Why your speakers? (1 Viewer)

[MarkWC]

I am in the market for a new five speaker setup. After reading the consumer feedback it is so difficult to determine which line of speakers to listen to first. Obvious the more front end mass market retail of Polk, BA, Klipsch, Mirage, etc have received much praise due to their availability, price range, and build quality. Others such as PSB, Axiom, Paradigm, Definitive Technoly, B&W, etc become an ethusiast gem, but you have to know where to look.
My question, how did you find your speaker brand and what was the determining factor to purchase? My first purchase was a pair of Klipsch, then BA, mostly because Tweeter was the closest store.

 

[RussKon]

listen...listen...and then listen some more....find out what you like. take several of your favorite cd's and audition all of your choices. buy what sounds best to you.

 

[Khoa Tran]

first speakers are jamos....i walked around the store and was tottally stunned by the sound of these....i still have them for stereo.....

then just got a psb stratus setup...mostly because my local dealer hooked me up....i like the sound a lot but not as much as my jamos....i love music on the goldis which will be my next upgrade from the minis =)

 

[Phil_DC]

I read lots of reviews, did searches on forums like this one. I also asked lots questions to owners of the brands I was interested in via the same forums. I even talked to some of the manufactures via e-mail.
Through that I complied a list,sort of a top ten list to check out. I went to lots of stores and auditioned everything on my list and then some.
After all that which took about six months off and on to do I had my speakers. I purchased the M&K 150THX series Link Removed in a 7.1 config.I never saw a bad review and only praises from lucky owners and most importantly my ears liked them better than all the rest.

 

[Manuel Delaflor]

Forgeting about your perception on what is mass market and what not... I say that it is a good question.
I choose my Klipsch Heresy (from the Heritage line, not the new reference line which is well known) because they sounded much more natural than any other brand. It was later (years later) than I learned about the virtues of Horns regarding sound. Now, before someone starts to flame about horn "coloration" or whatever I need to quote a post of another forum (AVS):

I've heard some speakers at CES that sounded perfectly natural to me. But I've also heard some very expensive speakers that sounded extremely harsh to me while other people in the room swayed back and forth in unison with their eyes closed and beatific smiles on their faces.
When I've gone with friends shopping for speakers I've suggested what to listen for and pointed out some things I heard, but I've never suggested that my hearing is better than theirs and I've never made (or disagreed with) their final purchases. After all, I'm not making the purchase and I don't know what sounds good to them.

That said, let the other's opinions come!

 

[Christopher Lyn]

I agree, that one should audition the speakers first before any purchase...see if the dealer will let you take a pair home and listen...Everyone's room is different and the speakers you buy may not sound the "same" as when you heard it in the show room. Reviews are helpful in terms of numbers and how neutral a speaker responds to different frequencies...but don't solely rely on the numbers.

My first speakers were Boston Acoustics. Then I auditioned a pair of B&Ws. Sounded great in the show room..but not as great in my house...swithched to Paradigm, then moved up to the Paradigm Reference Studio line...sounded great in my home and in the show room.

The other pro for choosing Paradigm was that they were cheaper than the B&Ws, and since I live in Toronto, Ontario, I could easily send my speakers back to Paradigm for any repair.

 

[Steve_Ma]

I got lucky. I had heard B&Ws once before and thought they were decent speakers, but more than anything... I got lucky. A great deal just happened to come along at a time when I had some cash available. Now that I know more and it's years later, I'd never employ the "s*%t luck" method of speaker purchasing again, but it worked out for me once.

 

[Tim Ranger]

My route was a bit different. Over a period of several years I listened to many different systems in as many different stores as I could. It was my form of entertainment. I also took every opportunity to listen to people's home systems. Eventually I decided on a pair of Sonus Faber Concertos. For the money I had to spend, they did it the best for me. Then I went on a year long subwoofer quest. Now, I'm a fanatic about bass integration, this was for stereo music, not home theater. Tried tons of subs. The one I liked the best was the REL Strata III. I kept hearing over at AA and at AR how the ACI Titan II was as good or better than the Strata at much lower cost. After months of calling and emailing ACI, I got off my butt and ordered at Titan II LE. To make a long story short, it rocked my world! Did all I wanted and more.
I really liked my Concertos, but they got banged up. After my experience with the sub from ACI a tried a pair of ACI Sapphire III LE, and kept them. Musical and a bit forgiving like the Concertos, but better in just about every other way. Better dynamics, better resolution, larger stage. Now, I'm pretty convinced that trying ACI was the best move I ever made. Best thing is always to listen for yourself. ACI makes this possible with their 30 day money-back guarantee. My feeling is that ACI is the high-end of factory-direct speaker companies.

 

[Jack Keck]

I did my listening back in the '70s. I heard Klipshes, Dahlquists, Maggies, and lots of other stuff thatI thought was great, but was out of my price range. The Klipsch dealer also carried a line called Avid, which sounded good to me, but were closeer towhat Iwanted to spend. I later went to another store that carried Avid. They also had Polk Audio, which I had never heard of before. These beat out the Avids. I wound up with a pair of Monitor 7s, which are STILL my main speakers.

 

[David Sorenson]

Back in college I didn't know jack about speakers and receivers but did have a picky ear. I finally decided to get rid of my Sears rack system my parents got for me in high school. Near campus there was an odd little audio shop that I decided to drop into one day. They sold Paradigm speakers primarily and I was very impressed with what they had. I wasn't a research person back then so I got myself a nice set of mini-mkII's and an unpowered sub. The sub was a big mistake but I didn't know any better than. I've heard other speakers and know there are better ones out there but for the price, convience, and cool dealer I stuck with Paradigms. Over the next 8 years I got some Atoms for surrounds, got a matching Center and replaced that stupid unpowered sub with a PS-1000, which still wasn't that great of a sub but I still didn't know enough. I probably wouldn't have upgraded if my friend from work hadn't shown me the Studio series he just bought and the Servo-15 sub. Boy they were nice. He passed away a few months later and his family sold off everything he had. I took the opportunity to buy that set, bought the matching center and used my old mini's for the surrounds. After moving to a real house I decided to get better surrounds and would have gotten the new Focus series if my wife hadn't pushed for something a little more aethetically pleasing. We ended up with the Stylus 350's, which actually work great for surrounds and blend in better than big black boxes.

I will still buy from my dealer as I have a 10 year relation with him and find his prices and his knowledge to be great.

 

[Kris Coffin]

I pretty much headed down to every audio store in town, and checked out all the brand names, made a list, then went home and for the next 2 months, research, research, research. Read reviews, hit the forums, ect. When I narrowed the list down, I then went out to all the finalist, and had a sit down session with some of my favorite demo stuff. Eventually chose a complete 7 speaker setup of Def Tech's (If I had the cash I would of had B & W's, sigh**) Pretty much the same thing happened for my Pre/Pro and Amps (All Rotels) Took a lot of time and effort, but I wanted to know I was getting a HT I would be loving for the years to come. All in all, I am fairly satisfied with the speakers. I just wish Def Tech didn't fudge some of their subwoofer facts, because now I need to upgrade (SVS of course) but live and learn I guess.

 

[Ted Lee]

i went with polk audio becuase at the time i worked for cc and got them at cost! i think my total was around $300.00 for the entire setup!

 

[Neil Joseph]

I listened to them, then I found out the designer was on the Paradigm team (Paul Barton of PSB). The cost was good, especially here in Canada, they had a wide range of speakers to choose from among various speaker lines.

 

[ChadLB]

I listened to many at the stores and wasn't sure what I liked. I had a friend mention Acoustic Research Hi Res series so I did some Research and after a while took the chance and order them from www.accessories4less.com
I love them....they sound great and I got them at a great cost and with warranty.
Current System:
RECEIVER PIONEER VSX-D811S
EQUALIZER KENWOOD 1070EK
DVD PLAYER PIONEER DV-333
TV TOSHIBA 36A40
VCR SONY SLV695HV
CENTER CHANNEL ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-4C
BOOKSHELF ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-17
MAIN SPEAKER ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-11
SUBWOOFER ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-S112PS
POWER SURGE ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-10V
SUBWOOFER CABLE MIT RG-59
BI WIRE CABLE MIT - BI WIRE TERMINATOR
COMPONENT VIDEO CABLE IXOS 1713-200
COAXIAL CABLE IXOS 1061-100
CENTER CHANNEL WIRE IXOS 6007
SUBWOOFER CABLE IXOS 1182
VHS CABLES ESOTERIC AUDIO USA AVK2

 

[MarkWC]

My main concern is that I will not be able to audition the speakers within my home until after I purchase them. However, home is an island, thus I will not be able to return them. I wanted to see how many people heard systems in stores and other people's homes soley before bringing them home for good and still made the right choice.
I am looking at Axiom, Def Tech, and Paradigm. This list has been compiled from speaker specs and consumer feedback. I will be in New Hampshire in two weeks and will only be able to check out Paradigm away from the shop, but still not in my home in Bermuda. There is no close Def Tech store, well reasonably close, and Axiom is factory direct.
Any recommedations on how not to blow $2,000 on a bad decision considering the above brands? I considering Paradigm as a failsafe with not too many negative reviews or letdowns.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

I don't have any high end stores nearby to demo anything
and I wasn't about to drive into Pittsburgh for speakers
I hate that blastid city..
So I went to the net... I knew what price range I wanted
to spend within and I knew that I had to have towers not
bookshelfs. I had bought a pair of Acoustic Research's
cheapest lines of speaker at Sears a few years back (Performance
Series 216 Bookshelfs) and was very pleased with the quality
but the tweeter was a bit too laid back for me (Poly) I
knew I liked the construction and the quality and I knew
of AR's legendary reputation and ties with Henry Kloss the
original founder, I also knew that they invented the acoustic
suspension speaker as we know it.
With all of the history and the current quality I was pleased
to locate the Hi Res series which wasn't a "best buy, Circuit
City" line. So from there I decided on AR9's since I wanted
to Bi Wire and eventually Bi Amp, I didn't want to have to
rely on thier own internal amps (AR7's) so the 9's seemed
the way to go. I read the reviews and the overwhelming
majority are glowing. Even Stereo Reviews review did them
justice.
I took the plunge but I also saved a fortune by carefully
checking out online Etailers.. I picked my AR9's up for
a mere $585.00 and $80.00 S&H from an online dealer and
Crutchfield was getting $999.00 plus shipping at the time.
When they came the UPS man was just impressed (distrot) with
the Girth of these things, 130 pounds per pair.. He also
commented about owning a vintage set of AR9's when Teledyne
took over AR and he missed "Those old speakers" I said well
this is the new flagship line of AR and these new speakers
all bear the original names.
I got them in the house ( my aching back..) got them set up
and I was floored and I still am..
My source equipment does NOT do these speakers justice..
I wish right now that I had a quality tube linestage pre amp
and a few thousand dollars worth of S.E.T Amplification then
these would really shine. Even with my mediocre gear they
are fabulous with pinpoint imaging, precise sound stage,
deep robust bass with nary a hint of boominess at all..
The midrange to me, is to die for.. Percussion, Strings,
Winded instruments are alive with such a great impact and
presence you close your eyes and they literally are right
there in front of you...
I put on Peter Frampton in Multichannel DVD and I hear the
guitarists fingers picking at the strings, hear his fingers
slide up and down the fret's hear Pete taking his breaths..
They may not be $8000.00 a pair B&W Naut's, they may not be
JM Labs Grande Utopia's... But for this MidFiMan.. They make
me giddy inside
And that is what it's all about...
I went out and later bought the matching center channel and
now I am going to buy the AR15 or AR17 Bookshelfs to replace
my Performance Series Bookshelfs for surround duty.

 

[BryanZ]

I researched. And then regreted. Then started visiting forums. Got to know what people liked and how they were. Got to know the owners and their motivations. After several months of doing this I ordered the speakers and sub I have now (nOrh 4.0s and 5.1s and SVS 20-39CSi).

 

[Bill_D]

I have owned BW, Paradigm and others but for some reason I am one those individuals who is addicted to the Klipsch sound.

 

[Wei-Min]

Another option to consider are those satellite systems from manufacturers like KEF, Mordaunt Short, Energy etc.
I am using the Energy Take 5.2 system with a Yamaha RX-V800 receiver and it is surprisingly excellent not only for HT but for listening to CD for a modest capital outlay. I think it is the only satellite combo with ported speakers that improves the sound, IMO. Also, different magazines and users have been raving about it. However, it is suitable only for small to medium-sized rooms.
Energy
But for vinyl playback, I still revert to my reference system that uses a pair of 1982 Klipsch Cornwalls powered by 2A3 tube amps with 2.75 watts per channel
My setup

 

[Gregg_M]

I decided to revamp my entire HT except for my TV this year. I went from a basement where i could do anything with the 1600 square feet I had to a house that had a total of 1800 square feet (yes smaller but I am on a big lake) so to have HT in my family room I needed to get creative. After listening to a ton of book shelf speakers (floor standing not an option at all due too size of room) I stumbled (on the web) upon a company selling Spendor. I demonstrated them in my house for a week and was AMAZED at the sound and clarity of these speakers so I bought 4 of them and their matching center speaker all powered by my marantz sr7000 and an inexpensive velo 10inch sub. Well right out of the box this system was better than my current acoustic reasearch set up with their powered sub(side by side comparison in the house) Knowing that these speakers could sound even better, I got rid of my entertainment center and went to 2 wood and glass compnent cases put the speakers on top of it, I then went out and bought rotel pre/pro and amp and dennon 3800 dvd well now the sound is out of site and I am extremely happy. If you can check out the spendor bookshelf speakers they are fantastic for music and great for HT.

Gregg