Bookshelf decision

[Lege]

Hey all,

I am looking at some new bookshelves and eventually the center and surrounds. I have a Marantz SR5400 and a HSU STF2. I am looking at the following,
Paradigm Studio 20
Ascend 340
Triangle Titus
Monitor Audio RS1
I have heard them all but in different environments with different equipment, and liked them all. My brother has the Titus which I like a lot, but he uses them 99% for music, and am not sure if they are suited well for movies. I will be around 60% music 40% movies.
Room is small, about 14x16 with seating about 8-10 feet away.
Was hoping some of you would have some suggestions
Thanks

[SAPSEC]

For bookshelf ones : BW-303, KEF Q1, or JM LAB Vocal are excellent (small room)

[icarian]

Lege,
if you get the chance you should listen to the Dynaudio Audience line, the 42 and 52 are about $700 and $1000, and IMO represent about the best you can get for that money. Good Luck

[Mark111867]

I would throw the Cambridge Soundworks Newton M80's in the ring too. Mirage & Energy also make some speakers that might fit your bill. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[Lege]

I have not looked at the Dynaudio line yet, only because my Marantz cannot push a 4ohm load, and I wont be getting an external amp for quite a while

[dloweman]

From the list that you have there, I would have to say go with the Paradigm studio 20's. They are great, especially for smaller rooms. I heard them hooked up to some anthem equip and it was mind blowing how amazing they sounded. Just my opinion, but you should definately take a closer look at them

[N. Abstentia]

Agreed on the Studio 20's! They really hit the nail on the head for what I was looking for when I bought a pair. They are amazing :)

[Woochifer]

Out of the ones on your list, I've heard the Paradigm Studio 20 and the Monitor Audio RS1, albeit in different demo rooms with different sources. Both of them sounded quite good to my ears and should work fine for home theater applications because they both have a nicely transparent sound. I listened to the Paradigm more extensively and noted with those speakers, the off-axis response is excellent and gives off some of the best imaging I've heard from a conventional box speaker.

The thing to watch out for with the Monitor Audio speakers would be their lower impedance. As you'd noted earlier, the use of a receiver pretty much precludes going with the Dynaudios, and I would pay close attention to the Monitors as well. The real issue is not whether a receiver can handle low impedance speakers. Most midlevel receivers like your Marantz should be able to drive a pair of something like the Dynaudios with no problem. However, with a 5.1 setup, the demands on the power supply are far greater, and this is where the receiver might trip up. The impedance curve on the Paradigms is more forgiving.

Best thing to do would be to see if your dealers will loan out a 5 speaker set of the speakers you're most interested in, so you can compare them at home and check for signs of audible strain from the receiver when using five of them.

[stretchmarks]

I was impressed with the Monitor silver s2's? (7" aluminum driver) the monitor bronze's were medieocre IMHO. and I am partial to the Polk audio Lsi7's or 9's if you have the space, I own the 7's and I tell you that sound (tweeter especially) is natural and sweeter than that the best... you've ever had. Check E-bay for the polks if price is an issue.

I remember that the monitors (auditioned on a denon flagship reciever) were great with classical and jazz, if that helps...

ah, yeah impedance too the Lsi7's are 4ohm speakers. I run them off an Onkyo M-282 power amp 100watt x2 @8ohm and 140watt x2 @6ohm. it is not rated for 4 ohm officially but since it's just a 5.25" woofer for the Lsi7 I'm not worried... My amps got 2x 10,000 uf caps which is enough for 2 4ohm 150watt speakers.

remember 4, 6, 8 ohm is NOMINAL impedance. No speaker maintains the same impedance over the whole audio spectrum.

My subwoofer crossover takes over at about 60-80 HZ anyway

[RGA]

he uses them 99% for music, and am not sure if they are suited well for movies.

No reason to think this. If they do music well they will do movies well. Music is harder to get right in subjective terms because we lack most of the cues related to special effects. And of course film has a lot of music so if he likes the music production of his speakers then he will like it in the movies as well -- same for speech. The trick likely is to find the speaker maker who ALSO designs their center speaker well. As Woochifer points out, an old line of B&W speakers were very solid musically but they put out a stinkbomb center and weak effort surround speaker. They have largely fixed this but the point is you want to be careful.