Home Theater Direct Quality?? (1 Viewer)

How is the quality of the lineup offered at Home Theater Direct compared to the more popular names in this price point such as Ascend Acoustics, Axiom, and the countless others mentioned? I am interested in tower, center, and bookshelf speakers. I know I would be looking into their Level 3 speakers in order to compare with the above mentioned.

Thanks

J

Hi Jason

Check out the xl line at av123

recommending from personal experience??? I have my heart set on Ascend, however i am definately open to other options.

I own the previous version of the HTD Level Three Speakers in Cherry and love them. Not very interesting to look at (just your basic box), but beautiful wood finish and great quality. I understand that the current versions with the ribbon tweeter sounds even better, but I'm perfectly thrilled with mine.

They have great customer service and will accept returns, so why not audition a couple?

Man Jason,
You really have the upgrade bug. Can't you just be happy with the new HSU you just got?
Seriously though, I have heard very good things about the HTD lineup. If I wasn't so happy with my new Premier Acoustic set up I would give them a shot, I have heard ribbon tweeters before and love the sound. One other option that I would consider is the RS450 from av123. Looks like a sweet speaker. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

Jeff I was happy with my speakers until the HSU showed up, I mean I look at it like this. How can you have the Ferrari of subwoofers playing along with the Honda Civic of speakers??? No way Bro!! Speaking of the HSU I just went ahead and ordered the Turbocharger for the MK3 and it will ship tomorrow
Now I have a whole new problem to deal with. I easily narrowed my sub selection down to 2 companies. Its not going to be so easy selecting new speakers to go along, there are wayyy too many ID companies making awesome products at a reasonable price point these days.
The only thing know for sure is I want set of floorstanders for Mains that will put out a ton crisp clear tight sound. I intend on pounding on these things they need to be able to handle some loud volume levels (and be very clear and crisp while doing it) I do not care about the bass output from the towers, my #1 concern is for the tweeter to be very detailed and crisp, with some nice punchy midbass. I plan on adding the HSU MBM down the road so that will take care of the frequencies I might miss out on with the towers.
Sooooo now the decision to be made is whether to go with my gut and order the Ascend CMT 340's all the way across the front......but as I said I am certainly open to other options. I ran across the HTD level 3 lineup the other day and I really like the aesthetics they offer with their finishes. Something Ascend lacks, but how will they stack up in performance?? Comparable??
On another hand, I know Axiom makes a fine product and from their reviews they tend to be very bright sounding, something I dont mind at all. I tend to like this trait in a speaker so thats a point for them.
I have no clue
J

Jason,

Are we twins? You sound exactly like me. I want a floorstanding speaker with crisp, clear, tight sound and some very hard hitting punchy mid bass. And I am with you, I do enjoy a bright sounding speaker, I have always liked the way they sound. And I do crank my system to insane volume levels sometimes and I want the speaker to handle the abuse. I actually fried a pair of PSB speakers during a St Patricks day party. I have the complete system for Premier Acoustics right now and really like them. They perform way past their price level, however I wanted something quick and inexpensive so went that route. If I would have had a little more to spend, I would have went with the HTD's or the Rockets from av123.

Hi Jason

No disrespect to you or Jeff Adams:

For very high listening levels, I would go with Klipsch if you can wait till you can get one of their towers. These are the choice of many who like very high volume level towers. But for the money, the Premier Acoustics is a very good choice for a floor stander...

Please note that the tweeters in most speakers don't contribute all that much. I like ribbons a lot, however, the crossover from the woof to the tweet should be checked out. The vast majority of the sound will not come from the tweet, but from the woof and your sub.

Happy New Year

Arthur S said:

Hi Jason
No disrespect to you or Jeff Adams:
For very high listening levels, I would go with Klipsch if you can wait till you can get one of their towers. These are the choice of many who like very high volume level towers. But for the money, the Premier Acoustics is a very good choice for a floor stander...
Happy New Year

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None taken.
And you are completely right. For the money the Premier Acoustic is a very good choice. I have pushed them hard and they can take anything I throw at them. There is no hint of distress or distortion. I am very pleased and am glad that I didn't spend a lot more money on something else.
And I second the Klipsch statement. I had a pair of Klipsch RF-82's for about a month. They were sweet but I couldn't justify the $1000 price tag and returned them. I paid less than that for the entire PA system,minus the sub and bookshelf.
So Jason, I think you should try the PA line. I don't think you would be dissapointed.

why would I feel disrespected with those comments bro?? You have been a lot of help with my choices so far and I appreciate any help you can give, good or bad! I have looked into PA's line and I will continue to do so. I know about the reputation Klipsch as, I just really have a hard time purchasing something that every store carries. I feel most of these lines that are available in stores are either garbage or their price tag is hiked up way too high for the quality you are getting. I prefer to stick with ID companies, customer service seems to be much better and I think you get way more in terms of quality than what you pay for.

jwill242004 said:

why would I feel disrespected with those comments bro?? You have been a lot of help with my choices so far and I appreciate any help you can give, good or bad! I have looked into PA's line and I will continue to do so. I know about the reputation Klipsch as, I just really have a hard time purchasing something that every store carries. I feel most of these lines that are available in stores are either garbage or their price tag is hiked up way too high for the quality you are getting. I prefer to stick with ID companies, customer service seems to be much better and I think you get way more in terms of quality than what you pay for.

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I agree. I was just talking to my fiancee last night about this same subject. I will never buy another speaker from a B&M store again. There is so much mark up in the B&M stores that it is ridiculous. Now I wouldn't go so far as to say that all the stuff sold at B&M stores is garbage because it certainly is not. The Klipsch speakers I had were great and I have heard a ton of high quality speakers at the B&M stores. I just listened to a set of Infinity Cascades that were awesome. But you are going to pay a lot more at the store than you are at ID companies. No middle man or overhead is a huge thing.

I didnt say that everything they sell is garbage. I said either they are garbage, or their mark up is high. I have heard tons of high quality speakers at B & M's but I dont believe for a minute they are worth the outrageous prices they boast. Going straight to the manufacturer is the best way to go about it IMO.

Jeff I spent the last hour or so reading your posts on Premier Acoustic. Im am aware that you highly recommend this line but as you also know there are some negative reviews also. For the price I'm sure they are well worth it im sure, but I would rather pay a little more if it means an increase in my enjoyment. So with that being said, how do you think they will compare to the HTD's or Onix, Ascends and the others that are more expensive? I realize that they might not match up in every way possible, but is it going to be worth it for me to spend that extra money for these other lines in terms of my enjoyment of music and movies?? Would I be able to tell an audible distinct difference between these more expensive speakers?

Im not the kind of guy thats going to spend $1000+ on a pair of towers. But I dont mind shelling out 7 or 800 for the pair, which is probably what I will spend on the others I mentioned. For $300 I can get the PA towers, do you honestly think there is a $500 difference in the quality of these other speakers?

Hi Jason

It is me again. I looked at the BIC towers, and for $279 + $59 shipping I don't think you can touch the performance of these towers. No way anything costing $500 more can begin to be worth that kind of difference (to me).

Have a Prosperous New Year

BIC?? I thought you were talking about Premier Acoustic before? Is BIC the same company, what exact model tower are you referring to??

Arthur S said:

Hi Jason
It is me again. I looked at the BIC towers, and for $279 + $59 shipping I don't think you can touch the performance of these towers. No way anything costing $500 more can begin to be worth that kind of difference (to me).
Have a Prosperous New Year

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With all due respect a comment like the means that you have actually tried every speaker up to $500 more and found the BIC better which I am sure you havent. In fact, I will be surprised if it even matches the Onix X-SLS at roughly the same price.
Its nice to feel proud of the products you own but its better to be more objective when making such claims.
As for the OP, I am sure you have read my review in this forum or at avsforum and if not feel free to PM me and I will send you a link. Keep in mind that it is MY opinion and doesnt mean everyone will feel the same.
Regards

yes I read your review, and it was one of the ones I was referring to. Can you shoot me a link to the Onix speakers you are talking about, the only ones I can find are much more expensive than the BIC's or the Premier Acoustic towers

http://www.av123.com/products_catego...akers&brand=55
Here you go.

I found them, but thanks for the link. I will definately be going with towers for my mains. I listen to 2 channel stereo all the time, sometimes without a sub. I feel that a tower gives you a more complete overall sound. But that wouldnt rule these out as surounds. I

HI Jason

With all due respect to Luis, a tower with one 6.5 inch woofer simply can't achieve the same the same volume levels with the same amount of distortion as a tower with 2 woofers and a horn tweeter.

No one even knows the dimensions of the new X-XLS towers.

Still, I like the X sub a lot for the price.

Have a Prosperous New Year

PS Luis knows a lot about several lines of speakers. To each his own.

jwill242004 said:

I didnt say that everything they sell is garbage. I said either they are garbage, or their mark up is high. I have heard tons of high quality speakers at B & M's but I dont believe for a minute they are worth the outrageous prices they boast. Going straight to the manufacturer is the best way to go about it IMO.
Jeff I spent the last hour or so reading your posts on Premier Acoustic. Im am aware that you highly recommend this line but as you also know there are some negative reviews also. For the price I'm sure they are well worth it im sure, but I would rather pay a little more if it means an increase in my enjoyment. So with that being said, how do you think they will compare to the HTD's or Onix, Ascends and the others that are more expensive? I realize that they might not match up in every way possible, but is it going to be worth it for me to spend that extra money for these other lines in terms of my enjoyment of music and movies?? Would I be able to tell an audible distinct difference between these more expensive speakers?
Im not the kind of guy thats going to spend $1000+ on a pair of towers. But I dont mind shelling out 7 or 800 for the pair, which is probably what I will spend on the others I mentioned. For $300 I can get the PA towers, do you honestly think there is a $500 difference in the quality of these other speakers?

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I really can't answer your question in regards to the PA's vs the Onix and HTD's. I have never heard them. I can tell you that I have heard a number of speakers, some better than the PA's some not. The better ones were at a higher price, the worse ones were at a higher price. I think the PA's are an exceptional value. There is very slim competition at the $299 price of the PA towers. I don't rergret my purchase at all. And believe me, I use to think that you had to spend a lot of money on equipment to get that kind of performance but I am finding that you do not. So do I think the extra $500 would be worth the added performance out of $800 speakers? No. Not at all. I auditioned a few different speakers before I bought the PA's and do not hear a big enough difference to pay the extra money. I think for the average person looking for a good home theater/music set up that the PA's will really wow you for the price. I was listening to some John Mayer last night and I thought it sounded great. Watched Cars the other night and once again was really impressed. I played it very loud and the PA's didn't break a sweat. And my Marantz SR-9200 puts out 140wpc. On the flip side of things, if money were no ****** and I could afford to spend a lot more on my system, would I have PA' sitting in my living room? No. Of course I would look for the best performance and not worry about the $$$$.