Small HT Speakers

[Mitchell]

I am putting together an HT setup for a small 14'x8' room in a NYC apt.
I will mount a 42" Panny Plasma on the wall and am looking for suggestions for small (hopefully inexpensive) speakers. I have a sub so I just need some good small Sides, rears and a Center.
Any ideas?...

[Snap]

Phase Tech V Series are sweet sounding speakers. They make a nice sounding book self speaker that is nicely priced. Def Tech has the new Gems but you are going to pay for them

Unfortunatly the bottom line is going to be you making several trips to the local audio store and testing them. I think that the Phase Tech Stuff is the best Bang for the buck personally.

[Patt]

Here are a few names to check on for the budget minded.......Aperion, Axiom, Opera, Polk, NHT.
I've never heard any of these but may be a starting point for you.

[aud19]

Just about every speaker manufacturer now has micro and/or plasma friendly speakers at multiple price points. Go to some shops and listen to lot's of brands. Do you have any brands you're already familiar with or like. Any particular sound you're going for...?

[David Meek]

A couple that haven't been mentioned come to mind:

Gallo Nucleus - great styling to go with their fine sound
Energy Encore - bang for the buck

[Andrew Pratt]

Define small and inexpensive? The Energy Take 5's are another option that are very highly regarded and even smaller then the Encore's mentioned above.

[purplepeople]

Look at the passive studio monitors in your price range. They will surprise you and can be had from the pro audio stores. The least expensive ones that are shielded are made by Alesis.

ensen.

[RenoReno2]

Klipsch has a decent sounding surround package as well. Only thing I'd be weary about are the subs these systems usually come with. They are usually pretty weak.

[ToddAnisman]

Look at the passive studio monitors in your price range. They will surprise you and can be had from the pro audio stores. The least expensive ones that are shielded are made by Alesis.

ensen.

Hmmm...IMO, you should stay away from studio monitors like the Alesis, KRK, etc.... They are designed to be used in a near field arrangement, which means they have a very small (relatively speaking, no pun intended) sweet spot. You will notice comb filtering etc. If you do, look for a mid field. You can find stuff used on ebay etc. that would probably be really good.

Now I will grant that they could be good if you're on a really tight budget - think about 150-200/speaker.

again, this is just my .02 and merely my opinion....

peace,

-Todd A. :W

[Shane Martin]

Mitchell,
IIRC you are going with a Plasma. If so then you might wish to consider something along the lines of the On-Wall series from Paradigm. My friend whom just upgraded to the 50" Panasonic Plasma got these and a Denon 1705 and I can say it is very nice.

If you want traditional speakers, then the NHT speakers especially the superones,superzeros etc are AWESOME for the money. They don't have a wood finish though.

FWIW, I also love my Phase Techs. I'd recommend them as well if you can find a dealer that carries them. http://www.phasetech.com
My v4's are ceiling mounted with Omnimounts. The PT's are designed to work with them w/o drilling into the speaker. Just remove the screw and insert your bracket and WALLA!

[purplepeople]

I agree about the KRKs, quite edgy those ones. But we don't know his budget. It could very well be only $200 per speaker or less. With myself fronting a pair of Yorkvilles YSM-1Ps and the el cheapo Tannoy Proto-Js behind, the financial view just not totally Blue Sky.

Anyway, I heard that comb filtering is a result of both the room and the speakers. Waves bouncing around messing with each other. Speakers that don't have the theoretical point source driver (okay maybe the Tannoy Concentrics fit the bill) create vertical interference patterns and that increases with larger center-to-center distance between tweeter and woofer. So... wouldn't a small near field with drivers that nearly touch also work well in this regard.

And, I also heard that there's no such thing as a mid-field so it's either you have the closefield or the big PA arrangements. Besides... 14 x 8 is not that big. With the addition of the all the equipment and furniture you have a space that is at most 12 x 7 and more likely closer to 10 x 7, plus speakers will not likely be at the extreme corners to un-lift the LF. So we get into something that might not be 3-4 ft but still less than 7ft distance.

And this much I know, my cheapo Tannoy Proto-Js are so much better than baby Paradigms for less money when driven by comparable amps. Maybe not quite as smooth as B&W3's but way less than half the price. That's the real reason for suggesting passive studio monitors as "hopefully inexpensive" speakers.

ensen.