Musical HT speaker recommendations and other help

thp · « **on:** 9 Jun 2003, 07:49 pm »

I'm a poor poor college student that has been saving up for the last year to get a good musical home theatre system. I'm going to blow away 1 years of working part time and summer work just for my musical needs.

I'd like some recommendations for a good setup that will last me a good 5 years or even 10. I've always been one to buy quality, take care of it and use it for a long time. System would probably be used in a 70/30 musical/home theatre setup. Would probably listen to classical/jazz/rock/blues, not in any specific order of preference.

Budget:
$2000-$2500 for the speakers, not going to have a sub, never really liked bass and prefer to listen to music at low volumes...
the distribution would probably be:
$1000 for the fronts
$500 for center
$500 for surrounds

So far i've listend to the paradigm studio 40/stdio cc/studio 20. They sound okay, but seemed a little harsh in the highs, but other then that they sounded nice to me.

Next was the JM labs colbalt series... forgot which specific models but I thought they sounded a little better then the paradigm studios, especially in the highs.

Just for fun I tried the proacs, damn those sounded nice. I really liked the sound coming from them.

I was recommended the Ellis 1801's are fronts, and AV1+ as center and surrounds but haven't been able to audition any of those yet. But after reading all the reviews for those, they seem like a very good choice, but I'm afraid of overhype or hot speakers of the month.

Any recommendation or advice on what direction I should go when deciding what to get would be greatly appreciated.

Tyson · « **Reply #1 on:** 9 Jun 2003, 08:19 pm »

Just a friendly FYI, if you didn't like the Paradigms, avoid the Axioms - they are even lighter/leaner sounding. I've got the M22ti's and m2i's in my HT and they are somewhat bright speakers (which is exactly what I wanted in my HT).

Brad · « **Reply #2 on:** 9 Jun 2003, 08:22 pm »

You might look at the Triangle line of speakers.

The upgraded anigre finish is very nice.

www.triangle-fr.com
Do a search on Audiogon for dealers.

Zerius for fronts, Sextan for center, Aliote for surrounds.
Even at list price, it's around your budget. Should be available cheaper, especially if you're buying all 5 at the same time.

Lex · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Jun 2003, 03:36 am »

Forget buying new speakers. With your budget, concentrate on used to get the best value AND the best musical speaker you can afford. IMO, not much comes close to Sonus faber for music in this price range.

I'd recommend Sonus faber Concerto mains, Concertino rears, and either a Solo or Piccalo center speaker.

Go to Audiogon and look in used. Just remember, caveate empor! Make sure the seller has good feedback. I see Concertos and Concertinos there all the time. Also be aware, there's a difference in the current "Home series", and the previous Concert series. So, don't mix and match.

If you can't afford stands too, temporarily set them on on wood barstools, it'll work!

Lex

bubba966 · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Jun 2003, 04:11 am »

Doug's made a good suggestion.

Used Sonus Fabers would be a damn good choice for this application. They're pretty good HT speakers, and damn good music speakers.

I'm a strictly HT guy. The Sonus Fabers I've listened to over the last 3-4 years have been more than acceptible for HT (though not my favorite HT speaker), and some of the best music speakers I've heard so far. I can't reccommend my favorite HT speakers (M&K's) as they're only acceptable for music, and it's easy to find a better music speaker at a higher cost.

So my advice is to take Doug's advice. Look into the specific SF's he's mentioned as he knows that line much, much better than I do...

Lex · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Jun 2003, 12:40 am »

Bubba, thanks for the second on the advice.

Your right, for some people they aren't ideal for all theater applications, but teamed with the right hardware, they can do a good job at HT. Let's face it, a good bit of HT is also music, and they do that very very well.

Lex

Johng316 · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Jun 2003, 07:24 pm »

My favorite HT speaker so far remains, after all this time, the humble nOrh 4.0 drum.

These would give you room to spare on your budget for something else. http://www.norh.com

The other suggestions are wonderful as well.

Have you made any decisions yet?

John G

thp · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Jun 2003, 09:22 pm »

Hi, just finished unpacking... college is finally over...

First thing I did was go and audtion a bunch of speakers... ^_^

I tried the looking for the sonus faber and triangle, but haven't been able to locate a dealer in Portland, Oregon. I also wanted to look at the Von Swiet something vr-1 but haven't been able to find that either.

I'm having a really hard time just finding a 5 speaker setup for $2500 range... only things I've been able to find the were the paradigm studios and jm labs cobalts... I tried for B & M, but the dealer only had one pair for audition.

but I still really like the ProAc Response One SC... that's way out of budget...

I listened to the norh 4.0 ceramics at the end of last summer and liked the paradigm studio 20 more, but the norh 4.0 is a hell of a lot less...

Thanks for your suggestions , I'll try to find a deal and audition them tomorrow.

bubba966 · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Jun 2003, 06:42 am »

Don't know if you'd want to drive a bit out of Portland, but Magnolia Hi-Fi carries Sonus Faber.

That's where I've always listened to them.

thp · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Jun 2003, 08:58 pm »

I'm now starting to like two channel more... I was considering a home theatre system, but I'm starting to wane back to two channel.

gah, the choices ....

jqp · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Jun 2003, 02:40 am »

I have a 2-channel "HT". I have the norh Marble 9.0s and they work amazingly well since they go down to sub 30Hz. And the center material sounds like it comes from the TV screen. I can definitely live with it, although I plan to move towards at least 5.1.

Marbles · « **Reply #11 on:** 16 Jun 2003, 02:46 am »

7 9.0's are pretty nice...well, 5 9.0's plus a pair of custom mini column 9.0's

You should try that sometime. XO'd at 80hz to SVS Ultra's on a Crown K2 does not suck

JonPugmire · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Jun 2003, 08:38 pm »

Re: Portland, Oregon

NHT can be found at Home Video Library, I purchased a system for the in-laws there recently. 2 x ST-4, 2 x SB-3, 1 x SC-2, I don't have the receipt anymore, but I believe it was $1500 total. (MSRP is ~$2k). Subs are optional with the ST-4's depending on room size and how crazy you are.

Shamrock Audio

http://www.shamrockaudio.com

They are located in Silverton, Oregon, about 30 mins south of Portland. They recently announced a new mini-monitor that may meet your needs. Take a look at their forum.

Jon