Newbie Needs some help.

[slammed i am]

I know this probably has been posted a billion times, i did do a search, but didnt find quite what i was looking for. anyway, ive been into car audio for years, and im just starting into home audio. right now, i have a denon 484 reciever (5 channel, about 75 watts IIRC) my eventual goal is to have a nice 5 channel set up, but as a poor college student now with little money, no time, and no tools (id love to try a DIY but cant), i can only afford part of the system now. im leaning twords a nice set of towers, then eventually the center, bookshelves, sub. my budget is 300 bucks. here are some of the things ive been looking at:

Towers:
Mission m73i ~300 / m34i ~350
Wharfedale Diamond 8 ~300 / Crystal 40 ~150
Jamo x550 ~300
Tannoy Fusion 3 ~ 300
Magnepan C ~300
more that i cant think of.....

anybody have any suggestions?

thanks in advance! :cool:

[drseid]

As for the poor college student aspect... been there before, so I know what that is like...

I am hesitant to recommend anything in the way of a tower for $300, as I think it will disappoint. Now if you are just looking for something to blas sound at parties, look for some used Cerwin Vega speakers and you are good to go. Based on your list, however, it appears you are looking for more than that, and as such I would recommend waiting on the towers, and look at the bookshelves first in the $300 range. You can get a pair of lousey towers, or a pair of good bookshelves that you can always switch to rear duty later. Any decent tower is going to cost you in the thousands minimum (new, but less used).

On Audiogon you may be able to find a used pair of Omega Super 3 or Super 3R Minimonitors in that range (they don't come up often, however). The used market will definitely yield best results no matter with what speaker brand you go with...

Good luck with your search

---Dave

[slammed i am]

im not exactly looking for a set of deVore's or some Elac's (insert other hifi brand here) just something in this price range that would adequately meet my needs and comepliment my amp.

thanks for the input!

[drseid]

im not exactly looking for a set of deVore's or some Elac's (insert other hifi brand here) just something in this price range that would adequately meet my needs and comepliment my amp.

thanks for the input!
Well, I still stand by my comments... I am not trying to get you to spend more than you need to... just pointing out that there are no good $300 floorstanders that I have ever heard, and as such it is hard to recommend something to you in that price range for that kind of speaker. If you absolutely ^must^ have a floorstander from your list that will be able to be played by your amp, then look at the Wharfedales.

The reason why I recommended the Omegas is they are super high-value, and high efficiency mini monitors that can be driven with ease by a receiver (even if they were designed with tubes in mind)... Magnapan, for example (and most other planers) are not going to work well with your equipment.

---Dave

[topspeed]

Like Dave, I'd recommend a standmount at this price point. There are simply too many compromises made by floorstanders under $1K. I know this sounds pompous, but it's also the truth. You might consider auditioning these Epos ELS3's (http://audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=EPOELS3&product_name=ELS3%20Mini%20Monitor%20Speakers%20-%20Pair) as they are very good for the money. Eventually, you can add a sub (ask Santa for one) and have a very, very good little system. As always, audition everything you can and pick what suits you best.

Hope this helps.

[GMichael]

You may be able to get a pair of Infinity Primus 250 for a little over $300. These are far from the best but have a good sound.