Help... Speaker suggestions

[steiner1000]

I would be very grateful for some speaker recommendations. I have a medium sized room where the speakers will have to be close to the walls and are used 70% of the time for TV and the rest of the time for music.

I am more than casual listener but not an audiophile, and I tend to favor the stronger base speakers. I am completely open for recommendations and if I need to clarify anything please ask.

I would like to stay under $2000 for everything including a receiver. Thank you for your help.

Chad

[kexodusc]

There's a few options that would fall into your price range, but first, could you specify a few things?
Are you looking for a 5.1/6.1/7.1 system? With a subwoofer included in that price? Tower mains, or are you prepared to buy/build stands for bookshelf speakers?

Right off the top of my head 4 popular brands come to mind that should be a good start for you. PSB and B&W can be found almost anywhere, lots of people would vouch for either brand, though I'm not a big fan of them. Axiom's been making impressive affordable speakers lately,I own a set of Axiom M3Ti bookshelfs, they're decent at moderate volumes. Paradigm offers exceptional value in the price range you're looking for too. Lots of other decent brands, but that's a start.
It would help if you answered the above questions. Also, how much were you planning on spending on a receiver?

[steiner1000]

I hope this helps:
Looking for 5.1
entire package under 2k includinf sub
I would prefer towers but bookshelf speakers would work as well
The receiveer price shoudl be under $500

If there is anything else I can answer please ask! Thanks for the suggestions thus far.

Chad

[kexodusc]

I've listed below what I would pass as a decent system for you to start with. There are other brands out there that may or may not offer better value and performance for you budget, but you won't know that until you actually test them. For Receivers, I'm partial to Harman Kardon, Denon, Onkyo, or Yamaha, with Yamaha having a terrific quality reputation. I'll use Paradigm because I am familiar with some of their products and they offer an extremely good value, and there's a A/V shop on my street that sells them so I'm familiar with prices.
Receiver: Yamaha 6.1 channel RX-V640 = 400 approx (maybe cheaper now)
Rears: Paradigm Titans = 225
Mains: Phantoms = 400
Front/Rear Center channel: 2 X CC-170 (front and rear) = 400
Subwoofer PDR-10 = 350
Total price = 1975.
Allow 100 bucks for cables or so maybe more depending on your preference, don't get carried away though.
I would suggest downgrading the mains to the bookshelf sized Titans, which are extremely popular in these forums and have been around for years. That would save you 150 bucks but you'd need stands. If your still too close to over budget, you could just as easily drop the rear center channel which in my opinion hasn't lived up to expectations in most applications yet, and get it later.
Try experimenting with some of the other brands I've mentioned, but don't stop there, when you see a brand similarly priced, test it out, bring your own music, and see what sounds best to you.
And don't listen to anyone who seriously bashes a product line, many companies are offering exceptional sounding speakers for extremely affordable prices today.
Have fun.

[F1]

This is another option:
$400 receiver from Yamaha, Marantz, HK, Onkyo or Denon. $400 Hsu Research STF-2. Two pairs of B&W DM 303 for fronts and surround plus B&W LCR 3 center. Or if possible B&W 601 fronts, B&W LCR60 center and B&W 303 surround. Good luck!

[kexodusc]

The B&W's F1 suggested are a pretty decent setup too, I had a chance to sample some of those speakers yesterday. I'll vouch for the Marantz receiver too, forgot that one in my first post. I just read your initial post again, you said your speakers will need to be close to your wall. Wall-mounted speakers might be more to your liking. If you go this route, a sub-woofer is absolutely necessary..

[ryewoods]

I would go with the Ascend Acoustics System 22-1001. It uses the famed CBM-170 for the mains, the surrounds, and the center, and the room shaking VTF-2 sub. This package would be fantastic for music as well as movies. The CBM170 has ruler flat frequency response, making it an incredibly accurate speaker. The package costs $1198. That leaves you about $800 for a receiver. Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, and Marantz all have a bunch to choose from. Choosing a receiver is usually much easier than choosing speakers.

Here's a list of their packages: http://ascendacoustics.com/Main/HT/2000mtx.asp

[Bryan]

My system consists of:

nOrh (http://www.norh.com)= 4.0 video package - $850 delivered (Unusual shape and needs to be placed 6" from the wall. Excellent with music but really shines for HT.)
SVS (http://www.svsubwoofers.com) 20-39PCi - $599 + shipping (have 20-39CS) Among the best for HT. Should be able to go with a 25-31PCi ($549 + shipping).
Outlaw (http://www.outlawaudio.com) 1050 - $450 (no longer offered)

My recommendation:
Onix ELT system (http://www.audioc.com/elt/system.htm) - $899 + shipping (Includes 10" sub)
Denon AVR-2803 (http://www.6ave.com/cat_detail.jsp?a=audio&st=search&d=86&s=Surround%20Sound) - $699.06

[psonic]

If you have $800 left you could also consider higher end Receivers like NAD and possibly Rotel, B&K. I have found they're musically closer to integrateds & separates than most receivers, and can drive more difficult speakers. The one B&K I listened to ( i think the AVR202), is just superior to stuff like the Denon 3803, etc... here's a few...looking at NAD's website, http://www.nadelectronics.com/av_receivers/T752_framset.htm its happy into 2 ohms also! I run a NAD integrated in the living room, and the dynamic power is ever present in the music! Just make sure you get out and listen to many receivers, not just Circuit city stuff, but from HIFI stores as well. Marantz is also worthy of a listen if you don't want to spend big.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3070156207&category=14981

http://www.800stereo.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=8&Product_Code=nad-t-752&Category_Code=nadav