Out of these 4 speakers, which 2 should I try? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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exospire
11-13-2008, 02:55 PM
Hey guys and girls! Well I just got a pair of AV123 ELT5 speakers that I am trying out, and I would like to get a couple others to compare them with. The ELT525M's are very smooth sounding and detailed. These things can get loud despite their low sensitivity, but I'd like to hear what some of these other speakers sound like.

I have narrowed down my choices to the following:
1. Ascend Acoustics 170SE
2. Axiom M3 v2
3. Wharfedale Diamond 9.2
4. Energy RC-10

They will be hooked up to a Onkyo TX-SR506 and I'd say my listening is slightly more towards music than movies. I mainly listen to rock, indie, experimental, electronic, and hip-hop. Since I can't try out all 4 of these speakers, which 2 would you guys recommend I listen to?

blackraven
11-13-2008, 04:07 PM
The Whafedales get my vote. I don't think that they will be too laid back. They are highly rated and have very good specs. Their freq response dips down to 45Hz.

RoadRunner6
11-13-2008, 04:55 PM
You choice of the Mirage S8 sub is an excellent one in my opinion especially at $225.

I have owned Axion, Energy and Wharfedale in the past, although my Wharfedale's were vintage. The reference to a frequency response to 45Hz is meaningless without a reference point. That is actually at -6dB's and not the usual -3dB's (Wharfedale cheats a little). However, it really makes no difference for your situation since you are going to be crossing over to a sub no lower than 80Hz. Do not make the mistake with any bookshelf speaker of crossing over below 80 Hz. With some smaller speakers even 90-100Hz might be warranted.

I currently own Axiom and am a little biased. I would suggest considering the M2's rather than the M3's. Used with a sub you do not need the extra 10dB's or so of bass extenson. Also the M2 has slightly better imaging and neutral sound. I had originally decided on the M3's or the M22's. I talked with Axiom experts (they are really all experts with many years of experience) a number of times and they talked me into the M2's. I have a considerably larger room than yours.

You don't mention the prices you are looking at on the above speakers. However, I must vote for the Energy RC-10's. They are in my opinion a step up from the other speakers. You have 4 great choices here and couldn't go wrong with any of them. For the second one I would go for either the Axiom or the Wharfedale. The Wharfedale is somewhat larger. I'm guessing that the Wharfe might give a more full/warm sound and the Axiom more precise and accurate.

I will be interested to hear your report back on your findings. Have fun.

RR6

blackraven
11-13-2008, 05:03 PM
Oops! I didnt see that the 45Hz was at -6dB. The Energy's are nice speaker, but I prefer to have a 6.5" woofer over a 5.5" for a fuller sound as RR6 stated. I think that if you like to listen to rock and hip hop that you will prefer a larger speaker, even if you are using a sub. Another thing to take into account is that the type of music you like is usually recorded on the bright side, so it may not be a good match for a speaker that leans on the bright side and the Wharfedales are not supposed to be bright. But all those speakers would do well. Good luck!

exospire
11-13-2008, 05:39 PM
About the prices...I'm looking at about $350 max.

The Energy RC-10's can be had for $333 new from audioadviser only in rosenut however, which is fine for me. Shipping is free and I'm not sure about tax.

The Ascend Acoustics are extremely ugly in my opinion but I've heard so many good things about them. They however are pretty expensive coming in at $348 plus $20 for shipping... not sure about tax here either.

The Axiom's are I believe $298 and $330 (M2 and M3), and free shipping, not sure about tax.

The Wharfedale's I found for $299 from tsto.... not sure about shipping or taxes.

I think I for sure want to test out the Energy RC-10's just because they still $600 new in the other colors... very tempting... think I'm goona order these before they go off sale

RoadRunner6
11-14-2008, 01:11 AM
That's one heck of a price on the Energy RC-10's. That is why I wondered how you got them in with the other three. There is usually no tax charged if you are not in the same state as the dealer and they don't have an outlet in your state.

RR6

Mark111867
11-14-2008, 04:59 AM
I would check out the Wharfedales. If you go for the Energy speakers, it might be a good idea to call Audio Advisor to confirm they are in stock. I placed an order a couple of months ago for the RC-10's ($299). I waited a couple of weeks and gave them a call. They informed me that they would not be getting anymore in and had to cancel my order. I also heard that the RC-10's are being discontinued.

fleecaf
11-14-2008, 06:02 AM
You might also consider seond-hand (Auction sites etc) You never know, you could end up with 4 times the speaker for 1/2 the money ;)

exospire
11-16-2008, 01:17 AM
One thing I thought of is I would like to get a center channel so I could do 3.1 for DD stuff... but a center channel for the RC-10's would be the RC-LCR Center right? As far as I know, those aren't on sale at audioadvisor and they cost about $650 new. I'm sure I could get a center for the Wharfs or Ascends for $200-$300.

RGA
11-16-2008, 03:30 AM
I would not say Wharfedale is cheating - the Brits provide the -6db point as what they consider usable in room frequency response while the American makers seem to provide -3db and claim that -10db is usable.

Bass is not just a number - some simply provide the sensation of bass while others simply provide a number. My Wharfedale Vanguard from the late 1980s had a spec of 40hz with no other number (which makes one leary) but you compare this floorstander's bass to say the paradigm Studio 40 which claims close to flat bass to 40hz (-2db or something) but it real clear real fast that the Wharfedale blows the Studio 40 to the weeds when it comes to bass depth articulation speed and SPL.

Factor in that some makers are often reserved in their ratings while others are not then you really won't know until you actually listen.

The Diamond series has always been good and the 9.2 is a pretty big step up - I am glad to see that Wharfedale has made a come back over the last few years under new ownership - This company began in the 1920s.

There's an active pro version of this speaker too that you may be able to find and for the money it was quite nice to listen to.

The 9.1 is no slouch either and I preferred it and the 9.2 to some more expensive competitors from Epos M5, Audio Note's AX One, B&W's 303 and 601, Paradigm (entire monitor line) and a few others. IMO they deserve the acclaim for what you get for the price paid.