• 12-06-2003, 05:35 PM
    Mountainclimber
    HT no subwoofer and no speaker stands how?
    My wife has made her point. No more speaker stands and the subwoofer is in the way and takes up to much space. What speakers to look for? I liked the idea of the Polk speakers with the powered subwoofers built in but am most open to any suggestions/help. If it helps the current set-up is a Harman Kardon AVR-85 receiver, Mitsubishi progressive scan dvd player, Mitsubishi 42 inch widescreen hdtv ready television and a DISH Network PVR 721 satellite receiver and lastly Atlantic Technology 250.1 speaker system. Thanks for the help!
  • 12-07-2003, 10:59 AM
    AVMASTER
    using the polk powered towers would take up just as much floor space, the only advantage would be the elimination of the sub. the speakers for the front weight in at 12lbs. each , i would wall mount those and the surrounds (8.1lbs). Trade the sub out for something small and powerful like a Pinnacle Babyboomer ( 600 watts , 9"x9"x9" ).
  • 12-07-2003, 11:22 AM
    agtpunx40
    no more stands?
    why no more speaker stands? They don't take up any more space or anything. Anyway, the main disadvantage to having main speakers with the subs built in is that the very rarely is the location of the front speakers the best place to put such a position sensitive component (as far as peaks and nodes and such). I'd agree with the last post, see about a small but powerful sub.
  • 12-07-2003, 12:00 PM
    poneal
    Im a little confused too. If you have bookshelf speakers on stands and that makes her uncomfortable, then I'm sure that some floor standers will make her go ballistic. If she doesn't like the bookshelf speakers on stands, then I would look into micro speakers such as onkyo, harman kardon, infinity or boston acoustics. I would stay away from bose cubes. The other alternative is in-wall speakers. Paradigm sells in-wall speakers. With speakers of this size you will need a subwoofer. So keep the one you have or buy a smaller one like the previous post suggested. Hope this helps. Paul.
  • 12-07-2003, 01:42 PM
    Mountainclimber
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by poneal
    Im a little confused too. If you have bookshelf speakers on stands and that makes her uncomfortable, then I'm sure that some floor standers will make her go ballistic. If she doesn't like the bookshelf speakers on stands, then I would look into micro speakers such as onkyo, harman kardon, infinity or boston acoustics. I would stay away from bose cubes. The other alternative is in-wall speakers. Paradigm sells in-wall speakers. With speakers of this size you will need a subwoofer. So keep the one you have or buy a smaller one like the previous post suggested. Hope this helps. Paul.
    She is looking for speakers that look more like furniture so floor standers will not make her go ballistic. After about 5 years I tend to agree the speaker stands are ugly. The finish of the Polk speakers help greatly and the sub I have now takes up much to much room. Any other thoughts?
  • 12-07-2003, 01:44 PM
    Mountainclimber
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AVMASTER
    using the polk powered towers would take up just as much floor space, the only advantage would be the elimination of the sub. the speakers for the front weight in at 12lbs. each , i would wall mount those and the surrounds (8.1lbs). Trade the sub out for something small and powerful like a Pinnacle Babyboomer ( 600 watts , 9"x9"x9" ).

    The rears are wall mounted already and I suppose I could wall mount the fronts though they would sit about 3 feet behind the screen of the television. Would that cause any problem? Any way, after all this time it is nice to consider new speakers. Thanks. Any other ideas?

    I don't thing the Polk Towers would take up the room of the sub and the front speaker though as it seems I gain the room the sub took up. Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
  • 12-07-2003, 02:49 PM
    TinHere
    1 Attachment(s)
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mountainclimber
    She is looking for speakers that look more like furniture so floor standers will not make her go ballistic. After about 5 years I tend to agree the speaker stands are ugly. The finish of the Polk speakers help greatly and the sub I have now takes up much to much room. Any other thoughts?
    Check these out at http://www.av123.com/index.phpthey have overcome the WAF a number of times and there is a matching sub. They also come in ebony.
  • 12-08-2003, 07:21 AM
    Bryan
    Perhaps the problem is the look of the stand. Is it possible for you to go out and look at different stands and platforms with her? Perhaps even build a pair yourself and see what she thinks. One possible compromise would be to go with something such as the Magnepan MMG with that center and a sub such as the Adire Audio Dharman or SVS PB1-ISD . She gets more floor space and you get to keep a furniture grade quality sub.
  • 12-08-2003, 04:31 PM
    Mountainclimber
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TinHere
    Check these out at http://www.av123.com/index.phpthey have overcome the WAF a number of times and there is a matching sub. They also come in ebony.
    The link, you were kind enough to leave, did not work. What speakers are those? Thanks!
  • 12-08-2003, 04:34 PM
    Mountainclimber
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bryan
    Perhaps the problem is the look of the stand. Is it possible for you to go out and look at different stands and platforms with her? Perhaps even build a pair yourself and see what she thinks. One possible compromise would be to go with something such as the Magnepan MMG with that center and a sub such as the Adire Audio Dharman or SVS PB1-ISD . She gets more floor space and you get to keep a furniture grade quality sub.
    I have thought of the Magnepan MMG. I had a store salesman tell me to look at Martin Logan and the Omni line. I appreciate your help!

    The stands are not negotiable with her and I tend to agree that furniture quality speakers are the way to go.
  • 12-08-2003, 04:52 PM
    Woochifer
    That would really depend on how important bass is to you. Others have recommended tower speakers with self-powered subwoofers. But, the ones that I've heard almost all produced unbearably boomy sound and box resonance. Those speakers might not have been properly setup, but the main speakers are rarely placed where the bass is ideal. Full range floorstanding speakers can have better integration with the highs/mids than standmount, but you lose the flexibility that a standmount/subwoofer combo gives you.

    This pretty much leaves you with floorstanding speakers, and I can tell you that most of the sub-$1,000 floorstanders that I've heard have problems with box resonance that make them sound boomy and bloated in the bass. This creates problems in the midrange and highs as well because the bass drowns everything else out. The standmounted versions of those speakers generally did not do this. If you can go over $1,000 for a pair of main speakers, your odds of finding a floorstander with minimal box resonance increase. For starters try out B&W, Energy, and Boston's floorstanding models. If you can go higher in price, add Paradigm's Studio series and Dynaudio's Audience series to your list.

    As you go further down into the bass range, the more susceptible those frequencies are to acoustical problems in your room. (There is such thing as too much bass if your room's a problem) These types of issues will not always be apparent in a dealer's demo room because those rooms might be acoustically controlled or the speaker characteristics don't present any problems there. Therefore, you should arrange to home demo whatever speakers you're most interested in. That way you will hear first hand what they will sound like before you break out your credit card!
  • 12-08-2003, 05:28 PM
    TinHere
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mountainclimber
    The link, you were kind enough to leave, did not work. What speakers are those? Thanks!
    That was picture of the Rocket 750 by Onix.

    Here's a link to the main page. Look under Products for Speakers to find them. Great company btw with knowledgable people on their forum if you have questions and want biased answers from people who love them. :)

    http://www.av123.com/index.php
  • 12-08-2003, 07:54 PM
    poneal
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mountainclimber
    She is looking for speakers that look more like furniture so floor standers will not make her go ballistic. After about 5 years I tend to agree the speaker stands are ugly. The finish of the Polk speakers help greatly and the sub I have now takes up much to much room. Any other thoughts?
    Some nice speakers can be found at the following link: http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/hifi.htm
    I'm not sure how much your willing to spend speakers.
    sunfire makes the true subwoofer super junior that is 9" cubed.
    http://www.sunfire.com
    hope this helps in your search.
  • 12-09-2003, 05:42 AM
    AVMASTER
    it's rare that a wife would allow big speakers in place of bookshelfs but i understand your delimma; alot of couples come into my shop and purchase speakers based on looks with performance coming in a close second. As in earlier posts, powered towers tend to have a boomy bass and the wrong placement (in most cases ) for a sub. My first suggest would be Atlantic Technology system 8200 ( if you've got deep pockets), or Wharfdale Evolution 40-maybe higher-, and a small powerful sub-carver nightshadow, pinnacle babyboomer, etc...