OK I don't have a receiver yet but was looking at picking up the older DA5300ES at a fantastic price.

Now, my TV will be the Samsung 61" or 67" A750 LED DLP. It is a lustrious piano black finish, and I want the speakers to match this.

*** I'm not planning on blasting my system very loud. I might "play it loud" once in a while but not VERY loud like in a movie theater or to shake the floor, not by any means. The room this setup will be going into is about 14' x 17' in size, but the dining room is 10' x 12' and both added together into the one open room. The main speakers would be facing the 17' depth of the room in the corner though. In fact, I might want speakers that sound well at lower volumes, or at "night mode" of the receiver.

*** I want some bassey sound and some thumping, but not much or shake the floor bass. Just enought to be good. I would like to hear the mids and highs as well.

Now, I originally planned on just doing a 2.0 or 2.1 system and upgrading sometime soon down the road. But I did find packages too, which I might spring for. I found the following piano black speakers:

Yamaha 5.1:
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=553490&CTID=5003000

Combination of Polks, but too expensive for their size?
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/surround/VM10/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/surround/VM20/

Aperion Packages & Standalones. I like the tall floorstanding speakers, and they offer them too in more expensive packages:
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-5B-Fusion-SD,117,70,269.aspx
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-633-T-Tower-Speaker,33,28,91.aspx
.. would the 633ts offer enought bass response for my needs?

I couldn't really find many reviews on the above if any. They Yamaha is significantly cheaper, but I'm willing to spend some more if I can get great sound at mid-lower volumes. I figured the Yamahas would be driven quite a bit at low-mid sound levels, reaching their potential when I want them to.

The 633ts also look real nice and from one review I read, they offered good average bass response without a sub, but I couldn't fine much more on them.

None of these are available for me to demo at stores near me, which kinda stinks.

The Aperion piano gloss is beautiful! You could also look at custom Axioms and I think Pinnacle makes black piano gloss speakers as well.

Cyber -
What is your price range?

For my price range ... I don't really want to spend more than $2K, optimal range I guess would be around $1K or a little over.

I also found this:

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-533-PT-Powered-Tower-Speaker,32,28,168.aspx

This speaker tower has a sub built into it, which is nice. It's also powered, but this may be overkill for my needs. If I were to buy two of these (one for L, one for R) does that mean I would have to use a Y-splitter off the reciever for the "sub" output? That way each speaker would get the low output of the receiver. Or could I buy one of these and one of the 633Ts?

Salk Song Tower (http://www.salksound.com/songtower.shtml). They can be made with any finish that you want, including Piano Black.

They are the best speaker I've heard under $3000.

Here (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0408/stalk_signature_songtower.htm) is a review and here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=939744) is the owner's thread.

Ascend Acoustics - Sierra 1's are another option. If you can get towers get the SongTowers suggested above by Nuance. People are raving about them - its what I am going to buy.

If you want bookshelf speakers, I second godawg5's recommendation. The Sierra's are a great bookshelf speaker and are gorgeous in Piano black. The Song Tower's are still a better overall speaker IMO, though.

Does anyone have experience with the speakers I chose in the links above? The song tower would run me $2000 for piano black (not sure if shipping is included), but the other options are more in the optimal price range. I know I made the range up to $2K, but if I can get great sounding speakers that are slightly less impressive for half the price, that might be the route to go for me.

Here's a PDF to the graphs on a Apieron:

http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-6T-Tower-Speaker,110,19,255.aspx

Look at the bottom of the page under "resources." How does it look, being I don't understand any of this jargon?

Does anyone have experience with the speakers I chose in the links above? The song tower would run me $2000 for piano black (not sure if shipping is included), but the other options are more in the optimal price range. I know I made the range up to $2K, but if I can get great sounding speakers that are slightly less impressive for half the price, that might be the route to go for me.
I hear ya. However, they won't be "slightly less impressive," they will be a lot less impressive. YMMV.

Good luck to you.

P.S. I have heard the above mentioned speakers at AmericanTV and can honestly say that the Sierra's will blow those speakers away, as will the Salk's (my opinion, of course).

I hear ya. However, they won't be "slightly less impressive," they will be a lot less impressive. YMMV.

Good luck to you.

P.S. I have heard the above mentioned speakers at AmericanTV and can honestly say that the Sierra's will blow those speakers away, as will the Salk's (my opinion, of course).

Which speakers of the ones I picked above did you hear at AmericanTV? I wish I could find a place that would have them around me so I could try them first hand.

But then again this whole thing may be like wine tasting, and I can hardly taste the difference between high quality and average quality, while others claim the difference is very pronounced.

Salk Song Tower (http://www.salksound.com/songtower.shtml). They can be made with any finish that you want, including Piano Black.

They are the best speaker I've heard under $3000.

Here (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0408/stalk_signature_songtower.htm) is a review and here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=939744) is the owner's thread.

do you need a subwoofer with those ?

If I can get good bass without a sub then I'd like to go that route. That's why I'm asking about the floor standing speakers I chose above. Again, I want some bass, not the earth shattering bass.

Quality and piano black:

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

Sony MF-SS550

Which speakers of the ones I picked above did you hear at AmericanTV? I wish I could find a place that would have them around me so I could try them first hand.

But then again this whole thing may be like wine tasting, and I can hardly taste the difference between high quality and average quality, while others claim the difference is very pronounced.
I heard the Yamaha's and Polk's at American. They have a pretty large showroom and now carry some of the lower priced Energy stuff.

I heard the Aperion's at a former co-worker's house. They weren't bad at all; better than the Polk's and Yamaha's actually. They were just a little light in the bass department and a tad bright for my tastes. YMMV. One thing I will say is they look amazing in the Black Glossy finish! They also seemed to be solidly constructed.

You're right; this is somewhat like whine tasting. If you cannot hear the difference between a "better" speaker and an "average" speaker, save some money and get the average one. Also, just because a speaker costs more doesn't mean it is better, FYI.

Good luck in your search man.

do you need a subwoofer with those ?

Well, the reviewer said they hit with authority at 38Hz, but if it were me I'd still use a subwoofer. I would use a subwoofer with ANY speaker because they are much easier to place than a heavy full range speaker. Bass response is very important, but in order to get that proper response a lot of measuring, effort and time needs to be spent to ensure you're getting the most out of it. Due to this, a subwoofer is easier to work with and recommended (by me) for any speaker. Sure, you can get away without one if you like, but if you are serious about HT and music listening, I highly recommend pairing any speaker with a capable sub.

Just my $0.02

I heard the Yamaha's and Polk's at American. They have a pretty large showroom and now carry some of the lower priced Energy stuff.

I heard the Aperion's at a former co-worker's house. They weren't bad at all; better than the Polk's and Yamaha's actually. They were just a little light in the bass department and a tad bright for my tastes. YMMV. One thing I will say is they look amazing in the Black Glossy finish! They also seemed to be solidly constructed.

You're right; this is somewhat like whine tasting. If you cannot hear the difference between a "better" speaker and an "average" speaker, save some money and get the average one. Also, just because a speaker costs more doesn't mean it is better, FYI.

Good luck in your search man.



Well, the reviewer said they hit with authority at 38Hz, but if it were me I'd still use a subwoofer. I would use a subwoofer with ANY speaker because they are much easier to place than a heavy full range speaker. Bass response is very important, but in order to get that proper response a lot of measuring, effort and time needs to be spent to ensure you're getting the most out of it. Due to this, a subwoofer is easier to work with and recommended (by me) for any speaker. Sure, you can get away without one if you like, but if you are serious about HT and music listening, I highly recommend pairing any speaker with a capable sub.

Just my $0.02

Thanks for all that info Nuance! Could you comment a little on the Yamaha system? I'm actually quite interested in it.

Let me say this, which might help things. I have a 12 year old Aiwa CD player shelf system. I paid $300 for it way back in the day, brand new, and has like 248 watts total system power (driving two main speakers, and I don't use the two crappy satelite ones it came with). That system sounds pretty good to me, with ok bass, but I want more. If I turn the volume up to 20 (out of 50) it fills the room with sound pretty good)

I have a feeling ANY of the choices above may be overkill like the massive speakers. Do they have to be played at medium-loud volumes to have the good sound come out of them? That's why I'm asking about the Yamaha, I think it may just fit the bill, and I can get it at a great price online.

Thanks for all that info Nuance! Could you comment a little on the Yamaha system? I'm actually quite interested in it.

Let me say this, which might help things. I have a 12 year old Aiwa CD player shelf system. I paid $300 for it way back in the day, brand new, and has like 248 watts total system power (driving two main speakers, and I don't use the two crappy satelite ones it came with). That system sounds pretty good to me, with ok bass, but I want more. If I turn the volume up to 20 (out of 50) it fills the room with sound pretty good)

I have a feeling ANY of the choices above may be overkill like the massive speakers. Do they have to be played at medium-loud volumes to have the good sound come out of them? That's why I'm asking about the Yamaha, I think it may just fit the bill, and I can get it at a great price online.
I will be completely straight with you: the Yamaha should be a step up from your Aiwa, but it will be no where near as nice as the Aperion's, Ascend's or Salk's. Here is how I would rank them in order of best to worst.

Salk Song Tower's.
Ascend Sierra's.
Aperion (I think they were the 533 series, not sure of the actual #'s, though).
Polk and Yamaha's are tied for last. They gave me a more "home theater in a box" feeling because they had weak and sloppy bass and poor high extension and detail. Finally, their midrange were the poorest of the bunch. YMMV, of course.

Now, please don't rule out the Polk's and Yamaha's because of my opinion. If they sound good to you, that's all that matters. However, I am very anal and have been doing this for "too long," as my wife would say, so my standards are very high. :) I sincerely do think you'll hear a noticeable difference when you move up to the Aperion's, Ascend's and Salk's, though.

I hope that helps.

I wish you happy hunting. Audition all that you can within your price range and pick the winner.

Have fun!

Yea .. and after looking at the Yamaha instructions, I don't even know if its 100 watts per channel or what. I don't know what the max/rms rating is of the Sony receiver either.

I recommend Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1. I bought a pair and have been very impressed with the performance on these bad boys. I feel they are worth every penny paid for them and maybe then some. http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

Salk Song Tower (http://www.salksound.com/songtower.shtml). They can be made with any finish that you want, including Piano Black.

They are the best speaker I've heard under $3000.

Here (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0408/stalk_signature_songtower.htm) is a review and here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=939744) is the owner's thread.

I fully agree on the Salk Song recommendation, name the finish Salk will do it for you.

Monitor Audio's piano black finish is beautiful, and their speakers are remarkable. Highly recommend you audition them.

I'm sure they are excellent speakers, I just don't want to do overkill. Will the song towers sound just average because I'll be playing them at low volumes and low juice being fed to them? I want something that is responsive to being driven well at low volumes. If all these high end speakers don't sound good or "full" at low volumes, then they're pretty much a waste of money.

If you like the Yamaha...here is at least what should be a better choice in piano black. I don't have any experience with them, just ran across them. The whole 5.1 is certainly more in your price range than the premium speakers listed above (which are better...but$$$$$$).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000W4U2C/sr=1-6/qid=1207227088******olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1207227088&sr=1-6&seller=

I'm sure they are excellent speakers, I just don't want to do overkill. Will the song towers sound just average because I'll be playing them at low volumes and low juice being fed to them? I want something that is responsive to being driven well at low volumes. If all these high end speakers don't sound good or "full" at low volumes, then they're pretty much a waste of money.

Call Jim Salk himself, he will tell you without compromising his product; he is a different kind of ID. No gimmicks, no marketing, just the product to back him up. He will personally answer your questions, and he will guarantee his product performance.

I have PSB T45's that sound very well at low volumes, but they don't come in beautiful finishes.

I'm sure they are excellent speakers, I just don't want to do overkill. Will the song towers sound just average because I'll be playing them at low volumes and low juice being fed to them? I want something that is responsive to being driven well at low volumes. If all these high end speakers don't sound good or "full" at low volumes, then they're pretty much a waste of money.
They sound fantastic at "lower" volumes. It is actually one of the things that made them stand out when they were involved in the blind test that I underwent (that and the phenomenal midrange performance). YMMV.

I might wait for some reviews on the new Aperion 5Ts. They supposedly have a better tweeter and sound in them. I'm going to try and get the best bang for the buck, and for under a grand (maybe buying that half size Yamaha sub in piano black also for under $200) would make for a cheaper compromizing system). That would bring my total to under $1200 for the towers and a sub that according to reviews I've read fills in the low nicely but doesn't provide the pounding bass for rap. Fine by me, I don't listen to much rap anyway.

If you want bass, NHT Four towers, largely unmatched in dynamic range and bass quality for the price. A little lighter in the bass, but still powerful, would be the Era D10s, in addition to the aforementioned products. Also the PSB G-Design series.

No way! John only recommending speakers that he sells? Never!! :p

Hey, hard to recommend something if I haven't heard it! Also hard not to say something if i heard it and didn't like it! FWIW, i'm slowly fading out NHT. Tired of the soap opera. Doesn't make them not recommendable though. And I can't help it if all my companies make piano black :)

Maybe the BIC Acoustech 5.1 for $800. It is a glossy laquered black, that has gotten great reviews and compliments on the look.
And I'll just put this out there. I have a piano black display stand and my black oak veneer Polks look just fine beside it. It might not be a big deal to just get a black speaker.

Definitive Technology has bi-polar towers priced from $800 a pair all the way up to $5500 a pair (retail, expect to get about 25% off of retail) and they all come in piano black

they also have smaller studio monitors in piano black, $500 a pair for the sm350s and $660 for the sm450s (again, retail)

bi-polar towers:

http://www.definitivetech.com/dealersonly/HR_images/BP7000sys_color.jpg

studio monitors:

http://www.definitivetech.com/dealersonly/HR_images/StudioMon350Sys_color.jpg

Actual picture of the Aperion piano black finish. And this picture doesn't do it justice.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/HPIM1106.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/HPIM1103.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/5b_2.jpg

Any pictures of the Definitive Technology around the TV?

Hagar, why would you want such a beautiful finished speaker, if everything around it is a mess or does not blend? Do yourself a favor and get nicer furniture that will help you showcase your TV and Speakers.

Definitive Technology has bi-polar towers priced from $800 a pair all the way up to $5500 a pair (retail, expect to get about 25% off of retail) and they all come in piano black

they also have smaller studio monitors in piano

My god, how can they afford all that lacquer? ;)

Hagar, why would you want such a beautiful finished speaker, if everything around it is a mess or does not blend? Do yourself a favor and get nicer furniture that will help you showcase your TV and Speakers.

Harsh! Although......

Hagar, why would you want such a beautiful finished speaker, if everything around it is a mess or does not blend? Do yourself a favor and get nicer furniture that will help you showcase your TV and Speakers.

You are more than welcome to come over and do it yourself. Truth be told, that is what I am in the middle of doing. I took the pics as soon as I set them up..

Any pictures of the Definitive Technology around the TV?

try asking around the definitive owners thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=625807

or try their website:

http://www.definitivetech.com/

over on the left, click "HI-RES IMAGES"

You are more than welcome to come over and do it yourself. Truth be told, that is what I am in the middle of doing. I took the pics as soon as I set them up..

You have been cleared of any accusations...:D

You have been cleared of any accusations...:D
However, some of us are always in that "transitional" stage. :D

Hmmm its still a tough choice on what to do. I really wish there was a location near me I could test all the speakers in question at one time, on the same receiver.

I still don't know if I should just go with the cheaper Yamaha floor standing speakers and get the cheaper Yamaha sub (around $700 total for my needs) or get the speaker towers above and the sub, which would run at least $400 more for the total.

My god, how can they afford all that lacquer? ;)

I laughed about that too, since most of a Def Tech speaker is covered in cloth.:)

Hmmm its still a tough choice on what to do. I really wish there was a location near me I could test all the speakers in question at one time, on the same receiver.

I still don't know if I should just go with the cheaper Yamaha floor standing speakers and get the cheaper Yamaha sub (around $700 total for my needs) or get the speaker towers above and the sub, which would run at least $400 more for the total.

I wish I had a place like that, but with models in bikini showing the speakers. But, since that is not going to happen you better hit the road and audition.

If you go for the Yamaha towers you will probaly want to sell them in about a year, and end up paying more on the long run.

Actual picture of the Aperion piano black finish. And this picture doesn't do it justice.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/HPIM1106.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/HPIM1103.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/rockarruda/5b_2.jpg


Hey, what speaker stands are those? I like them!

Well Hagar, I hope that's your bedroom. It looks like that anyway, a bedroom in the basement of your parents home. If that's what it is, then good for you. But don't go around giving 'sound' advice, as your room looks to be a nightmare.

Not that I'm one to talk mind you, just saying :)

the B&W XT4 is black aluminum, I am not sure if its 100% glossy or would match a piano.

If you're seriously looking at those skinny Yamahas (I'm assuming that's the price range you're looking at), go with either the Yamaha NS-555's or NS-777's. I have the 555's up front and they are highly underrated IMO. Excellent value for the money. Very neutral sound, which makes for great music listening. Does movies well, too, but lacks a slight amount of bass, but my powered sub takes care of LFE.

Yamaha's site is down, but the main difference between the 555s and 777s is what, the size of the drivers and speakers? Which is newer?

Also, I don't like the "feet" or "stand" for the base these things come with. How do they stand up on carpet just by themselves?

They're both from the same lineup, only difference is the size of the woofers. Yeah, the feet aren't the greatest, but I still have mine attatched. I'll bet it'll stand up on its own pretty good even without the feet.

You can probably find a pair of 777's for $400 shipped to your door.

You can probably find a pair of 777's for $400 shipped to your door.

You're exactly right. I was thinking of getting the Aperion 5Ts, but they're $1000 shipped for the pair, and I don't think it's going to be worth the $600 over these. Heck, I could just get a sub to make up for the low and get the NS-555s for less, and still have quite a bit of money saved from the 5T setup. I still do have the money to spend, but if there's such a minimal difference, I don't want to.

However, the 6 series bookshelf speakers and the speaker stands for both from Aperion (less than $100 for both speaker stands) is less than th 5T setup and I could get a sub. The new Aperions with the new horn tweeter are supposed to sound great.