$5000. Which speakers would you buy? Help! (1 Viewer)

[Kelly]

My wife and I both (if you can believe that)have home theater fever. We are thinking of converting a room but are house shopping so may wait. This will definately be part of the house. I intend on doing this as seriously as I can within reason, but may have to do the work myself. When shopping recently, was turned onto the Klipsch speakers which I have never heard of until then. I am really not "up" on what is good in home theater gear world but trying to learn. I noticed on the Klipsch website that the speakers that I heard would run me around $5K. I do not intend to spend more than this because I also want to get a quality receiver and TV. If you were willing to spend this much on speakers, what would you buy? I want to make sure that I have had a chance to hear all that is recommended before buying anything. Thanks!

 

[RichardH]

Your wife digs HT too? Wow, you're one lucky dude....
Anyway, you need to specify what you'd like to get for 5k or under. Do you mean you want all 5 speakers and a powered sub for 5k? Or did you mean just fronts, etc? You can certainly get really quality stuff for the price you mention or even lower, but you should specify to get accurate advice!
I would check out Paradigm speakers and for subwoofing, you definitely need to check out SVS:
http://www.svsubwoofers.com
Make sure the missus likes the look, but if she does, man, you're in for a treat!
If it's 5k for a full 5.1 setup, here's what I'd do:
fronts/center: M&K S-150THX
surround: M&K S-85 (or SS-150)
sub: SVS CS-Ultra w/ Samson S1000 amp
I think that squeezes in under 5k and it would be absolutely killer!!!
RichardH
[Edited last by RichardH on August 20, 2001 at 12:55 AM]

 

[John Gates]

Kelly,
Welcome to the forum!! For this kind of money, you can do extremely well, and I would encourage you to keep asking questions and listen to as many brands as possible. You should bring DVD material and CD material that you are VERY familiar with to your auditions. You can get excellent stuff for even LESS than your budget, but if you are determined to spend it all, we can certainly help you out with that. ;-)
A few questions that will help us to give good advice on our favorite brands....
What models of Klipsch were you interested in? Did you like the sound that these presented?
How big is your room?
Does it open up to other spaces, cathedral ceiling, etc?
Do you have any speaker placement issues? i.e., do you need to wall mount, or do you have the space for speakers that should be off the wall a foot or two?
Do you want this to go LOUD, or do you and your wife have more moderate taste in volume?
Any idea what other electronics will be powering this stuff?
Does your price include subwoofer?
Do you want to go with 5 speakers, or are you interested in a 6 or 7 speaker (plus sub) setup?
What is the seating arrangement going to be (multiple rows, couch in the middle, etc). Any limitations on seating that are unusual?
Have FUN! YOu are about to embark on a wonderful adventure!
I am in Richmond, VA, and if you are ever in my neck of the woods, you are welcome to come over and check out my dedicated HT room.
Yours,
John
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[BryanZ]

$5K. Nice budget! Need to thank the wife for graciously allowing you to spend that much!
You can do alot with that much. For example:
marble nOrh 4.0 package - $1,600
SVS CS-Ultra w/amp, eq, & crossover - $2,000 ($1,753 w/out the crossover)
Total - $3,600 (shippping included)
ACI Titan II LE sub - $1,100
ACI Sapphire LE - $3,058 (for 5, 1 shielded)
Total - $4,158 plus shipping
And there are many other combinations you can choose from. But those are a couple of suggestions from internet only companies. The websites are www.norh.com and www.audioc.com.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Kelly. Welcom to HTF!
I asked one salesman about the difference between Music speakers and HT speakers. I keep his answer in mind whenever I look at the huge variety of speakers out there:
Rule 1: "Music is about accuracy, but HT is about impact"
The detail and accuracy of a good music speaker tends to come with a high price tag. You can have a great sounding HT system with less-accurate, and less expensive, speakers.
Here is another thing to be aware of:
Rule 2: "Tastes in speakers is like taste in ice cream. If I gave you a taste of my favorite Vanilla ice cream, it will never taste as good as a modest brand of Chocolate to a chocolate-lover".
For this reason, you CANNOT line speakers up from "best" to "worst". My line-up would be very different from someone else. You have to just go out with your wife and do auditions and find a model you both like.
Now to the fun stuff:
I am into HT rather than music. After a 3-month search, I choose a brand called Definitive Technologies. Their CLR2002 center speaker was the best center speaker I heard.
The matching tower speakers are bi-polar: they fire forwards and backwards at the same time. If you pull these speakers a few feet into a room, they do a fantastic job of making your room sound much larger.
Try this link for a "diary" of someone else who was putting together a HT system:
http://www.primenet.com/~kennyb/thx.htm
Try to find a local dealer and do an audition. You may regret it if you dont.

 

[Chauncey_G]

I'd like to put in a vote for B&W speakers. For $5000, you could really do yourself up right with their CDM line:
Mains: CDM 7NT's ($1700.00)
Surrounds: CDM 1NT ($1200.00)
Center: CDM CNT ($600.00)
Subwoofer: SVS CS-Ultra w/amp ($1500.00)
These are really great speakers, I own the 7NT's and will be upgrading my center and surrounds as above this fall.
All of the above having been said, it is important that you go out and audition. Speakers are an incredibly subjective thing to purchase and what sounds good to me or anyone else posting here might not sound good to you. Find the local high-end shops, go in and tell them your budget. They'll take you to what they have in your price range. When you do this, be sure to bring some of your own CD's and DVD's to audition the speakers with. This will give you some material to listen to that you are used to hearing, allowing you to better evaluate the speakers. When I went auditioning, I just burned a CD with different tracks from different CD's, representing all types of music. Don't just bring loud stuff that will give the speakers a work-out, also bring in lighter, quieter stuff to see how they detail.
Of course, the one flaw in my recommendation to audition is the subwoofer. SVS, at www.svsubwoofers.com , is an internet-based company. I was a bit anxious about purchasing a piece of sound equipment that I hadn't heard, but now that I have I can highly recommend their products to you. I have the 20-39CS with the Samson 700 amp; not their top of the line, but it's still awesome! Their customer service is great and they take great care in making sure that whatever UPS may do to the box, your sub will be in great shape when you open it up.
OK, I'm finally done. Post back and let us know what you ended up getting!
Good luck, and happy listening!

 

[Tyson]

For HT, I would go with a good subwoofer/bookshelf speaker combo. For subs, take a look at SVS (probably the only consistent recommendation you will get from this forum) and also Adire Audio's subs, specifically the Dharman.
For main speakers there are a plethora of choices. If I were feeling a bit adventurous, I would get a set of 5 SM 6.9's from www.norh.com - I have many of their other models of speaker and they are all outstanding. For a speaker that you can pick up at a retail store, Dynaudio and Dunlavy are the brands to beat. Both make speakers that are great at HT, and even better with music. Oh yeah, another manufacturer direct speaker maker that I recommend is ACI - I think 5 Emeralds would make a great HT, but probably not as nice as the nOrhs (based on driver quality/build quality between the SM 6.9's and the Emeralds). Anyway, have fun and try to listen to a LOT of speakers. This is the only way to understand what your own preferences are. But the SVS subs are really a no-brainer if you have space for them. . .

 

[Bobby T]

I would recommend checking out Atlantic Technology system 370 THX Ultra. www.atlantictechnology.com

 

[Robert Fellows]

Kelly:
Go here and then click on the speaker link on the LHS:
http://www.besthometheater.com/guide.htm
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Bob
p.s.: This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it...

 

[Dustin B]

I'd recommend a look at the Paradigm Reference Active series with an SVS sub or a DIY Adire Tempest or Maelstrom (provided you have the tools and desire to build your own sub).

 

[Tim Flemke]

Kelly
For that kind of money you can get some very,very nice stuff. Check out the Vienna Acoustics line. You can see the speakers at sumikoaudio.com. I have the Beethoven mains,Maestro center,and Haydn surrounds. The finish is just beautiful.
Good luck
Tim
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[Scott-C]

I have an all-Definitive Technologies speaker setup that I am really happy with (BP10B for front L/R, C1 center channel, and BP2X for side surrounds). For HT, these speakers create a really nice soundstage - very wide.
Definitive also makes speakers that contain powered subwoofers, and they also are very popular among HT lovers.
Although I haven't heard them yet, I know some enthusiasts who also have great things to say about PSB speakers.
Just some more ideas for you to consider!
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Scott