7 speakers, $6000 to spend, WHAT? (1 Viewer)

[John Morris]

I am continuing my search for a 7 speaker setup, without sub, which I can live with for the next 8 years or so. As I started this search, I found that I liked my current speakers(Mirage M-3si) as much as those that I had found. So, what would you recommend I test. Get as esoteric as you want... but within budget.

Thanks!

 

[Thomas_Berg]

is this HT only? what's the music/HT ratio gonna be? do you want dipoles for surrounds? need more info, but the B&W 800 series is an excellent place to start, and MK makes some great speakers as well.

 

[John Morris]

Thomas: 80% music / 20% HT. The system is almost always on with FM or CDs. Serious listening (in sweet spot) occurs about 40 minutes a day on average.

 

[Scott Yuri]

If you doing that much music I'd seriously try to find the Ruarks to listen to. They have a couple of line one for HT and another for music, but the HT ones are sweet on music big time. The ones I heard were the Contemporary Series. For $6000 you could do a nice set up for MUSIC/ht. http://www.ruark.net Definitely worth hearing.

 

[BryanZ]

Many companies to choose from. A few are:
nOrh
AV Reality
ACI
Legacy
Link Removed
Newform Research
And there are many others. But if you are happy with what you have why not focus on room treatments or upgrading source equipment?
For the seven speakers, I'd go with marble nOrh 9.0s across the front and marble 4.0s for the sides and surrounds. Or you could also go with the AV Reality S fronts and sides and AVinci center and surrounds. That would be very interesting to look at.

 

[Mike Burke]

Well I would say look at the used market then to meet your budget:

Revel F30's $2500.00 used

Aerial Acoustics CC3 $1000.00 w/stand used (I have read the Revels and A/A CC3 are a nice match)

Revel M20's $1200.00PR (get 2 PR's for side/rears) used if U look hard enough so that is about $6K.

OR

Paradigm Studio 100 V.2 $1900.00 new blk finish

Paradigm Studio CC $550.00 new

Paradigm ADP $900.00 new

Paradigm Studio 40's $1200.00 new

Paradigm PW2200 subs $800.00 ea. ( you can get 2 and still be under budget!!!)

Good Luck

Mike

 

[Larry B]

Merc -

Since (1) 80% of you system use is for music, and (2) you're pleased with your front speakers, another option would be focussing on the 2-channel electronics.

Just a suggestion...

Larry

 

[Brian Bunge]

John,

I KNOW you want those ACI Jaguar LE's with the LFM's! But that would eat up your entire $6K budget and you'd be 5 speakers short!

Brian

 

[BrentC]

I would suggest you look into planar speakers. Check out Magnepans. www.magnepan.com These are considered wonderful musical speakers. The only knocks you hear on them is they require alot of room(They are dipole) and they require you to sit in the sweet spot to get the full effect. I would recommend the 3.6's for the front and 1.6's or mg20's for the rears. Check out www.audioreview.com for reviews. and www.audioasylum.com is a wonderfull place to talk speakers. Check out the planar forum. They are super helpfull.
After hearing maggies in person and reading reviews online this poor college student is saving all of his coffers for a set of mmgs. So the point is give planars a listen afterwards other speakers just sound "boxy".

 

[george king]

I'll toss in my suggestions.

Fronts - Kef Reference 2.2

Center - 200c

Surrounds (2 pairs) - RDM 2's

This should put you around $6K

Hope this helps.

 

[John Kotches]

As esoteric as I want within budget?
Hmmm..
Maggies are always nice:
7x Magnepan MG1.6 would be a nice setup, and set you back only around US$6K.
You can probably talk Link Removed down to US$7000 for this setup:
Soundline Audio SL-2 Mains (I own these) US$2995
Soundline Audio SL7 Center US$875
Soundline Audio SL8 Side and Rear Surrounds US$1995/pair
Bottom line (before any potential discounts) US$7870
That's only about 12% reduction to hit your price point which would likely be doable.
Maybe some of the speakers from VMPS instead:
VMPS Audio Ribbon Monitor 1 (x6) US$4758
VMPS AUdio QSO 626SE Center US$599
Still money left over with that one.
How about, the Link Removed, which would (last I heard) go for around US$5K.
You could go with the speakers from Eminent Technology instead and have money left over as well......
6x LFT-VIIIa for US$5000
1x LFT-??? Center Channel for US$995
In case you haven't noticed, I have a planar bias that others might not share.
Regards,

 

[chris c]

Having just received a pair of the Jean Marie Reynaud Twin MKII's I can heartily recommend seven of these (or three pairs and a center). For around $800/pair you would have plenty of money leftover. For what it's worth I used to have a pair of Ruark Sceptres (over $1000/pair) in the same setup as the Reynauds and the Reynauds are just so much better in every area, approaching my Proac 1SCs in many areas.

 

[Len Cheong]

John,

I've always wondered how 7 Platinum Solos would sound. A pair with stands is about 1200 so doing the math, it would add to 4800 for 8 of these babies. Shipping would be another 1k maybe. These may be good since you listen to 80% music.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Being in the center of 7 Magnepan 1.6QR's would be very cool. The only drawback being the visiting Druids at summer solstice. Still, a small price to pay.

 

[RichardH]

Go for Dunlavy. They're used in many Mastering houses, 'nuff said. Although, I'm not sure if it's within your budget.

 

[JohnRice]

Merc,

I have to agree with Larry B. Keep what you have for surround and possibly center, and focus on L&R. I suggest checking out a pair of Thiel CS 3.6s for the front at about $4,500 a pair. I rarely recommend the speakers I personally own, but I think they may be a good choice in your case. They need a bullet-proof and very powerful amp. Nominal impedence is 4 ohm and they drop down to 2 ohm at the minimum. They also need a lot of room around them and should be at least three feet from the back wall, though four or five is usually better. They are finished on all sides and the connections are on the bottom, so it is possible to bring them this far forward with the wires completely hidden.

Even though i watch a lot of movies, my system is geared toward the best music reproduction I can afford. I can't tell you how much I love these speakers. After they are broken in and when they are properly driven and placed (placement is EXTREMELY important with these speakers) they are the most amazing speakers I have every heard. The imaging is absolutely outstanding. They particularly excel with acoustic music, especially classical.

Thiel doesn't have many dealers, but I recall you are in Houston and I believe they have a dealer there.

John

 

[JohnRice]

One more thought. If you already have an amp that is capable of driving the Thiels, you could spend the extra $1,500 on center and surround speakers from Paradigm, which have a sound that blends in reacsonably well with the Thiels. If you don't have a suitable amp already, it will take every bit of the remaining $1,500 to get one. I have a Aragon 4004II which does a fine job. The current model is the 8008.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Merc,
I must second the B&W recommendation. I've just recently upgraded from the 600 series to Nautilus 802s. The upgrade has "forced" me to do more critical music listening. In Anchorage, I don't have a ton of high end choices for audition...but in my travels, I've done some listening. The Nautilus line is a bit spendy, but I picked mine up at the local B&W dealer for $5500. They were traded in by a gentleman that wanted the Signature 800s. If he can afford $20,000 speakers, I was sure he took care of his 802s. They are two years old, perfectly broken in on Levinson gear. I've had them for just over a month and couldn't be happier. My next step is to pick up an SACD player to enjoy some high resolution audio. I've also been shopping a bit for a new turntable as I have a couple hundred vinyl albums. I LOVE Home Theater, but music listening has always been my first love, o.k. second to my wife The Nautilus speakers are exactly what I was looking for. With your budget, you have a great opportunity to listen to as many "high end" speakers as you can find.
Good Luck
Jeremy

 

[Michael Botvinick]

I love my Maggies (Magnelplans) the best for music. Add a sub though even if you don't think you will need it. Fot HT i use Definitive Technologies 2000 series. They sound nice for music also and they don't give off a "sweet spot" like the Maggies. But for 80% music buy the Maggies with a real nice amp like McCintosh. Get Eagles Live on DVD or CD and you will be blown away!

 

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

For another take on the planars, take a look at the Bohlender-Grabener 520dx series. I picked up 6 of them for about $5100 and combined them with a 220dx center for $600 and an SVS 46-16pc. I think they are amazing on music as well as movies - the Diana Krall DTS CD Love Scenes is amazing on these bad boys. One thing is that if I had a microperf screen I would get another 520dx for the front center instead of the 220dx which is a little weak compared to the 520dx's. Benefit over the maggies is that they won't turn your room into stonehenge and, IMHO, are sexier with the minimalist modern design.