Speakers for small room / 80W per channel receiver?

[ffugitive]

Just bought a 50 inch Panasonic plama. Have a Yamaha HTR-5650 receiver (80 watts per channel - 6 channels). In the market for a speaker system. Small square room - about 10 x 12 feet. Want crisp, strong theater sound, primarily for movies. Budget is $1000-1200, but not sure I need to spend that given my 80W per channel / small room setup. Have been looking at the Definitive ProCinema 60 and 80 and the Orb Mod1 and Mod2. Specifically, I have 3 questions:

1. Assuming I was to go with the ProCinema or the Orbs, given my setup, is there any added benefit to the higher end systems (the ProCinema 80 or the Mod2), or would my sound basically be the same with the lower end (ProCinema 60 or Mod1)?

2. As between the ProCinema and the Orb, which would you go with?

3. Should I be considering any other speaker systems for my setup? In other words, what else would you recommend?

THANKS! Mike

[GMichael]

Just bought a 50 inch Panasonic plama. Have a Yamaha HTR-5650 receiver (80 watts per channel - 6 channels). In the market for a speaker system. Small square room - about 10 x 12 feet. Want crisp, strong theater sound, primarily for movies. Budget is $1000-1200, but not sure I need to spend that given my 80W per channel / small room setup. Have been looking at the Definitive ProCinema 60 and 80 and the Orb Mod1 and Mod2. Specifically, I have 3 questions:


1. Assuming I was to go with the ProCinema or the Orbs, given my setup, is there any added benefit to the higher end systems (the ProCinema 80 or the Mod2), or would my sound basically be the same with the lower end (ProCinema 60 or Mod1)?

2. As between the ProCinema and the Orb, which would you go with?

3. Should I be considering any other speaker systems for my setup? In other words, what else would you recommend?

THANKS! Mike

I would go with these Infinity's.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9USxkC1P27h/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=12700&I=700P5PPS10

[ffugitive]

Thanks for the suggestion GMichael - can anyone else weigh in here? I really would appreciate the advice as I trust the opinions of the people in this forum more than I would the pitch of a salesman. Thanks again.

[anamorphic96]

Def Techs all the way. The sound will be much fuller and they actually use a tweeter and bass/midrange driver in the satellite instead of a full range driver which limits dynamics and overall clarity. Plus I think there cheaper and the sub is much better.

[ffugitive]

Thanks anamorphic96 - Before your post, and after reading dozens of reviews, I was leaning towards going with the sight unseen Orbs. From what I have read, people have a lot of great things to say about the full range driver in the Orbs. Many say it is the strongest and most complete sound they have ever heard out of satellites. Have you heard them? If so, I am going to give this whole thing another round of thought. Thanks, M

[anamorphic96]

Thanks anamorphic96 - Before your post, and after reading dozens of reviews, I was leaning towards going with the sight unseen Orbs. From what I have read, people have a lot of great things to say about the full range driver in the Orbs. Many say it is the strongest and most complete sound they have ever heard out of satellites. Have you heard them? If so, I am going to give this whole thing another round of thought. Thanks, M

I have heard them and I was not impressed. You just cant compete with a well designed 2 way speaker if you ask me. This is where the Def Techs dont skimp. Especially when you can step up to the 80 or 100.

Here is a review of the Orbs. They even comment on the how they distort at higher volumes and the sub can't keep up in some cases. Orb's in my mind are a Bose alternative but a bit better and not much else.
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/OrbAudioMod2p1.php

However if you really want to step up start looking at larger bookshelf systems that offer much better dynamics and visceral impact. Paradigm Performance series is a good start. Along with PSB, Ascend, and this new SVS system. The SVS system is supposed to kick some serious butt with that PB10 sub. Plus the package is ony 999.00 and small. The sub is bit large. But boy will you feel it during movies though. http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs.cfm
I would take a VERY serious look at the SVS system. Especially at it's asking price.

[kexodusc]

If I were you I'd consider going with one of the few good HTIB packages out there. The Athena Micra 6 package or Paradigm's Cinema series are pretty good for the money.
I tend to agree with folks that bookshelfs will offer better sound, but at the price range you're looking that, especially in that small room of yours, bookshelfs might not be used to their full potential Especially if you plan on using this for mostly movies, and music is secondary. The two systems I've mentioned perform reasonably well for music, better than some bookshelf combo's I've heard. There are inherent sonic advantages to smaller speakers for music. Just because they're really small doesn't mean they're bad.

You could also consider buying the Cinema series (which I believe is about $600-$650 street price with a 10" sub) and buy a pair of Mini Monitors or Titans from Paradigm (which are voice matched) as front mains for music duty when necessary.

Of course, also take a look at the used market...your dollar goes much further.

[pelly3s]

a pair of Tannoy Eyris DC1 or the Tannoy Sensys DC1 would be my choice..... If you can check them out.