Looking To Buy Some Floor/Tower Speakers... Need Opinions (1 Viewer)

[dc88]

I just bought a new Onkyo HT-S3300 . I am gonna be buying all new speakers for it except the sub which will stay . Right now I will be replacing the L&R speakers with some floor/tower speakers and have narrowed it down to two sets . first the Sony SSF-7000's
and the others being the Pioneer SP-FS51-LR .Both Are About $200.00 for a pair .The sony have awesome reviews but the pioneers are so brand new i haven't found anything on them besides 2 people at best buy .com reviews and they both rated them 5 star. I would like to know if anyone has any real experience with either sets . I cannot afford the 200-400 dollar a piece speakers like polk /klipsch etc so it will be between these two . thanks in advance and any help is appreciated

 

[Jason Charlton]

Is it too late to return the 3300? I'm not sure why you would buy a HTiB system only to go right out and buy new speakers... For less than the 3300, you could have gotten an even better receiver, which aside from the passive sub, is the only thing you'll keep from the 3300.


I can't comment on the speakers you mention, but it's best to listen to them yourself. Speaker preference is a very personal thing - what sounds good to me, or two two people who reviewed speakers on BestBuy's website, may not be what sounds good to you. If possible, take CDs of material you're very familiar with for auditioning.

 

[dc88]

no cant return the 3300 too late . The getting of the new speakers came after i got the htib . Also not because the ones i have now suck or anything they sound awesome in fact just i want a speaker that i can keep for a long time / and handle enough even if i upgrade in time.

Not sure what you mean by better receiver ..... And i cant listen to them because best buys demo thing is broken thanks for the suggestions

 

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by dc88

i want a speaker that i can keep for a long time / and handle enough even if i upgrade in time.

So you want to invest in a set of quality speakers. I'm sorry but $200 a pair isn't an investment. Please follow Jason's advice and listen first but from 10 years of experience on this forum, we don't recommend Pioneer or Sony speakers often.

 

[brock1sampson9]

I haven't heard the 7000's but i just recently hooked up a set of the 6000's for display in my store and they sound pretty damn good. I kinda have to agree with Robert though too, If you wanna invest in a set of quality speakers for several years I would look higher than the Sony's. I've kinda had my eye on the F2's from Klipsch for awhile, but I hear what you're saying about the price, $400 a piece es mucho dinero for speakers. As you say the speakers you have now are pretty good, I would wait and save the extra money for the better equipment. Or you could go the finance route. I don't know your opinion of credit cards, but there's a certain semi-national chain I work for that offers 24 month no interest financing, a route i may go when I decide to jump on the TV I want before cost goes back up. (as an employee, watching cost is like playing the stock market lol) You may not like this idea, but its certaintly an option to be considered before rejection.

 

[DaveF]

My first 5.1 kit was a $220 KLH set, including sub, and I used those for a decade, until this year. My new kit is a $3000 SVS kit, with subwoofer. On the one hand, $3000 speakers out perform $200 speakers in substantial ways. On the other hand, buying what you can afford and enjoying even a cheap 5.1 system is far better than no speakers at all. So if your budget is $100/speaker, buy what you can afford and enjoy it for years


But my sense is you'll get better speakers buying $100 satellites rather than towers. In the tower, the cost is being spread more thinly into a larger cabinet and a larger # of lower quality speakers. Maybe I'm wrong, but I suggest looking at something like the Paradigm Cinema 70 or 90 series, which are about $200/pair. Also the Polk M10 and T15 lines are in your budget. Both these brands have excellent reputations for good value for retail buyers. You can wall mount, buy very cheap Sauder-type shelves for stands, or even DIY stands yourself.

 

[dc88]

thanks everyone for your reply's I did end up buying the sony's the ssf7000 floorstanding speakers and the sony SS-CN5000 center . all together it was 280.00 and i have 3 speakers now that are loads better than the originals . I do understand after joining here most people hate sony's and reccommend better . But honestly who wouldn't buy better quality if they had the money i know if i did i would have a full klipsch set . There also is a reason that all around the world at every site you go too the sony speakers are rated extremely high . Because for the price there is no better deal around . plus being on a budget these to me were a no brainer . i think i did jump the gun and may have saved myself some money buy buying the htib route ... as i already want a better model recevier . im thinking of picking up the onkyo HT-RC260. after upgrading the wire to 12 gauge and seeing how effortless installing banana plugs were and how well they look . i want a reciever with all banana terminals and a 7.1 channel .. getting off topic sorry , but my new speakers are pretty amazing not gonna lie .

 

[gene c]

It not that anyone hate's Sony's consumer level electronics, it's just that you can usally get a little better quality for around the same price by looking elsewhere. And at least you didn't buy Cadence HT speakers. Uh-Oh, better keep quite on those. Don't want to ruffle anymore feathers .


Getting a new receiver might help even more. Onkyo's come with Audyssey room correction which many members feel can really increase the sound quality.


Edit: Opp's! I just noticed you bought the Onkyo 3300 which also has Audyssey so...

 

[DaveF]

As a former KLH owner, I have nothing ill to say about anyone else's speaker choice

 

[dc88]

Dave F ,


where did you see Paradigm Cinema 70 speaker sets for 200 ? or a pair? i think you said pair . a full 5.1 set at cheapest I see is 849 dollars which is way out of my league . This is just my opinion ,but to me satellite/monitor speakers just cant produce the full range sound of bigger speakers . for me anyways is if you look at the specifications on the onkyo site of the hts3300's speakers and you compare them to the ones i have its not even close. or for the matter the polk m10 or t15's at about 250 are outclassed in every way by the sonys at 200 for the pair . Let me ask a question that has me really confused and i may suspect this is where the sony are outclassed is the frequency responces . what is the difference in HZ and KHZ because all the high end speaker companies say example 60hz -20khz where as a sony says 35hz -50000hz so which is higher a hz or khz i belive a khz would be ?

 

[dc88]

Gene ,


Yes that audyssey really is a great feature !

 

[DaveF]

I did a quick search on paradigm prices to get ballpark. Perhaps the 70s are pricier than what I found listed.

As for towers vs bookshelves: i too like the better range which is why I bought towers for my fronts with my new kit. But it stands to reason that for, say $100, you can get a better single midrange speaker in a bookshelf or two lesser midranges in a tower. That's balanced against possibly better lower freq response. It's a personal choice what sounds better.

k=kilo=1000 in metric
1kHz is 1000 Hz
50 kHz is 50,000 Hz

 

[CB750]

Dane,


Too bad you didn't join the Forum sooner, as now you are stuck with a HTib you did not want. This could have been avoided had you done some more listening and research. Before you do anything and add good money on top of bad. I would suggest that you listen to lots of speakers and find those that really appeal to you sound wise and determine what kind of budget you are going to need to purchase them. This will tell you if you can salvage the s3300 receiver or if you need to box up the whole system and try to sell it, and start over to archive the sound you will be happy with.


The largest drawback to the s-3300 receiver is the fact it does not have a powered sub. If you choose to keep this receiver then you are going to have weak bass issues, and my want to look for larger a front L & R with some larger bass speakers to help out.

 

[dc88]

Originally Posted by CB750

Dane,


Too bad you didn't join the Forum sooner, as now you are stuck with a HTib you did not want. This could have been avoided had you done some more listening and research. Before you do anything and add good money on top of bad. I would suggest that you listen to lots of speakers and find those that really appeal to you sound wise and determine what kind of budget you are going to need to purchase them. This will tell you if you can salvage the s3300 receiver or if you need to box up the whole system and try to sell it, and start over to archive the sound you will be happy with.


The largest drawback to the s-3300 receiver is the fact it does not have a powered sub. If you choose to keep this receiver then you are going to have weak bass issues, and my want to look for larger a front L & R with some larger bass speakers to help out.

Hi There Bill ,


Yea I didn't even know there was such forums until a little while back. I already found the speakers i want for my budget . Honestly i will probably be keeping the 3300 as my budget is a ongoing one that still needs to include a HDTV and a blu ray player . and having no luck in selling it [damn economy] .Onto the sub ,I have found the sub to be quite powerful in fact. Plus Living in a apartment upstairs lol , I have it set level at 0 double bass off and this thing still sounds incredible . Very good sub for being passive as my room is only 13x16 its more than capable to me ,also my two fronts L&R have 2 8 inch sub in each speaker.

 

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by dc88

Yea I didn't even know there was such forums until a little while back

I have figured out there is a discussion forum for EVERYTHING. Think of a subject and search. Two or more people are already online discussing it. I'm a forum member for home theater (5 or 6 different ones), speaker and sub building (3 different ones), car stereo (3 different ones), TiVo, satellite television systems, cars (one for each one I have), guns (general and for specific models I have) and a forum that covers where I live.