Found out my speakers are crap! Which channel to change?

[Kaiser Sosze]

Those White Van speakers have the flimsiest boxes going. Putting Dynaudio or Scanspeak drivers in your old speakers would be like putting a Jag V-12 in a Yugo, it just don't make sense. If you're gonna home build there are plenty of sites around that sell kits that are far and away superior to what you're talking about doing. Please don't do anything with those Vans but burn them or Garage Sale them.

Da Worfster

lol if you say so, They're heavy as hell, I thought they were good for that reason, its why I bought them.

Anyway I think I found something in my new budget ,theAxiom M3 seem to be about what I'm looking for.

[umapet97]

I second what Dean_Martin posted.
I encourage you to check out Miller and Kreisels line of speakers and subs.
They dont skimp on sound even at "entry level".

[Kaiser Sosze]

Ok Dean

I will look into those, from what I'm getting from everybody is, take it slow, save a little extra cash since it's worth it when it comes to speakers.

I have a Sub that is doing a decent job , it shakes everything, if thats a good sign, I purchased a Bose VC10 centerchannel not too long ago. So I just got dooped on the mains.

I just have to find some HT stores that have any of these brands

I just looked at MK line and thought they looked good, thanks for the heads up

I just now looked at the Paradigms, the studio 20 which are small are $800 a pair I would guess I would need at least the 60 (couldn't find a price), I keep seeing extra weeks of saving being added to my purchase date, damn

[royphil345]

Don't buy new speakers because other people don't think much of the ones you have. I've seen a couple models of "White Van" speakers. (My brother's friend just bought some a couple weeks ago... lol) They seem to be built better than some of the cheaper speakers at the electronics stores. The drivers look decent. They have actual crossover networks, with actual choke coils for the woofers and mids. Have seen store-bought speakers with worse crossovers and parts. The only bad part of the deal seems to be that the buyer thinks he bought something much better. I guess some people totally fall for the scam and pay way too much

They definitely won't sound high-end. Think they compare with any other tower speaker at the price they usually sell for though. If you desire more realistic sound than they're capable of, then upgrade.

Was extremely funny when we went to the bank machine the other day in my brother's white mini-van. And he said to his friend, "Feel familiar?".

[axelsrd]

KS, I think the Axiom option you mentioned may be a good place to start. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go listen to other speakers...B&W, Klipsch, KEF, Infinity, Polk..etc. You may even find something you like on eBay. As for the Axioms, If I recall, they offer 30 day money back, so at least you have 30 days to listen and return if you don't like. Not many companies out there that will do that.
One thing I have learned and I learned the HARD way. Find a speaker that does well with music. A speaker that does well with music will do well with HT. A speaker that does well for HT may NOT (generally not) do well for music.
Oh, by the way, your Onkyo 702 is a fine receiver and will handle whatever you end up with. You have read alot of differing opinions here. The hard thing to do is try not to let one opinion dominate your search. Listen to everything you can. Don't be in a hurry. Take youe time. Afterall, it's YOUR hard earned money you are spending, not mine/ours.

Good luck

[Worf101]

lol if you say so, They're heavy as hell, I thought they were good for that reason, its why I bought them.

Anyway I think I found something in my new budget ,theAxiom M3 seem to be about what I'm looking for.

Don't confuse "heavy" with "rigid". Sometimes weight is a measure of speakers rigidity sometimes it's just lead shot and heavy old-school magnets on the drivers. Cabinet rigidity is what prevents the speaker from walking, rattling and coloring the sound with imperfections that are inherent in using a hollow box to hold a speaker. Superior speakers use dense materials with much crossbracing to limit sympathetic vibrations and other acousitc problems. I'm not the resident expert Wooch is but I know flimsy when I see's it.

Da Worfster

[Kaiser Sosze]

Yeah Worfster , they have big magnets in them, didn't know about the rigity though

Thanks guys! The last 2 weeks I've been reading and my mine is flooded with info each day! And each day I get more confused and exhausted.The less simple things become...... Their is way more out there than I imagined. so many brands that are good. What did I get myself into, with my other hobbies , I'm used to a smaller selection

Problem is , I've been visiting the websites, which some have prices, and hitting the dealer locator, and their are no stores around me or easy to get to, and most of them are installers it looks like, so I suppose they don't keep an inventory for sampling.But I would like to hear how the sound improves as you step it up. I'm not familiar with what local HT stores prices are compared to the Brand online direct sales. Are you paying sticker price online? I would suppose so, its like that with everything
I'm sure anything I get will be noticably better than what I have.

Thanks for any info you have to offer

Dean,
yes its inspiring to look at

[axelsrd]

Yeah Worfster , they have big magnets in them, didn't know about the rigity though

Thanks guys! The last 2 weeks I've been reading and my mine is flooded with info each day! And each day I get more confused and exhausted.The less simple things become...... Their is way more out there than I imagined. so many brands that are good. What did I get myself into, with my other hobbies , I'm used to a smaller selection

Problem is , I've been visiting the websites, which some have prices, and hitting the dealer locator, and their are no stores around me or easy to get to, and most of them are installers it looks like, so I suppose they don't keep an inventory for sampling.But I would like to hear how the sound improves as you step it up. I'm not familiar with what local HT stores prices are compared to the Brand online direct sales. Are you paying sticker price online? I would suppose so, its like that with everything
I'm sure anything I get will be noticably better than what I have.

Thanks for any info you have to offer

Dean,
yes its inspiring to look at

You will pay sticker price at the HT stores...most likely. Depending on what brand you choose, you might find some deals from online retailers. You might try audiogon.com for used. They are particular about they're equipment so you should find some well taken care of speakers. And again, from what I have read, the Axiom speaker gets very good reviews and they are reasonably priced.