Need speaker advice

[Ryukyu]

I'm new here and haven't really kept up with what's going on in the audio world for a while, so I'm looking for a little help.
I have a Yamaha CR-840 receiver that I've recently taken out of storage, hooked up my cassette deck and phono, and have really been enjoying listening to my old recordings. The thing that struck me was the warmth of the analog recordings.
I presently have them hooked up to a pair of floorstanding Cerwin Vega HED speakers, but they are old (bought them in 1981) and starting to distort and rattle at pretty low volume levels, and I've had the speakers re-coned once.
I think it's time to replace them.
What I'm looking for is a floor standing model that would give me some decent bass without a sub-woofer. This system is strictly for music, not home theater.
I've done some searching in the forums and saw a lot of brad names that I'm not familiar with, but from some reviews I've read, it sounds like the Wharfdale Diamond 9.6 might be what I'm looking for, but there is no dealer around here that I'm aware of.
I'd like to stay in the $500-1000 range.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[icarus]

Paradigm has some nice speakers that would fit into your price range, the studio 40's have a nice sound without a sub, and i do beleive those would fit into your price range, and the studio 60's which are the next ones up, they sell for about $1100

[jrhymeammo]

You are driving your current speakers with a Yamaha CR-40??? That's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://blog51.fc2.com/i/inuclutch/file/cr40_1.jpg

I dunno how you did it but anyways....


If you want to get a pair of 9.6, then you can always get them from AudioAdvisor for $999.99 for a pair. And they can offer pretty good bass, so you may not need a sub.
As for the Paradigm mentioned. That will not do for your needs. I used own a pair of Monitor 5s and thought they were great speakers. But you can't get the lower extention you want with those.



I do wonder what your CR-40 receiver can do though. I say this because if you receiver isnt not powerful enough, 9.6 and others may not play as lower as you would like. It'll play low, but how it plays is what I'm wondering. Maybe you can give us a info on your yammie.

If it's not more than Yamaha's 75 watts, you may want to consider getting a pair of good bookshelf and a sub. You said you dont wanna go that route, but it might be something you woud want to at least think about. If it's a vintage receiver with 75 watts, then I'll say go for it. Of course it all depends.
Just so you know, when you blend a pair and a sub optimally, your music can sound remarkably good. But if I could offer more power, I would definetly go with a tower....

Welcome to AR,
-JRA

[Ryukyu]

Oops. Sorry for the typo, but it's a CR-840. 65 watts per channel. But it sure seems like it's got way more power than my Sony STR-K6800P home theater receiver that rated at 120 watts per channel. And it's definitely vintage. Bought it new in 1981 at the same time I bought the speakers.
I'm not sure how I would go about hooking up a subwoofer to this receiver, and I guess that's why I haven't really considered bookshelf+subwoofer as an option.
Thanks for the replies so far.

[bubbagump]

I came across this one in a recent Parts Express catalog:

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/magna/index.html

Here are some more. Even if you're not a DIYer, they're fun to read about.

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/homeaudio.cfm

[basite]

the wharfedale 9.6's will give you some good bass, but your cerwin vega's will always will have that as one of their stronger points, so, it's hard to find a replacement, monitor audio rs-6 speakers would also give some good bass (don't be scared by the 6 inch woofers, they go deep, really deep) but i'd say that if you really liked the sound of your cerwin vega's, then audition some new ones, maybe you might like them too. then you will certainly have the deep bass you'd be looking for.

[Ryukyu]

You could be right. I probably should audition some new ones.
One of my concerns is that after reading some other reviews and seeing comments from others regarding Cerwin Vega speakers is that they may not sound like they used to.
One of the reasons that I got those originally was that I am a musician and was familiar with Cerwin Vega as a company that made quality amplifier speakers. Plus, although they have decent bass, the mids and highs sound pretty good too.
I paid around $500 dollars in 1981 dollars so they were not cheap by any means back then.
just want to make sure I don't end up with something sounding "muddy".
I'm not necessarily looking for as much bass as these put out, just a decent amount.
If it helps, I listen to rock, r & b, and jazz mostly, but occasionally like to listen to some classical.

[basite]

well, i see r&b, i'ts kindof the same here, (also rock r&b and jazz, but occasionally i listen to some other styles) i don't know too much about their sound, but they're still strong in the market, so i assume they still make decent speakers, maybe not as refined as b&w's, monitor audio, and other audiophile brands, but still decent (i hope)
and if you don't like them then look for wharfedales, or paradigms, or monitor audio's maybe kef too.

[Ryukyu]

Wow, you guys are awesome here.
Thanks to all for the responses!
Bubbagump, the link to the PartExpress website is very interesting. Who knows, maybe I'll try my hand at the DIY route.
I guess th bottom line is that I need to get out and listen to some speakers. But I appreciate the heads up on which ones to try to listen to.
Thanks again, and keep the tips coming if you've got 'em.

[jrhymeammo]

For hooking up powered subs, check the back of your receivers to see if it has L&R preamp out. If it happens have sub-preout, that's even better, but I doubt it. If it doesn have Right and Left preamp out, you can still use a pwered sub, by using extra pairs of speakers wires to the back of sub. Some subs do not have speakers in/out terminals, so your powered sub selection may be limited, but not by much.

I'm not too sure about CV though. That are pretty good speakers, but if you want more refinement you could be looking at others.


waiting on my thanksgiving shrimps and steaks..

JRA

[Ryukyu]

The receiver actually has two separate sets of speaker outputs. No preamp though that I can see.

Would I need to use a passive sub with this??

Sorry for the stupid questions.

[N. Abstentia]

I would second the Paradigm Studio 40's. Whoever said they can't produce low bass has either never heard them, or had no idea how to set them up.

[jrhymeammo]

I would second the Paradigm Studio 40's. Whoever said they can't produce low bass has either never heard them, or had no idea how to set them up.

I owned them for a few years. They did produce a bit more bass than the MIni Monitors but not by much. Of course I never drove them with a couple of 250 watt monoblocks, but I did drive them with Rotel RSX 972. I'm not saying that 972 can offer the most power, but they can defeintely offer ALOT more than typical receivers. What did you drive'em with N.A.? I've also tried with ALOT of postions, and in 4 different rooms. So I feel like I know what they are capable of(in general of course).

You can always place them right up again the corner of rooms, and sit rightup against the rear wall to hear a bit more lower extension, but that'll sound like crap. Everyone has their own prefernce on lower bass, but I'm really surprised to hear a couple of members mentioning 5s bass capabilities.

Let me know,

JRA

[jrhymeammo]

Opppss..... I was not aware that people were talking about Studio40. I was thinking of Monitor 5s. Duhhhh....

My Bad, can't really comment on the Studio 40s based on inhome experience.

JRA

[jrhymeammo]

http://www.mksound.com/pdf/user_manuals/user_subs/MK_sub_VX-1250_manual.pdf

Try page7 Figure 3. I like to use that and connect speakers directly to speakers, instead of connecting speakers from subs speakers out like on page 8. I just dont like getting signal passed thru sub's crosovers to my main speakers

JRA

[Ryukyu]

http://www.mksound.com/pdf/user_manuals/user_subs/MK_sub_VX-1250_manual.pdf

Try page7 Figure 3. I like to use that and connect speakers directly to speakers, instead of connecting speakers from subs speakers out like on page 8. I just dont like getting signal passed thru sub's crosovers to my main speakers

JRA

Thanks. That helps a lot.

[Ryukyu]

I hope thi sgets some response.
I've been out auditioning speakers.
I listened to a pair of Paradigm Studio 20 v3 and the 40 v3. First of all, I much preferred the 40's because they just had a fuller mid range presence. The imaging was amazing. I may have a chance to get ahold of some 40's but V2. Can someone who has heard both give me some kind of opinion on the differences sound-wise between the V2 and V3.
Next I listened to a pair of Boston Acoustics VR2 florstanders. I really liked the way they sounded too.
My dilemna is that the Paradigms and BAs are located at different stores so it's hard to get and AB comparison.
I haven't seen a lot about the VR2s, does anyone here have any experience with these?
Thanks for any information that you can give me.
I have couple of other shops to try some other speakers at, but at least this is a start.