Speaker experts--wisdom, please

[JimShaw]

I own Speakcraft AIM8 3s (http://www.speakercraft.com/#Products:16:AIM8) and to me they sound pretty good BUT I have never had anything else to compare them to. These speakers are the best and most expensive I have ever owned. I have never listened to any others except for a few at BB or maybe Circuit City and I have never heard what one would call EXPENSIVE speakers to compare mine to. All my speakers have to be in the ceiling so this does limit me a little.

So, I stopped by a high-end speaker store to see if I was missing something. At the store I saw some beautiful stuff but did not get to hear any. The owner did talk to me for about an hour and in that time he did let me know that Speakercraft was considered a C or a C minus speaker. He thought I should move up to possibly the Paradigms which would move me up to possible a B speaker. Now I do understand that he would love to sell me a few of his A speaker towers which were around the neighborhood of about $25,000.00 each but hey, I am retired and don't have that kind of spending any more. Therefore, I have to be a little more realistic.

He did highly praise Paradigm bipolar speakers for the rears and the Paradigm Signature for the fronts, maybe because he sold them and not Speakercraft. I did noticed that the Paradigm in-wall/ceiling speakers can run up to $1.500.00 each.

Now my question to you: Are my speakers that bad that spending about $7,500.00 more to upgrade would make that much of a difference in the sound that I now have? Would it be a WOW factor in my audio listening life that justified that kind of money OR would I kick myself for the $$$ spent for little return in sound quality??

[richteer]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

I own Speakcraft AIM8 3s (http://www.speakercraft.com/#Products:16:AIM8) and to me they sound pretty good BUT I have never had anything else to compare them to. These speakers are the best and most expensive I have ever owned. I have never listened to any others except for a few at BB or maybe Circuit City and I have never heard what one would call EXPENSIVE speakers to compare mine to. All my speakers have to be in the ceiling so this does limit me a little.

[...]

Now my question to you: Are my speakers that bad that spending about $7,500.00 more to upgrade would make that much of a difference in the sound that I now have? Would it be a WOW factor in my audio listening life that justified that kind of money OR would I kick myself for the $$$ spent for little return in sound quality??

I don't have ahuge amount of experience in this area, but instinct tells me that you're not going to get very good sound from in-ceiling speakers. So, given your requirement that your speakers MUST be in the ceiling, I'd be inclined to say save your money--or spend it elsewhere...

If you really want to improve your sound quality, I'd think long and hard about lifting that ceiling-only requirement.

[IXinchnail]

You'll get much better advice at avsforum from people who have been in your situation. Also, you don't have to buy 5 $1,500 units. Put a bigger chunk of your money into the front 3 and subwoofer/s and not as much into your rears.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by IXinchnail

Also, you don't have to buy 5 $1,500 units. Put a bigger chunk of your money into the front 3 and subwoofer/s and not as much into your rears.

I also can't speak from experience regarding the speakers you're looking at, but have noticed through personal experience that the surrounds are certainly the one place where diminishing returns is the greatest....... so I also would try to maximize the front soundstage.

[callas01]

Jim, call this guy Steve at 909.945.0415, they are called Audio Video Authority, ask him about the Niles audio in-wall/ceiling speakers.... let him know Steve, the guy who loves the Dalis sent you.... he and I talked once in a while about speakers. He's cool. They are up in Rancho Cucamonga

The Niles Audio are nice sounding, they should have them setup so you can hear them too. http://audiovideoauthority.com/index.html

I didn't see your last part about if its worth it to make the switch... I would say if you can listen to some other speakers to see if its worth it then great. Otherwise it could just be a tactic to get you to buy other speakers from that company...

If your really interested in making a switch do what everyone else does audition them.

[DonRSD]

Jim

i would say to audition as much as you can and report back on everything you audition.

everyone in here loves hearing about a fellow members experience in trying stuff out.

are there any other brands you are looking at?

and i agree with the others......get a beefy front 5 and a nice set of rears.
you may also want to invest in an external amp for the front soundstage if youre going to spend a nice amount of $ on the speakers