Speaker Suggestions/Opinions

[BrendonR]

Hi Folks,

Hopefully, after christmas morning, I'll be running a new receiver (Yamaha HTR6160.
high current, 6ohm, 95w/channel, 7.2channels (running a 5.1 for now - possible upgrade later on).

Now I HAVE speakers (6/7 year old JVC HTiB speakers) and a subwoofer. The only thing I know of them are that they're 8ohm, don't remember the wattage. I was planning on running these until more $$$ is scrounged up (or a good boxing day sale).

Can anybody drop their opinions on small/smallish "decor" [read: fiance doesn't think they're big and ugly (ala my previously desired Monitor 60s)] friendly?

I've been looking @ Polk RM10s w/ 10" polk sub

or Polk audio has a deal on at the moment - spend $500 get a free subwoofer

What about RM85s w/ the PSW10 Sub?

Budget is around $500 or so for the whole kit-and-kaboodle (5.1). Any and all recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

[dobyblue]

Those polks are not a bad starting point at all to get into surround...but you said "around $500" so if you can stretch your budget by around 20% you could consider the following system which would give you better frequency response and more overall realism in your system.

4@ eD A3-5TC bookshelf speakers ($150/pairx2) = $300
http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...products_id=94
1@ eD A6-5T5 for center channel = $115
http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=310
1@ eD A2-300 sub - $350
http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=407

That's US$765 shipped free with FedEx and comes with a 5-year warranty.
Alternately you could just order the 5 speakers and run them in full range until you can afford the extra $265 over your budget for the subwoofer.

That extra money gets your system down to 18Hz (-3dB) instead of 32Hz (-6dB) and you'll really appreciate the difference that makes in home theater. It also gives you a decent center channel response, which is really the most important speaker in your system for movies. The Polk will be good to a little under 100Hz, the eD will give you response to and below 80Hz.

[PSB_Paradigm_HSU]

check these out: Sounds great, decor friendly, within your budget

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/performance1.html

I Just saw that HSU IS HAVING A SALE!!! You can get a STF-1 for $276 Shipped!! What a sweet deal.

[BrendonR]

Interesting suggestions - although, it's a stretch of 50% not 20%

I think I've made a mistake... the receiver is 8ohm on Yamaha's website... but futureshop.ca's lists as "6 ohm capable". Not sure what they mean by that, but I'll take Yamaha's word over theirs.

Actual specs:

8ohm (20 - 20,000 Hz) 95W @ 0.06%THD
Dynamic Power 8/6/4/2 ohms - 130/165/195/240 W

I'm thinking those eD's (@ 6ohm) might make the receiver over-work at higher volume levels?

Just a thought - somebody here in Calgary told me that Paradigm is unrivled when it comes to small speakers (personal opinion i'm sure) - their website doesn't list MSRPs... anybody know if there's a paradigm set for me to look at within/close to the price range?

[PSB_Paradigm_HSU]

No, paradigm does not have anything 5.1 in your price range. A pair of atoms are 250-300. The HSU package has a 30 day trial. Try them out in your home and see what you think

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by BrendonR

I'm thinking those eD's (@ 6ohm) might make the receiver over-work at higher volume levels?

Just a thought - somebody here in Calgary told me that Paradigm is unrivled when it comes to small speakers (personal opinion i'm sure) - their website doesn't list MSRPs... anybody know if there's a paradigm set for me to look at within/close to the price range?

They won't make the receiver overwork - the receiver is spec'd for both 8 ohm and 6 ohm speakers.

Whomever made that statement about Paradigm hasn't listened to many other speakers. There's not much reason to suggest Paradigm makes unrivalled "small" speakers at all.

And I'm not biased against Paradigm, my whole speaker system is Paradigm:

F: Monitor 11v5
C: Monitor CC-370v4
R: Monitor 11v4
S: Servo 15v2

That gives me a possible frequency response of +/-2dB from 15Hz-22kHz, with usable extension down to 12Hz.

No "small" system will sound like a system comprised of bookshelf speakers. The advantages you'll gain with those eD's will be more than rewarding over any compact system on the market - that's simple physics.

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by BrendonR

Hi Folks,

Hopefully, after christmas morning, I'll be running a new receiver (Yamaha HTR6160.
high current, 6ohm, 95w/channel, 7.2channels (running a 5.1 for now - possible upgrade later on).

Now I HAVE speakers (6/7 year old JVC HTiB speakers) and a subwoofer. The only thing I know of them are that they're 8ohm, don't remember the wattage. I was planning on running these until more $$$ is scrounged up (or a good boxing day sale).

Can anybody drop their opinions on small/smallish "decor" [read: fiance doesn't think they're big and ugly (ala my previously desired Monitor 60s)] friendly?

I've been looking @ Polk RM10s w/ 10" polk sub

or Polk audio has a deal on at the moment - spend $500 get a free subwoofer

What about RM85s w/ the PSW10 Sub?

Budget is around $500 or so for the whole kit-and-kaboodle (5.1). Any and all recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Keep in mind, your Yamaha can run 8 ohm speakers, and it is stable down to 6 ohms on all channels. It is rated stable down to 4 ohms for the front left and right main channels. That doesn't mean you have to run 6 ohm speakers. Most of the speakers you will find widely available these days are rated at 8 ohms.

BTW, my speakers happen to be rated at 6 ohms, and they run fine with my Yamaha HTR-6080. I could just have easily run with 8 ohm speakers, so don't use that as a key criteria in your speaker selection.

As for speaker recommendations for $500, you should really let your ears make the decisions for you. However, if you just want to blind buy, I would suggest jumping on the following:

Here's a Klipsch Quintet II 5.1 setup on clearance for $249 with free shipping. That's $150 off retail.

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...intet-ii-black

If you can stretch your $500 budget a little bit, I'd recommend the Elemental Designs A2-300 subwoofer. It has received excellent reviews, and offers a 12" sub with 18 Hz - 100 Hz frequency range.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=407

Out of both, I'd jump on the Klipsch first since it's an open box special at that price.

[BrendonR]

Thanks alot everyone for the replies.

KingOfGrills - just curious.. where'd you find that it's stable to 6ohm? specs I know it shows "dynamic power" but I didn't think that was a steady use kind of thing, just comes into play during a cymbal clash, or explosion?

So from what I'm gathering here, I'm looking for a set of bookshelves, with a frequency response rating as LOW (80Hz - 20KHz). That rating is the speakers ability to play (thinking musically now) Lower Notes/tones into higher notes/tones. Correct? I've never REALLY purchased good speakers before... so this'll be an experience. I don't particularly want to blind buy - BUT if there was a fantastic deal (boxing day maybe), with a decent return policy - then I might jump on something. The more "technical" understanding the better in that situation.

Taking what I've learned here:

Front L/R: Polk RTiA1 125W / 50Hz - 27KHz (Futureshop.ca @ 299.99)
Center: Polk CSiA4 180W / 55Hz - 27Kz (Futureshop.ca @ 299.99
Surrounds: Polk GXiA4 125W / 50Hz - 27Kz (Futureshop.ca @ 399.99)
Sub: eD A2-300 (eD @ 350.00)

$H!%. I blew my own budget (i'm sure won't be the first time)

ouch - $1349.97 Canadian, before taxes. woops.

BUT - as a learning excersize, this will give me a range between 18Hz - 27KHz. However, would my yamaha receiver really have enough to properly power these polks, or would they just be wasted/screaming out for a new receiver?

Thanks everyone, just bear with me, I think i'm slowly understanding.

[dobyblue]

If a receiver lists specs for 6ohms or 4 ohms then the receiver is RATED to power speakers with that resistance.

There will not be specs in the manual for 6ohms or 4ohms if they only recommend 8ohm speakers.

Those Polk speakers will match up well with that receiver and sub combination and I think you'd be very happy with your first foray into a decent set-up.

[PSB_Paradigm_HSU]

Fronts and surrounds: PSB Alpha B1 under $279 x 2
(stereophile 2007 product of the year)

Center: PSB Alpha C1 under $229

Sub: HSU STF-1 $276

Total: under $1063

You can get the PSB's for well below because these are MSRP prices. Most brick and mortar stores will give 15% off and check out saturday audio. You cant beat their prices.

http://www.psbspeakers.com/news/Ster...ct-of-the-Year

http://www.saturdayaudio.com/

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

This package would be much better than the polks for much less $$$$

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by PSB_Paradigm_HSU

Fronts and surrounds: PSB Alpha B1 under $279 x 2
(stereophile 2007 product of the year)
This package would be much better than the polks for much less $$$$

PSB themselves only recommend 60 watts maximum for program material used with those speakers. I'd be worried about blowing them rather easily with that receiver.

Wouldn't those bookshelves would be more suited for critical listening in a small room for 2-channel jazz, classical, etc., not for HT?

[PSB_Paradigm_HSU]

It is much harder to blow a speaker by feeding it too much power than with not enough.

Recommended is 15-80 watts so a difference of 15 will not be an issue. Its better to have too much than too little.

My opinion is that its a more difficult task to reproduce music accurately therefore if speakers can, then quality home theater acoustics will follow.

[Mr. HiDef]

These are what i have and absolutely love them

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1122654018549

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by PSB_Paradigm_HSU

It is much harder to blow a speaker by feeding it too much power than with not enough.

Recommended is 15-80 watts so a difference of 15 will not be an issue. Its better to have too much than too little.

My opinion is that its a more difficult task to reproduce music accurately therefore if speakers can, then quality home theater acoustics will follow.

The 6160 is closer to 110w/ch for 6 ohms, much like your 606.
The only time I've ever blown a speaker was with too much power, granted it was from some Carver mono blocks. When I speak with Gary from Paradigm he states that they don't recommend overpowering their speakers if the receiver can put out RMS levels greater than the maximum rated power of the speaker, I would imagine PSB might say the same thing.
I have 130w/ch power into speakers that are capable of 180w/ch maximum - except my centre channel which is 120w, but I never have my receiver at reference levels anyway, so perhaps neither will Brendon.

Have you compared the Polk RTi's with the PSB Beta's? I haven't, but I'm just wondering why you would consider them "much better" from a sonic standpoint.
Stereophile give the RTi line a very good review also:
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1004polk/

[dobyblue]

Here's a much more recent review from Stereophile of the RTiA1 specifically:
http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/908polk/

Some snippets:

The rich, holographic, uncolored, detailed midrange of the Polk RTi A1 made it a pleasure to mine classic recordings of rock singers.

Further up the audioband, I found the RTi A1's high-frequency presentation fascinating: extended, detailed, and clean, with excellent transient articulation and no trace of sharpness, but with very subtle highlighting of the high frequencies

I was curious about how deep these puppies would go. Kraftwerk's "Man Machine," from Minimum/Maximum (CD, EMI ASW 60611), had plenty of dynamic slam at the bottom end, and the bass-drum synths shook the room a bit at higher volumes. There was plenty of bloom to spare from Timothy Seelig and the Turtle Creek Chorale's recording of John Rutter's Requiem (CD, Reference RR-57CD). I fully expected this disc's organ-pedal notes to go missing in action, as they have with every other $350/pair bookshelf speaker I've heard—but there they were, sounding surprisingly realistic through the Polks. Where's the subwoofer? I wondered.

The word appearing most frequently in the listening notes I wrote during these sessions is coherence.

The organic and linear rendition of low-level dynamics worked hand in hand with the Polk's resolution of detail to render well-recorded jazz with extreme realism. I reveled in Thelonious Monk's richly dynamic soloing on the title track of his We See (LP, Prestige 7235), against the backdrop of Art Blakey's syncopated, polyrhythmic drumming. And I continued to scratch my head at how the little Polks blasted like big floorstanders without a hint of strain, even when pushed to high levels

Even more remarkable was the alternation of a low-level pianissimo and closely miked percussion blasts from pianist Steven Drury, conductor Charles Peltz, and the Callithumpian Consort's recording of John Cage's Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (CD, Mode 57). This recording has the widest dynamic range of any chamber recording I own, and to sit in the listening room with the Polks was unsettling—a few times, the fortissimos actually scared me.

The speaker's greatest strengths—the natural and detailed midrange, the excellent bass extension—are unheard of at this size and price, and its minor deviations from neutrality have been so carefully thought out and balanced that I wanted to mine my entire record collection, playing more and more different types of music. And its gorgeous real-wood veneer will not only satisfy the non-audiophile spouse, but will impress your friends, who will think you've spent more money than you have.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

The 6160 is closer to 110w/ch for 6 ohms, much like your 606.
The only time I've ever blown a speaker was with too much power, granted it was from some Carver mono blocks. When I speak with Gary from Paradigm he states that they don't recommend overpowering their speakers if the receiver can put out RMS levels greater than the maximum rated power of the speaker, I would imagine PSB might say the same thing.
I have 130w/ch power into speakers that are capable of 180w/ch maximum - except my centre channel which is 120w, but I never have my receiver at reference levels anyway, so perhaps neither will Brendon.

Have you compared the Polk RTi's with the PSB Beta's? I haven't, but I'm just wondering why you would consider them "much better" from a sonic standpoint.
Stereophile give the RTi line a very good review also:
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1004polk/

Anyone know how conservatively Yamaha rates its power output? I know that many of my past integrated amps and past and present power amps are very conservatively rated. So the OP should keep that at least in the back of his mind.

Rich

[BrendonR]

The more I read, the more I like the sounds of these: Energy Take Classic 5.1

Review from Audioholics

Review from Home Theater Sound

Energy Page

$499.99 Candian.

Opinions?

[TheZoof]

In my opinion the best bang for your buck speakers are the PSB Alpha Monitors. They are just great. You can get an entire home theater solution from them and compared to other speakers in the same price range, nothing tops them.

I have owned mine for about a month now and it has totally made my surround setup worth while.

I am sure having 5.1 or better of these speakers will really impress anyone. The best thing overall is they are really small compared to most speakers but give the BIG sound you are looking for.

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/Alpha-Series

[BrendonR]

Zoof - I thought we had established above that the Alpha monitor B1's would be A) overpowered by my yamaha 6160 (95w/channel), and B) Over $1000 for a 5.1 setup?

[PSB_Paradigm_HSU]

Under $1000, not over...plus I thought that you adjusted your budget is all:

"Taking what I've learned here:

Front L/R: Polk RTiA1 125W / 50Hz - 27KHz (Futureshop.ca @ 299.99)
Center: Polk CSiA4 180W / 55Hz - 27Kz (Futureshop.ca @ 299.99
Surrounds: Polk GXiA4 125W / 50Hz - 27Kz (Futureshop.ca @ 399.99)
Sub: eD A2-300 (eD @ 350.00)

$H!%. I blew my own budget (i'm sure won't be the first time)

ouch - $1349.97 Canadian, before taxes. woops. "

and

The zoof is running 100 w/c to them now