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Which Speakers Should I Upgrade First???

Poll: Which Speakers To Upgrade First???

10K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Kex 
#1 ·
I need some help. I am in the process of overhauling my audio equipment and am a n00b at this. I just got the Onkyo 705 last night from Circuit City.


Currently I only have 2 front speakers hooked up to it and they are hella old. They don't even say anything on the back about how many watts it is or anything like that.


I also have 2 surround speakers that aren't wired for the room yet but I'm not sure how good they are. It says 30 watts on the back of them. They are Optimus Pro X6. I was also wondering if it was even worth wiring the room for those if I will need to redo it if I get speakers that has Banana clips?


My front speakers and my surrounds both have Spring Terminals with the red and black "clips" that dig into the wires.


I know newer speakers have banana clips on the end to make the connections a lot easier. correct?

So now I don't know if I should upgrade my Fronts, upgrade my Surrounds, get a Sub or get a Center Channel first.


There are some pictures below and if anyone can tell me if these speakers are even worth saving it would be appreciated.


Currently I have my HD Cable Box, Xbox 360, Xb0x 360 HD DVD player and a Wii. I plan on upgrading to a standalone HD DVD player in the next few weeks.


Also what are good price ranges? $300 for Sub? $300 for Center? $300 for Surround? $1000 for Front?







 
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#2 ·
This is what I would do.....Sell all your speakers (all of them) and buy 1 pair of the best bookshelf/floorstanding speakers you can afford. Then when your able you can start thinking about surround sound, sub etc. Alot of people make the mistake of getting everything at once and in trying to do so buy sub-par stuff (if money is tight).....Good Luck!
 
#3 ·
Do you think these speakers are even worth selling and about how much I could get for them??
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tranzparentl /forum/post/11935618


Do you think these speakers are even worth selling and about how much I could get for them??



Yeah I would try to put them on ebay/ audiogon , you never know who is looking for these. They might have sold these for some platform shoe's and regretted ever since..And make your Onkyo proud to be pushing something a bit more modern




Oh I voted Mains first



DJoel
 
#5 ·

Quote:
$300 for Sub? $300 for Center? $300 for Surround? $1000 for Front?

Yes.


I voted sub, if you are not so much into audio then the sub will give you the biggest improvement for impact and demo. If you like bass go around $500 to $800 for the sub. The speakers you have can then focus on mid to upper range frequencies. my two pennies. But if you could go up to $1500+ for the front speakers...then that would be quite noticeable.
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tranzparentl /forum/post/11935379


...

Currently I only have 2 front speakers hooked up to it and they are hella old. They don't even say anything on the back about how many watts it is or anything like that. ...

Well, MTX still make speakers http://www.mtxhome.com/p/cabs/monitor600i.aspx and they don't look too bad, so those old speakers are probably not bad, which is why I voted for the sub first. Getting a center is pointless since it won't match these, and you can easily set up your new Onkyo for a "phantom" center effect (by telling it there isn't a center). Also, since the subwoofer does not have to match the other speakers, getting it first makes sense from that point of view also.


Try those MTX speakers out and see how they sound. You should have an opinion soon enough. Some Polk Audio fanatics still hoard their older Polk models and will state (probably with at least some credibility) that they are better than anything new.

Quote:
... I also have 2 surround speakers that aren't wired for the room yet but I'm not sure how good they are. It says 30 watts on the back of them. They are Optimus Pro X6. ...

Probably not worth the effort, but you could sell them on e-Bay. I think they are old Radio Shack speakers. They should be worth something to somebody.

Quote:
... I know newer speakers have banana clips on the end to make the connections a lot easier. correct? ...

Most quality new speakers have a screw down connector, like those that are probably on the back of the Onkyo. Banana clips are optional, and can be added to make them easier to use (it's a bit fiddly to use just the wires). You can add banana clips to any speaker wire. There are also connectors that would adapt to the spring type mechanism on your existing MTX speakers. They'll be at Radio Shack if you want to see what they are. http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...rt&tab=summary

Quote:
Also what are good price ranges? $300 for Sub? $300 for Center? $300 for Surround? $1000 for Front?

Good subwoofers start at $150-250, the cheapest worth considering being (probably) the Velodyne VX-10 from Fry's. The Acoustech H100 has a MSRP of $500 but you can get it from some vendors of repute on e-Bay for $240 shipped. The options are almost limitless after that.


The center is going to depend on what speakers you eventually get, but if you really want one, you should plan on replacing your front L & R at the same time. Check this thread for entry level budget options and suggestions. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=809777


The more you spend, the more options you will have, but you can get something very much worthwhile without selling your soul. After that, it's up to you if you want to get more and spend more.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the resposnes. I got a little more info on my MTX speakers. I took the screen off and took some more pics. It also had model number and info under the screen.


They are AAL 1240 and it says 200 watts, 50Hz-22kHz on them. My girl said she paid about $700 for them like 7 years ago.



 
#8 ·
Yup! They look pretty good to me! There does not seem to be any specific information on the AAL1240 on their website, but see if the dimensions match the AAL12 mentioned in this document: http://www.mtxhome.com/manuals/AALMANUAL.pdf .


As I mentioned above, there is nothing shabby about those specifications and the AAL1240 may be a variant of the AAL12 (especially if the dimensions match the description). You could throw out an e-mail to customer support.


BTW, it looks as though those speakers have a ten year warranty.


Have you tried them out yet to see how you think they sound? It seems to me that you may have found a keeper (the GF, I mean!).
 
#9 ·
I have them hooked up and they sound decent but I really have nothing to compare them to so I don't know what I could be missing, heheh.


So the Onkyo 705 says it has 100 watts per channel but these are 200 watt speakers? whats up with that?


Oh and the girlfriend is actually a finance so I agree!
 
#10 ·
those mtx's have what you need to add a sub if the specs are right the sub will pick up frequencies nicely from 80hz to 20hz and blend in well with the mtx's that reach 50hz. Go with a sub that is rated to at least 20hz or you don't know what you are missing. Those mtx's look like a 4-way tweeter, mid range, woofer and subwoofer so they should do nice when you cross over they onkyo at 80hz and add a sub. Use the money saved on the rears and use what you have and put more towards the sub.


I have one set up with the ghost center channel and although not the best idea it doesn't sound too bad.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tranzparentl /forum/post/11943196


... So the Onkyo 705 says it has 100 watts per channel but these are 200 watt speakers? whats up with that? ...

Onkyo generally measure "two channels driven" so the 100 watts per channel does not mean 100 watts to every channel at the same time. At least the state that clearly in their specs though. 100 watts is more than you need (generally speaking, 35 is all that you need to get to loud listening levels).


The 200 watts on the speaker probably means they are rated for no more than 200 watts per channel amplification. The Onkyo should be fine with these, especially in two channel mode, just use the setup procedure so that it knows there is no subwoofer (for the moment at least) center or rear surround speakers if you have not already done that.
 
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