Novice seeking advice

[Smadawho]

I am a complete novice in the world of audio and was handed a nice brand new receiver from my brother for free. A wonderful gesture in all however without speakers it is useless and therefore in lies the point. What speakers would you pair with this for optimal performance? I would like to use speakers that will take advantage of the receiver. It is an onkyo model number tx-sr705. http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=...s=Receiver&p=i And I have provided a link to onkyo's website for your reference. Also I would prefer something I could wall mount but I will sacrifice that if I need to to take advantage of the receiver. Thanks in advance.

[crackinhedz]

wow your brother gave you an Onkyo 705 for free?!!!

nice.


anyways, for a good set of wall mountable speakers maybe look at Polk Audio RM20. (im not sure if sub is included? says 5.1 but its not in the picture?)


...personally, I think you would get better sound production with floorstanding speakers. But im sure the RM20's will sound great!

[Moefiz]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

wow your brother gave you an Onkyo 705 for free?!!!

nice.


anyways, for a good set of wall mountable speakers maybe look at Polk Audio RM20. (im not sure if sub is included? says 5.1 but its not in the picture?)


...personally, I think you would get better sound production with floorstanding speakers. But im sure the RM20's will sound great!

These are a nice set of speakers but the sub is not included .

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Moefiz

These are a nice set of speakers but the sub is not included .

it says 5.1...and then under technical details it says:

Center speaker includes dual 3.25-inch midrange drivers and single tweeter, 10-inch polymer composite subwoofer driver


...im guessing no sub is included either, but the description is wacky?!

[crackinhedz]

here is someone with the RM20's.

perhaps PM him and ask how he likes?

[Smadawho]

If I would get even better quality sound out of some floor speakers what brand would you recommend I check out? I use my system mainly for movies and tv if that makes a difference in recommendations. Also with the standing floor speakers do you get all 4 the same or are there specific sets of front and back speakers?

[crackinhedz]

well, a great setup would be two floor standing speakers for the fronts, a center channel, subwoofer, and surround speakers. (don't get me wrong, smaller speakers can sound excellent...but to an extent they may fall short, no pun intended )

for surround speakers, smaller speakers are fine as they would not be pushed as hard as the front and center. Unless of course you listen to Music in surround mode which a larger speaker might be appropriate. In any case you say its primarily for movies.


I personally like Polk speakers. They come at a relatively affordable price and perform extremely well. There are many other brands that can kick butt, and im sure others will make those recommendations as well.

how much are you looking to spend?

[Smadawho]

I am basically looking to spend whatever is nescessary to make full use of the receiver considering I did not pay for it I am already in the plus and have extra money to throw at some fine speakers.

[crackinhedz]

well some kind of budget would help to show some speakers...I could throw up $100,000 worth of stuff or $1,000?

[crackinhedz]

this was a 5.1 set for under $1,000 that I recommended to someone else.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Smadawho

If I would get even better quality sound out of some floor speakers what brand would you recommend I check out? I use my system mainly for movies and tv if that makes a difference in recommendations. Also with the standing floor speakers do you get all 4 the same or are there specific sets of front and back speakers?

I'd go to a Home Theatre specialty shop and test some different brands out. I'm partial to recommending a test of Bowers & Wilkins speakers. I spent a month sampling various brands at various locations and Bowers & Wilkins stood out as the best bang for my buck.

However, I do acknowledge that someone else that was sitting with me might have had a completely different opinion come their time to purchase. So, take the time to listen and you will come away for the situation knowing that your decision was right for you. Otherwise, you may find yourself second guessing your choice because you are "wondering what those [insert brand name here] would have sounded like."

As for budget for JUST speakers? I'd recommend a minimum $1500 U.S. prices for a 5.1 setup. $1750-$2000 for a 7.1 setup with really good subwoofer. That kind of budget should put enough stress on your foundation without need to worry about the roof caving in.

[Smadawho]

I would cap myself at around $2000 canadian (which is about the same in US at the moment) spending money on the speaker set up and I am working with limited space so a 5.1 setup would be my preference.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Smadawho

I would cap myself at around $2000 canadian (which is about the same in US at the moment) spending money on the speaker set up and I am working with limited space so a 5.1 setup would be my preference.

Even though the Canadian dollar is at parity, the prices aren't as favourable within Canada. And duty taxes to have electronics shipped from the U.S. don't help the situation ANY!

$1500-$1750 U.S. is equal to about $2500 Canadian in the price tag value of electronics in this country.

That being said, if you consider the speakers that I have, the Bowers & Wilkins M-1 satellites and the Bowers & Wilkins AS-2 subwoofer, I was able to get them all for about $2100 total. They are small, wall mountable, and pack quite a huge unexpected punch for their appearance.

[crackinhedz]

you should go to your nearest bestbuy canada and listen to what they've got. Some good brands.

[Smadawho]

Now are you recommending that I goto BestBuy because you work there?

Seriously though I appreciate the tips and what not. I am not gonna go buy what I am told is good but with what I read on these boards and with your recommendations I can atleast narrow down the field of what I should be looking at. I am gonna have a busy weekend checking out bestbuy and the sound store in vancouver and having a listen to what seems to be popular on these boards.

Thanks for the help Petra and Crack!

PS happy 4th of July to ya!

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Smadawho

Now are you recommending that I goto BestBuy because you work there?

honestly, I would never buy anything from bestbuy. I would buy strictly online.

But I don't know any other stores in canada to tell you to go to!

[Smadawho]

There is some specialty audio stores in vancouver that I am gonna check out but bestbuy will be plan c!