Speaker question.

[HappyCracker]

Originally posted by: element
I was actually just about to post a speaker thread myself.

I'm torn between Cerwin Vega E-710 (10" 3 way floor standing 5 1/4" midrange, 1 1/4" tweeter) for $169 each (200W/channel)
link to the cerwin vega E710
<snip>

Well, a few years back, I set out to build a stereo, no 5 channel or anything, just for music. I decided on the E715 speakers before anything else, then had to find a way to power the damn things. I tossed a NAD C370 and a C270, one on each in bridged mode. The amps are pretty transparent; Metallica's black one sounded really cold and harsh. Methinks that's what they were going for. I have noticed the placement of these speakers plays a big role in how they will sound. They like room to breathe and lots of clean power. I guess what I'm getting at is: if you want the Cerwin Vegas, they will serve you well. I don't listen to much classical music, Eric Clapton or the like; I listen to the stuff these speakers were made for. I enjoy them to this day and am still happy with the choices I made.
Stuff like this will be debated until the end of time, but music and its reproduction is like many other things in life, subjective. Go with what you like.

 

[Fritzo]

I love Cambridge Soundworks. Their Newton series is amazing. Check them out at HiFi.com

 

[element]

Originally posted by: bozack
I always love these threads, especially since I will most likley be buying a Bose system in a few months time....

Bose? hehe I think you made all the audiophiles vomit a little into their mouths when they read that.

 

[chinkee]

for PC? i'm using logitech z680s and i'm very pleased.

 

[spidey07]

if he wants loud then get the klipsch RF series and a sub.

 

[furie27]

Definitive Technologies make a good alternative to Klipsch, and their powered subwoofer line is outstanding.

 

[EngenZerO]

ascend acoustic moniters and a svs subwoofer

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: element
Bose? hehe I think you made all the audiophiles vomit a little into their mouths when they read that.

I surely hope so, I love it when people are vehomently against a product as usually I buy it just to piss them off, one time I listened to the "experts" and sold something I got for a killer deal (over 50% off) because they said it was not worthy, ended up regretting it more than anything and my wife bought the same thing as a gift for me at only 20% off..now I buy what I like and I want and if it is a mistake then I learn for myself.....heck I have looked at other offerings, especially those from cambridge soundworks and such and none seemed as appealing to me as the six speaker Bose system, the price difference surely wasn't enough to sway my vote, and since I am not an audiophile in the least I could care less if something offers slightly better sound that I would never notice....the fact that Bose HQ is local to me and I am supporting a local business is only a bonus, I have even been trying off and on to get a job there...I have yet to find speakers as small that seem as nice and I am not willing to settle for anything larger.

 

[EvilYoda]

You guys aren't too good at reading, are you? He wants speakers and a receiver for $400, and you're suggesting DefTechs and SVS subs...

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Any comments on something like this?
http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=ELF1.05HT
http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=SUPERELFHT5

Other related links:
http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=W3871S
http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=ELF1.05HTCAB
http://creativesound.ca/details.php?model=SUPERELFDK

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I don't think he's looking for loud as much as he's looking for clear.

 

[dr150]

DO NOT buy B&amp;M speakers!! You can do MUCH better for the price.

Ask your question HERE.

The recommendations recommended on this thread that I also second are the Axioms and Rockets.


Also add Ascend Acoustics to that list. As good as Axiom.


Research HERE.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: dr150
DO NOT buy B&amp;M speakers!! You can do MUCH better for the price.

Ask your question HERE.

The recommendations recommended on this thread that I also second are the Axioms and Rockets.


Also add Ascend Acoustics to that list. As good as Axiom.


Research HERE.

B&amp;M?? generally this refers to brick and mortar or does it mean something else in the audio world?

 

[dr150]

brick and mortar.

But you can add B&amp;W to the leist as well. B&amp;W speakers are waaaay overpriced for the relative quality you get. You can get much better speakers at on a performance/dollar basis (like Ascend). B&amp;W, though, starts to get good at the multi-kilo buck levels.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: bozack

Originally posted by: element
Bose? hehe I think you made all the audiophiles vomit a little into their mouths when they read that.

I surely hope so, I love it when people are vehomently against a product as usually I buy it just to piss them off, one time I listened to the "experts" and sold something I got for a killer deal (over 50% off) because they said it was not worthy, ended up regretting it more than anything and my wife bought the same thing as a gift for me at only 20% off..now I buy what I like and I want and if it is a mistake then I learn for myself.....heck I have looked at other offerings, especially those from cambridge soundworks and such and none seemed as appealing to me as the six speaker Bose system, the price difference surely wasn't enough to sway my vote, and since I am not an audiophile in the least I could care less if something offers slightly better sound that I would never notice....the fact that Bose HQ is local to me and I am supporting a local business is only a bonus, I have even been trying off and on to get a job there...I have yet to find speakers as small that seem as nice and I am not willing to settle for anything larger.

To each his own but consider this: Ever notice that Bose always has their own display at stores? As in, you can't compare them head to head in the same room to other speakers? Why exactly do you think that is? I wish I remembered where I saw that site that sold the drivers used in Bose speakers. You can get them for about $30 a pair and you're going to pay $2000+ for this?

I'm just pointing out some facts. I learned not too long ago to just let people do what they want. If people want to waste their money then so be it. Its a waste of breath to tell them otherwise.

I will say this though; I'm sure the Onkyo system I've been looking at (<$500) will sound better then the Bose setup. And, you can't say I've never used them. I own a set of Bose bookshelfs (that I regret buying) and I have heard a few lifestyle setups that friends/relatives had. Thoroughly unimpressed by all of them.

EDIT: To the OP, recommend Onkyo HTS-760. Can be had for under $500 and its full 6.1 setup.

 

[puffpio]

www.energy-speakers.com

there ya go..EXCELLENT speakers

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
To each his own but consider this: Ever notice that Bose always has their own display at stores? As in, you can't compare them head to head in the same room to other speakers? Why exactly do you think that is? I wish I remembered where I saw that site that sold the drivers used in Bose speakers. You can get them for about $30 a pair and you're going to pay $2000+ for this?

I'm just pointing out some facts. I learned not too long ago to just let people do what they want. If people want to waste their money then so be it. Its a waste of breath to tell them otherwise.

I will say this though; I'm sure the Onkyo system I've been looking at (<$500) will sound better then the Bose setup. And, you can't say I've never used them. I own a set of Bose bookshelfs (that I regret buying) and I have heard a few lifestyle setups that friends/relatives had. Thoroughly unimpressed by all of them.

EDIT: To the OP, recommend Onkyo HTS-760. Can be had for under $500 and its full 6.1 setup.

Nut, every store I have been to as of late has had individual displays for all of their speakers, the only one that hasn't was a tweeter and personally I wouldn't consider buying anything from them given their inflated prices. And I always wonder where people get these 2000 figures, the bose speaker set I was looking at was at most $800, and at discount about $5-600....I have owned Onkyo in the past, and while it was ok I doubt I would buy again, like I said they just cannot or do not want to build a nice compact setup, the only comparable alternative are the cambridge soundworks cubes and personally I feel they are trash...ok for the money, but not nice at all...I have looked at a few other obscure brands which were recommended to me from the spot but the price again wasn't any better and they were hard to find locally...I have listened to bose along with many others and unless I want to go twice the size then I personally have not found anything as compact which I feel is as nice. Have fun wasting money on Onkyo though

Since you seem to possibly know a thing or two Nut, here are a few of the other brands I considered.....

http://www.mordaunt-short.co.uk/products/avantpremiere.asp

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&amp;product=36.1

http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

http://www.mksound.com/xenon1.html

http://www.energy-speakers.com/take5-2/take5-2_speakers1.html

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=712

None of them really did anything for me though....

 

[rayray2]

Originally posted by: bozack

Originally posted by: NutBucket
To each his own but consider this: Ever notice that Bose always has their own display at stores? As in, you can't compare them head to head in the same room to other speakers? Why exactly do you think that is? I wish I remembered where I saw that site that sold the drivers used in Bose speakers. You can get them for about $30 a pair and you're going to pay $2000+ for this?

I'm just pointing out some facts. I learned not too long ago to just let people do what they want. If people want to waste their money then so be it. Its a waste of breath to tell them otherwise.

I will say this though; I'm sure the Onkyo system I've been looking at (<$500) will sound better then the Bose setup. And, you can't say I've never used them. I own a set of Bose bookshelfs (that I regret buying) and I have heard a few lifestyle setups that friends/relatives had. Thoroughly unimpressed by all of them.

EDIT: To the OP, recommend Onkyo HTS-760. Can be had for under $500 and its full 6.1 setup.

Nut, every store I have been to as of late has had individual displays for all of their speakers, the only one that hasn't was a tweeter and personally I wouldn't consider buying anything from them given their inflated prices. And I always wonder where people get these 2000 figures, the bose speaker set I was looking at was at most $800, and at discount about $5-600....I have owned Onkyo in the past, and while it was ok I doubt I would buy again, like I said they just cannot or do not want to build a nice compact setup, the only comparable alternative are the cambridge soundworks cubes and personally I feel they are trash...ok for the money, but not nice at all...I have looked at a few other obscure brands which were recommended to me from the spot but the price again wasn't any better and they were hard to find locally...I have listened to bose along with many others and unless I want to go twice the size then I personally have not found anything as compact which I feel is as nice. Have fun wasting money on Onkyo though

bozack, have you looked at infinity speakers? They are small and compact like bose but sound better and cost less.

 

[NutBucket]

Bozak, the $2k figure is just a ballpark figure for a lifestyle system, not just the speakers.

I suppose for the size they're the best you can do but think about this: Why don't others try to make them so small? While the size may be great and maybe they sound great for the size most people would rather give up some size and a lot of cost for something that sounds better.

The one thing I notice about Bose in all the demos and what not that I've heard is that they never use music with a lot of midrange. Its always classical or the like that's heaving in the flutes and violins and such. I know when my cousin got his lifestyle system years ago he played me the demo cd. Every track on the thing was heavy on the high end and if I remember bass that was optimized for the thing they call a sub. If it wasn't classical music then it was birds singing and such. Seems to work ok for stuff like Celin Dion as well. Try something like Saving Private Ryan or Black Sabbath and report back

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Lets try looking at this differently:
It's a SMALL apartment.
It's coming from a TV playing videogames.
Stereo will work just fine.

$400-600 budget for TWO SPEAKERS and a reciever.

However, since the sound will always be coming straight from the TV, can just a two channel amplifier do the job?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Lets try looking at this differently:
It's a SMALL apartment.
It's coming from a TV playing videogames.
Stereo will work just fine.

$400-600 budget for TWO SPEAKERS and a reciever.

However, since the sound will always be coming straight from the TV, can just a two channel amplifier do the job?

Get an Onkyo stereo receiver (call it about $250 for 100W x2 version) and then you've got plenty left over for a good set of speakers.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Any opinions on these?
http://www.axiomaudio.com/m3ti.html

 

[Doggiedog]

I have these Cerwin Vegas.

I bought them on a hot deal for $100.

They aren't bad for what they do and since I already have a decent stereo in my living room, I bought these for the family room.

The 8" sub is very weak though. My 15" Def Tech sub completely blows it away but I figure for $100, I can keep the satellites and upgrade the sub whenever I want.

I also bought the Onkyo 601 refurb from eCost for $250. It is a very solid receiver with true 6.1. So for a total of about $400, there goes a system that might fit your needs.

 

[NokiaDude]

Onkyo Stereo Receiver = $200

2 Yamaha/Sony/Technics "bookshelf" type speakers w/ 8" woofer, 4" mids and 2 inch tweeters.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Bozak, the $2k figure is just a ballpark figure for a lifestyle system, not just the speakers.

I suppose for the size they're the best you can do but think about this: Why don't others try to make them so small? While the size may be great and maybe they sound great for the size most people would rather give up some size and a lot of cost for something that sounds better.

The one thing I notice about Bose in all the demos and what not that I've heard is that they never use music with a lot of midrange. Its always classical or the like that's heaving in the flutes and violins and such. I know when my cousin got his lifestyle system years ago he played me the demo cd. Every track on the thing was heavy on the high end and if I remember bass that was optimized for the thing they call a sub. If it wasn't classical music then it was birds singing and such. Seems to work ok for stuff like Celin Dion as well. Try something like Saving Private Ryan or Black Sabbath and report back

Fair enough, but since I have no plan to purchase a whole system through them then I guess it doesn't apply...as to why others don't try to make speakers so small all I can really say is either 1. small speakers do not appeal to their niche and that market is cornered by Bose, or B. others do try such as Cambridge soundworks but their offerings are not that nice.

As far as low end and a sub, since I will be living in a townhouse I would actually prefer a system that has some lower end but nothing monstorous, my neighbors have a crazy home theatre setup in our apartment building and personally I would love to break it over their heads, I don't mind deep bass in some auto systems, and maybe a home theatre only system, but personally I am not a bass a holic and can do without.....as someone comming from two bookshelf advents and a heavily outdated system I think I will be more than impressed with a Bose system, especially since I am not overly anal about accurate sound reproduction, and unlike others I am not willing in the least to give up space to accomodate a sound system, my brother is and has what some audiophiles would consider a good low budget system, personally I think it is boarderline ridiculous and my cats would ruin it in an instant.

As for Ray Ray I have looked at infinity and did not like their offerings as much, and the cost difference was not that great.