Do I really need Expensive Speakers for Home Theater? (1 Viewer)

[Chris VW]

I think Gene is right on the money. Nothing makes or breaks Home Theater like a good center channel and sub. Nobody thinks about the center channel when they are new to this hobby and it is the most important speaker IMO. In regards to your original question everyone will have a different taste in speakers and it is very subjective. My experience has been you get what you pay for.

Chris

 

[Terry St]

I'll second the notion of concentrating on the center channel first as well. I've seen a lot of speaker-lines that have massive tower fronts and a puny little center that's meant to sit on top of your TV. You really do want your center to be able to go down low enough to mesh with your sub. Remember, cross-overs are not brick-walls. If you cross over at 80Hz, you'll probably want speakers that are +/- 3dB to around 60Hz or even lower. (Note: You can set your cross-over lower. 80dB is just the THX standard.)

As for the tower vs bookshelf argument... Most bookshelves sound like crap if you actually stick them on a bookshelf. Typically, you have to put them on stands and wind up saving neither space nor money as a result. (unless you DIY the stands) Also, as others have said, the main trade-off with bookshelves is low frequency extension. You need better drivers and/or more power to hit the same low frequency SPL's with a smaller enclosure. (This is a big part of why mini-cube systems typically suck.) That being said, you can't just assume that a speaker will extend lower simply because it's a tower versus a bookshelf. For example, Totem Mani-2's are "bookshelf" speakers that are +/-3dB to 29 Hz, which is better than some "subs"!

Finally, as for auditioning with music... Don't rely on the store to provide music. Make an audition CD of music you like and are intimately familiar with. If you don't like classical, use something else. Just make sure it's a relatively decently mastered recording. (i.e. No pop from the last decade or so.) As a general rule, while a set of speakers that are okay for HT might not do well for music, speakers that are good for music usually do pretty well with HT. (Provided the center isn't an undersized afterthought)

P.S. Low frequency extension to 20Hz and below is very important for pipe organ music. A good Bach recording is a great test for subs!

 

[Doug_H]

Vince

You should take a look at the Magnepan MMG speakers and see if they fit your room. They are a little more difficult to work with in some rooms but for the money they are very difficult to beat. Stereo and Home Theater Speakers by Magnepan

I run the MMG's as rear speakers but used them as fronts for about 3 months and they are very impressive when set up properly. I put 1.6's up front later and again, wow! You can also search the forum for more information.

 

[JeremyErwin]

source

So, unless you plan on playing $400 for stands, the monitors are still the cheaper option, given that a subwoofer is still required for home theater.

 

[Terry St]

I've seen many speaker lines where the gap was a lot smaller, but I'll agree that you have to examine each lineup individually. There is one other problem with bookshelf speakers to consider though. If you have a significant other who has different priorities for space usage, it may be difficult to justify placing bookshelf speakers on stands when there's a perfectly good bookshelf nearby...

 

[LanceJ]

As far as the bookshelf vs. floorstander issue: there's a lot of "bookshelf" models that easily go low enough to blend well with a sub if that is desired AND can produce very high volume levels AND don't sound thin and unrealistic like so many fashionably-small satellites with dinky 4 or five inch "woofers".

From a visual standpoint, even a large bookshelf on a nice looking stand makes makes a much less noticeable impact on a room's decor vs. the typical floorstander with its columnar shape reaching all the way to the floor with no physical dividing line. And anyway, not all stands cost hundreds of dollars (I'm not really an audiophile, so a stand's "contribution" to a system's sound is not something I am worried about).

For those on a bugdet: these aren't the last word in refinement (sort of the Camaro Z28 of the audio world) but if you need high volume levels without strain and a full bodied sound, these may work for you:

MTX bookshelf with dual 6.5" woofers

Clean looking long rectangular enclosures w/black veneer - would look nice on a stand.

And old-skool gear can work as home theater gear and can still sound excellent (I have nothing to do with this site - I am just passing on information.....yikes this old stuff is getting more and more expensive :frowning

Oaktreeent.com/loudspeakers

And anyone that says anything older than 15-20 years won't sound good IMO doesn't know what they are talking about. And those classics, even the stuff from Radio Shack, almost always looks much better than today's sterile and ugly "hi tech" speaker styling so many companies utilize.

Get help with vintage gear from forums like Audiokarma. Speakers older than around 20 years will many times need new surrounds for their woofers, and certain brands will need the capacitors in their crossovers replaced, this being THE number one cause of speakers older than @20 years not sounding good (caps are easily replaced and don't cost much).

 

[Jonny K]

Vin,

First I admit I didn't read the entire thread, I skimmed.

My advice to you is to buy something half decent. I slowly built my home theater piece by piece by buying one quality part at a time. You don't have to go crazy, but make sure it's something half decent or you'll end up regretting it (or frustrated when the speakers you bought fail you when you really want to enjoy a good movie). After all, how often do you buy speakers? A good set will last for ages and make you feel good about your purchase. There are many good brands that are discussed on these forums that can be had without too much investment.

If you're considering a Paradigm setup, I'd also recommend you check out Axiom. Axiom is and internet direct company that sells products that rival Paradigm, but they're less expensive since it's internet direct. When I was buying speakers for my own theater I checked out Paradigm too but chose Axiom because I was able to get a better speaker for the same money. I've basically got the "Epic 60-500" setup but I built my own subwoofer seperately. It's nearly the top of the line that Axiom sells and it cost me only about $2000 Canadian dollars a couple years ago. I was so pleased with it that recently when I needed computer speakers I bought a pair of M3 bookshelves as well. The Axiom customer support is great. Even if you bought a lesser setup I'm sure it would be much better than going elsewhere to buy cheap speakers from some mass market place. Contact the Axiom guys and ask some questions, they're awesome. I also prefer buying from them because shipping is free and it's within Canada (I'm so sick of US border brokerage fees).

loudspeakers,home theater speakers,stereo speakers - AxiomAudio

And if you'd like to listen to any internet brand speakers first, odds are you can probably find somebody in Edmonton who has some you can check out. There's a website that pairs people up who want to listen to each other's speakers (I forget the name of the site though. I'm sure you can find it through these forums).

Good luck.

 

[Parker Clack]

Vin:

I agree with Jonny. The Axiom speakers are a great bang for the buck. They are in Canada too so you might be able to save some money. I have heard the majority of their speaker line and they are very hard to beat for the money.

I also agree with your choice of the SV SBS series. I was at Ron's house and we played all sorts of material through them from classical and jazz upstairs to action films in his dedicated HT. They handled the full spectrum without any strain and did not color the sound any on their own. They are definitely worth a listen to.

Parker