Looking to get into hd audio... what type of speakers?

[drb124]

I apologize if this has been asked before. I have a PS3 and quite a few blu-rays, and i'm now looking to start an hd audio system. I'm looking at the onkyo 605 for a reciever. My main question is will a set of bookshelf speakers such as the infinity beta 20's allow me to experience the the fullness of pcm audio tracks or would i be better suited to have towers? My living room is not huge and i am sitting about 10 feet from the tv. Thanks for any feeedback.

[clyon]

Not on those. what is your budget for all your speakers?

[clyon]

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_br...BFS&market=HOM

Good brand speakers: Anything but Bose

[alain turgeon]

Originally Posted by clyon

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_br...BFS&market=HOM

Good brand speakers: Anything but Boss

Don't you mean Bose?

[clyon]

Originally Posted by alain turgeon

Don't you mean Bose?

[drb124]

budget is about 750 for speakers and subwoofer... can probably go a little higher...

[WickyWoo]

Polk CS1 center
Monitor 40 left/right
Monitor 30 surrounds
PSW10 subwoofer

That should come in at about that if you buy online

[ILLSQUAD2G]

Originally Posted by drb124

I apologize if this has been asked before. I have a PS3 and quite a few blu-rays, and i'm now looking to start an hd audio system. I'm looking at the onkyo 605 for a reciever. My main question is will a set of bookshelf speakers such as the infinity beta 20's allow me to experience the the fullness of pcm audio tracks or would i be better suited to have towers? My living room is not huge and i am sitting about 10 feet from the tv. Thanks for any feeedback.

Hello , first thing you should know is that the CENTER CHANNEL in a 5.1 or 7.1 is responsible for the highest percentage of sound reproduction. Then the LEFT AND RIGHT FRONTS don't really do all that much except low-end sound effects , and other odd sounds continuously throughout a movie. I would highly suggest getting a good CENTER and SUBWOOFER and a decent set of BOOKSHELFS FOR THE FRONT 2 and it will sound great. I personally have a set of PSB 5T towers for the front 2 speakers (retails for about 1000-1200CAD when purchased) and when I am listening to any 5.1-7.1 surround format HD PCM,DOLBY-TRUE HD or plain DOLBY 5.1 I have noticed that the front speakers aren't really responsible for that much sound reproduction especially since the subwoofer is better suited to handle more of the low-end sounds anyways. I have an ONKYO 875 140 WATTS RMS and the speakers are rated for around 125-150 RMS so they are matched very well for power and I still don't notice much from the towers at all except if I listen in stereo mode. If I had the opportunity to buy the speakers again I would have bought a far better subwoofer and a good set of bookshelfs for the front. One user has said try POLK AUDIO I use POLK's for my surrounds 4th and 5th channels and they sound great, also for the purpose of your question I listened to them hooked up as fronts for stereo sound and they do a pretty good job if you leave the low-end to the subwoofer. I hope this helps you out and makes sense as I am sure most AUDIOPHILES know the Center Channel is pretty much the most important in a surround sound listening mode.

[drb124]

thanks to everyone for the replies... so i'm going to look at some polks and maybe some infinity towers for fronts as well as a good sub and center channel..

[Flea77]

Originally Posted by drb124

thanks to everyone for the replies... so i'm going to look at some polks and maybe some infinity towers for fronts as well as a good sub and center channel..

First, go listen to the speakers somewhere. Different speakers have different types of sound, some are roomy, some are warm, some are neither.

Second, I have to disagree with the poster who said that front left and right do not do much. This IMO depends on what you watch, and how you have them set up. My fronts deliver quite a bit of sound, and I am very pleased that I spent as much as I did.

An example, my system consists of Polk Monitor 70s front L and R, Polk CS1 center, Polk R50s for the surrounds and a Sony sub (soon to be replaced). In the bedroom we have a set of Infinity TSS-450s, small but pretty nice. The setup in the living room with the Polks has a tremendous amount more midbass and lower end midrange, giving everything much more depth. The example I use is on a small speaker setup when someone slams a large solid door it sounds like a trailer door, on a nice setup it sounds as it should, large and heavy.

And it is not so much about power as it is efficiency, in the bedroom the smaller speakers are on a Kenwood 100watt/ch amp, the living room is only 75watts/ch. I promise you I can run you out of the living room way before you run out of the bedroom as long as we are talking SPLs.

Bottom line is you need to audition lots of speakers, and think about what you hear. Do the actions in the movie sound as they would in real life? When the door slams in the face of the actor, do you FEEL the door slam in your face? When it rains in the movie, do you look out the window swearing it is not the movie? When you listen to the rave music in Blade, does it really sound like you are in a real rave? This is what I went for, and for the most part, what I got. Unfortunately I ran out of money before I got a sub and ran out of space and had to settle for the next one down in center channels, but overall, I am impressed.

Allan

[RickD]

Originally Posted by drb124

I apologize if this has been asked before. I have a PS3 and quite a few blu-rays, and i'm now looking to start an hd audio system. I'm looking at the onkyo 605 for a reciever. My main question is will a set of bookshelf speakers such as the infinity beta 20's allow me to experience the the fullness of pcm audio tracks or would i be better suited to have towers? My living room is not huge and i am sitting about 10 feet from the tv. Thanks for any feeedback.

I have Beta 50's with a Beta C250 center and they are excellent speakers. I wouldn't recommend the 20 due to their size and frequency response. Full towers are definitely the way to go if possible.

Are you planning on buying a sub? My Velodyne CT120 is very nice, IMHO.

I just bought an Onkyo TX-SR805, and it should arrive Wednesday. I can't wait!

Rick

[Kaldaim]

I have 2 Beta 50's with a Beta C360 for my front, and 2 Beta 20's for the rears.

Price/performance, the Infinity Beta line is fantastic.

I love my speakers and I highly recommend them

[dannyjl]

Give the Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 600 setup a look. Lots of bang for the buck here and in you price range. http://www.definitivetech.com/loudsp...inema_600.html

[Layd Dly]

Check out Elemental Designs, they have roots in car audio but have took drastic steps into HT audio. I own there A6-6T6 Towers and my A2-300 200w 12" sub is currently being built, and i love them, also putting my order in for my center channel and surrounds next week. Check AVSforum for the many positive reviews.

If you order a package (2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 5.1 Setup) they wack 15% off and they offer free shipping on everything as well. And they are also affordable as you can buy in pieces like i did.

These are also areally good Buys from Radiiant
Radiiant Calypsos 5.0 - $199
Radiiant Helios 5.0 - $399