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Help! Really confused about speakers!!!! (1 Viewer)

PhilmcTim

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Philly Mac
I'm adding a home theater set-up in one corner of my open-plan basement. I think I'm set on all the components apart from the speakers. I'd appreciate advice (or someone to tell me I'm just splitting hairs and anything I pick will be pretty damn good). I'll be watching mostly TV / Movies with a little gaming and a little music mixed in. My current picks are: * 59" Samsung plasma (PN59D550) * Samsung BluRay (BDD6700ZA) * Onkyo TX-NR709 receiver (picked this because I think I'll appreciate the upscaling HDMI video and Audyssy set-up) Speakers: Because of the open-plan nature of the room, I figured tower speakers would be a good bet. In the last few days I've bounced around between * Polk TSi400's * Polk Monitor 60's or 70's * Klipsch VF-35 or 36 (my best buy has some VF-35's on clearance for $179) * Pioneer FS51 I set in a best buy demo room for a while. The salesman showed me some Def Tech speakers (8020's) that sounded completely awesome but are out of my budget. The other stuff he played just didn't seem that impressive though (and it was still borderline too expensive). They had the TSi400's set-up in an aisle with just a CD player and they didn't sound that great, but how could they in that environment? (I could hear all the other TV's and stuff in the background). So how does anyone make a decision on this stuff?? It seems so hard to predict which set will sound good. My other quandary is whether to buy from Best Buy (more expensive but allows returns) or the online stores (cheaper but costs a lot to return or sort out problems).
 

David Willow

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What is your budget? Get the ones that sound best to you. No one can tell you what you like. What I can recommend is checking out internet direct companies rather than buying at BB. Let us know your budget and perhaps we can give you a few more ideas. BTW - If you are getting a decent sub, there is not a big advantage in getting floor standing speakers over book shelf.
 

PhilmcTim

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Hi David, thanks for the reply. My absolute max budget is $1000 (it's more self-imposed than anything - I just can't justify anything more to myself, no matter how good it sounds). I'd prefer to spend less though :) I'm surprised you're saying that bookshelves would be suitable. I'd been working on the assumption that floor-standing speakers would be the best option. I absolutely plan on having a subwoofer (in fact, I have one from a HTiB that I planned on using at first, but I'd consider replacing if it was the weak link). I'm definitely open to bookshelf speaker ideas. (Here is a sketch of my basement) I think the hardest part is deciding "what sounds best to me". It seems like the best value speakers are either not available in BB (Monitors) or set up badly (the Tsi's and others in my list). So it's hard to just quality. I figure I'm going to get the audio equivalent of the the TV that has the brightness turned up the highest if I just trust my ears. But I can go audition some bookshelves - thanks for pointing me in this direction.
 

PhilmcTim

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Quick answer: $1000 max, would prefer lower, open to bookshelves (I posted a longer reply, held for moderation presumably because of a link)
 

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