best speakers for my receiver and wallet?

[proulx136]

I've just got my first mid-fi home theatre receiver, the harman/kardon AVR 635. I did a lot of research and could not find a negative reveiw, though I admit being new to the 'club.' This is a high currant box, and tends to be know as 'warm.' I also went with the harman/kardon DVD 47, and the Monster Reference PowerCenter HTS 3500 MKII.

Now I need to find some speakers. I'm looking to spend up to $2000 for a pair of fronts, rears, a center and a sub. Less would be nice:) I'd like floor standing boxs for the front, as I'll be listening to music as much as watching movies. Can I find a decent pair for 600 - $750, or should I go down to the the B&W 602's? Till now I've been thinking about going with two pair of 602's, an LCR60 S3 and an ASW 600. Is B&W really worth it, or can I get more boom for my buck with out sacraficing much sq? I just started looking at Paradigm, Is the Preformance Series respectable?. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[paul_pci]

My first recommendation would be to have a separate budget for the sub that begins around $500, and you don't need to go witht eh B&W sub, there are plenty of other manufacturers that may provide a better value/quality ratio. Anyway, I have B&W 601s and I'm very happy. You could go with 602s up front and 601s in the rear and the LCR 60 for the center and come in around $1400. If you go with Paradigms studio series which is often compared to the 600 B&W line then the expense goes up considerably for a 5.1 setup. But as always, you should go out and listen to as many speakers as you can that fall within your budget and go with what pleases you most.

[Hyfi]

I've just got my first mid-fi home theatre receiver, the harman/kardon AVR 635. I did a lot of research and could not find a negative reveiw, though I admit being new to the 'club.' This is a high currant box, and tends to be know as 'warm.' I also went with the harman/kardon DVD 47, and the Monster Reference PowerCenter HTS 3500 MKII.

Now I need to find some speakers. I'm looking to spend up to $2000 for a pair of fronts, rears, a center and a sub. Less would be nice:) I'd like floor standing boxs for the front, as I'll be listening to music as much as watching movies. Can I find a decent pair for 600 - $750, or should I go down to the the B&W 602's? Till now I've been thinking about going with two pair of 602's, an LCR60 S3 and an ASW 600. Is B&W really worth it, or can I get more boom for my buck with out sacraficing much sq? I just started looking at Paradigm, Is the Preformance Series respectable?. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


I recently purchased the AVR635 as a first attemt into HT. This reciever was a few steps down from what I am used to. The speaker connections stripped the first time I tried to connect wires so I had to go out and purchase numerous sets of Banana connectors. The unit will not allow for Spades either. Although it is a good unit for the money, it in no way compares to the 15 y/o Hafler equipment it replaced and my main 2 chanell system still sounds way better.

As far as speakers go, I would recomend no less that a 6ohm speaker and as high a sensitivity rating as you can find. This unit can barely drive a pair of Dynaudio 82s. B&W are worth it but Dynaudios are less fatigueing. You may want to consider JM Labs as they have great bang for the buck and with a sub, you won't have to worry about their limmited bass output. Paradygm are also good as well as Mirage, Infinity, and a few others. As far as I am concerned, you will be much happier if you stretch your budget and buy the best speakers you can afford. That will make all the difference in your setup and listening pleasure.

[kelsci]

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/542249296

The link I have provided above is for the Omnistat speakers. They are good for music and movies. Unfortunately, Vanns and for that matter anybody else does not have the Mirage S-12 sub. However 5-7 of these speakers should do fine depending on whether you want to go 5.1,6.1or 7.1.. Cnet rates these excellent. European reports seem to think these are the best satellites going. My brother uses them and I think very highly of them. It would be only a question of finding a good sub which would leave you $1500 to $1300 to fool around with in buying a sub for these.

[proulx136]

Thanks for the input so far guys. I'm also looking at Axiom. I would base it aound the m22 bookshelves in the the front.

[Rock789]

focal jm labs may be in your price range