New 5.1 Setup, three options

Pitch Shift · 05-29-09, 12:36 AM

Yet another "which speakers to buy" thread you say? As a long time lurker, the pitifulness of my first post being pretty much a rehash of every other thread out there is not lost on me. However, I do need a little help from you friendly forum posters, so, with my pride swallowed, I ask:

What do you think of these options?

Err... let me back up... This will be my first major HT setup. I feel that a good loudspeaker works well for movies if it does well with music, but for the curious, I guess I would say 60/40 music(All genres, emphasis on rock, electronic, and world/ethnic)/movies(Next gen gaming, blu-ray, emphasis on action and artistic). My room is pretty small, 12' by 20' ish, with about 12' by 12' for the HT space. Components I have concluded on/own are as follows:

Display: Pioneer Elite Pro-111fd
Power: Panamax M5100-PM
Sources: Xbox 360, Blu-ray player (TBD, looking at Pio BDP-51FD/BDP-05FD, one of the new Denon pieces, or PS3)
AVR: Pioneer Elite SC-05

OK, take two:

Option one: B&W 685 Home theater
Fronts 685's
Center HTM62/61 (depends on price)
Rears 686's
Sub Episode C5 12"

Option two: Paradigm Monitor Titan Home theater
Fronts Titan Monitors
Center CC-290
Rears Atom Monitors
Sub DSP-3200 12"

Option three: Aperion 5B Fusion SD
Fronts Intimus 5B
Center Intimus 5C
Rears Intimus 4B
Sub Bravus 8D

I have listened to the B&Ws at an intimate, small scale dealer. They were set up in acoustically treated rooms with multi-thousand dollar cabling (MIT, etc) and Amps (Rotel, etc). I was able to have the setup demoed on an SC-05. I've been listening to the Paradigms at a larger retailer. Their setup incorporates a lot of switching mechanisms, and what looked like 18 to 16 gauge wire. Considering the Aperions for in-home audition mostly based on reviews/appearance.

Initial impressions are that the B&Ws are a bit more clear and detailed, but show more signs of strain at higher volumes. The Paradigms are a bit more dynamic, but they didn't quite seem as accurate or as detailed. I suspect that some of that loss of detail was due to the poor setup in the larger store.

My budget is $1100 - $1500, with preference for the lower end of that, obviously. I work for a major electronics retailer, and will probably use some accommodation offers from Klipsch and JBL as leverage for good pricing at the local dealers.

What do you guys think? If I can get the local shops down to $1200ish do you think the Aperions would even be worth auditioning at nearly $1600?

Pitch Shift · 05-31-09, 02:35 AM

The journey continues. Just in case anyone is following along, here's my updated situation; I was a bit too optimistic in thinking I could work the local dealers down that far. Also, after auditioning many subs of various driver sizes, I think a 12" is really necessary, so I've sort of ruled out the Aperions as the dual 8" is the only one in my price range. They do have that full-price trade up program, though...

Any way, I've gotten both the Paradigm and B&W dealers down to about $1800 after tax. My main concern now is that I have a resource to get Polk's TSi series near cost. I can setup a pair of TSi500 foorstanders, CS20 center, TSi200 bookshelves for rear and a PSW125 sub for less than half that. Are floor standing speakers always an upgrade over bookshelf/monitors? Only heard the Polk's (TSi400 though) in a big box retailer, didn't even have a dedicated listening room. Given that setup, the other two brands (especially the B&W's) blow them away. Twice as good, though? That I'm not sure about. If anyone want's to chime in and offer some advise, it'd been very much appreciated.

05-29-09, 12:36 AM	#1 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a4ac4393' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:30&n=a4ac4393' border='0' alt=''></a>
Pitch Shift Neophyte Join Date: May 2009 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 76	New 5.1 Setup, three options Yet another "which speakers to buy" thread you say? As a long time lurker, the pitifulness of my first post being pretty much a rehash of every other thread out there is not lost on me. However, I do need a little help from you friendly forum posters, so, with my pride swallowed, I ask: What do you think of these options? Err... let me back up... This will be my first major HT setup. I feel that a good loudspeaker works well for movies if it does well with music, but for the curious, I guess I would say 60/40 music(All genres, emphasis on rock, electronic, and world/ethnic)/movies(Next gen gaming, blu-ray, emphasis on action and artistic). My room is pretty small, 12' by 20' ish, with about 12' by 12' for the HT space. Components I have concluded on/own are as follows: Display: Pioneer Elite Pro-111fd Power: Panamax M5100-PM Sources: Xbox 360, Blu-ray player (TBD, looking at Pio BDP-51FD/BDP-05FD, one of the new Denon pieces, or PS3) AVR: Pioneer Elite SC-05 OK, take two: Option one: B&W 685 Home theater Fronts 685's Center HTM62/61 (depends on price) Rears 686's Sub Episode C5 12" Option two: Paradigm Monitor Titan Home theater Fronts Titan Monitors Center CC-290 Rears Atom Monitors Sub DSP-3200 12" Option three: Aperion 5B Fusion SD Fronts Intimus 5B Center Intimus 5C Rears Intimus 4B Sub Bravus 8D I have listened to the B&Ws at an intimate, small scale dealer. They were set up in acoustically treated rooms with multi-thousand dollar cabling (MIT, etc) and Amps (Rotel, etc). I was able to have the setup demoed on an SC-05. I've been listening to the Paradigms at a larger retailer. Their setup incorporates a lot of switching mechanisms, and what looked like 18 to 16 gauge wire. Considering the Aperions for in-home audition mostly based on reviews/appearance. Initial impressions are that the B&Ws are a bit more clear and detailed, but show more signs of strain at higher volumes. The Paradigms are a bit more dynamic, but they didn't quite seem as accurate or as detailed. I suspect that some of that loss of detail was due to the poor setup in the larger store. My budget is $1100 - $1500, with preference for the lower end of that, obviously. I work for a major electronics retailer, and will probably use some accommodation offers from Klipsch and JBL as leverage for good pricing at the local dealers. What do you guys think? If I can get the local shops down to $1200ish do you think the Aperions would even be worth auditioning at nearly $1600?

05-31-09, 02:35 AM	#2 \| Link
Pitch Shift Neophyte Join Date: May 2009 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 76	The journey continues. Just in case anyone is following along, here's my updated situation; I was a bit too optimistic in thinking I could work the local dealers down that far. Also, after auditioning many subs of various driver sizes, I think a 12" is really necessary, so I've sort of ruled out the Aperions as the dual 8" is the only one in my price range. They do have that full-price trade up program, though... Any way, I've gotten both the Paradigm and B&W dealers down to about $1800 after tax. My main concern now is that I have a resource to get Polk's TSi series near cost. I can setup a pair of TSi500 foorstanders, CS20 center, TSi200 bookshelves for rear and a PSW125 sub for less than half that. Are floor standing speakers always an upgrade over bookshelf/monitors? Only heard the Polk's (TSi400 though) in a big box retailer, didn't even have a dedicated listening room. Given that setup, the other two brands (especially the B&W's) blow them away. Twice as good, though? That I'm not sure about. If anyone want's to chime in and offer some advise, it'd been very much appreciated.