best 3 front speakers for around 2000 and under (1 Viewer)

[DanaA]

The front end suggested by Tim is the exact set up I have for my fronts and no speakers I've owned (and there have been many from NHT's to AR's to ESS's to Polks to Klipsch, etc.) have sounded anywhere as good to my ears. And, to top it off, I never feel a tinge of listener fatigue when listening to the ACI's. Very handsome to my eyes as well, with solid wood, furnature grade panels on the sides. The Essence is so solidly built that the manual says you could place most direct view TV's right on top of the speaker. Now, if that ain't a strong cabinet, I don't know what is. You might want to wait for the release of the baby Essence though as the Mama Essence weighs 53 pounds.

 

[Jason Kolczak]

Go listen to the new Boston's. Specifically the VR3 and VRC.

 

[Tim Ranger]

Dana; I'm curious, have you ever had a chance to compare your new Sapphires to the older Sapphire III LE? I've heard they are quite an improvement, just wondering. Thanks!

 

[DanaA]

No, I haven't. Wish I could get the opportunity though. In the never ending seaching I was doing for information on ACI's, I never read anything but good on the III's. The 25th Anniversary supposedly improved on them some, which surprised a lot of people, in that the III's were already excellent.

 

[kevitra]

Tim,

I owned both the Sapphire III and new model at the same time. I post my impressions a while ago at avsforum under the name Kendrid. If you do a search you should find my impressions.

I am looking forward to the new, smaller center. I can't use the Essence in my setup.

 

[Bob-N]

Sorry for the hijack. FYI, I am currently in the middle of directly comparing the CDM1NTs to the 25th ann. Sapphires. It's been an interesting comparo. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Both are very good IMHO so it depends on what type of character/presentation you prefer. PM me for details as to not further move this into B&W vs ACI or if the original poster agrees, I can post some initial thoughts on both here.

Bob

 

[Jon_Krug]

bob-n, please do go ahead and post on this thread... it has been a little bit difficult to find a direct comparison bet the b&w cdm1nt's and some of internet direct companies i've read about on here and avsforum.
also, thank u everyone for your input... i have been reading alot about the axiom, rockets, and the ref 1's (also the ellis 1801's and a little bit about the saphires).
i did find someone here nice enough in nyc to offer an audition of the rockets, so hopefully tomorrow i will hear them. i am currently leaning towards the ref 1's and i was wondering if anyone had any impressions or preferences with these (also i haven't read anything about anyone using the ref's for ht).
as i said before, i absolutely loved the sound (mostly the highs) of the b&w cdm1nt's in comparison to the m&k s150's.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Jon I have heard both the Ref 1s and the Rocket 750s and 550s. In the upper frequencies, the 750s are just a bit rolled off (to my ears). This results in a sound that really allows you to crank the volume and listen for long periods without any fatigue at all. I find the 550s to be a bit brighter than the 750s, understanding that they have the exact same tweeter and are in the same family, so the differences are not great. The Ref 1s, I find to be a bit brighter yet and more detailed.

The Rocket 750s have what many describe as a ‘slam’ factor in the mid-frequencies and it is very impressive. This is missing in the Refs (and 550s)

I never listened to the Refs other than for music, so I really can’t comment as to their suitability for HT. I have not listened to the Ref center channel at all. The Rocket center channel is an amazing speaker for HT.

You might check out AV123, as I am pretty sure that at least one of the regular posters there has listened to the Refs for HT purposes.

 

[Bob-N]

Jon, well you hit the CDM1NTs nail on the head. From my experiences the past two weeks, the CDM1NTs have a forward, slightly brighter presentation when compared directly to the Sapphires and other brands I've briefly listened to. Their lows are ok and you will need a sub to round out the low mids and low end.

The Sapphires are a much better balanced speaker with excellent extention down from the mids to lows for a monitor. So the Sapphires greatest asset for me was the great mids and lows. Smoooooooth is what I would refer to the Sapphire's character. Even for the bass guitar laden 80's rock, most of my favs wouldn't need a sub IMHO. They're that good down there.

Both speakers had excellent detail with the edge going to the Sapphires for clearer mids and instrument separation. The CDMs seemed a bit muddy in the mids on some of my material (Peter Gabriel's So, U2's All That You Can't...). The CDMs had a "taller" soundstage probably due to the "tweeter on top" design and had the edge in clarity in the highs.

My next trick will be to include my SVS sub and see what they do with the lows taken care of. I don't anticipate much difference in the mids/highs but we'll see if either one was straining to get low (CDMs might have been).

This was done connected to a Rotel 1066 pre (Set on large, no sub), 1080 amp and a Panny Rv31 player, common 12g Sound King wire, optical input from the Panny. Most of my listening was conducted with classic and 80's rock (not hard) including Beatles, Genesis, Heart, Clapton, Dire Straits, Aerosmith, Police, U2 with hints of Miss Janet (Jackson) and Avril Lavigne (how'd that get in there? ) No HT material was used since I'm assuming it's good for music, it's good for HT as mains. HT testing to come later.

I own the CDMs with hundreds of hours on them and I was able to break-in the new Sapphires for over 120hrs straight plus audition time for probably a total of ~140-150 hours.

Just as a side note, my finalists for audition did include the Ref1's. Unfortunately, they are rear ported (Sapphires and CDM1NTs are front ported) and for my shallow living room, I would have to place them very close to the back wall. On a minor note, even though the bird's eye maple is a gorgeous finish on the Ref1's, it wouldn't get too high WAF with our oak furniture. The Sapphires have many wood panels/stains to choose from and the oak finish is really nice.

Questions? Email or PM me.

Above all, enjoy the auditioning and try to audition as many brands as you can. Auditioning various equipment is half the fun of this hobby....at least for me.

Bob

 

[JamesCB]

Phase Technology PC 3.1 Series II.

3 for $1800.00

If there is a dealer in your area, check them out.

My 2 cents, from a loyal Phase Tech fan.

 

[Jon_Krug]

can someone give me the aci website please
thanks

 

[Jon_Krug]

nevermind, i found it.

 

[Jon_Krug]

well, i have narrowed it down to the saphires and the ref 1's
if anyone has any input on this i would definitely appreciate it. also if anyone has heard both in an ht set up (ref 1 w/ ref center vs the saphire with the essence center) i would very much appreciate any input on what u may think about one or both.
thanks

 

[Alex Prosak]

Jon,

Go to the forum at av123 and ask for blkwrxwgn's opinion on the Refs for HT, I believe he has a full Ref HT and I'm pretty sure he doesn't hang out here at all. I have no idea whether he's heard any ACI speakers... Did you get a chance to hear the Rocket HT yet? What did you think? Also be aware that the ones you heard will sound a bit different than the 750's they'll be shipping now, they made a slight change to the crossover to bring out a little more treble energy. I believe the shipment they have now is the first one with the new crossover.

Alex

 

[SkiingNinja]

Rockets:The Rockets are regarded as a more 'laid back' speaker. Some people also call this 'warm' or 'mellow' sounding. Some would say the highs are rolled off, attributing to their warm and laid-back sound.

Hope you guys don't mind me posting here...though I would clear up a common terminology use...the Rockets were slightly rolled off on the top but not technically laid-back (that designation requires a dip in the mid frequencies that the Rockets do not exhibit). Warm works though since the top end is slightly lower than the bottom.

Thanks for listening.

Sean

 

[SkiingNinja]

Also be aware that the ones you heard will sound a bit different than the 750's they'll be shipping now, they made a slight change to the crossover to bring out a little more treble energy. I believe the shipment they have now is the first one with the new crossover.

Correct. We added about 1-1.5dB on the top end. There are enough people that wanted just a touch more top end so we made the change. The overall sonic signature of the speakers is unchanged.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions on this.

Regards,

Sean