Which Speakers to buy?

Don't buy cheap Sony speakers. They will sound like crap.

Get 2 Infinity P252 towers for $255.

Get 3 P162 bookshelf for $204.

Total = $459 delivered for 5 speakers. Best $459 for 5 speakers you will ever buy.

But, I would just get 5 x P162 for $340 delivered and get a cheap Dayton sub, if you don't have a sub already.

Are there any reviews / measurements for any of those cheap Sony, BIC, Polk, etc?

Here is an actual Soundstage/ NRC review/ measurements for the P162!

AcuDefTechGuy is telling you to use another one of the bookshelves for the center. That actually produces the best front sound stage. It's just most people don't have room for a vertical speaker in the front, so they go for the center channel designed to match the rest of the setup. And I agree. The Infinity Primus will sound much better than the Sony speakers.

+1 for the Outlaw. I have the EX. Amazing sub.

I'd say that you just got some excellent help. That's a seriously good system for the money that AcuDefTechGuy just recommended. You may also want to consider these for surrounds instead, since they're smaller and may be easier to mount:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882428088

Stick with the P162 for the center, though, and orient it vertically if at all possible.

The only competitor that springs to mind is the Pioneer SP series:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117403
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117404
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117405

It's also a bargain at $400. These two systems sound pretty different--the Pioneer sounds noticeably warm, while the Infinity is more neutral in tone with a bit of "sizzle," if you will, at the high-frequency end. Personally, between these two, I'd go for the Infinity system, but the best choice for you obviously depends on your own preferences.

This Jamo 5.0 set looks good, I just recently heard about it, I've never heard them myself, but the specs look good.

I own the Sony SS-F6000's and a SS-CN5000 and they sound amazing. I've noticed lots of people hate on them because they are Sony's, but they haven't heard them. I have previously heard crap quality sony speakers, but these are not those, these are great. I plan on buying two SS-F7000's in a few years once I move and have a dedicated home theater room. I will then use the SS-F6000's as my side surrounds. I'd much rather spend the $1000's I would have been spending on speakers, had I not decided to give the Sony's a try, on a nicer screen and projector.

Sure, while a fully timbre-matched system has some advantages, the consensus here is that it's not absolutely critical to match the surrounds with the fronts (unless you're heavily into multichannel music, anyway). The P143 is only a little smaller, though, and perhaps a bit oversized for its specs. You may want to consider the following alternatives (if white speakers aren't an issue--maybe they'd blend in better):

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...A-White/1.html
http://www.amazon.com/BIC-AMERICA-DV.../dp/B00006JPDE


I don't know, but if you like high volume, then the Infinity system is more efficient, which is a big advantage in your case. You do have or plan to buy a subwoofer, right?


Well, I've auditioned the current line of Sony bookshelf speakers at Best Buy (I think, or wherever), and I thought they sounded OK for the price, and better than previous offerings from Sony, but they seemed noticeably...er...restrained or "shy"--it's hard to explain, actually. Maybe they lack dynamics or just sound congested, but I didn't spend much time evaluating them. Suffice to say that I wasn't impressed, although I have not heard the floor-standers or center, which may well be superior.

I was just going to recommend the Jamo system. I haven't heard the others but a friend of mine and my cousin bought these and hard to pass them up for the price that they go for. While not stellar bass since they have only 8" subs built it, it still is plenty enough for movies and music to hold off on that sub for a while.

I have a Klipsch RF-82 II system at home and while it can play louder, I probably wouldn't waste time looking for something other than the Jamo in that price range if I was looking for a system right now.

I did not try out any of the Sony's before buying them, I was looking at a lot of floor-standers anywhere in the $300-600 per pair range, listened to a few in stores, but when I saw the hundreds of reviews online for the Sony's I decided I would give them a shot and just return them if they disappointed me. I let them break in for about 40 hours and did a MCACC auto calibration before ever listening to them, and they sounded great when I did. The calibration did change the EQ setting for them by about 3-4dB in 3 of the 10 frequency bands and minor adjustments in a few others.

Someone who did try them out in a store said they sounded "muddy" in the mids, but they said they were at a display that rotated through different sets of speakers, I'm guessing each set was not calibrated. So, they are not going to come out of the box with a perfectly flat frequency repsonse, but if you let your receiver (or manually) make some adjustments, they really are great.

The Jamo's are very good. I own that set and am very happy with them. Very good speakers especially for $400. You will likely want a sub with them but I would and have recommended them to others.

How big is your room?

What do you listen to and how much of it?

Why do you feel the need for floor standers?


Thanks!