Seeking a suitable mate for my bad boy...

[araratjan]

Hi all,

I got a Yamaha HTR 5790 and now looking for a suitable mate (speaker wise). I would appreciate your advice/experience with any of these:

Acoustic Res, Advent, Aperion, Athena, Atlantic Tech, Axiom, BIC, Bose, Boston, B&W, Cambridge, Canton, Celestion, Cerwin, Def Tech, Energy, Infinity, JBL, KEF, Klipsch, M&K, Mirage, Mission, Mordaunt, NHT, Niles, Paradigm, Polk, Pyle, Tannoy, Wharfedale, Yamaha

I understand that all these are not in the same league -- I would also appreciate putting them in their respectvie leagues, if possible.

Also in particular, how's Yamaha's own speakers? Also, any thoughts about going with a subwoofer specialty maker (like SVS, Hsu, Velodyne) vs. stikcing with the same maker as for mains?

[beta5alphamu]

All of the companies you have mentioned are all well respected BUT
the way you approached this issue will leave you very stressed.....rather than naming every speaker company out there and asking us to try to persuade you in what direction to throw your money at(which is exactly what is going to happen) AND when you say leagues....what do you mean? All these companies have different product lines, that address different type of buyers.....You should give us....room size, do you prefer warm or brighter sounds, budget willing to spend, etc.



I have no clue about what your environment is like at all but that you have a yamaha 5790

[markw]

Assuming adequate power, all speakers work well wit hall receivers. It's all a matter of which sound you prefer.

[araratjan]

I am sorry, here is some more info:

room size 250 sq ft (rectangular shape), lsitening to music (mostly classic and rock -- classic too), and movies; budget -- $2000 max (for all speakers).

Greatly appreciate your help.

[Pat]

Take your time (days-weeks-months) and LISTEN yourself to whatever you can find. If there aren't any where you live try to demo some mail order speakers.
Any speakers I have heard all sound different. I could explain to you all the differences I've heard between 5 or 6 you listed and you may not like it even if I said it was the best.

[GMichael]

I went with the Infinity Primus 360's. If you buy these you also get a free set of matching bookshelf speakers (150's). Here is a link. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1ooJiZ9yQ6d/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=12000&I=700P360

I bought the mains and got a free set of 150's. Then I bought the sub and center and got another free set of 150's. Wasn't a bad deal. The total came to just over 1300.00 including freight.

But, do listen to many speakers before you buy. What I like may not be what you like.

[Pat]

Way to go on the new speakers Mr. G, they look pretty good in black.

[GMichael]

Way to go on the new speakers Mr. G, they look pretty good in black.

Thanks, it's good that you like the black. They don't come in any other colors. Maple would have been nice.

[Pat]

How are the Infinities working for you?

It's a double bonus when they throw in some free speakers that could be used elsewhere.

[GMichael]

I like them very much. They sound much better than I ever expected for the money. They were reviewed in Stereophile mag, back in June I think. I already had them but wanted to see what they had to say. Seems that they think they sound better than many more expensive speakers. The response graphs show a very flat output. There was a 2 or 3 db Plato from about 60htz to 100htz. Then very flat up to 14K. Then a short dip and back up to 20K. The resistance was up and down a bit. High was like 18 ohms and there was a low of just under 4 ohms. But it was a very short dip. My Yammie drives them to ridiculously loud volumes with no problems at all. They haven't complained yet.
The deal seems to be ongoing. I bought mine back in March. Infinity claims that the deal is only good for one pair of 150's per customer but Crutchfield doesn't make the same claim and shipped me two pair on the same day.

[Eric Z]

Araratjan- Stick with a company that only makes speakers and listen to as many as possible (like others have said).

I'm familiar most with Def Tech and Mirage- I have 2 set-ups (one with Def Tech and one with Mirage). I like them a lot, but I'm also not too picky with sound- I just want it to sound pretty good. The Def Techs are a good value if you're looking at smaller bookshelf (PM100s or 200s). As Beta said, each speaker company has a wide range of products- for example, Def Tech has small bookshelf speakers that run $100 each and then huge powered towers that run $4K each (I might be embelishing a bit). A lot of people say Bose is way overpriced. I would throw Yamaha out as well- their electronics are great, but their speakers need some help.

$2K is a good starting budget and you should be able to do pretty well. I'm thinking a sub will run you about $500-$600, fronts about $800/pair, surrounds about $300-$400/pair, and a center $300.

The subwoofer companies you listed are well respected, however, I do not have any personal experience with them. I have 2 Def Tech PS100 subs and I like them a lot. Remember, the sub doesn't need to match the rest of your speakers. You can always try to get a better deal through a dealer if you buy all the speakers through them. DO NOT EVER PAY FULL PRICE- there's a huge mark-up on speakers- try and get about 20% off!

Buy your speaker wire from a home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowes (you'll save a lot of money there)- 14 or 16 gauge will be fine.

Usually, a electronics store will only have 3 or 4 brands of speakers (sometimes a few more). Spend a lot of time there and at some other ones as well- be sure you are as satisfied as possible- if you shop around correctly, you won't need to upgrade for a long long time. You'll probably want to upgrade here and there, but speakers can last 10+ years.

Remember to enjoy it, too- it's a hobby and we're supposed to have fun with it!
Eric