And yet another "help!" for choosing the right speakers (1 Viewer)

[Gary Seven]

Hello fellow members,

Last night during the hi-def presentation of Poseidon, it appears I may have damaged my speakers. In the scene where the water bursts through the bridge, the speakers emitted loud "snapping" type sounds which repeated whenever the sound from the movie hit similar audio peaks. My speakers are ten years old so it is probably time to upgrade. These are Infinity Overture 3 speakers and apparently they don't make any parts for them anymore. So now it looks like I have to speed up my schedule of operation "replace speakers".

Since I have been out of the speaker technology for 10 years, I find that Infinity no longer makes what I would want in a speaker and therefore, I need help in finding suggestions as to what speaker I should give a listen to.

My requirements are then these:

1. My "theater" is in a fairly large room, and I listen to music quite a bit. I prefer a musical speaker, meaning, I audition speakers with music and buy based on the speaker that plays music best (classic rock, acoustic, and jazz). Therefore, movie sound is secondary. I feel whatever is best for music will also be adequate for movie sound. I listen to two channel as well as multi channel music.

2. Since I prefer a musical speaker, I prefer towers in the front, providing a full range frequency response of 30 Hz - 20000 mhz or better. I also will be putting these same towers in the back as rear speakers as I prefer having full range speakers all around, rather than satellite speakers for the rear.

3. My receiver, B&K AVR 517 S2 has amplifiers rated at 150 watts at 8 ohms.

4. My budget would be $500 to $1000 dollars a speaker. I would also need to get a center channel speaker matched to the towers.

5. I will be getting a sub and am leaning towards the SVS PB-12 Ultra.

6. I also have speakers on the wall as sides (7.1 config). While the need to replace these right now is small, if there are any suggestions for these as well, that would be welcomed as I would want all speakers to match if possible (sub is not critical to this desire of course)

Could you all provide suggestions as to what to audition based on what I wrote here? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you need other info to provide solid recomendations. Thanks.

 

[Shane Harg]

Loudspeakers are such an individual and subjective thing, that it's really best to get out there and audition some on your own and see what sounds best to you.

Having said that, however, and being a "music, first and foremost" kinda guy myself, don't leave B&W speakers out of your audition. I first heard B&W Nautilus speakers about 10 years ago in a 5.1 HT audition. They blew me away then and the the 2-channel SACD demo I heard on the B&W 804s towers just a few months back about killed me! The depth, the clarity, the detail...I'm still speechless.

My HT features B&W DM600 S3s in 7.1. Couldn't afford to go top-of-the-line in surround sound, but it still sounds incredible. I am saving for a pair of 804s towers for dedicated 2-channel audio. B&Ws don't come cheap, but they are worth every penny, in my opinion.

 

[SethH]

The 804s that Shane mentions are great speakers, but a little above your stated price range. You might check out the 704s, however.

Some others to consider:
Axiom M80s
Klipsch RF63
DefTech BP7002
Swan 6.2
Paradigm Studio 60 or 100

Certainly not a complete list but a decent place to start nonetheless.

 

[Gary Seven]

Thanks guys... just needed a place to start. I will definitely take your suggestions to heart and begin my auditioning with those suggested. Ultimately, I will purchase on line in hopes of saving a few bucks.

If anyone else has suggestions, feel free to add.

 

[bbristol]

Paradigm Studio 100's

Amazing Speakers, I just bought a set two weeks ago. Very happy with them.

 

[Arthur S]

Hi Gary

If you would like to get a great speaker I have 2 suggestions:

For $700 (pair) plus $35 shipping you can get the HTD Level 3 Towers...or for about $2,000 (pair) plus about $120 shipping, the AV123 Strata Mini is very very good.

 

[Gary Seven]

Thanks Arthur... they look beautiful. I have never heard of them and is the reason I posted the question here as fellow members are aware of high end products that don't use typical media advertising.

In regards to the AV123 line, I happened to look at the Onix Reference 3 Floorstanding Loudspeaker (a tad out of my price range but doable if need be) and noticed the impedence is 4 ohm. This is an area I am somewhat ignorant in. My receiver has a rating of 150 watts at 8 ohm. To achieve the optimum "match" (not sure if match is the right word here), is it best to find a speaker rated at 8 ohm as that would more accurately reflect the specfications that I am using as a starting point for evaluating speakers or does it matter at all? I understand that ohm is a measure of signal resistance but I don't understand how to apply that to speaker evaluation. Anyone clarify that for me?

 

[GregC]

I would be careful hooking up new speakers to your system. Your speakers were probably victims of clipping, i.e. not enough power to drive them to the volume levels you want. You have a good quality amp, but perhaps it's not powerful enough for the size of your room and the volume levels you are asking the amp/speakers to produce. Wouldn't want your new speakers to suffer the same fate!

One thing does come to mind ... is your amp plugged directly into the wall? Sometimes the current required by the amp is restricted if you have anything between the amp and the power.

Regarding your speaker choice, stay away from the big box stores ... go listen to good quality speakers at your local boutique stereo shop(s) ... you'll be surprised how much better the speakers are than those in Best Buy, CC, etc.....

One more thing ... if music is your primary concern, I would recommend you look into HSU subwoofers ... I find them to be more 'musical' than the SVS products.

 

[Gary Seven]

Ah... clipping... I bet that was it. I did test my speakers last night with sources I am familiar with and found absolutely no problems of tha nature I described earlier. So it looks like they are not damaged afterall. However, my speakers being 10 years old, I am still looking to replace, just not in a hurry now.

No .... my amp is not plugged directly into the wall but rather into a surge suppressor/conditioner. I guess I can try plugging it directly into the wall. My understanding is that these suppressors/conditioners are more placebos than anything else when it comes to protection, but they do provide convenience for keeping your components in one locale.

If what you say is true about the speakers not getting the power needed to drive them at the levels I want, then the choice of speaker to match my amp now becomes critical (I have no plans to replace my amp). Is this where the ohms comes into play when trying to find the optimum speaker to match the amp? Wattage rating is related to ohms apparently so I want to be sure that the set of speakers I choose to audition are within a realm of ideal candidates. Also, I'm sure their sensitity rating is also based on ohms.

And no, I would NEVER buy speakers from Best Buy or CC. It's only recently that they began to carry decent TVs but have a ways to go for audio components. I tend to go to Sound Advice (Tweeter owned company) but will usually end up buying the product online for the cheaper price. The exception would be if I need to take advantage of any 0% financing Sound Advice (or their ilk) provide.

 

[Arthur S]

Hi Gary

The Strata Mini is a great speaker...I would choose the Strata Mini...I like the planar mid-range driver...the Strata Mini should be excellent...

Do you have a subwoofer?

Please keep in touch with me.

 

[Gary Seven]

Hi Arthur,

Yep... I have a MK sub, recently reconditioned... MX100 I think it is.

I did check out the strata mini and is definitely within the realms of candidates... and within price range. Looks like a nice product.

 

[GregC]

I would try the same scene at the same level without the conditioner and see if it makes a difference. Not all conditioners are as benign as they claim.

Something to keep in mind is that full range speakers draw a LOT more power than smaller speakers. Those big woofers on four speakers drain a lot of the power reserves of your receiver. So, I would suggest a couple of options, given that you are not going to replace your receiver:

1. BI-amp the woofer portion of your full range speakers. This will relieve the receiver of excessive power demands and give your system a lot more headroom. Perhaps four of the Marantz MA500s - used about $150 each. Of course you will have to select speakers that allow bi-amping.

2. Buy a separate amp for the front two or three channels, allowing the receiver to safely drive the rears with the additional power reserves.

3. Buy a nice set of bookshelf speakers with response down to 50Hz or so and leave the deep bass response to the aforementioned HSU sub. This will allow you to get better speakers for the same money (fewer components, smaller cabinet). And since you were going to get a sub anyway, there is really no additional cost to you. It will involve some work in getting the integration right but HSU is known for their customer support. I think you will be surprised at how well you can integrate the sub, even for music.

Just a few ideas for you to consider.