best:

Test Subjects:

1.) Standard 18 guage Recoton speaker cable (~$3 for 25 feet)
2.) Monster Cable Clear Jacket Home Audio Speaker Cable ($45 for 20' pair)
3.) Lightning Audio Car Audio speaker cable - some thick stuff I had leftover from my car- (~$1.25/foot)
4.) Phillips Oxygen Free Home Audio Speaker Cable (clear jacket, purchased from Walmart for $7 per 25 foot cable)

As expected, the regular cable sounded horrible. The speakers sounded muffled a bit and there was a noticeable loss of highs...
The other three sounded more or less the same, with the car audio wires being a little less clear. HOWEVER, the MONSTER CABLE wire and the Phillips wire purchased from WALMART sounded identical to me. They are both the same guage and look the same but the price difference is huge.

SO, go to Walmart and find the beefy Phillips Oxygen-free Copper Home Audio speaker wires. They are sold individually for about $7 and come with the gold-plated speaker connectors on both ends, like the Monster Cable. You won't regret it.

 

[Balthazar]

My soon-to-arrive setup:

S Center II
S120 PII
S26 II
S312 II
Yamaha HTR-5490


<edit>Thats the RIGHT models....and assuming JBL's listings were for pairs (which seems about right) thats right @ $2750 with the reciever, I'm getting it for a hair over $1000.