Need help selecting Speakers!

Speakers have the best longevity of all the audio components we buy. I'd suggest you rethink what speakers you buy and how you buy them. If music is least important then the Energy Take 5.0 would be a great setup. If music has any importance then you might want to think about getting a nice pair of main speakers and build around them as the money becomes available. The best 'bang for the buck' is used speakers. If you live near a large town there are probably hundreds of very nice speakers on Craigs List just looking for a new home and the price will be less than half the new street price they went for when they were new. You can cheap out on an AVR but don't do it on the speakers. They are what make the music.

Check Newegg.com for the Energy speakers. Take 5 or RC's.

Craigslist is a great place to find stuff, if you're patient and lucky. I found a pair of Infinity Beta 50's ($998 msrp) last year for $225. Just bought a Beta 360 center ($399) for $50 yesterday. But you have to have some knowledge of pricing and quality or you can make some expensive mistakes. But you can get some real good gear on the cheap.

If I were you I'd spend a little more on the speakers and sub and a little less on the receiver. Factory refurb receivers or last years models (Pioneer 921) can save you quite a bit. The Denon 1712 would be a nice choice too.

Those Energy's (both of them) are pretty good for the price. Add a sub from Partsexpress.com or the BIC F12 or V1220 and you would have a pretty decent system for the price. It would be much better for movies/tv than music. I like a larger speaker for the fronts for music.

Infinity's are very good as well. They have a softer, warmer sound to them much like Energy. Polk would be a bit brighter with Klipsch being very bright. Try and skim through as many of the "what speakers to buy" threads as you can to get a feel for what the most popular brands are. And take a run to a local store for a listen to whatever they have. Fry's had a nice little Jamo 5.0 speaker system with small towers for fronts last weekend for only $129 for the set. They are owned by the same company (Klipsch) as Energy and I've seen the same set branded as Energy. Also look at Vanns.com, Onecall.com, tigerdirect.com and jr.com. Prices and inventory change almost daily. These from Pioneer have also gotten very good reviews but it looks like the sale is over.

No soundbars?

There's just too many to list. But I don't hear very many negatives about the little Energy 5.0 packages, as long as you keep your expectations reasonable. Add the BIC F12 subwoofer.

That's a good choice for that budget, and definitely go with the S10.3 in place of the take 5.1 sub. A much better sub. The BIC is also good, not quite as precise as the S10.3, but if you're interested in HT only or mostly, either choice is good.

Another possible thing is to go with a 2.1 system, which would be the Energy RC-10s ($249, Vanns) and the S10.3 (Newegg - $200), which would be $450. This is what I would do in retrospect (I started with a small 5.1 system), since you could expand it later. The RC-10's are head and shoulders above the takes, but it would not be a 5.1 system, if that's important to you.

Good luck, either system would be good.

While the advice above is good, if it's theater surround you're after get the best 5.1 system you can afford and no matter what, enjoy your purchase! Congrats, and welcome to the club!

Jamo s606.


http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

$349 at Vanns right now in piano black.

^^^^ That is a smoking deal.

He won't find a better setup for less. There is no comparison between those and the takes. Those small sats just can't compete with the towers. Bigger isn't always better, but I have owned numerous Jamos and they make some great speakers for the money.

Wow, nice deal.
On some very nice looking speakers. Agreed I would "take" these over he "Takes"

I agree the Jamo 606's would be a nice alternative but they would only leave $50 for a sub from his $400 budget.

A good set of 5.0 speakers with towers for $350. He also said he "is not trying to replace this for a couple years and I want to be happy with my purchase." IMO he needs to up his budget a tad or just stick with the much lessor set he was originally looking at for a little less money.

The takes do not go down to 33hz. The sub does. You would still need to add a sub to the Jamos down the road but the towers themselves are rated down to 45 hz (although neither is true. Manufacturers lie about rated responses usually). 6 vs 8 ohms is irrelevant. The 1712 will drive either without issue.

If you said that leaves $100 for a sub, you can get a BIC F12 for around $180. If you stretch your budget $80, the Jamo s606 with a BIC F12 compared to a Take 5 with a sub is not really a competition.

Just offering food for thought around the same price range. Head over to the Jamo owners thread and ask there. You can get some advice from people who actually own that set.

Good luck with the search.

I don't think you are looking at the proper specs. The take 5 pack with just the speakers, no sub, only go down to 115hz. This means the sub you are pairing up with them has to play up to 115 hz to fill in the low end. The Jamos are rated down to 42 hz with the towers and roughly 80 hz on the center and surrounds. That is a huge difference. I have not heard the 10.3, but I do not know of many $200 subs that pair nicely with sats that small, with that high of crossover. I may be wrong though. For home theater the F12 is going to have more impact, IMO. It also would crossover at around 60 for the mains and 80 for the center/surrounds. LFE is hard to localize, but you will probably know where the bass is coming from with the higher crossover.

6ohm vs 8 ohm refers to the efficiency of the speaker. The 8 ohm is a little easier to drive. If you had a crappy receiver that had little power you would want the 8 ohm load. The Denon will drive either without issue.

The Jamos are 87-89 db. The Energy 89db. Minute differences.

Sounds like you are pretty set on the takes, though. I would stick with those. If the Take 5 with the 10.3 was your first choice, you will probably be happiest with that. Anything else you will probably 2nd guess if you are not 100% blown away by it.

Not offended at all. If my post came across that way that was not my intention. I just know that from experience sometimes the first choice is what we should stick with. I have had something in mind, got something else then wondered if it was the right decision.

The energy speakers are well regarded and the sub is good performer for the price. You would be happy with that setup paired with the Denon. I was just showing alternatives, although slightly over budget. I personally get irritated when I ask for suggestions and I am told to spend more. If your budget is firm, then you have made a good choice. Obviously performance is relative to budget. Don't get discouraged. It is a little overwhelming sometimes but is a great hobby. The people on here are very helpful and you can learn a lot.

Good luck with your search.

Check out the posts from member Archaea regarding the Jamo speakers in this thread, particularly post # 26, he has heard the Jamo's first hand and is a pretty knowledgable poster:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1400341

I'd agree if the Jamos are outside your budget and your budget is firm then that's that. But if your budget is flexible, then the Jamos are something to consider. Also--although I rarely ever recommend doing without a sub even for a short while--this might be one occasion to consider going 5.0 and saving up for a sub down the road, hopefully sooner rather than later, however.

I saw your post in the other thread. I wouldn't worry about 6 vs. 8 ohms in your case, the 1712 will drive either the Jamos or the Take 5 just fine. In any event, take a look at these links if you are interested:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums...ching-faq.html

http://www.audioholics.com/education...r-or-amplifier

My opinion is that to get anything better, you would have to spend $300-$400 on a pair of L/R speakers and run a 2.0 setup, building your setup over time. If you are looking for a full surround setup 5.0 or 5.1 for that price range, the S606 is hard to beat. I just can't think of another setup from any manufacturer in that price range that competes.

There are lots of great bookshelf speakers in the $300 to $400 price range from Hsu, Energy, PSB, Ascend Acoustics, NHT, etc. The drawback is you would not have the satisfaction of surround sound now. It would be something you would build over time. It would be a nicer setup, but obviously you would be sinking a lot more money into it.