Advice: AVR8000 and speakers (1 Viewer)

[Torsten Zurek]

Just bought HK AVR 8000 and now i'm lookin for new speakers to go with it.I watch movies a lot and like to listen to loud music. my listening room is pretty large with open walls and a high ceiling. I'm willing to expand my budget for a full 5.1 setup to about 2000.
I was looking at the paradigms studio60's ,20's and cc and the dealer offered 2050$ without the sub.
Now i started searching for alternatives.
How about the Klipsch. RF3's,RC3,RS3's for 1650$, which leaves me about 400 for a sub. I was thinking about the svs
25-31PCi for 450 B-stock or even new for 540$.
What do u think. Are the paradigms worth the extra money or will the Klipsch perform pretty close to them (including the sub). Is there something else in that budget range i should look at ?
Does the receiver go with the Klipsch and would it be able to drive the Paradigms?
Please advice.
TIA Zuck

 

[Camp]

Despite what some will say, the AVR8000 will drive the Studio's just fine. Certainly, more power is (usually) a good thing but the 8000 has a beefy amp for a receiver.

Personally, I'd go for the Paradigms over the Klipsch any day...the key to my statement, however, is "personally". Only you can make that call. If the Paradigms don't represent an improvement to your ears then go with the Klipsch.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

You can calculate pretty much how loud the Paradigms will go with the AVR8000:

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html

The AVR8000 will push 126 watts per channel into 8 ohm with all 5 channels driven, as long as your wall socket can support the current draw.

The Studio 60's have a 90dB room sensitivity. The 20's have 89dB, and the CC has 90dB. Just plug in your speaker location and listening distance.

Unless your room is huge, the AVR8000/Paradigm combo should be able to push enough volume to render you deaf (though I wouldn't suggest it).

 

[Jerry DeWitt]

I spent the last 3 weeks going from dealer to dealer trying to find something that sounded good to me. One dealer carried Klipsch, Kef and Energy. I got to A/B the:

Klipsch RF-3II
Kef Q5
Energy C5

The Energy's were out the first time through the A/B cycle, they didn't sound as good as the other two. I spent about an hour listening to the Klipsch's and Kef's. My main audition CD was the Eagles - The Millennium Concert. About half way through "Take it easy" there is a Banjo in the background, most of the speakers I had auditioned could not pick up that Banjo. The only Paradigm's that could, their Ref's towers, cost $2000 a pair. But the Klipsch and Kef's did it perfectly. I would of bought the Kef's if I was only buying Mains, But I went with the Klipsch set because I wanted a 5.1 setup. The Kef's center and rears could not hold a candle the the Klipsch setup. So here's what I came home with:

Klipsch-
-RF-3II mains
-RS-3II rears
-RC-3II center

Here is what they are matched with:

-Harmon Kardon AVR 525 receiver
-DIY Dayton Titanic MKII 12" sub (awesome, a must have for any system)

Well good luck shopping, hope this helps.