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Speaker System for 60% Music 40% HT w/ $2100 Budget (1 Viewer)

Colin-K

Agent
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
38
I am looking for a HT speaker system to go into my 12x20 carpeted living room. I have a Yamaha RX-V630 (Great Receiver) that will power the system with 6x75. I will be using the speaker system for 60% music and 40% HT. I have a budget of $700 for the main floor standing speakers with a total system budget of $2100. The reason why I have the budget the way it is, is b/c I'm considering a Definitive Tech. system with the 2006lt powered sub mains. These are $599ea but a total system would be $2046. I am looking for input on other system b/c it's difficult to audition them all. I like Klipsh, Paradigm, JM Labs, Energy, Mission and B&W's. My problem is they all sound different to me in the different environments of the listening rooms at the local shops. Please help me with your recommendations.

Thanks

Colin-K
 

Phil A

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2000
Messages
3,249
Location
Central FL
Real Name
Phil
You may also wish to look at the Mordaunt-Short line. These can be viewed at www.marantz.com. They are reasonably priced. I would defintely go for things that are sonically matched and with the electronics not a difficult load to drive. 6 identical speakers would not be bad either such as 6 B&W bookshelves, especially if you will eventually play multi-channel music and also have identical speakers for HT. You can also look for pkg. deals and close-outs from places like www.hifi.com. It is very difficult to audition things in different environments. Given music is very important, I would look to a store that does not route there systems through all those switching devices and take your favorite CDs and at least be able to listen in a room where electronics are not compromised by such switching devices so that you are hearing what the speakers can do.
 

Todd Schnell

Second Unit
Joined
May 21, 2001
Messages
255
Colin,

I think Definitive Tech favors well within the price range you are looking at.
Though you need to listen for yourself.
I run the 2004TL's & would suggest you compare these to the 2006's.
I think they would be worth the extra $$$ if you can afford it.
Even more so if you are not going to use a dedicated sub.
They use the same mid drivers as the 2002s plus a 10" sub as compared to the 8" with the 2006.

My set up.
Mains - BP 2004TL
Center - CLR 2002
Surrounds - BP 2X
Rear Surrounds - Cheap yamaha book shelves for now.

Also you may not have to pay full retail price for DT.
See if your dealer will cut you a better deal, especially if you are buying a full DT speaker suite package.
I would expect you could get at least 15% off.

I'm not familiar with the sound of the Yamaha RX-V630.
Would it be considered a bright receiver?
Just a heads up as some think DT speakers are on the bright side.

I'm running mine with a Denon 5803.
Though I will be looking to upgrade my speakers as soon as I can afford it, this combo sounds very nice, & the sound warmed up nicely after the Denon break in period.
A bit bright at first when I added the Denon, but now on the warm side.

You have to set these speakers up right to get the best out of them.
Give them a bit of room, away from the wall(aprox. 1.5-3').

The thing I really like about these speakers is the huge sound-stage.
No worries about a tiny sweet spot with these.
For movies I think the DT are awesome!
Music they are good as well, but HT is where they shine imo.
Good luck.

Todd
 

chung_sotheby

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 8, 2002
Messages
857
Wow, Def Tech, Paradigm, klipsch, B&W, and all with a Yammie receiver, you must like your music and ht bright! But all kidding aside, if I were you, i would spend at least $1500 or so of your $2100 budget on the best set of mains available. And by mains, I dont neccesarily only mean floorstanders, as a great set of bookshelves with a great sub will probably cost as much but sound twice as good as a comparably priced set of floorstanders. And with bookshelves, if you get a great pair, you can always use them as rears when you decide to upgrade once again. Here are a couple of examples
B&W Nautilus 805, or CDM9NT
Von Schweikert 3.5 (great floorstanders, can be had on the cheap now)
Norh 9.0
Amphion Argon 2
 

BryanZ

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 18, 2000
Messages
1,214
For me, I would go another route entirely. It looks like you enjoy the nuetral to warm sound. For me:
nOrh 6.9 video package - $1,500 shipped
SVS 20-39PCi - $550 + shipping
You may want to check around at HD or Audio Envy to see if anyone in your area has some of the internet only speakers and to see if you can audition them.
 

ChrisJJ

Agent
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
33
Perhaps my experience will be of use.

I recently purchased a Yamaha V-630 receiver and I would strongly recommend putting some of your speaker budget toward a separate amp for the mains! That's a lot of money and the Yamaha isn't capable of driving the speakers with enough quality to do them justice.

I just moved from 2ch to 5 ch. surround. My first step was to get 2 NHT SB-3 speakers and I listened to them a lot for a solid month on my old system. Plenty of break-in time to know what they were capable of. Then I bought the Yamaha and my first step was to plug in the NHTs to the Yamaha directly. There was a significant loss of sound quality.

The depth and quality of bass was gone. The overall sound was muddied. The clarity of the upper range turned to a raspy edginess that made listening fatiguing. My wife's unsolicited adjectives were "cheap" and "thin". I knew the speakers were capable of more.

Next step was to use the L-R line out to my NAD 214 amp cannibalized from my old 2-ch system. Bingo! The sound was right back up to par with the old system. It may even have been better because I was using the optical signal, but my novice ears couldn't tell much difference.

So anyway, for what it's worth, I ended up with the NHT center, and CSW Newton S300 surrounds to round out the system. They are all powered by the Yammie for now. I may try to find some external power for the center someday, but not yet.

I had an SVS 39-20PCi, but I sold it to my father because I couldn't tolerate the aesthetics. It's a REALLY big tube. Fine for a basement, but awkward in my living room. I'm considering the Hsu, but for now I'm relying on the mains for the LFE. I'll deal with only 39Hz until I can find an aesthetically reasonable sub that can musically and flatly extend below 25Hz.

Anyway, my complete speaker package (with sub) was well below $2100 and still outperformed the Yammie amps.

My advice: Direct $500 to an external 2 or 3ch amp, free up the Yammie to just handle the surrounds and maybe the center. Your music will sound immensely better and you won't be disappointed. Especially because you, like me, want a system capable of music as much as HT. Music is the much harder bogey.

Hope this helps. Sorry for rambling.

Chris
 

Colin-K

Agent
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
38
Thanks for all your help. Chris your input is great. I should have mentioned that I do live in a condo with neighbors so when I bought the yammie after 6 mo. of listening to other yammies and marantz's, I choose the new 630 for its sound not the power. I wanted to put more $$$ into the speakers. But a future plan is to buy a used Carver Magnetic Field Amp. I actually like the sound of the old Carvers.
Anyway, are the SVS's that ugly? I hear about them a lot on this site. And for that reason I was considering getting one.
Energy!!!
I auditioned some of the new Energy Speakers and I thought they sounded great but the problem w/ them was the sound stage had wood floor and I've got carpet. Any comments?
klipsch!!!
I currently have an old pair of KG4's. I think I can live w/ the horns, but I maybe wanted to try something new. But, the high db's of the klipsch might help my low powered receiver should I move to a bigger place. Comments?
NHT!!!
Well I'm going to look into them now.
Bang for the Buck!!
System cost bang for the buck. klipsch, Paradigm and DT all seem top notch.
;)
 

Bruce N

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 13, 2000
Messages
349
Ever consider used equipment? Forgive me if this is out of place. I have just moved from Definitive to Paradigm in my main system and have a full set of DTs I'm getting ready to list for sale.

How about a pair of BP30s, a CLR2000, and a pair of BPVXs for well under your budget? All in immaculate condition with all the original packaging. PM me if you're interested.

Bruce
 

David Nash

Agent
Joined
May 24, 2002
Messages
39
Location
Louisville, KY
Real Name
David
I second the Def. Tech speakers as a good choice within your price range. My dealer cut at least 15% off since I bought all my speakers at once. Of course it helped that another dealer within a two hour drive had given me prices that he either had to come close to or lose the business.
I have the BP2004TL's as mains, CLR2002 as center and BP2X's
as rears and it sounds great. More than enough bass is provided by the dual 10" built in subs and the clarity and detail are excellent also. I am very happy with these speakers. They are very good for HT and music as far as I'm concerned. Good Luck.
David
 

ChrisJJ

Agent
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
33
Anyway, are the SVS's that ugly? I hear about them a lot on this site. And for that reason I was considering getting one.
I posted that the SVS were ugly, so I think I should respond. The SVS sub is a big black tube, 18" in diameter and 39" tall. I didn't appreciate what that meant until it appeared in my living room!

For an 18x39 cylinder, it wasn't bad looking at all, the finish was nice. The black fabric coat looked professional. It had some wrinkles from shipping, but I assume they would diminish once outside of the box.

But, don't kid yourself (like I did). 18"x39" is BIG! In my living room, there was no hiding anything like that. This wasn't a cube. Even a 24x24x24 cube would feel smaller because it could sit below the line of sight.

But I also have to praise SVS! The sound was phenomemal! I loved the thing and couldn't bring myself to return it to them. I ended up convincing my father to buy it from me. In his basement, it sits behind the TV where is old sub once sat. Completely hidden, but 10x better sounding.

SVS are great sounding subwoofers, but they are not appropriate for every room. Oneday, I will refinish my basement, and in that new area, I hope I will have something as great sounding as that SVS. Until then...

Regrards,
Chris
 

SVS-Ron

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 2, 2001
Messages
1,074
Chris,

It's not going to change your feelings I know, but all subs in our current cylinder lines are 16" in diameter, not 18". There is quite a difference, trust me.

Most folks find the 25-31PCi to be a very tidy package FWIW, and hardly find them ugly (better than 98% love them after then get to see them up close. Or so it seems).

Nonetheless, we have long since realized some folks just love the performance of SVS cylinders but can't get their "arms around" their look though (pun intended).

You might think a company would do something about those customers stuck on boxes eh?

Ron
 

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