Advice about speakers

[faltudak]

I am thinking of buying speakers for my home theatre system and want to spend at the max 2500 USD for five speakers, two front, one center , two surround and sub-woofer. I looked into Polk, Infinity, JBL, Bose and Klipsch. Since I do not know too much technical stuff about speakers and all of these sound pretty much the same. In particular I looked into RTi8 as front for polk and AM16 bose and RF35 of Klipsch.

Which one would be a better brand to go for.

Any advice from experts in the field of sound would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[britrover]

Hi - Add Axiom to your list (axiomaudio.com). I'm not sure where you are loacted but if you call them they can provide a contact where you can demo these speakers.

Also add Kef to your list. I use to own the Q series and preferred them over the brands you've listed.

You must get a good subwoofer and the ones I would recommend are HSU (http://hsuresearch.com/) and SVS (http://svsubwoofers.com/). I can't say enough good things about these two brands.

I'm sure others will chime in soon.

[Azeke]

Welcome britrover, here is a good start and a personal recommendation. Your acoustical mileage may vary. Please ensure you listen before you buy.

Mirage Speakers Omni Series

Hope this helps to begin your quest.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[Burke Strickland]

Kef is certainly a source of high quality speakers -- too often overlooked. I've heard a couple of Kef-based systems that I could live with, and it wasn't their high priced stuff, either.

A few other brands (and models) to check out are Energy (Take series), Paradigm (Mini Monitor, Atom, Titan mains and surrounds, CC-350 center as an example) and Definitive Technology (Mythos or ProCinema series). All three of those offer some nice sounding speakers at a reasonable price point (within your price range).

My favorite brand, Magnepan, also has some "entry level" (aka "relatively inexpensive") speakers that would be sensational in a home theater. http://www.magnepan.com/_mmgw_c.php At $299 each, four of their wall or stand mounted MMGW speakers and the stand mounted MMGC center would come to about $1500, leaving a grand for a kick ass sub. Actually, if you get a sub from either of the two companies mentioned above, the sub could come in at less than that and leave some money for something else like cables, room treatment, or even a few DVDs.

Of course all of the above are new speakers. Buying "pre-owned" speakers could take you further up the "food chain" but is a bit more of a risk, especially for someone starting out. DIY (do-it-yourself) can be a fun hobby and sometimes proves to be an economical way to move up, but probably not the best way to get started initially.

You should be able to find something truly pleasing that you will enjoy for a while from among those brands recommended above. Enjoy!

Burke

[ajpoe]

Edit: missed info above

[aud19]

Yup I agree with most of those comments For subs look no further than SVS or HSU. Some of my speaker favourites are B&W, Energy, Kef, PSB, Paradigm, Polk, Totem and Vienna Acoustics. So give them a listen if you like

[Mike Gehring]

Say NO to axiom

posted a review on www.audioreview.com after I got my b&w's. There had not been a post on them for over a year until I placed mine. In less than 24 hours there was a 5 out of 5 review. I found it very strange that Axiom advertises on this site and after 1 bad review there was a perfect one right after... this is what I wrote.


Reviewed by: mikegehring, Audio Enthusiast

Price Paid: $1100 at axiomaudio.com

Product Model Year:
2004

Summary:
I've read every review on this site. That was a "HUGE" basis for buying these towers. I owned the Axiom VP-150 center channel for about a year and was very happy with it. I ordered the M80ti's in January of 2005. Very prompt delivery. The best packaged speakers I've ever seen. Great customer service. Actualy the best customer service I've ever had the pleasure to deal with.

Now to the speakers... I went from a 10 year old pair of Cerwin Vega VS-150's to an $1100.00 pair of "audiophile" Axiom M80ti's. Is everyone else who has a pair of these speaker tone deaf or did I get the only bad pair Axiom has ever produced? I ran these speakers with plenty of power and plenty of break in time and I wanted to put my Cerwin Vegas back in their place. The low end was extremly muddy sounding, the highs were severly lacking in crisp, clear definition. The drivers had an "EXTRA" magnet attached to them to give you a false sence of weight. They are not video shieled as they say they are. You would be better off buying a pair of Fischer speakers from your corner drug store.

I replaced these speakers with a set of B&W 604 S3's and replaced my VP-150 with the B&W LCR600 S3.

The B&W 604 S3's cost about 2-3 hundred more than the Axioms but if your planing on keeping the Axioms you might as well light you cigar with a couple of $100.00 bills.

Like I said... they had the best customer service that I've ever had the pleasure to deal with... it's just a shame I can't say the same about the speakers

Strengths:
Look nice... but a 1965 Mustang Fastback looks nice without and engine.

Nice finish.. Mine were in Boston Cherry.

Weaknesses:
Very poor quality. Very poor sound. Without a doubt.. not worth anywhere near $1100.00

Similar Products Used:
B&W 604 S3's
Cerwin Vega VP-150's (the axioms are on par with my 10 yr. old Cerwins)

[Kent Turb0]

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