Speaker selection (1 Viewer)

[Mike McNertney]

Here's my situation... right now I have a pretty old and not so great sony stereo system. I'm planning on getting a HT system in the near future and I've got some questions.

First off, I'm planning on getting the Onkyo 500, probably. It seems like it will be excellent bang for the buck.

My main question is about the speaker selection. I've narrowed it down a bit:

Option 1 is JBL NSP1 system + sony SAWM 40 sub

Option 2 is to get a better set of mains and center. I can team these up with the somewhat crappy bookshelves I have from my old stereo as the rears. Right now I'm looking at Axiom M3ti's and center, but I would give some others a try as well if I decided to go this route. I haven't gotten around to doing much listening yet. If I get the Axioms from the factory outlet, it will cost about $100 more for the mains and center than the JBL package

Now, I had been leaning towards Option 2, but I have seen a lot of posts lately saying that it is most desirable to have all speakers matching. So I guess what I'm wondering is do people think I would be better off with a nice set of mains and crappy rears (this is the better upgrade path, since i could later move the mains to the rear), or with a complete set like the JBLs? If a complete set would be better, are there any recommendations for me to look into besides the NSP1? I could probably push my budget for speakers to the $400-500 range (before sub).

Would the Onkyo have enough power to drive the NSP1s? I'm slightly worried about the low sensitivity on those

One note about the bookshelves I currently have. They don't have binding terminals, the speaker wire is permanantly attached. If I use these for my rears, would I be able to do something like run wire from the receiver to the back of the room and then connect that to the wires attached to the speakers?

 

[Marc Rochkind]

I can't say anything about the specific models you mention, but I can offer an opinion about all-at-once vs. incremental, when the budget is limited.

If you have a pretty good idea when the next increment would be, then getting the speakers in two or three stages makes sense:

1. Fronts (all 3).

2. Sub

3. Surrounds

Or, perhaps with #2 and #3 reversed.

On the other hand, if it looks like there will be only a step one, then it might be better to spring the whole amount on a matched system rather than living (for a long time) with inadequate surrounds.

The exact answer would depend on the specifics (how what you are proposing sounds vs. the alternatives, and I can't help you there) and on the budget and time frame.

Hope this helps a little...

 

[Greg_L_C]

The new Onkyo 500 and 600 do look like nice gear and should be avaliable soon,

Others here can give you far better advice than me, but I hooked my inlaws up with some NSP1's and a PB12 for under $600 and a denon 1602 that I already had. I was very impressed with how it turned out. For the price It would be hard to beat, and with a quality amp like Onkyo the NSP1 setup would do very well.

cheack out cheaphometheater.com I think they have reviews on the Axiom and JBL's

 

[Ten_Smith]

The early point about whether you plan to upgrade speakers incrementally later is an excellent one.
You should also consider how often you will use this system to listen to music. If you listen to music a lot, then a quality set of mains becomes more important.
I'm in the same price range you are, and really like the sound of the Acoustic Research 2062s I just purchased. Though I have not directly compared them to the NSP1s, I am pretty sure they are better sounding. They have larger cabinets and woofers, bass response down to 45HZ, and heck they're AR. You can get 'em for $140 a pair (2052 can be had for $100 a pair). I'm thinking of getting two more pairs and using them for surrounds.
Having said all that, check out this HT thread
NSP1s best price