[thom h]

After alot of research i have decided on buying the Onkyo tx sr-805.
It is going in a 15x23 ft. room. I own a new panasonic plasma, a
playstation 2, and i will be getting a Blue-ray player within a year.
With that being said, Give me some suggestions on speakers you own or
have heard with the Onkyo receivers. Also, i need some help finding
stores that have surround sound speakers hooked up so i can go listen
to them. I live in the Buffalo, NY area willing to travel 50-60 miles
to listen to some speakers. Oh ya, last thought ... i want to stay
around $500-$600 for a 5.1 speaker setup. For that i am confident i
can get a very good setup. Thanks in advance for your help.

[bigtoys]

Just got a "returned" 805 from Abt. I have another Onkyo from 2002 in another room. I went with the Def Tech 6 7006s, center 3 and mythos gems, so it was a little more than 600.

However, I really liked some small Polk and Focal systems. Good luck.

I'm thinking about a Panasonic plasma soon. Any problems with light relection?? You considering PS3 that doubles as a bluray?

[JohnRice]

Thom, speakers are really a matter of personal taste. Just make sure they are 8 ohm to drive with your receiver. Absolutely stay away from models with lower impedance. In your price range you will be looking at pretty large names like Polk, Klipsch and so on. You might try to audition Paradigm, which tend to be pretty popular, but less common.

Also, for 500-600, I would say you can get a pretty decent 5.0 setup, but you absolutely can't get a "very good" 5.1 system. Subs are a bit more expensive and to get a truly decent 5.1 setup takes a minimum of about 1K. Get the 5.0 speakers from one brand if you like, but the sub from a sub manufacturer like SVS or HSU, both available online. Just search for them here. There are hundreds of threads about them both.

[thom h]

So i went and listened to Paradym cinema 70 home theater speakers. They sounded very good. I also listened to POLK 6750 speakers. I liked those too. With those two in mind which one would you choose and why? Please be detailed and specific, not just " i like polks". thanks!

[Philip Hamm]

Problem is that speaker preference is so subjective. If I like the sound of Polks and you don't it doesn't matter if I wax poetic about the wonderful aspects of the polk sound if they're not your cup of tea. I like B&Ws and Mirage speakers and Theil (though they are out of my price range).

[JohnRice]

To enhance on what Philip said, I like and own Thiel (spelling, please, Philip ). For me, after owning them for almost 15 years, nothing else will do. They're slightly out of the 500-600 range though. Beyond that, also like Philip said, speakers are a personal thing. Polk is good, but I have personally tended to find Paradigm better. I'm not buying them though. You are the one who needs to be happy.

[thom h]

Thanks for the response. After looking at the specs side by side for the Polk rm6750 and the Paradigm Cinema (i've listened to both). I am confused. If someone with much more knowledge than i could look at the specs of these two speaker systems and get back to me on which is better and why. I LIKE BOTH SYSTEMS!! I just need some educated reasons why to choose one over the other. Thanks.

[JohnRice]

Wall---Head.

You can't buy speakers by spec.

You can't look at specs and know which one someone else will like better.

The only specs, with a reputable speaker, that really mean much at all are the impedance and sensitivity, and that is only to be sure they are suitably powered. As long as the impedance is 8 ohm, which I expect it is, and the sensitivity is above or very close to 90dB, you are fine. However, those specs have nothing to do with how the speaker sounds.

On second thought, I'll make it easy.

Buy the Paradigm and don't think about it anymore.

[thom h]

I appreciate your help. The Paradigms are the Cinema Series 70 with a PDR-8 subwoofer. The original question at the top of this thread was answered. I was given places to check out speakers. I found two models i like, not one, but two. I can't decide based on STRICTLY sound which one is better. Quite frankly, i don't want to "accidently" blow speakers, or cause damage to speakers and/or reciever. I don't want to pick one with poor constuction, or poor components. I thought that was a clear concern. Upon looking at the specs they seem similar to me. But again an educated look at the specs may help guide me towards one or the other. If no one can help with that question, then i'll go elsewhere in other forums with the same question. Or i will bring the specs to a few stores and ask some better educated (than myself) specialists for their opinion. I guess it's just me but i thought these are very good concerns before blowing hundreds on speakers and choosing the wrong one because i overlooked something impotant. If it tuns out neither speaker set it better than the other, then obviously i'll go for the cheaper one. Thanks.

[gene c]

Quote:

If it tuns out neither speaker set it better than the other, then obviously i'll go for the cheaper one. Thanks.

Just my opinion but I would definitely say Paradigm is a step above Polk. Maybe you can't tell a difference now, but I bet you will given time. But if price is the main concern, J&R.com is selling the Polk 6750 for $249 plus shipping. But if you can pay the price, get the Cinema 70's. When it comes to speakers, Canadians really know their stuff. Besides, that Onkyo 805 deserves the best you can afford.