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JSE
04-28-2004, 10:19 AM
OK so here is the deal. I am a poor college kid, but I can't be without a theater system. I have a receiver but I don't have any speakers, YET!! I was wondering what speakers are good, but not really expensive. I am looking at just buying a sub and 2 fronts this year and then adding later. Hope that you can help. Thanks


How much do you want to spend? Do you want towers or bookshelves? Roomsize is probably not that important right now since as a college student you will be moving a lot.

JSE

HawkeyeGuy
04-28-2004, 10:19 AM
OK so here is the deal. I am a poor college kid, but I can't be without a theater system. I have a receiver but I don't have any speakers, YET!! I was wondering what speakers are good, but not really expensive. I am looking at just buying a sub and 2 fronts this year and then adding later. Hope that you can help. Thanks

JSE
04-28-2004, 10:20 AM
How did I get ahead of your post? Weird?

JSE

yarkman
04-28-2004, 10:23 AM
What is your budget for the fronts and sub??? What have you listened to thus far??

Bryan
04-28-2004, 10:45 AM
What sort of figure do you have in mind for a budget? What type of music do you enjoy listening to? What size room will this be going in? Is DIY a possibility? How about used speakers?

HawkeyeGuy
04-28-2004, 11:46 AM
Um looking for about $200 to $400 for the sub and around $300 to $500 for the pair of fronts. Room size will be about 20 by 20 for now but that will be changing. It will be used for tv, movies, and music, mostly (alternative) Hope you guys can help me out

Forgot used speakers would be fine

JSE
04-28-2004, 12:13 PM
Um looking for about $200 to $400 for the sub and around $300 to $500 for the pair of fronts. Room size will be about 20 by 20 for now but that will be changing. It will be used for tv, movies, and music, mostly (alternative) Hope you guys can help me out

Forgot used speakers would be fine


I would probably look at the Athena line at Best Buy. Best Buy is not the best place to look for speakers, but the Athena line is very good for it's price and has been getting some really good reviews. For $500, you could maybe get the AS-F2 and definitely the AS-F1. These are floor standers that should do fine in most rooms including yours. The key is to go listen to a lot of speakers. You might look at Polk, Infinity, Athena, JBL (E series), Klipsch, Cambridge, Rocket and Axiom to name a few. Axiom and Rocket are internet based companies.

Subs? The HSU STF 2 is $399.

JSE

yarkman
04-28-2004, 12:29 PM
I agree with JSE on the sub. Hsu hass one of the best deals going.

In addition to the already mentioned speaker vendors, I would also take a look at the some of the bookshelf speakers from Wharfedale, and if you have a B&W dealer in the area, you may be able to get into a pair of the DM602 S3's for about $550. If you can afford the B&W, I would highly recommend you giving them a listen.

Most important bit of advice everyone agrees on: you need to let your ears make your decision.

Happy listening!!

HawkeyeGuy
04-29-2004, 09:32 AM
I was out looking and listening around. I listened to Cerwin Vega and it sounded pretty good. Is this a good brand and what should I expect to pay for this sub (either 12 to 15)?

Thanks

yarkman
04-29-2004, 10:56 AM
It all depends on your taste. Personally, I think most Cerwin Vega speakers sound muddy plus they lack the ablity to produce a decent soundstage. However, they do a great job if you want loud, in your face, rock speakers! It depends if you want to create a HT or create a party system.

About 10 years ago, I started to create my first system without the help of forums like this. I used Cerwin Vegas for mains, and for me, they were way overpowering, Almost immediately, I replaced them with bookshelves from Infinity. IMHO, I think you can do alot better for the $$, if you look around. There are alot of really good speakers out there. Something you might want to check out is Fluance.

http://www.fluance.com/fluan5speaks.html
http://www.audioreview.com/Home%20Theater%20Speaker%20Systems/Fluance/PRD_142844_4282crx.aspx
I've never heard them, but depending upon your expectations, alot of people seem happy with them.

Bryan
04-29-2004, 11:04 AM
Cerwin Vega are what I would classify as party speakers. They are high efficiency with boomy bass. Not good qualities if you are searching for a more refined sound. Do not let the higher effeciency fool you into thinking they are better. You will need to compare them to other speakers using a SPL meter as you want the volume level to be the same. Louder doesn't always mean better. As you enjoy the more forward sound, look at offerings from from Klipsch and Paradigm.

Prefuse
04-29-2004, 11:31 AM
There are some great deals on Audiogon for your budget, which will allow you to get some pretty decent speakers. Have a look at Dynaudio, Opera, Totem, etc., etc.

poneal
04-29-2004, 03:32 PM
Your a college kid and like to experiment and build stuff I'm sure. Go to PE and try building the BR1 monitors and then build a sub. They come in kits and are really EZ to build. Sealed built the 15" sub in about an hour. Here are the links and the price is right up your ally.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-642
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-632&DID=7

I think for your price range this will be the best you can get.

Lafferman
04-29-2004, 07:35 PM
i am also a college kid and know what your going through. I ended up with paradigm titans they were cheap($200 US/pair) and sounded great to me. all my friends love them they can't tell if the sound is someone goofing off or if it's the movie :) it makes me smile. now i need a sub to smack them around a little.

92135011
04-29-2004, 09:04 PM
I too am in the same boat...
except I do not have anything right now except a boombox config I got in grade 9
Wanna get something new...except I'm too cheap and cautious. Cautious is good though. I would go DIY much like others have said. Buy some drivers, then go to the hardware store to pick up some wood and so on. Hopefully you can borrow some tools, then put it all together. Use some cabinet plans that have been used before, cuz cabinet dimentions and damping materials could be difficult to design well when first starting. When you get more cash, maybe you can then build different things to experiment. The self-satisfaction should give be very rewarding, except the problem is that you might not be able to audition before buying, but chances are your buck will get farther by DIY (or used also for that matter)