Bose or klipsch setup? noob here. (1 Viewer)

I know bose is the most expensive, but is it really worth the cash. I have a $500 gift certificate for best buy. They have a setup for $1380 that has a Yamaha 5750 and a Klipsch setup that includes 2 SF-2 floor speakers, the sc-1 center, and the ss-1 surrounds plus the 12" sub. Or I can get the bose AM 10 package and the yamaha 5760 for about $100 dollars more. What would you buy?

These are the 2 best speaker brands I can pick from if I want to use the Best Buy gift card

Bose probably isnt worth the extra $100, unless you like them more. Personally i think Athena is the best speaker that Best Buy has.

btw.. do a quick search on Bose and read some of the threads. You will probably be surpirsed by what you find out.

Bose is usually considered overpriced. Klipsch, Athena, and JBL are brands BB carries and they all make a solid lineup and I would choose from any of them before I bought Bose. They make it hard to compare Bose since most or their setups are seperate from their sound rooms. Visit a number of BB stores in your area to get a variety if you can, ask for different recievers with different speakers.

Most importantly, any setup in the store will sound different when you get it home and you may need a return guarantee to get what you want.

Good luck in your hunt and welcome to the forum!

DG

I didn't check out Athena. Never heard of them. I'm kinda hesitant to buy a product I have never heard of before, but at the same time I'm trying to keep an open mind. What makes Athena a better pick than the Klipsch? Also, is Klipsch on the same playing level as Polk Audio? I originally wanted to buy Polk, but considering the gift card I can't really do that.

Athena, Klipsch, JBL models carried at BB are all mid level and would compare to the Polk Audio that you mention.

You might want to spend your free money on just a receiver and hop on over to Circuit City to listen to the Polks. They carry most of the same electronic lines, but speaker lines are different.

Again, only you can pick out what speaker sounds best to you. Speakers are the single most personal component of home audio.

Thanks Dennis,

Stupid me never thought of just buying the receiver at BB and shopping elsewhere for the speakers. I'm always looking for that package deal. The packages at BB do knock off some money though.

Nothing stupid about trying to get the most bang for the buck in sound. You can lay out some serious coin in this hobby and still not have something you like to use and enjoy. Don't buy the first thing you listen to based on pricing alone.

The search is half the fun, once you gain some knowledge about what you are looking for. Listen to all brands, sizes, prices and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Use the search function here on the forum for specific comments on brands and models you see in the stores. There is a ton of great info here.

Enjoy,

Dennis

I almost forgot, Circuit City was having closeout pricing on some of the Polk lines this past week. New models are coming out, so great deals can be had on the closeouts. Sometimes, below cost pricing strategies are used to clear out inventories.

The Klipsch systems are very nice, and you get a $300 receiver for free in some of the systems (if you look at the component vs. package price), so do look at that.

Athena, Kilipsh and JBL are all well respected around here. Sony, Bose, Yamaha, and KLH, not so much. Its all about personal taste. BTW, what made you say that Bose and Kilipsh were the best that you could get at Best Buy? Just because you heard of them or they sounded the best to you?

regards,
Jim

Hey Jim. I've never heard of Athena. And the guys at BB never mentioned them when I asked what was best. Most of the guys that work there have worked in retail sound for years, so I trusted their opinions. I'm leaning towards the klipsch, but I'm going to listen and compare some brands. Another question though. The package I am looking at for Klipsch is in the Synergy series? Is Synergy crap? I mean for the price range i'm in? $1400 w/ receiver is the range. I know it's not much, but it will kick the a** outta what i have now, trust me.

They don't even have Athena hooked up to listen to.

Pete:

Do NOT be scared of the Athena's. They are a large company, and their speakers are well-repected.

Yeah, its hard to know what to get. I'll just have to listen to the different brands. Now I'm hearing in another forum that Klipsch has a very unique sound, and a lot of people don't like them. Ever feel like you just want to scream from the frustration!

You will get lots of different opinions on speakers since they are all different in how they reproduce sound. The Klipsch is known as a bright or forward sound that tends to emphasize the higher frequencies. Many call this very detailed, while others call it harsh. Only you can judge for yourself. Klipsch does build a solid speaker with good reliablity and a consistent sound throughout its line since it uses a horn type tweeter for its highs.

Driving yourself crazy on these forums with all the different opinions is easy.

I'm not surprised. They probably have no idea they come from the same company that produces Energy and Mirage, and the now defunct Sound Dynamics speaker lines. I'll bet they have no idea who those companies are either. There's the helpful Best Buy staff for ya...

But that's why we're here. The Athenas are solidly built speakers, and HUGE winner for budget speakers. Do a search here and you'll pull up many many many threads and posts dealing with those speakers. I'd be wary of using them with a Yamaha receiver though...they didn't sound too good with the old 5650, but I'm not going to speak for the new lineup. Your best bet is to take it all home and have a listen. If they don't have it setup, how can you listen to what you buy? Take it home. The return policy exists to ensure your total satisfaction with your purchase. Although, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I doubt the guys at BB have been doing retail audio that long, the box stores have a high turnover rate (they don't pay what an independent store does) I have also found they get next to no training on products (I like to test them on stuff)

This is very true, BUT it's not as true with the Synergy series. While not many people would say the Synergy series is crap (referencing your post above), it is the lowest of the Klipsch lines. This means that it does not really have the "classic" Klipsch sound (the one that people often complain about). However, they still have horn-loaded tweeters which some people find too harsh to listen to for extended periods. Definiltey look at the JBL's too. I think they have similar package deals on them.

Personally, from auditioning these myself as BB, I would be torn between the Synergy series with SF3's as mains and the JBL's with the E90's as mains. They sound different from one another, but it's hard to decide which sounds "better." Every BB close to me has screwed up their Athena setup in some way, so I've never gotten to demo them.

"I'd be wary of using them with a Yamaha receiver though" I would agree but if you get a THX certified unit you can tame the sound pretty well.

Athenas, I have them and love them.

Brent

Some of the guys at BB are older and they say they have been selling home audio since the 80's. I dunno. So what speakers in my price range have been known to work well with yamaha receivers?

Pete,
Take some of your favorite cds with you and decide for yourself. Some prefer Klipsch, Some Prefer Althena, Some prefer Bose(believe it or not), and some of us prefer none of the above.