Speaker Selections ( new to HT )

[Tec]

Hello Everyone,

I am new so please bare with me. I have a question for anyone. I recently moved and my family room is quite large with a vaulted cieling, not sure if that make a difference. I have been looking for a speaker package that would fulfill my HT experience. I went to my local Circut City and found these 2 packages that sounded great. Here they are.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Infinity-Home-Cinema-System-TSS-1100CHR-/sem/rpsm/oid/148033/catOid/-12884/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

and these ones

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/rm6900/

Are these packages great for the money. Does anyone have any input on a speaker package that is better then these 2. I want to stay within $1000-$1500 on speakers and I was thinking of getting a onkyo TXSR603XS to run them also at circuit city. All info would be helpfull.

Thanks.

[JoeE SP9]

Hi Tec,
Welcome to the site. If you are looking for recommendations please be patient. I'm sure you will get plenty of those. I would suggest looking further than the local Circuit City or Best Buy. Try some of your local audio specialty stores. They have better equipment than CCor BB. Listening to the really good stuff can help you make a decision. When you know how good things can get you can decide what you will settle for. I personally suggest any kind of panel speaker. Around here we call them planar speakers. :cool:

[N. Abstentia]

Like Joe said, definitely venture outside of the 'dumbed down' stores like CC/BestBuy. Visit a store that specializes in speakers. You can get much better speakers for your money from companies like Paradigm, PSB, B&W, etc.

[jc_ufl]

My first question is how big is your room?

The larger the room, the larger the speaker you will need. I also would recommend looking beyond CC or BB. Look at specialty audio stores since they will carry brands that far exceed what you can buy at large retail stores.

What set-up would you like to achieve, 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1?

Start researching and looking at websites to get an idea of speakers in your price range. $1000-$1500 is not a lot of money to spend on speakers for a large size room. My first instinct is your speaker sets that you listed above may be too small for a large room with vaulted ceilings. I will let more experienced members comment about that.

My best recommendation is to start by buying pieces and slowly put together a great system. Good speakers for a large room can cost 400-750 a pair (considered middle range by audiophiles) and that is not including the center speaker and sub. Try looking at B&W, KEF, Energy, Paradigm, Axiom and PSB.

If you have to stay within that budget, look at SV Sound's SB-01 5.1 system with the PB-10 ISD sub. Probably one of the best speaker sets available for $1000.

I hope some of that helps and good luck hunting!

[Tec]

Thanks for the reply, well my room is large. 17.0' x 16.8' . I was going for a 5.1 because i had the home pre-wired for surround sound. The problem is that the wall where my tv and entertainment center will be in is small. The wall has a fireplace then a small opening to fit my tv and stand. The pre-wire is above the tv and fireplace and the surround is on the back wall of that. So floor speakers wouldn't work because i have to attach the speakers to the wall.

I will take a look at the speakers you recommended,

thanks.

[paul_pci]

First of all, don't buy a "package", put together a package of 5 speakers yourself. Package deals are an attractive consumer purchase, but what is attractive, convenience and price, comes at the sacraficial altar of quality, generally speaking. Since you're new to HT, might I suggest that you invest in Polks, for now, as you learn all the intricacies of equipment and speakers, etc. I feel Polks provide a good value and are a step between mass market crap and high end speakers. You can certainly find a decent line of Polk speakers that come in on your budget. At the very least, you want to match the front three speakers, if not purchase matching rears, but not the end of the world if you go with cheaper rears for budgetary concerns. I would also suggest that you initiate a separate budget for the sub, as quality subs begin at around $500 and any sub that comes with such packages as you were eyeing are going to be abysmal. Life will indeed go on without a sub and you'll be much happier with the end result of saving for a quality sub rather than injecting an atrocious one right here and now.

Happy Shopping.

[Tec]

Thanks paul_pci,

I have come across a couple of things in my search. A friend of mine will sell me his Boston Acoustic Sub it is a PV400, its about 4 or 5 yrs old he said. He is willing to let it go for really cheap.

How about if i was to pair this sub up with the SVS SBS-01 speakers set-up minus the SVS Sub and then use the rest of my funds to buy a decent reciever.

I was also thinking of using this sub with the ORB Mod2 HT quick pack. What do you think would be the better set-up. Remember I can't use floor speakers since my 5.1 surround sound is hooked up to my walls, so i need a wall system.

Thanks.

[paul_pci]

Are you saying that you can't run speaker wire from your wall plate to a bookshelf speaker? If that's the case, I know that some Polk models, for instance, have wall mounting brackets and I'm sure other speaker brands might also. Orbs aren't ideal for wall mounting, and don't forget that they are small satellite speakers with little dispersion, meaning you'd have to be sitting perfectly in front of them. I just checked the Polk website. For instance, you could get the Rti-4 or Monitor 30, four of them plus a matching center for around $1k and both models are wall mountable. I've heard good things about the new SVS package, but I can't comment personally. I think audioholics wrote up a reivew of them.

[jc_ufl]

Audioholics did write up a review of the SBS-01 system. They said great things about it and also said that this was THE system to get if you were going to use it for movies and TV. The only fault in the SBS-01 system is the midrange quality when playing music. Still one of the best systems in its price class and SV Sound sells wall mounting brackets for their speakers.

If you want more information on the SBS-01 system, go here:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/idealbb/view.asp?mode=viewtopic&topicID=49450&num=20&pageNo=1

Polk isn't that bad either and you probably can't go wrong with either system. Don't underestimate the sub that comes with teh SBS-01 system. It is one of the best subs you can buy for under 500 dollars and they are taking 50 dollars off the price ($380 after discount) because of the new sub coming out. Check out SV Sound's website for more information.

I would stay away from orb mod2 because of your wall mounting issue and the size of your room.

Good luck!

[LMB]

Check Out Boston Acoustics 130 Micro Great Sound
The Boston Vrc For Center Your Friends Sub Or Velodyne Spl 1000 (prefer The Velodyne)

Have Fun

[robert393]

Stay away from the ORB stuff, your room is FAR too large for that stuff. I would not be the person that would even recommend book-shelves. Go to a speciality shop where you can listen to a few different speaker setups, and you will get a whole new appreciation and higher level of enthusiasm for your HT. As one of the posters before said, stay away from the BB/CC stuff, and consider building your HT slowly (as budget allows) and over time, with high-end equipment. That is how most have to do it. Good HT equipment is not cheap, and there are no shortcuts in your quest for nirvana. Most of us have spent years (& years!) putting ours together and having a great time learning as we went along.

Go slow, buy quality, listen and compare, don't let a sales person TELL YOU what sounds good (and what doesn't), be patient, buy from authorized dealers, and above all..........HAVE FUN along the way:5: !!!!

Robert

[Tec]

Hello,

Well I think I am getting close to making my purchase. Here is some of the options I currently pondering.

1. The SVS SBS-01 system
2. The Polk Audio RM20 system
3. Purchase 4 polk audio RTi4 Bookshelf speakers and use the Boston Acoustics Sub.

One more option, A friend of mine told me to check out the cambridge soundworks home theatre systems. Does anyone have any input on that system.

Thanks for the help guys and gals.

[paul_pci]

My opinion is to choose between option 1&3. I just don't like the look of the construction of those small satellite speakers in the Polk package. You tend to sacrafice a lot when you don't have a cabinet, as such. You can also put togehter a similar package to choice #3 with Infinity speakers. Checkout www.crutchfield.com; they carry both Polk and Infinity and yo might also be able to find a shop in your town where you can give a listen to Polk and Infinity, but you won't be able to find a place to audition the SVS package.

[accastil]

try the combo of marantz SR5500 and Mordaunt-short THX502 front speakers.

[superpanavision70mm]

I would also add ....

What are your goals? Not just for the near future, but also a bit beyond that. If your goal is just to have surround sound for under 1k, then you are probably going to do the all-in-one deal. However, if you are venturing into this as a new hobby and are really anticipating it becoming something that you seriously want to invest money into...then I would go the other route as others have mentioned with various audio shops and mixing and matching various speakers with various components. If you don't really want to be bothered by that and just want one quick purchase and all your immediate needs are met...then CC or BB can do that for you easily.

Once you have a goal in mind...then set aside a budget for what you want to spend up front and perhaps what you might want to invest down the line. I always encourage people to think bigger because over a stretch of time....it usually ends up being better in the long run. Otherwise you invest smaller amounts in junk that never lasts and you end up spending more money replacing the junk and you end up with what you could have spent in the first place on higher end material.

[bobhaze]

I would suggest adding this to your list of candidates.
http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=ht_systemsrec&item=k1pk720zz

Bob