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Best (in your opinion) set of Main speakers at $650 (1 Viewer)

Saul_M

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Saul_M
Hey guys,

Just curious to see what you guys think are the best set of main HT speakers, in other words a pair, that you can buy for $650. I currently own a pair of SM350 from Definitive. But sometimes I doubt that I am getting the best. Should I really worry. Or should i get some magnepans or something. Help a Newbie out! My DT's sound great but is there anything better for $650. Let me know.

Thanks

Saul
 

Seth=L

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The magnepan mmg's are supposed to be awesome for the price.

I am guessing you have speaker stands already so you might look into the Paradigm Studio 20's or the B&W 703's.

Seth=L
 

ChrisWiggles

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650 is a weird pricepoint, IMO. A great deal more offerings up towards a grand, such as the aforementioned studio 20s, B&W 705, Dynaudio, etc etc.

That being said, I'm not a fan of deftech, so I would expect it wouldn't be hard to find something that I would prefer more, but that's just me.
 

johnADA

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There is no such thing as THE BEST, it doesnt exist.
Its what you like, not how much you spent, the name on the cover etc. If your DT"s sound great isnt that enough?? You might spend on something that other tastes like but after awhile you cant stand!!! If it aint broke, dont fix it comes to mind!!!!
 

Arthur S

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johnADA is spot on here. If DTs sound great just keep em. If you have $650 burning a hole in your pocket, you could consider high def DVD, a receiver with room/speaker EQ, or something else that would expand your HT experience in a unambiguous way. Do you already have a kick-*ss subwoofer?
 

John Garcia

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I agree somewhat - if you don't have a kick butt sub, that would be a better place to spend it. However, mains make the biggest difference in sound period, though if you aren't getting all 3 up front that go together (or go with a phantom center), I might reconsider upgrading just the mains.

Ascend CMT-340s would be under your budget, but you'll also want the matching center...
 

Saul_M

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I am about to spend a about $700 on a a TC-3000 15" sub with a BEHRINGER EP2500 amp and PEQ. Should sound killer considering the low THD on the amp and sub. The amp has an excursion envelope of over 3.5" so it should move a lot of air. No need for a kick a** sub. I will give the Ascend CMT-340s a listen and make my decision. I may just stick with Deftech and get some Mythos Towers. Who knows. Thanks for the suggestions though. The sub I am going to build should be more than enough for my theater.

Thanks guys

I will keep listening around to see if I can find some speakers my ears like.

Saul
 

AlanZ

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I consider the Maggie MMGs the best speaker on the planet for $1k or less, but you should only consider them if you can give them a nice amp. It can be a used amp - I often recommend a B&K ST-140, which are out of date, but still an excellent value on the used market - but it needs to give them enough juice to do their stuff. Other speakers you may want to consider are the Von Schweikert VR-1 and the Nola Mini.
 

Jacob C

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I vote for the Ascend Acoustics 340 but I would certainly check out the MMGs as well.
 

Brian_cyberbri

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Another vote for Ascend 340SEs. They could easily trump Studio 20s or 40s, depending on your personal tastes.

With the matching stands that brings you to about your budget. They are ID, so you will have to find someone in your area to let you demo them, or order a pair and risk return shipping charges if you don't keep them.

Here's the speakers, with and without the stands:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/image..._stand1_hr.jpg

The page for the speakers:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...m/cmt340m.html


Yes, I am a bit biased. These speakers, along with the 340SE center and 170SEs in the back, currently grace my living room, along with a HSU VTF-3. :D



Do you have a full 5.0 DT setup, though? If you change your mains, you'll have change at least your center speaker as well, so you're looking at $1K or so.
 

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