Finally getting rid of my BOSE, need advice on new setup! (1 Viewer)

[Guy187]

Yes the title says it all. Im in the process of selling my entire BOSE setup, and will be proceeding to buy a new setup. I already have a Denon 2310CI receiver, and a Klipsch SW-450 subwoofer; so I won't be needing either one of those. I will be in the market for two tower mains, two surrounds, and two back surrounds, and a center. The surrounds and back surrounds will be mounted on the wall toward the ceiling on either a mount or on a shelf.


Budget: Rougly 1200 total.


Id really like to buy from best buy, due to a few gift cards that I have. Ive been looking either at the Klipsch icon series there, or polks. Input please. I just dont want to be dissapointed from selling my bose.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Just go listen to them, and get the ones you like.

Are you familiar with Klipsch speakers? Sub doesn't count........


Most people either love or hate Klipsch speakers. They use a horn type tweeter that really bothers some people, me included. After listening a little while, my ears gets fatigued and tired of listening. Polks makes some very good speakers, but I'm only personally familiar with their LSi series, which Best Buy doesn't sell. If they can order them, the LSi series are very musical, as well as very good with movies. They are a bit on the pricey side though.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

[Guy187]

I bought the Klipsch center, i think vc-25, which was 290 from best buy. It sounds a lot better than the bose center i had. But theres just something about it that, as you put it, tires my ears I guess. Its like the highs are kind of piercing is the only way to put it. I was looking at their polk towers and such, but should I just get bookshelfs for surrounds and surround backs? Im coming from having bose cubes, so I dont know how it should be.

 

[Guy187]

Or even difinitive tehnology?

 

[Guy187]

Or energy?

 

[huber13]

In the audio circle I came from, BOSE had a reputation, "No Highs No Lows They Must Be BOSE". BOSE always had a very good mid-range sound though. My suggestion would be to look at what eBay has to offer. You could pick up a pair of B&W DM-604's for around $600-700 a pair or even a pair of Paradigm or PSB towers. There's a lot to choose from and some real good bargains being offered. If your not sure what to choose from I would also pick up a Audio magazine that has reviews and ratings. Consumer Reports is OK but the people there are not audio people per say. Hope this helps. Some times it takes a long time to get there but the journey is fulfilling fun.


Current System used :

Onkyo TX-SR806: Bi-amped to run low frequencies.

Outlaw Audio: 750: High frequencies.

OPPO BDP-83: Blu-ray combo player.

B&W Speakers: 803-N Main,

CC6 Center,

SCM1 Surround.

Velodine Optomis 12,

with all speakers sitting on Audio Image Technologies sound anchor B-1 speaker stands. Panasonic TP-C50S10 Plasma 50" 1080p HDTV.

Run through a Panamax 5400 power line conditioner.

 

[Guy187]

Any good recommendations from best buy? The polk tsi?

 

[huber13]

Polks are a very good choice, not much of a Klipch fan. Best thing to do is get a couple of CD's your familiar with and take them for a listen. A CD that is well recorded and has male vocal, one with female vocals, and one with good dynamic range and see if they will let you listen for about 1/2 hour to see if you get fatigued with the sound, or let you take them home and bring back if not happy.

 

[Guy187]

If you had to choose between the polks there, klipsch, or definitive technology, which would it be?

 

[Jason Charlton]

Ben - it really doesn't matter what others would choose. Speakers, more than any other part of a home theater system, are highly subjective and dependent on personal taste.


You need to listen to them and decide for yourself. Polks, Klipsch, and Def Tech are all decent speaker brands - but they each have a distinct sound to them that appeals to different people in different ways.


Aside from picking the ones that sound best to you, the most important consideration is getting a matched set for the front three speakers. Whichever speakers you opt for as your mains, get the center channel that was designed to pair with those mains. It's important that the front three speakers all match each other tonally - referred to as timbre matching - so that as sounds pan across the front soundstage, they remain consistent from speaker to speaker.

 

[huber13]

Totally agree with Jason, it needs to be your choice, after all your the one that's going to be listening to them. Ask to see if they have a 1 year trade up poll icy for their speakers. Best Buy ain't the only game in town I'm sure. You could use your gift certificates for something else.

 

[Guy187]

What do you guys think of this?


Polk TSI400 Front towers

Polk CS10 Center

Polk TSI100 Surrounds

Polk TSI100 Surround Backs


1179.93 Before taxes


Any changes or reccomendations? I really do like the sound of the Polks, not a big fan of the Klipsch.

 

[huber13]

That looks like a good choice, only If YOU like the way they sound, buy'em!

 

[Jason Charlton]

I think that would be a well-matched set. The drivers in the TSI400s are the same as the CS10 center, so you would be fine with regard to timbre matching (i.e. no need to step up to the CS20).


As Mike mentioned earlier - be sure to bring some CDs that you're familiar with to listen to when auditioning and which cover a broad range of content types/styles. You'd be surprised how much detail you may discover by listening to something with different speakers.

 

[Guy187]

So it does look like a good matched set, all speakers look good. No reason to upgrade any of them? Is this is fact a step up from my bose acoustimass 6 cube, and center setup?

 

[Robert_J]

Upgrade? Not if you like the way they sound.


Step up? I consider a $99 HTiB from Wal-Mart a step up in sound quality from Bose.

 

[huber13]

Speakers are a lot like cars & women "Never buy untill you try!" You might find the Def Tech speakes to sound better to YOUR ears.

 

[David Willow]

If possible, consider internet direct brands over Best Buy. ID speakers are the opposite of BOSE - you will get more for your money.

 

[Comixguru]

Originally Posted by Guy187

What do you guys think of this?


Polk TSI400 Front towers

Polk CS10 Center

Polk TSI100 Surrounds

Polk TSI100 Surround Backs


1179.93 Before taxes


Any changes or reccomendations? I really do like the sound of the Polks, not a big fan of the Klipsch.

Before you do that, look at what you can get from SVSound.com AV123.com Elemental Designs, and other Internet direct companies.


If you want something that is a quick match for those Polks, SVS is the best match right now.


Those Front Towers speakers look anemic compared to, say SVS's STS-01 --

http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-sts01.cfm


The STS-01 5.0 packages that they sell one that page are right up your alley.


Also along the same lines --


Axiom Audio Epic 50 based system.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/index.html


Ascend Audio CMT340s on stands

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Guy187

What do you guys think of this?


Polk TSI400 Front towers

Polk CS10 Center

Polk TSI100 Surrounds

Polk TSI100 Surround Backs


1179.93 Before taxes


Any changes or reccomendations? I really do like the sound of the Polks, not a big fan of the Klipsch.

During my demoing, I really liked the Polk TSi line, especially in the ~$2000 range. (And I didn't like Def Tech and was unimpressed by KEF).


But after my experience: I would look at the SVS S Series