Help from Boston Acoustics Fans (1 Viewer)

[Leigh_M]

I have a Boston System in my sun room and I want to upgrade the surrounds. This is the system:

CR85 Fronts
VRC Center
Yamaha RX-V630
onkyo Surrounds from HTS650 system

The room is about 12 x 22. The surrounds have to be mounted at about 10'. I was looking for CR65s or CR75s. My question, would any of the following work well?

CR55, too small??
CR6, CR7, or CR8. I don't know much about these.
Energy c1. I'm curious about these. When I listed to them they seemed to be a good match to the Bostons

Any thoughts?

 

[Evan M.]

Hmmmmm.....Tough call Leigh. If it were me I would go for the Cr75's. I say this only because it has the exact same saize and same type of tweeter as your 85's. It will match better (technicaly). Would you really hear a difference between those and the 65's? I doubt it since most of what is sent back there is ambient sounds. I wouldn't do the 55's because I think the woofer would be a little too small.
For the way you are mounting in, they are going to pretty far up and possibly away from the listener? If this is so I would go 75's if for anything maybe that little extra oomph. They are an extra 100$ though so if you want to save the cash the 65's I am sure will be adequate.
I do not know anything about the cr6,7,or 8 but it sounds as if they are the last cr model. Maybe the 75 replaced the 7 so you may be able to swing a deal for them. If they are the older model then check to see if the tweeter is the same as your 85's. If it is then you may be able to get the 8's which may match your fronts almost perfectly. Again this is all contigient on if it is indeed the last cr model line.
I do not know anything about Energy so I can't help you there. Good luck to you.

 

[Evan M.]

Leigh, I just went on B.A.'s website. They do not list the 6,7,or 8 anywhere. I did a search too. I would send an e-mail to Boston about them. They always answer their e-mails on the first buisness day they get it. The only reason I keep harping on these speakers is you will be able to save some mad cash on them if they are an older cr model and can get a better one then maybe the 65 or 75 for less money. I love older models. I just bought a vr920 center for half price to go with my vr3's. The thing is a beast and from what it looks like way better than the vrc that is the "match" for my new vr3's. It went origianly for 600$!! I got it for 300$ which is a 100$'s less then the vrc which it is superior to. I think it is superior at least...I am actually going to buy a vrc to see if it is a better match for my fronts before my return policy goes away. I will return the loser. The place I bought it said it would be ok if I did this.

 

[Leigh_M]

Evan,
Thanks for the reply. I will drop Boston a line and ask about the CR7 and CR8. Let me know what you think about the VRC vs. the VR920. I went with the VRC because I had an upgrade option when I purchased a CRC.

 

[Evan M.]

Well throw that "superior" crap I was spouting off in my last post about the 920 out the window!!! I just bought a vrc to campare to the 920 today. I thought my 920 was a bit "thin" on the vocals. It has a 3 1/2" mid. The vrc has a 4 1/2" mid. After comparing them non-stop with a buddy I have no idea what the hell to do. The vrc sounds a lot better than I thought it would. I actually was able to buy one for 320$ because some guy returned it after having it for only 3 days!! I think for dialogue they are pretty close with the sharpness and clarity edge going to the vrc. The 920 does go lower but it is supposed to do that. I listened to several well recorded dvd's.....Nemo, LOTR EE, toy story 2 etc....and came away more confused then going in. Part of me wants to keep the 920 because t was such a popular center channel and is a beast. The thing used to sell for 600$ so it is hard to pass the deal I got. But the other part of me likes the vrc because it is THE match for my mains and I have given advice to a million people that "your center should match your mains". The good thing is I have a month to try it out. My wife is a music teacher and a musician so she hasgood ears too. I'll keep ya posted. Good luck on your end. Let me know what the story is on those cr 6,7,8's.

By the way, what do you think of your vrc?
I kind of feel like an a$$hole. When I read your original post I thought it said you had the CRC. Then I go off like a moron saying how the 920 is superior to the vrc :b . Sorry about that, I usually know better and read better. Any advice and insite on that vrv would be great. There not a lot of us Boston folks around.

 

[LanceJ]

Leigh, I own a pair of the CR9's (8" woofer/Kortec tweeter). The manual lists the other model's specs too:

* the CR8 has a 7" woofer (& a Kortec tweeter, similar to the CR series tweeters)

* the CR7 has a 6.5" woofer (non-Kortec)

* the CR6 has 5.25" woofer (non-Kortec)

LJ

 

[Danny Tse]

The CR9, CR8, CR7, CR6, CR5, CR1, CR2, and the VRS-Micro were all from the previous generation of Boston CR series.

 

[cabreau]

Evan M.-
I think that you should keep the speakers that are timbre matched to your fronts...but that's just me.

 

[Evan M.]

Cabreau, I sent Boston an e-mail and basicaly asked them to choose for me. Whichever they say I am going to keep. I figure they know their products best so maybe eithercenter is timbre matched. I almost hope they say the big one because it just has soooo much more capability than the smaller one. I'll let you know what they say.

 

[cabreau]

Sounds good. Let me know what they say.

 

[BrianWH]

The CR6, CR7, and CR8 are the previous generation Compact Reference speakers. Although they share the same basic specs as the current CR65, CR75, and CR85 respectively, the newer CR includes:

"Unique coaxial phase plug" designed to handle heat better, improve power handling, etc. This looks like a different (pointy) dust cap on the woofer, but it isn't attached to the cone and it doesn't move with the cone either.

New cabinet design: "CR interiors include horizontal bracing that binds the front baffle directly to the rear baffle for a highly rigid cabinet. The result: near-zero resonance that produces a tighter, cleaner sound."

And the cabinet itself has a different appearance with a cloth cover on the front rather than the previous metal grill.

Other than that, you can get the PDF manual on both the old and new CR line on Boston's website - Tech Support - Home Systems - Product Manuals.

I have the CR65 up front and CR55 surrounds and I love the setup. I may replace the 65 with the 75 at some point for more uniform bass with my VR500, but the 55 are great sounding speakers with great response in a little package and are more than adequate for surround effects, and they don't take up the room that the larger 65 and 75's do.

My $.02,
Brian

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

Ill throw in my $.02. I think you should go with the biggest best that you can. It will give you a better sound all around. But to that same extent, make sure you match the driver size with your fronts, if your fronts are 6.5's do 6.5's in the back. Therefore I think you need the CR8's or another pair of CR85's.

One question for Evan. I have a pair of boston VR-950's, would that new VRC match them pretty good do you think? I really dont care about bass too much on the center, I just want really clear vocals. Thanks.

 

[Evan M.]

Jesse, I think you would be fine with the vrc for the center. I actually just got an e-mail back from Boston about my question about which would better match my current mains....Vr3's....and he said that either the vr920 or the vrc would be fine. If that is the case for me than I am sure going the other way around, meaning old vr series mains with new vr series center, should be fine. If you could get a hold of a used vr920 center though I think I would go that rout though. The thing is a monster and sounds great. It can handle a ton more power too if you ever want to go into some high end amps down the raod. I am still unsure which I am going to keep. I am leaning toward the 920 because of reasons I already explained......but who knows, my mind changes pretty quick .

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

Yeah I know how you feel. Well I just looked in my system and I can get the vr-920 for a smoking deal. Its discontinued, but only one store has it and I would proably have to pay shipping, and its proably beat up, if it is acctually there. :-D Well I just looked again, I can get the VRC for the same price. Hmmmm.... well anyways a sub is my next investment. I dont think I would upgrade my amp anyways, especially if I do it wont be for the center channel.

 

[Leigh_M]

I also got a response from Boston on the old CR vs new. They said either would work well. Based on Brian's post, I'm leaning toward the new CR. I guess it will depend on the deal I find.

Evan,
I had the CRC and decided to upgrade to VRC. I love the VRC! I liked the CRC but it can't compare to the VRC. I considered the VR920 and VR910 but went with the VRC because I was within my year upgrade period. Also, the VRC gives better placement options because of it's smaller size. I don't think you can go wrong with either. Let us know what you decide. BTW, my wife is also a music teacher. Her good ears is how we ended up with Boston's.