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Best satellite speakers < US$1k? (1 Viewer)

Marc H

Second Unit
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
497
Ronn,
The Dahlquist Orbit 5.1 is a brand new system, just came out so there's no reviews I can point you to yet.
They are actually done by a Canadian company called Amtec who has been an oem supplier to other speaker companies for years. They decided to launch their own brand of speakers and subs and bought the Dahlquist name out of receivership to market them under.
Very well thought out and fit and finish is superb. You can see more on my site here:
http://www.audioshop.on.ca/dallypacks.htm
The sub is really cool, tiny yet powerful; uses a digital amp.
It's not an audiphile's speaker system by anymeans but competitive with other sat/sub systems to about 25% higher in price IMHO.
It's also very good for music too and doesn't sound canned like some of the small sat/sub systems.
 

Jeff_Fitz

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 2, 2002
Messages
110
Marc:

How would you compare the Orbit 5.1 to the other sub-sat's you carry like the Energy Take 5+1, Energy Take 5.2, and the Axiom Epic Micro?

What systems would the next step up in the Dahlquist 5.1 system line compare favourably with?

Jeff
 

Nico

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 13, 2002
Messages
55
I'd recommend Def Tech ProCinema 80 and 100 coupled with their C2 center. Good look and nice for HT.

Nico
 

Greg Schex

Agent
Joined
Feb 18, 2002
Messages
36
Ronn, did you see the Def Tech's? I said they were unconventional but all I meant was they aren't a square box. I love the shape and the sound;) Sanjiva, I'm curious still why the Yamaha is "better" than the Denon? I liked both for sound but liked the way the denon was set up better. I wanted DPL II and the soundfields were kept to a reasonable # on the Denon. The Yammy seemed over complicated and had more features than I was interested in.
 

felix_suwarno

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
1,523
when i auditioned take5-2, take 5 and paradigm cinema cc70 last year...my ears were still virgins. the demo room was quite small, with tons of equipments inside.
i didnt really hear noticeable difference, even though i brought my own cds to audition. so i had to rely on people's recommendation, and reviews!
http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi...m_cinema70.htm
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/Sou...radigmp01.html
there. 2 reviews from popular websites, enough to convince me to purchase the cinemas.
i kinda forgot how much i paid for them. i bought from a store, and spent two days of "hard work" to bring the speakers home. imagine lifting the pdr10 to reach the nearest bus stop, and then lift it with me to walk about 500 meters to reach my apartment! i paid about 300 bucks for the subwoofer. and then slightly under 500 for 4 cc70 and 1 cinema cc. no shipping, off course. tax included. i didnt really haggle the price, since my english sucked big time. i am a much better speaker now!
 

Sebastien David

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
291
Haven't heard the Paradigm products, but I know I really like both the Take and Encore ensembles from Energy. They received numerous awards, and I think especially the Encore would be your best bet.
 

Ronn_R

Agent
Joined
Jun 15, 2002
Messages
28
My weekend was very interesting. I went to some audio stores Minneapolis to listen to their receiver-speakers setup. Most of the stores I went are to high-end for me with speaker 2000-above $10000. They sounded very nice btw :)
To sum up these are the systems I tried:
- Nakamichi AV10 with Energy Take 5
- Denon 2802 with the Take 5
- Denon 2802 with an Infinity tower
- Yammy v1200 with a Paradigm tower
- Marantz 8000 with Paradigm Atoms
- Marantz 8000 with NHT SB1
I found that Nakamichi is definitely more musical than denon, maybe even compare to the others. It is warmer and more dynamics in music. The surround features are not that good though, and I find that denon has better surround processing.
Denon sounds brighter compared to Nakamichi. It sounded similar to Yammy, although imho Yammy sounded kinda flat, not as dynamic.
Marantz 8000 is over my budget, but I was able to at least compare the speakers. The Paradigms sounded bright compared to the NHT in music. The NHT sounded more like the Take 5 speakers, maybe a bit better.
I listened to the Take 5 alot, and it sounded amazing for that size. It is also not as bright as the Paradigm Cinema/Atoms.
I "borrowed" the 2802 from Audio King, and my friend supplied me with the Take 5 speakers. My next step would be to either borrowed a Marantz 7200 or bring the Denon to the store to compare both of them.
For speaker, I'm 85% convinced that I would get the Take 5.2, maybe an encore if I can get a used one.
My friend's Take 5 is the old one, not the 5.2 ones. Will I also like the 5.2? From what I heard, the new one has better freq range, but I hope it still has the same sound characteristics.
Anybody compared Marantz 7200 surround processor capabilities to the Denon 2802?
 

Phil Iturralde

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 7, 1998
Messages
1,892
FYI: Compare the objective Speaker Graphs (for Sound&Vision by Tom Nousaine) vs. the subjective experienced speaker reviewers text (most but not all S&V links available - if not available, I list the Mag. Issue Date/Year) @ my website Are Bose Speakers Over Priced vs. Performance?? **
Add all the above experienced speaker review subjective/objective INFO w/what's recommended here @ HTF, and you've got a better idea about the speakers and what to listen for.
**Includes:
Acoustic Research HC6
Energy Take 5.2
Energy Encore
NOTE: Because my website is 'FREE', hosted by GeoCities, if too many HT enthusiasts visit, GeoCities will shut it down for an hour or so because it exceeded the specified 'freebie' Data Transfer Rate. Sorry about that, just bookmark it and visit my site an hour later or when everyone has gone to bed!
Have fun deciding,
Phil
 

SkiingNinja

Second Unit
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Messages
311
Real Name
Sean Ries
posted by Felix:
i dont think the smallest diva ( 2.1 ) for 5.1 system could be purchased for under 1000
Actually, we do have a package price for quad 2.1s with a C3 for $999. Give me a call at the number in my sig to talk about this...
Regards,
Sean
 

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