Choosing speakers, need help!

[unchingono]

I just bought a Onkyo Integra DTR-6.6 A/V receiver and now I need to choose some speakers. My wife and I mostly listen to music and may watch an occasional movie using our receiver. We listened to some Paradigm Studio 20 bookself speakers and were very impressed, but not with the $800 price tag. A friend of mine tells me not to buy the them, but instead go with B&W speakers. I am also considering M&K speakers but not sure which ones yet. I am open to suggestions and your opinions. I dont plan on using an amp, so i'm not sure on how the B&W's will perforn on that receiver without it. Thanks in advance for your help.

[markw]

You may be limited on power and the Paradigms require lots of power to open up. Not sure about the B&W's or the MKs but you would be well advised to make sure you can return them if they don't mate well with your receiver.

Generally, I advise people to select their speakers first and then make sure that whatever amp they purchase can adequately drive them, particularly when music is the main driving force in the system.

Even though they don't have the panache of the aforementioned brands, the Athena Audition series offer an excellent bang/buck ratio and do a credible job with music.

[drseid]

Are you going to use these with a subwoofer? If so, then you may want to look into the Rega R2s at $500/pr.

Others I can easily recommend for you to consider are the Tyler Acoustics Freedom F-1s at $525/pr. (sold only through the Tyleracoustics.com web page online), Onix Reference 1s (I think there are some B-stock available for $700/pr. at av123.com -- also online only). Used, you could look at some Spendor 3/5s or Green Mountain Audio Europas (both go for $800/pr. on audiogon.com most of the time).

Personally I would avoid the B&Ws -- much better performance out there for less money, IMO... Then again, I tend to be a bit of a risk taker who looks beyond the main brands trying to squeeze out that last bit of value (to my ears at least). The B&Ws and Paradigms are both safe choices... I guess it depends on how venturesome *you* are as to how far from the main brands *you* look. :-)

Good luck,

---Dave

[unchingono]

Yes, forgot to mention that I will be running a sub. I get the feeling that B&W's are way overpriced for what they are. Thanks, I will be looking at the other speaker brands that were mentioned here. Also forgot to mention that my tastes in music is rock, dance, classic rock and my wife enjoys latin music, so I will need a pair of speakers that can address this range of music as well as perform good while watching a movie. Thanks

[drseid]

Yes, forgot to mention that I will be running a sub. I get the feeling that B&W's are way overpriced for what they are. Thanks, I will be looking at the other speaker brands that were mentioned here. Also forgot to mention that my tastes in music is rock, dance, classic rock and my wife enjoys latin music, so I will need a pair of speakers that can address this range of music as well as perform good while watching a movie. Thanks
Out of the ones I mentioned, the Spendor 3/5s would be a very good fit for your music preferences... You will need your sub though, as they are smallish mini-monitors. Also, the GMA Europas would work well with your music preferences too, IMO. BTW: I made a mistake as to the used selling price of the Europas... They seem to go for $600 or less a pair on Audiogon. Sorry for the misinformation.

---Dave