speaker upgrade advice (1 Viewer)

[michaelQN]

I have been planning upgrade my home theater speakers(2 front floor, 2 rear and 1 center). With a budget of around $2000, I have narrowed down to 3 choices, swans divas, rocket's HT package and axioms' epic. The choices were made based a lot of readings of this forum(thank you folks!) and quite bit of internet research. The 3 mentioned speakers all have very good review for good (close to natural) sound quality and affordable price. My questions are:
(1) among the three choices, which would be the best if there is any?
(2) is there any other speakers which would provide better sound quality with similar budget?

Thank you!

 

[Rajen]

Come on guys, I know someone has got to have some input here. I am in the same position also except I am also looking at the Paradigm line.

 

[John Garcia]

www.ascendacoustics.com

3 CMT-340 SEs up front
2 CBM-170 SEs for surround
1 HSU VTF-3 MkII
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=$1808

That system should be good for all but the largest of rooms if supplied with ample power. What will you be driving these with?

One of the Axiom packages is in the Audioholics recommended systems (Grand Master I believe). I liked the Axioms I've heard in my own setup. Better than the Paradigm Monitor line, IMO.

The Rockets are pretty good too, also a step up from the Paradigm Monitor series. Closer to the Paradigm Studios than the Axioms are, to my ears at least.

Of the 3 you listed, the Swans would probably be my choice.

 

[MikeLi]

I would look at and call on the Rockets... Lots of deals being made now with new stuff coming out! Might as well get something good and save some money at the same time. Maybe use the extra for a good sub.

 

[Blaine_M]

I like John's idea, but the Onix speakers are also a very good option, I have a pair of thier surround speakers.

 

[Charles-T]

I don't know why people feel obligated or limit themselves to only buy from a loudspeaker company that sponsors the forum.

There are plenty of options out there to choose from; Paradigm, Def Tech, Triangle, Canton, Boston, Magnepan, Energy, Infinity, Polk Audio, PSB, Monitor Audio, ProAc, KEF, etc, etc, etc... just to name a few.

What do you have now? What do you have for amplifier power and how much?

Maybe your money would be better spent on a good sub or two.

 

[John Garcia]

It has nothing to do with who sponsors the forums.

Maybe because the internet direct comanies offer better VALUE than most mass market brands (same or better performance for less money), better customer support in nearly all cases. Why would anyone NOT want more for their money???

 

[Blaine_M]

Exactly, heck I built my own speakers from GR-Research, I recomend them every chance I get for the value.

 

[Charles-T]

That's fine, but you have to realise that there are also great deals in some brick and mortar stores as well. With internet sales the way they are, some stores are getting very close to matching internet prices. Some even offer "price matching" just to keep business and hang with the competition.

Deals are to be had anywhere and everywhere, by anyone at anytime. You just have to know where to look.

Don't get me wrong, I do just as much internet shopping as the next guy.

It just gets a little tiresome everytime someone asks for help making a decision and everyone pitches in recommending the same exact product or brand.

And who knows, maybe you find something somewhere else that you like better and don't mind spending a few extra bucks on.

 

[Blaine_M]

I understand what you are saying and have no problem with that. It probably depends on the market where you live how good of deals you can get in a store. Where I live no one can sell anything close to the price and performance point of what many of the online sellers can provide, including local Paradigm, B&W, NHT, and several other brands that are carried at various places locally. I have heard several of the online products like Onix, in my opinion for the price you can usually get on them I can not walk into my local stores, spend the same amount of money, and walk away with something that performs as well, I'd have to spend more money to get close. This is especially true with subs, no way can you buy a velodyne sub for example at the same that competes with say the high end SVS and HSU subs and remain even close when it comes to the cost.

 

[John Garcia]

Velodyne is local for me 5 min up the road from where I work.

I have not seen any stores locally that carry the brands that I'm normally interested in that can beat the value vs performance that the internet direct companies can, but that is also a function of not having the same overhead as the mass market companies.

I COMPLETELY agree, anyone can find deals on brands carried locally, it is just a matter of shopping and knowing a few people sometimes. For speakers, I generally don't mind buying online. For other gear, I prefer to shop at a B&M locally.

I too have GR Research speakers and I have compared them to a few store brands and the GRs represent a significant advantage to me. The only speakers that I've found in stores that I liked better, cost considerably more.