I am looking into getting some new speakers for my projector I am going to be buying soon and I have been over to the AVS forum and they said for the price I should pick up the Velodyne set for 199 directly from the site. (cant remember the numbers) People have been giving those things good reviews but there isnt anywhere I can go try them out so I am hesitant. Can anyone suggest something for the price range for a 14x16 room. For now Ill just be using an amp from my Sony HTIB til I can get the Panasonic SXR whatever cant recall right now. Suggestions of stuff to look up and listen to would be nice since I am new to audio gear.

Thanks alot
Jared

Panasonic SA-XR57K
Velodyne CHT Front Row System
BIC H-100

This is the setup that was recommended to me over on AVS.

There are lots of people who will "tell you" what to buy. Makes me wonder why you would do that because they don't have your ears. Buying speakers without listening to them is like going shopping with your grandmother. Totally different tastes...
Take your ears out for a while and LISTEN to the speakers. Don't fall victim to the hype and the over inflated ego's of people who can quote you every piece of equipment in their racks by number and spec.
Their recommendations might be right or they might not. Chances are they are fine but mismatched speaker/ear combinations will leech a lot of enjoyment out of movies and music.

Make the leap from "consumer" to "shopper"...

Just my 2 cents.

SJ

I would take samuraijacks advise. At the bottom of the price range there are few good sounding products and the few that are worth buying may go unnoticed because at this segment of the market features that can be hyped are used to make sales. THe consumer is assumed to be ignorant and unable or unwilling to make empirical judgments on thier own so they trust generally ignorant sales persons.

For instance, the best sounding cheap speakers I ever heard (and bought) were a pair of very plain looking Altec Lancing two-ways that were 40 USD each. A little bigger box and driver than most people are lead to believe is right for HT. But they walked all over the "cool" little speaker sets.

DIY is the better approach if you want more for your money with speakers but even at the low end of the scale the sound quality of products is all over the place. And one or two products will typically stand out at no significant price increase.

Why. Because some of the highly regarded speakers are Internet Direct only. You can't go to a store and listen to them.

I have been researching some budget equipment for a friend of mine and that is the exact setup that I recommended to him. Some people don't have the time or aren't quit the audiophiles that others are and just only want some good sounding equipment at a good price.

I bought my Athenas based only on the AVS reviews and I am quit happy with them. You can say all day that it was stupid to not listen first. My reasoning was if all of the anal audiophiles said they were great speakers for the money and that was all I had to spend then I figured I would be happy with them. The speakers definitely blew me out of the water for $200 shipped

Best Buy carries the Athena Line...



Im not going to say your stupid.
You made the choice that was right for YOU.
Some people are comfortable with that. Others arent and can get pressured into getting speakers that are too bright for THEIR ears or too muddy etc etc...What Im saying is that buying speakers can be a very personal thing. A little extra listen time can mean the difference between liking your system and wanting to marry it.
I had a friend once who brought me over to his house to show me his rig. Nice enough, but he turned it off about 20 minutes after turning it on. I asked him why and he said he just felt like it. Turns out since he bought his new speakers he hadnt been listening to music much at all because the match wasnt right. His ears were getting overtired from having to deal with all the excess treble from hard dome tweeties. We traded speakers for a week and I practically had to hit him with a bat to get mine back.

Then we went shopping! Turns out his ears really liked the Polk series...

When it all comes down to it, IF YOU CAN, do a little comparison and a little listening to find whats best for you. Speakers, TV's and beds are all worthy of serious consideration when shopping for yourself. Why? because they are responsible for DIRECT input into your brain. Get the ones that make you feel great! The ones you think "Hey! Dont do that!" when the sales person moves onto another pair. Be very selfish and spend the extra 50 dollars on the pair you like!

In the end what matters is that you are happy. Some people are happy getting fantastic deals like the Athenas. I have heard them and I too am very impressed. Others go halfway and listen in rooms then go internet for price. My choice, usually. Others like to hang out and talk speakers with reps. No matter what your preference, dont let anyone tell you that SpeakerX is perfect for your ears, because SpeakerY might be an even better match for you. Let YOUR ears decide because they will be the ones who have to listen to them.

SJ

BoomerBrian, my apologies if it sounded like I was calling you stupid. I certainly didnt mean that. Its just that folks get swept up in audio talk when all they really want is what you got; a good match of speakers to ears.

SJ, I was not offended at all by your statements. Just offering a differing opinion. None of my local Best Buys had the Athenas when I bought them. They were being discontinued.

You are absoultely correct in stating that it is best to listen to the speakers for yourself before buying. I was just offering up that some people aren't that interested in doing that. I do think however that if it is only for Home Theater use there is less risk in purchasing without listening first.

See? I SWEAR the topic of audio carries an angst level multiplier...
Which set did you go with BTW?

SJ

Hey, maybe you guys should start talking about what kind of cable to use, or, wait, I know, let's talk about Bose!

*ducks and runs*

Boy is that true. Just hang out in the AVS audio forums and you will figure that out quickly.

I have the Athena Point 5s in a 10x12 room.

Haha.

Start this thread topic and run like hell.

"Should I buy Monster Cables for my BOSE system?"

"SamuraiJack stood on the hill with BoomerBrian, shocked at the suggestion made by tenzip as his behind retreated in the distance. A careful peace had been made by effective communication and had evaded an all out conflagration of audio angst. A serious thing amongst audio enthusiasts.
Now this harmony was threatened by a ne'er do well.

"Well Boomer", said Jack "I think tenzip wants to join our circle of trust."
"Wow jack, I think youre right." beamed BoomerBrian. "We should discuss speaker wire now! What gauge should we use to tie him up?"
"Hmmm..."Jack murmured."I'm thinking 12 gauge with a PVC outer coating."
"18 Gauge would hurt more.."
"I was thinking about the skin burns when he tried to pull it off."
"Good show Jack! I still like the thin stuff for it, though." Brian said.
"Lets compromise Brian." said Jack "We'll use small gauge for his ankles and thick for his arms. That way we cover all bases..."
"Perfect." said Brian as he shouldered 100 feet of 18g twisted. " So what do you think about the Bose?"
"Lets hope his pants arent too tight." said Jack as he lifted the heavy cables and white Bose radio off the ground.
"Lets see how compact these things really are. According to the advertisement, they can go anywhere...Oh Tenzip! I have a surprise for youuuuu!!!!"

LOL! Priceless.

Generally I stay out of these kinds of discussions, because I've never seen anything good come of them. 'Till now.

I will say this. 18 awg stranded copper is FAR too weak to make a truely effective bind, unless you use multiple wrappings, in which case, the whole point is lost.

Fortunately, there's a Monster Cable solution. You can get 22 AWG solid wire which provides higher tenile strength. It's intent is apparently to allow "skin effect" to transmit the higher frequencies with it's teflon and PVC insulator, while allowing a large enough core for effective bass transmission in a thin wire package.

I would therefore suggest that the combination of size and strength make it a more suitable binding agent than either of the above suggested wires.

Good suggestion....but we REALLY wanted to bind him up like a knife handle and plug him in...kinda like one of those frogs in BIO class......ZZZZ!!!!

( Right now I'm fighting the urge to go to AVS and post "What is the best speaker wire and AMP combination for animating dead frogs?"...but then again, the depths of my devilish behavior must have a boundary or two...)
SJ

I was planning on going to listen in the store but I just wanted advice on stuff that other people have listened to and enjoy so I have a good starting point around my budget but thanks for all the advice.

Should I start by just going to my local best buy and trying out a bunch of speakers then?

Where are you located? Definitely check out Ascend Acoustics, another internet direct brand (i.e. you won't find any for sale in stores). Their 170s basically set the standard for cost-to-performance ratio bookshelves. Most owners are happy to audition them for you. There's even a frapper map to find them.

(FWIW, I have all 3 models of Ascends)

I live in Raleigh NC the capitol so I can pretty much find just about anything I want.

I really can't think of a worse place to listen to speakers than a big-box store. Find one of the uber-high-end audio/home theatre stores in your area, and go in during a slow time, early-middle weekday afternoon is usually a good choice.

Explain what you're looking for, and be clear up front that you're unlikely to be buying from them as they're likely out of your price range, but you'd like to chat with them for a bit. Ask them what stores they would suggest you go to, and what brands they'd suggest in your price range. Then go forth and listen.

Some salespeople will not be friendly about it, but most will, they tend to have a "casting bread upon the waters" attitude, and figure you will remember them when you get that big raise or whatever, and come back someday.

And you never know, some of these places take trade-ins, so they might have something for you. Expect a sales pitch, at least. Good salespeople love to talk, and a bored good salesman can be a great source of information.

I just bought a 5.1 speaker system for my brother-in-law for Christmas without listening to them first. After doing my anal research (just google it), and looking for the best bang for the buck, I choose the DCM Cinema2 system. This system is no longer available retail (well, except from the manufacturer direct for full retail price), but can be found on eBay as new and used items fairly often. I "won" this $400 retail system for $140 with shipping. The review sights claim they are wonderful and a bargain for the retail price. He's happy. I also bought him a refurbished Harmon Kardon AVR240 (from the HK on ebay) for $200 and couldn't be happier. I bought one for myself as well and am pleased.

I agree with tenzip. Go to a small store and make sure they treat you like a million bucks even though u aren't spending it.

As far as brand. Go to Paradigm's website and see if there is a dealer near you. This is what I ended up with and I am really happy. My bookshelves were 300 and my center channel was 320. My dad (hearing my hype) went to a store near him and listened to a bunch of Paradigm speakers over a couple of visits. He now owns a paradigm HT setup as well as a Paradigm stereo setup for the living room. I like um, but like it has been stated, don't buy without listening.

I made the mistake of thinking I would like a "cheap" Home Theater in a box system. And I made the mistake of listening to them on the shelf in Best Buy and Circuit City. What a joke.

I went through 4 different systems before I quit. They just weren't loud enough while maintaining good quality sound. And they would sound fine when you were standing right in front of them, but put them in a 16'x22' theater room and they sounded terrible.

Finally I went with a Klipsch setup with Yamaha receiver and I couldn't be happier. Of course I spent way more than $200-$400.

But the fact of the matter is you need to buy from somewhere that has a good return policy.

I might save and wait but I figured I could buy some speakers with a little cash now then later when I have more I could buy the system I really want, but I may do something along those lines now.

Take a few of your favorite cd's with you and go play in the soundrooms! You might be very surprised. Take all the advice you have been given, tailor it for your convenience and then go play.

SJ

Yes, definitely take some favorite source material. And have fun, don't sweat it. Remember, this is completely subjective, what sounds good to you, sounds good to you. We don't have your ears.

I don't know your taste in music, but Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues is a good test of dynamic range for my tastes. And damned good tunes, too.

I always bring these:

1. Holst: The Planets LSO rendition
2. B-52's (anything will do, its the B-52's!)
3. Big Audio Dymanite - MEGATOP phoenix
4. Thomas Dolby Aliens ate My Buick
5. 5th element soundtrack
6. Leon Redbone - On theTracks

and my favorite quirky album...

7. Dread Zeppelin - Unleaded. I Usually bring this one to freak out the floor sales. Its a Reggae band, singing Led Zeppelin tunes with an elvis impersonator doing lead vocals....surprisingly it works...

Have FUN with this and treat it like a campout rather than a fact finding trip at a nuclear test lab. This is how favorite systems get started.

Good Luck!

SJ

Cool thanks for all the advice. Ya I want to get something I can enjoy so it should be fun.

I am always an advocate of buying what you want the first time. The way my system is beign built is peice by peice. To start, I got a used yamaha receiver from ebay. Then I went around to stores and decided I liked the sound of paradigms. So I bought a set of them for the fronts. So for a while I had just stereo. Then I found a deal on some used polks to fill in the center and rears. Recently I saved up enough cash and bought the paradigm center channel. The next step will be saving for the real receiver (the rears are fine for now). Then finally, I'll get better rears. This way I am getting the speakers I really want and not just "settling" and throwing away $200-400 while I wait.

(the yamaha and polks were about $150 total, so not too much money wasted, and they will make great patio speakers till they fry lol)