Internet Direct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[oddeoowphil38]

Here are the internet direct companies that I am aware of. If you know of any others please list them so I can check them out. Also, if you have any eexperience with any of these companies please elaborate on what they are.
Ascend Acoustics
Axiom
Streem
Fluance
Aperion
AV123 (Rockets)
Swans
Home Theatrer Direct
Tyler Acoustics
Home Theater Direct 2 u
SVS
Hsu Research
Outlaw Audio
Any others I am not aware of? Care to share your experiences with any of the above?

[ericl]

Cool idea for a thread.

There's also Norh, and I am sure there are many more. Don't forget the millions of cable manufacturers.

[corwin99]

There are many many more, but one that I use myself is Odyssey Audio... they make components, cables and speakers... all are very good performance and are quite affordable.
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/

[thepogue]

bongo fury!!!

they go great wiff some Pogues!!

Peace-out, Pogue

[bikeman]

These are my mains in the HT. I bought them with the intent of using them primarily for movies but now it's 90% music. I've owned some decent speakers in the past but these are the best I've experienced in my home. A sub is a good idea but they can hold their own without one. I'll be adding a center and two surrounds this Fall. If anyone has any questions, fire away.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...m/cmt340m.html

David

[drseid]

ACI, Salk, Ellis and Selah are a few notable others (and there are many more)...

I have purchased from ACI, Outlaw, Norh, Tyler and AV123...

My best experience (sound and service-wise) was with Tyler, but all of them were positive buys except Outlaw.

In the case of Outlaw, the service was absolutely *phenomenal*, but I did not care for the goods themselves... Then again, I have gotten very picky over the years... Probably 5 years ago I would have been quite happy with their stuff too... Most people will not mind the Outlaw goods at all... and certainly the value is there.

ACI makes excellent subwoofers for music use in particular... I would not trade my Titan II for just about any other sub on the market under $2500. Service was quite good too, if a bit less personal than companies such as Tyler and Outlaw.

AV123 was a purchase for my Dad that I don't regret in the least. They have excellent build quality, above average sound (superb for the money), and great customer service.

Tyler embodies everything I love about audio. The speakers sound absolutely fabulous, the value for the dollar is very tough to beat, and the seller/builder/owner insists you talk to him on the phone before he will sell them to you (all Tyler speakers are custom hand built to order). Best of all, Ty frequently advises you to spend less than you think you should (as he did with me)... It is nice to see that there still are some honest sellers left out there (even better when they sell superb goods)...

Finally in the case of Norh, I bought some of their cheapy 3.0s for my brother-in-law... For $100/pr., it is pretty hard to argue with the sound quality... Fit and finish were lacking, but how many companies will sell a pair of real wood speakers for $100? Customer service was good, if not exceptional... But again, these puppies were $100 bucks a pair... I think I got a *very* good deal, and my brother-in-law loves them. :-)

---Dave

[Buzz Roll]

Ohm!
ohmspeakers.com
With the exception of maybe the Tylers (which I haven't heard, but have heard about), Ohm is without a doubt one of the best internet direct speaker deals. They are also one of the best sounding speakers period - in a lot of sonic areas they are up there with most of what I heard at the Home Entertainment Show in NYC last week-end!

[rjservatius]

Bought OUTLAW 1050 receiver. Never regretted it. It will out live me.
Recently bought ORBs (orbaudio.com). Like 'em. Wife LOVES them.

Looked at:
Wraithspeakers.com
Greenmountainaudio.com
http://www.directacoustics.com/home.htm (emailed but no reply)


Ascend Acoustics
Axiom
Streem
Fluance
Aperion
AV123 (Rockets)
Swans
Home Theatrer Direct
Tyler Acoustics
Home Theater Direct 2 u
SVS
Hsu Research
Outlaw Audio
Any others I am not aware of? Care to share your experiences with any of the above?[/QUOTE]

[oddeoowphil38]

These are my mains in the HT. I bought them with the intent of using them primarily for movies but now it's 90% music. I've owned some decent speakers in the past but these are the best I've experienced in my home. A sub is a good idea but they can hold their own without one. I'll be adding a center and two surrounds this Fall. If anyone has any questions, fire away.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages...m/cmt340m.html

David

David I have a few questions for you. It has been said or shall I say I have read(on several occasions) that the CBM-170's or as good if not better than the Paradigm Studio 20's. Do you have any experience with the 170's? Have you ever heard the Studio 20's? I personally have a hard time believing that a $328 pair of speakers sound as well as a $750 pair such as the 20's. I am not as concerned with the 170's bass extension because I am more than happy with my Paradigm PS-1000. I must say the 20's are absolutely awesome but if I can get a pair for less than half the price(170's) then I may give it a shot. If you have expereince with both the 170's and the 20's please explain how they are similar and how are they different. Thanks Dave-get back to me as soon as you can.

[oddeoowphil38]

Thanks for the info. You know what is kool? I live less than 30 miles from Tyler Acoustics. They are located in Owensboro, KY and I have talked to the owner on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, they are a lil bit out of my price range. The owner invited me to come by sometime and he will take me around. I plan on doing that the very next time I am in Owensboro. Thanks again for the info.

[drseid]

Thanks for the info. You know what is kool? I live less than 30 miles from Tyler Acoustics. They are located in Owensboro, KY and I have talked to the owner on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, they are a lil bit out of my price range. The owner invited me to come by sometime and he will take me around. I plan on doing that the very next time I am in Owensboro. Thanks again for the info.

Since you are so close, you may want to listen to the new Tyler Freedom line... The lowest priced Freedom line speaker (the F-1) goes for $525/pr. That is actually not too steep (but I don't know what your price range is...).

Regardless, I would go just to hear some great sounding stuff, as the top-of-the-line Woodmeres are really incredible (not to mention their other models). I went all the way to Vegas CES to hear them earlier this year... In your case, you have a nice half hour drive. I envy you... :-)

---Dave

[kexodusc]

David I have a few questions for you. It has been said or shall I say I have read(on several occasions) that the CBM-170's or as good if not better than the Paradigm Studio 20's. Do you have any experience with the 170's? Have you ever heard the Studio 20's? I personally have a hard time believing that a $328 pair of speakers sound as well as a $750 pair such as the 20's. I am not as concerned with the 170's bass extension because I am more than happy with my Paradigm PS-1000. I must say the 20's are absolutely awesome but if I can get a pair for less than half the price(170's) then I may give it a shot. If you have expereince with both the 170's and the 20's please explain how they are similar and how are they different. Thanks Dave-get back to me as soon as you can.

I've had decent experience with Axiom (though I actuallly bought from one of the last authorized brick and mortar stores) and HSU Research.
I've personally heard and been impressed with Rocket, and SVS, and Ascend Acoustics.

Can't say any of these sounded like speakers costing 3 times their price, especially my Axioms. I will say that the Rocket and Ascend home theaters I heard were probably a bit better value than a lot of other similarly priced speakers, but not necessarily better.

My M3Ti's and VTF-2 were very good buys, though I was incredibly disappointed with the M3Ti's because they failed to live up to all the goofy reviews you read from the Axiom cult members.

I think more and more of these internet companies are doing to offer better value in entry level and mid-level speakers (which is what most of these are). Production outsourced in China, inexpensive quality drivers, and low overhead make for a competitive business model.
Are they better than the brick and mortar stores? Not in my opinion, but they are better than many brick and mortar brands, and present yet more great alternatives. This is a good thing in my opinion. Competition should push other companies to improve their products.

[topspeed]

How 'bout these?

Veracity/Salksound (www.salksound.com)
Magnaplanar (MMG is factory direct only)
EFE Technologies

[corwin99]

I listened to a pair of the big Axiom 80Ti's this past weekend at a friend's place. They sounded OK for $1500 speakers, but if i had that money to spend on a speaker it'd likely not be the Axioms. They were a little boomy, with quite a bit of cabinet coloration. The knuckle rap test on the side yielded much vibration and a very hollow sound.. neither of which is positive. We stuffed the 2 rear ports (there are 3 ports????) with socks and that seems to have tightened them up quite a bit... his lack of room treatment also probably attributed to the boominess.

Overall however, they were decent for rock, and weren't too fatiguing, but nothing about them particularly shined either.

[Woochifer]

I would also add Adire Audio and Acoustic Visions to the list. These companies are in a fuzzier area than the others on your list in that they serve the DIY market first, and offer up kits and a few prefinished products.

The Adire Rava has been talked about here quite a bit, and I have one in my setup. But, Adire is in the middle of a big transition right now, and will significantly expand their selection of DIY drivers. As part of this transition, they have discontinued all of their previous drivers, and until the new drivers are introduced, pretty much all of Adire's products are on hold. They also have moved all of their distribution to an online dealer network. Similar prices as before, but Adire will no longer sell through their website.

Acoustic Visions is one of Adire's resellers, and they sell parts as well as their own subwoofers, which they assemble from various components. One of their creations is the Everest subwoofer, which is a 400 lb. dual 15" behemoth with four 15" passive radiators.

[stuartlittle]

I'm a big fan of Orb Audio (www.orbaudio.com). Great products and top notch service.

[bikeman]

David I have a few questions for you. It has been said or shall I say I have read(on several occasions) that the CBM-170's or as good if not better than the Paradigm Studio 20's. Do you have any experience with the 170's? Have you ever heard the Studio 20's? I personally have a hard time believing that a $328 pair of speakers sound as well as a $750 pair such as the 20's. I am not as concerned with the 170's bass extension because I am more than happy with my Paradigm PS-1000. I must say the 20's are absolutely awesome but if I can get a pair for less than half the price(170's) then I may give it a shot. If you have expereince with both the 170's and the 20's please explain how they are similar and how are they different. Thanks Dave-get back to me as soon as you can.

I have not personally heard the 170's so I can't compare them directly to the Studio 20's which I am familiar with. I did compare the Studio 40's to the Ascend 340's in my home and prefered the 340's. My wallet was dancing over that decision.
Stop over to the Ascend Forum @ ascendacoustics.com and do a search or ask a question. Several regular posters have directly compared the 20's to the 170's. The 170's apparently have no trouble holding their own against the 20's.

David

[kexodusc]

How 'bout these?

Veracity/Salksound (www.salksound.com)
Magnaplanar (MMG is factory direct only)
EFE Technologies

Hey there Topspeed:
These are good additions too...
I'd tend to consider these more factory direct than "internet direct"...which is what the thread was called...but that's not really fair on my part. I lump all the more recent start-up companies with hundreds of banners here at ar.com as "internet direct" I thought it was a subtle difference, but then again, how do they get sold otherwise if not the internet?

Oddly enough, EFE doesn't have a website and began as a small regional operation. I think Ed Frias never expected to grow as much as he did in the last few years. Now doubt his free design here at this website helped him out.

I really wish I knew more people with some of these speaker brands. Offshore production is really changing the costs involved in making great speakers. I'm not so sure the benefits are limited to the mid-level quality speakers anymore.

Funny part is, if the brick and mortar brands start disappearing, it'll make shopping for the internet-direct brands more difficult - fewer readily available references.

Time will tell.

[Buzz Roll]

I didn't really think of the factory direct distinction, but the Ohms are definitely made by hand in Brooklyn, USA. I actually went there to pick my speakers up because I live in Manhattan. I guess some companies might make their speakers overseas, but offices are based in the states.

It will be interesting to see if more people gravitate towards internet sales in the future. Tyler's idea of posting owners (volunteers) in various areas of the country is an interesting idea.

[bikeman]

It will be interesting to see if more people gravitate towards internet sales in the future. Tyler's idea of posting owners (volunteers) in various areas of the country is an interesting idea.

Most of the internet direct companies already have volunteer owner's that do demo's. Just post an inquiry on any of the company's forums. AV123 has taken this a step farther and is assembling a network of folks (50 to begin with) who will have direct ties to the company. They are currently selecting the 50 from a pool of applicants. Very ambitious.

David