Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › I will be demoing speakers tomorrow
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

I will be demoing speakers tomorrow

post #1 of 33
4/15/05 at 5:19am
Thread Starter 
I am looking for some suggestions from everyone.

I will be purchasing a pair of floor standers tomorrow and will be demoing numerous speakers in the same location with the same source equipment and was looking for some suggestions of particular scenes from the movies listed below that should help me determine the right speaker for me. Even though I am only purchasing the fronts for now, I will be purchasing the rest of the setup at a later date and am interested in the best setup for my basement.

The movies I will be bringing are:

Star Wars - The Phantom Menace
Gladiator
Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Matrix
Matrix Reloaded

If you could pick just one scene from each movie to help you decide on a speaker purchase, what would it be?

The speaker manufactures that the dealer carries are:

PSB
Monitor Audio
Snell
Canton
MB Court
ASW
NHT
KEF

Thank you in advance
Reply
post #2 of 33
4/15/05 at 6:04am
hey kevin...have fun..i have the snell xa75's...great speakers..a bit pricey...i replaced them with my nht's that i thought were too bright...let me know what you think...
Reply
post #3 of 33
4/15/05 at 6:05am
All good movies to bring.

For my JM Labs review on AVS forum, I noted these items from Gladiator.
1. I can hear the fly's with no problem. When he finds his family
2. The score is fantastic
3. I can clearly hear the woodpecker when Comodus(spl?) is in his carriage with Drucila.
4. One of the first fights, with the ball and chain being whiped around the room.

Matrix
Bullet's in slow motion on the roof.

If I can make another suggestion, I suggest that you try and bring the Borne Identity.
1. When he gets off the fisherman's boat.
2. In the train station
3. In his apartment when he gets attacked
All of those scenes have very nice pans of action and music. Really that entire film kicks butt.
What ever brings you into the movie is the good stuff.
The only speakers that I have heard that you mention are Monitor Audio. I liked they way the sounded alot. But that was just with music.
Reply
post #4 of 33
4/15/05 at 7:33am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Mike, unfortunately I don't have the Borne Identity (yet), but I will take note of your suggestions from the other movies.
Reply
post #5 of 33
4/15/05 at 8:52am
No problem.
Just make sure you let us know what your feelings were
Reply
post #6 of 33
4/15/05 at 10:17am
I would bring at least some of your favorite music rather than just movies, as movies really don't show you what a speaker is capable of IMO. In pariticular, action movies are not going to give you the best representation.
Reply
post #7 of 33
4/15/05 at 10:31am
I agree with John, music is the true test. Bring some music that will reveal what kind of speaker you are listening to.

May I suggest the new Ray Charles CD "Genuis loves company". It sounds amazing and has a whole ton of different stuff going on in each song.


That said, I like Mike Duke's suggestions for testing HT as well. Pick little bits and see if you can tell the differences. Don't rush it, it may take you more than one demo to decide.
Reply
post #8 of 33
4/15/05 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I will bring some music with me.

Quote:
Don't rush it, it may take you more than one demo to decide.


I am not rushing it Aaron, I have been demoing speakers now for a few months and nothing has sounded better to me than the PSB T65's. Tomorrow I plan to make my purchase, but will be doing one final test before making my purchase. Since this is my first major purchase of speakers (aside from HTIB) I figured I would get some last minute advice from people that have more experience at this than me.

Quote:
Just make sure you let us know what your feelings were


You can be certain I will give a full rundown of what I listened to, what I liked and didn't like, what I purchased and why.

Right now, something has to sound better to me than the PSB's as these, to me, have been the best that I have listened to. I am curious about the Monitor Audio Silver line as people have been saying good things about it.

Let the fun begin..........

Reply
post #9 of 33
4/15/05 at 2:26pm
definitely bring music but, more then that, bring music that you are initmately familiar with. i'm talking songs you've heard a hundred times. what will really blow you away is when you realize you're hearing something you (may) have never heard before...even on the same song/scene.

i remember the first time that ever happened to me (it was actually a movie, but you get my drift) -- it just floored me. i was like, "hey, i've seen that scene dozens of times, but i never noticed that before!"
Reply
post #10 of 33
4/15/05 at 5:31pm
Ted Lee is right on point, you can listen to a ton of music and it can all sound good, but listening to stuff you hear all the time will make the profound difference in making the decision. If you have a cd burner, use the time now to compile all your favorite songs and shop away.
Reply
post #11 of 33
4/15/05 at 5:33pm
I second the EXTREMELY familiar music recommendation. I did that and it helped separate the wheat from the chaff.

Good luck and have fun.
Reply
post #12 of 33
4/15/05 at 9:28pm
Thread Starter 
I noticed that when I demoed the PSB speakers about a month ago. We were demoing with Matrix Reloaded and the opening scene with the glass falling, my wife and I couldn't remember "hearing" the glass itself, until then. Since then, when demoing speakers I make sure to listen for that in that scene.

I think I am ready for the fun, , will let you guys know how everything goes
Reply
post #13 of 33
4/17/05 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I wanted to bring everyone up to date how everything went yesterday.

I ended up purchasing the Monitor S6. I was able to do an A/B comparison between these and a pair of KEF equally priced speakers (unsure of the model number). I was lustering to a cd with some beautiful live music and the clarity and bass sounded better on the S6 then the KEF's. I am not sure about all the technical terms, but to my ears the S6 just sounded better. Then we listened to a pair of Snells and I still preferred the S6, just something about them that I liked.

We then connected them to a dvd player and played the first scene of Matrix Reloaded, I was curious to see if I was able to hear the detail of the glass as it is falling with Trinity and the agent, I was more than pleased. The clarity of the speakers, was phenomenal.

Finally, we played the Pod race from the Phantom Menace and again, it brought a smile to my face.

I will be picking everything up next weekend, here is what I purchased:

Monitor Audio S6
Integra 6.5 receiver
Integra 5.5 dvd player

I can't wait to hook it all up and have some fun
Reply
post #14 of 33
4/17/05 at 7:05pm
Congrats (I have an Integra 6.4 receiver and greatly enjoy it) and enjoy the tunes/flicks.
Reply
post #15 of 33
4/17/05 at 7:10pm
Kevin:
Nice choice
Monitor Audio makes some killer speakers!
Reply
post #16 of 33
4/18/05 at 6:32am
Thread Starter 
Alan, do you have experience with owning some?
Reply
post #17 of 33
4/18/05 at 8:14am
Kevin:
Yep, I sure do. I used to have Monitor Audio bookshelves (it's been about 10 years, but I believe they were called the MA 7 Gold.....don't quote me). I had them paired with a B&K ST-140 amp, Mod Squad line drive, and a Rotel player. It was incredible for the money!
Reply
post #18 of 33
4/18/05 at 11:38am
Love the MA line.
Reply
post #19 of 33
4/18/05 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 
I am starting to get excited with so many people saying good things about Monitor audio speakers
Reply
post #20 of 33
4/18/05 at 12:47pm
Its always exciting when you have something new that you just know is quality and that it will sound good. I got the same way when I got my JM Labs 927Be's. But for me it was terrible also. I had to wait a while just to get them. And when they did come in one of the boxes was dented s it was sent back. More waiting. When I finaly got them in my room, and I sa them set up, I had a grin from ear to ear. I am sure that they will live up to the excitement when you get them home as well. Just listen to the music and films and enjoy.
Reply
post #21 of 33
4/18/05 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
I am picking them up FIRST thing Sunday morning, also the day before, Directv is installing my HDTV for my new Panasonic 700 projector (which I will be setting up this week), as you can imagine, Sunday will be a very fun day......
Reply
post #22 of 33
4/18/05 at 6:58pm
Actually, I predict that MONDAY will be a fun day (judging from my past setup experiences). Congrats again and enjoy.
Reply
post #23 of 33
4/19/05 at 11:18am
Quote:
Actually, I predict that MONDAY will be a fun day (judging from my past setup experiences). Congrats again and enjoy.


Funny and oh so true! If you are at all on the anal side you will want to savor each box, read documents individually and then comes the physical set-up and the cabling. A clean and neat routing is a must,(I am sure others do this but I also take great pains to route power and signal cables as far away from each other as possible.) Then comes the AVIA/Digital Essentials video and audio calibration! Then you will be in a rush to demo all your favorite scenes in rapid succession.

Then MONDAY you can put in one of your favorite movies and revel in your new purchase!

Have fun! And enjoy the three days until you start thinking of what else you can add to it!

Derek N
Reply
post #24 of 33
4/19/05 at 1:54pm
Thread Starter 
I might actually do things different when the time comes, but I will probably be anxious to see what all my new equipment can do, prior to full calibration.
Reply
post #25 of 33
4/20/05 at 7:42am
Thread Starter 
The store just called me and told me that the color of the speakers that I want is back ordered until May 1. So now my choices re to either get a different color or wait for 2 more weeks.

What do you think?
Reply
post #26 of 33
4/20/05 at 7:48am
What colour had you picked? The Rosemah is very nice.
Reply
post #27 of 33
4/20/05 at 7:52am
Make sure you get the color you want. 2 more weeks ain't gonna hurt to get it done right. You'll have your hands full with that new projector anyway!
Reply
post #28 of 33
4/20/05 at 8:31am
I agree....if you really want that color, you'll be glad you waited. I know it sucks in the meantime cause you are excited. I think all of us know that feeling very well!
Reply
post #29 of 33
4/20/05 at 8:49am
I also agree. Get the ones you really want. Like Alan said, it does suck, but just think about how they will look when they are in your room, the way you wanted them. I say wait as well. It will pass quickly enough.
Reply
post #30 of 33
4/20/05 at 10:14am
Thread Starter 
I did decide to wait, I called the store up and told them to order the original color. The time frame is not that bad either, it is only one additional week. Because I am so anxious, I just wanted it "right now"

The original color I ordered was the Rosemah, and it is beautiful and will go perfectly with the color of my basement.

As for the projector, it is kind of a tease, I will have the projector set up but can't do anything with it. Because I won't have speakers I can't listen to my HD and because I need to pick up the dvd player at the same time I pick up the speakers I can't run Avia.

Patience....must show patience
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Speakers and Subwoofers
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › I will be demoing speakers tomorrow