$8000.00 aprox to spend on f l&r, c, and 4 surrounds. What to audition? (1 Viewer)

[Todd smith]

If this upgrade happens it will be about a year down the road or so, but part of the fun of this hobby is dreaming about it When I do take this plunge, I will have a 7channel amp ( either sherbourn or b&k), a h/k 525 as a pre/pro, and svs pb2+. I will have aprox $8000.00 (give or take) to spend on 6 speakers and a center speaker. I would like to stay with bookshelf size of some sort because I want 6 indentical speakers for front, surround, and back surround. I want identical speakers for the seamless soundstage. I run 6 jbl s-38's right now with the s-center and love the seamless soundfield for movies and concerts. I will be using these speakers for movies and music (60/40). I enjoy listening at very high volume so I need a speaker that can be played LOUD without distorting and that I dont have to worry about blowing out.

My question is what speakers should I include in my demo sessions for my requirements and price range?

 

[Philip>L]

6 Thiel MCS1s.

http://www.thielaudio.com/THIEL_Web/Pages/mcs1.html

 

[Justin_D]

You may want to check out Polks LSi series. They need strong amps, but, from what I've heard, they can be worth it.

B&W are supposed to be very good as well.

Definitive Technology is gaining quite a few reliable customers. I'm curious about their di-pole floorstanders :b

Just my $0.02

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I have the Bipolar towers and love them. But there is a bit of a catch: bi/di pole speakers sound best if you can pull them into the room about 3 feet. The back-fire sound needs several feet of space to cause a time-delay to open up a room.

Since Todd wants monitor-style speakers, he should avoid the bipole lines.

 

[Todd smith]

Thanks for the responses so far everybody. I have had a lot of fun in this forum over the years.

 

[Daryn D]

Paradigm Signature 2's list at 2K per pair. Signature C3 for center, or the C-5, If you are into loud movies the C5 will blow your mind

 

[Todd smith]

Are those paradigm s2's up to the task of playing LOUD?

 

[Tyler Cookson]

I second the polk Lsi9's. Just got mine on thursday and I could not be happier. The tweeter is truly remarkable, but so is the rest of it. The finish is furniture grade and very sturdy.

 

[Dean Wette]

I spent $6K+ on a set of 7 Dynaudio Audience speakers and subwoofer.

Definitely, consider auditioning Dynaudio. They look great and sound very detailed and warm. Great for both HT and music.

Dean

 

[Daryn D]

You will need to audition the s2's. I have been auditioning them and will likely go with them for my fronts. I've cranked them at the dealers with no distortion or ear fatigue. IMHO they sound better at loud volume than the studio 60's.

 

[Ned]

nvm

 

[Mike OConnell]

Depending on how your center channel needs to set I would recommend Dynaudio Countour S1.4's. The MSRP is $2800 per pair, but they can be purchased for less.

The S1.4's could be used as a center, but would not work well in any postion but stand mounted. They have a matching Countour Center (the SC) and it should work great if a center style speaker is required.

If you are inteseted in a good purchase price on Dyn's. Let me know......

I have a pair of 1.3 SE's mated with a Bryston 4BST and they can take all the Bryston can give them and sound wonderful. I have not heard the new 1.4's, but have been told they are even better than the 1.3SE's.

Mike

 

[Jed M]

You may want to consider an Onix Reference package. I own the "B" Package and I am very pleased with them. The only reason I would get rid of them is to upgrade to the the Ref 3's. They have a 30 day trial to determine if they are the right speakers for you so you would only be out shipping if you didn't like it. I would recommend doing what I did and use the 30 day trial to compare it against other speakers you are interested in, assuming you can get a good return policy with the other speaker.

 

[TimMc]

About a year down the road? Heck, the speakers you get may not even be out today...

I'd keep the S2's on the list for a while. You may not be able to find anywhere to audition 6 of 'em, but just two will play darned loud and whoever has the S2's will probably have similar goodies (B&W, Dynaudio, etc.) for comparison.

Have fun this year!

 

[Levesque]

Put another vote for the Paradigm Signature!

I have 2 pairs of S2 for surrounds and back centers and believe me they can play really loud!

The C5 is a no brainer. One of the best center on the market. It's like having a Studio-100 on the side! the C5 is the gem of the Signature serie.

So 3 pairs of S2 and a C5 would be my choice. If you want to spend a little bit more money, try some S4 for mains.

I did listen to alot of speakers costing alot more then the Sigs, and the choice was easy to make for me: S8, C5, 2 pairs of S2.

Audio nirvana since I bought them...

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

If you want identical speakers(the way to go IMO), try Genlec moniters or M&K. Another brand you might want to look at is TRIAD.

 

[SethH]

Look at the B&W 700 and 800 series. If you went with the 800 series you'd probably have to get all 805's which are bookshelf speakers. In the 700 series you could get floorstanders for up front if you'd like. They have different sounds though, so go check them out.

 

[Mark Hedges]

For that price range I would definetly consider Genelec powered speakers. If you went that route you could spend the money you had budgeted on an amp on a really nice Pre-Pro.

Mark

 

[James Elvick]

NHT M5's or M6's up front and L5's around for the all surrounds will be tuff to beat paired with a good sub!

I've had Paradigm Reference and Monitor Audio Gold Reference to name a few and am very happy with the NHT Evolution system.

James