Professional advice requested.... (1 Viewer)

[Mark+H]

Help. I have $700.00 to spend on my home theater speakers and am having a terrible time deciding between what I would consider some very good satellite speaker packages.

I am considering the much talked about JBL NSP1II Speaker package, the Klipsch Quintet Series package and the Polk RM6700 Speaker package. All these packages are similarly priced (the Polk system somewhat higher)and seem to sound pretty decent. I have read some on the Klipsch series, as well as the JBL and Polk in some of these review areas. I noticed that the Polk has some shielding problems with its center speaker. Is the higher price worth it? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Could someone also give me some advice on a good subwoofer? I have heard good things about the Dayton 10'' sub and the Klipsch KSW-10. Any thoughts?

I've read great things about the Fluance line of speakers, but don't know if I have enough room for the bigger speakers.

Help please.

Mark+H

 

[Steve Griswold]

The Rocket by Onix "ELT" line is getting pretty good lip service. Check out the site here: http://www.av123.com

A bit over your price range, but apparently well worth the money. They have forums on that site as well where you can find someone in your area to give you an audition if you'd like.

 

[Mark+H]

Steve,

Thanks for the reply. I did go check on the Rocket speakers, however, as you said in your reply, they are priced a little out of my budget. If I did decide to go with floor speakers, I would look very seriously at the Fluance SX-HTB speaker package. It is nice looking with the Birch wood grain and everything I have read online has been favorable.

I must have missed the mark terribly with my choices of satellite speakers, as I was expecting more responses, and some advice that I may not have heard or seen online before.

I initially wanted to buy the BOSE Acoustimass 6 series of speakers, but found several articles online rebuking some of the sound and manufacturing quality. I have since been scouring the internet for systems that supposedly have the most "Bang for the Buck" and have trialed some speakers at both Best Buy and Circuit City (I know... not the best places to shop, but at least I can go and listen to them). The speakers I listed seemed to me to be the most qualified for the amount of money I am wanting to spend.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Mark+H

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

With $700, either the NSP1 or Fluance SX-HTB would be my choice, with the addition of an Adire Rava subwoofer. The Fluance/Rava may go a bit over after shipping, but from what i've read would be a great system for $700. The great thing about the NSP1 package is it will fit anywhere, the Fluance mains will not. Also, the NSP1 can be found for around $180 online right now. I've had the NSP1 in the past w/ a DIY sub and it does sound great. I did, however, upgrade the mains to JBL N28s and use the extra N24s to finish out a 7.1 arrangement. If you went w/ the NSP1 you could easily (and cheaply) upgrade to a 7.1 setup on down the road (until the N series speakers become really hard to find).

Hope this helps

 

[Mark+H]

Thanks Stephen.

I have seen several good remarks now about the JBL NSP series speakers. They look kind of cheap with all the plastic and all, but they must sound pretty good due to all the favorable feedback. I do like the Fluance speakers, but size could be a problem. I haven't heard of the Adire Rava brand before, but am willing to have a look at them too.

Thanks for the feedback.

Mark+H

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Adire is a very well respected name in DIY drivers and amplifiers. The RAVA is a pre-built sealed sub using their Shiva driver and AV250 amplifier. There are very few pre-built subs that can touch it for $400, and the next real step up is the entry level SVS 25-31 PCi or the Adire Dharman (which may be discontinued, there's some confusion about why it's been removed from the Adire website). You'll find plenty of great feedback on the Rava here on the HTF.

 

[Ian-Fl]

I've had the Fluance sx-htb set for a few months now. At first I didn't buy the sub then I added a Dayton 10" last week. By adding the sub, it has really improved the sound from something I already thought was good. The bass is now separated from the mid and highs and the overall sound has improved.
I no longer hear the bass pulling the sound of the mains down.

 

[Fred G]

"I noticed that the Polk has some shielding problems with its center speaker. Is the higher price worth it? Any other suggestions would be appreciated."



Mark, I don't know about the Polk center, but I have heard several reports of the JBL center having shielding problems.

I would recommend you get the sx-htb speakers from fluance.com or the AR HC6.

 

[Fred G]

Ian, would you say that for stereo music you prefer the bass from the external sub as opposed to the fluance mains?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Fluance SX-HTB and Adire Rave would be really tough to beat. The Fluance alone would be a good start, but running the mains full range would probably be over-extending them a little and the bass would probably sound fairly muddy. A Rava or even a Dayton or Sony WM40/WM500 to stay well under budget would fill the bass out very nicely.

SX-HTB + Rava = $670 + SH
SX-HTB + Dayton = $390 + SH
SX-HTB + WM500 = $385 + SH

The Rava would be a much better sub choice, much tighter bass and, suprisingly (sealed vs. ported), better low end extension. The Rava would be a sub you could stick with for quite a long time, even through any future speaker upgrades you would make. You could also use the driver/amp from the Rava if you ever decided to do a DIY sub.

 

[Guy Robinson]

"I noticed that the Polk has some shielding problems with its center speaker. Is the higher price worth it? Any other suggestions would be appreciated."

Which one are you talking about? I have a CSi40 and I have it right on top of my monitor and the picture has no red areas etc associated with a problem of this sort.

 

[Ian-Fl]

I wasn't sure at first if it was better to play music with the sub or just the mains, so I replayed exerts from my favorite cd's. When the bass kicked in, there was definitely a noticable weakening of the midrange sound.
The sub improved the overall sound by handling only the bass with the mains set to small.

 

[Micah Wells]

How do the Fluance compare to the Rocket ELT's?