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FIRST TIMER - BOOKSHELF - MA BX 2 VS MA RX1 VS BW 685 VS DEF TECH SM 55 VS PSB IMAGE B6

post #1 of 34
11/18/12 at 1:17am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys,

First timer here...have been reading a lot of reviews, forum reviews and have finally got the itch to build my HT system.


ideally I want to build a 5.1 but I dont think that would be possible untill I renovate my current house or move to a new house which would be atleast 3 years. So right now I am looking to build a 3.1 but am willing to start with 2.0 and then add later as budget permits.

I am based in Singapore and not all brands are available here and there are just a few shops where I can audition speakers which might be best suited for me.

Here are my requirements :
AVR ( 7.1 with Airplay and Audessey ) - I am locked in at DENON 2113 right now
Start with Fronts L/R and probably a CENTER if it fits in my budget.
Want to WALL MOUNT my speakers Not enough space and a 1 yr old kid.. Swivel / tilt stands will do fine.
TV / MOVIES : 75%
MUSIC : 25%
BUDGET for 2.0 + AVR : 1500-1700 SGD
I live in a small apartment.

I dont have much knowledge of sound but for me...since I have been used to crappy laptop speakers or tv speakers everything sounds good to me.

I went for a round of audition yesterday here at ADELPHI and AUDIO HOUSE.

Before I went I had shortlisted a few speakers (purely based on reviews) and noted down their dealers in SG. Most of them are in the above 2 places.

This was my shortlist :

MONITOR AUDIO - BRONZE - BX2
B&W 685
KLIPSCH RB-61 II
POLK RTiA1 / TSI200 / TSI100
DALI ZENSOR
DEF TECH SM 350/450
JAMO C603
FOCAL CHORUS 706
ENERGY RC100/CB SERIES
PSB IMAGE B5
KEF IQ300
BOSTON ACOUSTICS A26
INFINITY PRIMUS 163

Below is what I could audition and what I thought of those along with the price. I request some of the experts to please suggest what would be a good choice for me and help me take my decision.

the ones I could not audition are either not available / not in stock. In some shops like the KEC / ALPHA AUDIO salespeople were not helpful at all. Anyways here are my thoughts.

AUDITION :
MONITOR AUDIO - BRONZE BX2 : S$450 : I thought these were decent sounding and pretty attractively priced. I could even add a center right now as it fit into my budget. The salesperson insisted I listen to RX1 too.
MONITOR AUDIO - SILVER RX1 : S$850 : These were definitely better. The sales person even switched them so that I could hear the difference.
KLIPSCH RB-51 II : S$665 : I decided that 61 would be too big for me, hence I auditioned 51. These were nice but..just that nice....
DALI ZENSOR 1 - S$1050 : I didn't like the sound. Maybe the amp was not good....Also the price put me off.
B&W 685 : S$950 : These sounded very nice...almost perfect to my ears...I could imagine them giving me nice sound for my requirements...

Then I went to this shop KEC..they seem to have listed all brands to try : POLK / DEF TECH / JAMO etc...but the only thing I could audition is DEF TECH. They seemed more interested in selling AVR + 5.1 packages....so the moment I mentioned a pair of bookshelves they seemed to loose interest...I needed to wait since somebody was in the room...so he told me to go somewhere else and come back....WTF...is this how u treat a customer...anyways..I am a very patient guy and I went back after 30 mins ...now when I mentioned about 350/450 they said they have never heard of the model...they said they have 45/55/65. So I said I can audition 55.

DEF TECH SM 55 :S$960 : I saw a movie clip...and they really sounded nice....they have a bass radiator on top and it seems to produce some very good bass....I thought these would be best for watching movies even with just a 2.0 setup....the price is a bit high and I was really put off by the salesperson...

Then I went to audio house...here again sales people are busy selling packages...when I asked somebody to demo INFINITY 163 ...he showed me 153 and told me 163 is out of stock....I asked can I audition 153 pair alone and not in a 5.1 setup...he told me to come on a weekday since on weekends..they want to avoid the hassle to move speakers from here and there ...again signs of b*** customer service....anyways...

INFINITY 153 : 499 S$ : These sounded OKAY...but I couldnt tell for sure since they were connected in 5.1...

PSB IMAGE B5 : 550 S$ : These sounded pretty nice for thier size....I was impressed
PSB IMAGE B6 : 690 S$ : These sounded slightly better...but for me couldn't tell exactly how they are better...


didnt audition but price is very attractive :
PSB ALPHA B1 : 222 S$
PSB SUBSERIES 1 WOOFER : 322 S$

I really wanted to audition POLK AND ENERGY but dont know who stocks them here.....

Conclusion :

I really liked the B&W 685 and the MA RX1 but the DEF TECH SM55 is my fav so far.
Although for the price I think MA BX2 / PSB B6 are pretty atttractive options too..

As I mentioned before I dont think I would upgrade to 5.1 anytime soon....but definitely want a complete 3.1 in 6-8 months...so should I go for the good speakers even if they are expensive and then worry about 5.1 when the time comes...or do I be budget concious now...take slightly cheaper speakers for fronts and move them to the back then I upgrade (not in 2-3 years).

As for the AVR : I think I am okay with DENON 1713 (600 S$) but really want that upscaling functionality which 2113 (850 S$) gives...

Also lot of salespeople were recommending the YAMAHA but I dont know if AUDESSEY is better or YPAO.

Please let me know if I have missed out anything here.....any advice on how to go ahead with...

Thanks a ton for reading this...any advice is highly appreciated....
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post #2 of 34
11/18/12 at 6:09am
I think out of all of those that you listed, the Definitive Technology SM-55's will perform the best as far as home theater goes. Those SM-55's are a huge step up from the SM-350's and SM-450's, both of which, I highly recommend NOT buying.
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post #3 of 34
11/18/12 at 6:46am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Marty cool....seems like DEF TECH is more suited to HT...I thought Monitor audio were good...almost too good. and seemed more suited for music...but they are cheaper than def tech sm 55..

What about ENERGY RC-10 OR INFINITY 163....I have not heard them nor do i know whether I will be able to...but have heard lots of good things about them...
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post #4 of 34
11/18/12 at 11:40am
Any of the options that you liked should perform just fine for HT depending on how loud you like to listen. I think of the B&W 685 as a music speaker but it performs just as well for HT. However, if you like to listen loud they seem to get just a bit harsh at high volumes. The Monitor Silver RX1 is a very nice speaker as well.

Concerning the other options you mentioned in your last post, the Energy RC-10 is hard to find now since it has been discontinued and most of the internet shops are out. the Primus 163 is a nice speaker. I would recommend listening to this one as well.
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post #5 of 34
11/18/12 at 12:25pm
The Definitive SM 55 are real nice speakers - however, do not under-estimate the M A RX-1,
they can handle Music and Movies/TV.

Another good one would be the Focal 706V, off your origional list
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post #6 of 34
11/18/12 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you everybody for your comments.

I dont listen too loud because if I do ,my 1 yr old will shout louder than the speaker biggrin.gif

But for me I just want to get into good sound....be it movies , tv , music....movies and tv are my primary interests....



yeah its hard to find ENERGY speakers now...even the website shows some error like "SKU model not available blah blah.."


I am lining up to audition Infinity 163 , Focal 706 (NOT SURE YET) , POLK's (TSi100/200) and maybe some WHARFEDALE(10.2) this week...will post my replies after that...

So far , DEF TECH SM55 , B&W 685 and MA RX1 sounded really nice... but they are just slightly expensive here (900S$ +) but yeah...good things don't come cheap...

I am sure INFINITY 163 / Polks will be cheaper than them...just want to hear the sound...and whether it suits me....

Also do you guys forsee a problem if I wall mount / put on a bookshelf my options above....?
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post #7 of 34
11/18/12 at 8:05pm
I think that $960 is for the DefTech SM65. I paid $600 for a pair of SM55 through a local dealer. $600 is the MSRP for these and just about everyone on-line sells them for that price.

As far as mounting. I'm not sure how far I can go as far as providing a link but there is an eBay Store called FourPair ( fourpairteledata ) that I bought my mounts from. These aren't the best designed mounts but they are heavy and will hold a large speaker. They pivot up/down and side-to-side. I used some heavy-duty push-in bolts ( Cobra 367R "DrillerToggle" ) from Lowes to secure the mounts to the wall. I also picked up some rubber furniture-saver dots and put them on the brackets to keep the speakers from slipping. I still didn't trust the clamping on the brackets, so I put a couple of screws in the bottom of the SM55 to secure them to the wall mount. Main reason why I bought these wall mounts is because I am using the SM55 as height speakers and needed about 15° of pitch. If you are going to mount them at ear level, then an ordinary shelf will do.
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post #8 of 34
11/18/12 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 
Jevans,

The prices I quoted are in SINGAPORE DOLLARS ( 1 USD = 1.22 SGD) , so if def tech 55 are selling for 600 in US then typically they should sell at around 800 SGD in Singapore including some markup...but the price quoted is 960..

Yeah even I might want to wall mount at height....normal shelves wont do...(WAF!!)
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post #9 of 34
11/18/12 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Jevans,

BTW, how do the SM 55 sound to you....music / movies?
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post #10 of 34
11/18/12 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

Thank you everybody for your comments.
I dont listen too loud because if I do ,my 1 yr old will shout louder than the speaker biggrin.gif
But for me I just want to get into good sound....be it movies , tv , music....movies and tv are my primary interests....
yeah its hard to find ENERGY speakers now...even the website shows some error like "SKU model not available blah blah.."
I am lining up to audition Infinity 163 , Focal 706 (NOT SURE YET) , POLK's (TSi100/200) and maybe some WHARFEDALE(10.2) this week...will post my replies after that...
So far , DEF TECH SM55 , B&W 685 and MA RX1 sounded really nice... but they are just slightly expensive here (900S$ +) but yeah...good things don't come cheap...
I am sure INFINITY 163 / Polks will be cheaper than them...just want to hear the sound...and whether it suits me....
Also do you guys forsee a problem if I wall mount / put on a bookshelf my options above....?

you can find the Energy V series speakers at wwstereo.com. They're running some promo specials and the V5.1 bookshelfs are $199 each while the V6.2 towers are $299 each.

also NHT is having a sale and you can get the Classic Three for $319 each.

You've got a lot of good choices already so I'm sure you'll end up with some nice speakers.
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post #11 of 34
11/19/12 at 2:58am
Thread Starter 
Guys,

I am stumped here....

I auditioned the speakers...but did not think about a SUB...and all of them looked expensive...

Considering I go with say
B&W 685/ Infinity Primus 163 / MA RX1 or DEF TECH SM55....and pair them with say DENON 1713...what SUB do you think I would need? and be budget friendly?

On another not...is a SUB an OVERKILL in my case...I have about 20 awesome blu ray movies waiting to be ordered on amazon....so do you think I would miss a SUB?
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post #12 of 34
11/19/12 at 3:51am
Hey neeravks, I may be abit bias toward my suggestion, but I feel I have great reasons to be. I love Monitor Audio, But I have the RX2’s instead of the RX1’s. I have listened to both RX1’s and 2’s, and the bass from them are fantastic. If you are buying them for just music alone, I would tell you to wait for a sub, but for movies, and wanting some great LFE, then a sub is a must. I am saying this for any of the speakers you select and not just for the Monitor Audio.

All of the speakers you auditioned are very nice, and I can see your dilemma on which ones to pick. If you can, go back to the stores and make sure to audition the center channel for the speakers you are most interested in. When watching movies, the center channel is working over 70% of the time and that makes a world of difference.

As far as shelves go, I put up some for my RX2’s, which are some damn large ass speakers.

I will soon be moving the shelves down about 12in to line up my tweeters for the front stange.

I have a few pics in the links in my signature.
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post #13 of 34
11/19/12 at 4:19am
Thread Starter 
That is one awesome setup HAMP....!!! biggrin.gif

For me I think the RX2 are out of my budget....I was infact considering BRONZE BX2 until I heard RX1....I heard the RX1 with its center in a MOVIE setup and it was really good....but that too is slightly out of budget right now atleast...

So I was thinking on starting off with a 2.1 and then add a center say 6-8 months down the line...when I get my bonus biggrin.gif

What SUB would go with the RX1's or any of my selected speakers actually....? I have no idea about this actually...and I am looking for an entry level....decent SUB which does not cost much on the pocket...

Thanks for the suggestions...appreciate....
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post #14 of 34
11/19/12 at 6:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

Jevans,
BTW, how do the SM 55 sound to you....music / movies?

Honestly, I have no idea how they sound with movies since I am using them strictly as height speakers in a 9.2/11.2 setup. I could certainly see the SM55 being used as the main front speakers in a mid-range system with an amp of maybe 200 watts / channel. They sound really good with music. I often use just the SM55's in Pure Direct Stereo mode when I don't want to turn on the Emotiva XPR-5 and use the BP7000SC's. Part of the reason I chose the SM55 over other brands is because I wanted to exactly match the driver size in the 7000SC's. The bass coming out of the SM55 is surprisingly good and maybe a little bit heavy at times, at least with no processing or adjustments done to the source. I mainly listen to classical or neo-classical with a little bit of classic rock and metal thrown in -- stuff like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Respighi, Holst, Metallica, AC-DC, Rush, BOC, Boston, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, etc.

Picture of the front five with the SM55's mounted on their sides with the FourPair brackets.



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post #15 of 34
11/19/12 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

That is one awesome setup HAMP....!!! biggrin.gif
For me I think the RX2 are out of my budget....I was infact considering BRONZE BX2 until I heard RX1....I heard the RX1 with its center in a MOVIE setup and it was really good....but that too is slightly out of budget right now atleast...
So I was thinking on starting off with a 2.1 and then add a center say 6-8 months down the line...when I get my bonus biggrin.gif
What SUB would go with the RX1's or any of my selected speakers actually....? I have no idea about this actually...and I am looking for an entry level....decent SUB which does not cost much on the pocket...
Thanks for the suggestions...appreciate....


I have this thing for matching Monitor Audio/SVS subs, I love the audio quality from those two. If I were to get the RX1's, and SVS, I would look at the new SVS PB-1000

http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/pb-1000

I know you do not live in the U.S., but I believe they do international orders also.

B.T.W.

Thank you for the compliment, I do need to update some pics, have added a couple of amps since taking them.
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post #16 of 34
11/19/12 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 
Again awesome setup...you guys are amazing...I would like to reach there one day!
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post #17 of 34
11/19/12 at 7:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HAMP568 View Post

I have this thing for matching Monitor Audio/SVS subs, I love the audio quality from those two. If I were to get the RX1's, and SVS, I would look at the new SVS PB-1000
http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers/ported-box/pb-1000
I know you do not live in the U.S., but I believe they do international orders also.
B.T.W.
Thank you for the compliment, I do need to update some pics, have added a couple of amps since taking them.

btw...thanks for the suggestion on PB-1000, I see they have just launched....so I will wait a while to ask the guys locally....and probably get a good price...
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post #18 of 34
11/19/12 at 8:06pm
Out of all of the ones that you've listed; i think the psb's are most musical. I recall the monitor audio's being a bit bright/shrill.
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post #19 of 34
11/20/12 at 4:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

Hi guys,
First timer here...have been reading a lot of reviews, forum reviews and have finally got the itch to build my HT system.
ideally I want to build a 5.1 but I dont think that would be possible untill I renovate my current house or move to a new house which would be atleast 3 years. So right now I am looking to build a 3.1 but am willing to start with 2.0 and then add later as budget permits.
I am based in Singapore and not all brands are available here and there are just a few shops where I can audition speakers which might be best suited for me.
Here are my requirements :
AVR ( 7.1 with Airplay and Audessey ) - I am locked in at DENON 2113 right now
Start with Fronts L/R and probably a CENTER if it fits in my budget.
Want to WALL MOUNT my speakers Not enough space and a 1 yr old kid.. Swivel / tilt stands will do fine.
TV / MOVIES : 75%
MUSIC : 25%
BUDGET for 2.0 + AVR : 1500-1700 SGD
I live in a small apartment.
I dont have much knowledge of sound but for me...since I have been used to crappy laptop speakers or tv speakers everything sounds good to me.
I went for a round of audition yesterday here at ADELPHI and AUDIO HOUSE.
Before I went I had shortlisted a few speakers (purely based on reviews) and noted down their dealers in SG. Most of them are in the above 2 places.
This was my shortlist :
MONITOR AUDIO - BRONZE - BX2
B&W 685
KLIPSCH RB-61 II
POLK RTiA1 / TSI200 / TSI100
DALI ZENSOR
DEF TECH SM 350/450
JAMO C603
FOCAL CHORUS 706
ENERGY RC100/CB SERIES
PSB IMAGE B5
KEF IQ300
BOSTON ACOUSTICS A26
INFINITY PRIMUS 163
Below is what I could audition and what I thought of those along with the price. I request some of the experts to please suggest what would be a good choice for me and help me take my decision.
the ones I could not audition are either not available / not in stock. In some shops like the KEC / ALPHA AUDIO salespeople were not helpful at all. Anyways here are my thoughts.
AUDITION :
MONITOR AUDIO - BRONZE BX2 : S$450 : I thought these were decent sounding and pretty attractively priced. I could even add a center right now as it fit into my budget. The salesperson insisted I listen to RX1 too.
MONITOR AUDIO - SILVER RX1 : S$850 : These were definitely better. The sales person even switched them so that I could hear the difference.
KLIPSCH RB-51 II : S$665 : I decided that 61 would be too big for me, hence I auditioned 51. These were nice but..just that nice....
DALI ZENSOR 1 - S$1050 : I didn't like the sound. Maybe the amp was not good....Also the price put me off.
B&W 685 : S$950 : These sounded very nice...almost perfect to my ears...I could imagine them giving me nice sound for my requirements...
Then I went to this shop KEC..they seem to have listed all brands to try : POLK / DEF TECH / JAMO etc...but the only thing I could audition is DEF TECH. They seemed more interested in selling AVR + 5.1 packages....so the moment I mentioned a pair of bookshelves they seemed to loose interest...I needed to wait since somebody was in the room...so he told me to go somewhere else and come back....WTF...is this how u treat a customer...anyways..I am a very patient guy and I went back after 30 mins ...now when I mentioned about 350/450 they said they have never heard of the model...they said they have 45/55/65. So I said I can audition 55.
DEF TECH SM 55 :S$960 : I saw a movie clip...and they really sounded nice....they have a bass radiator on top and it seems to produce some very good bass....I thought these would be best for watching movies even with just a 2.0 setup....the price is a bit high and I was really put off by the salesperson...
Then I went to audio house...here again sales people are busy selling packages...when I asked somebody to demo INFINITY 163 ...he showed me 153 and told me 163 is out of stock....I asked can I audition 153 pair alone and not in a 5.1 setup...he told me to come on a weekday since on weekends..they want to avoid the hassle to move speakers from here and there ...again signs of b*** customer service....anyways...
INFINITY 153 : 499 S$ : These sounded OKAY...but I couldnt tell for sure since they were connected in 5.1...
PSB IMAGE B5 : 550 S$ : These sounded pretty nice for thier size....I was impressed
PSB IMAGE B6 : 690 S$ : These sounded slightly better...but for me couldn't tell exactly how they are better...
didnt audition but price is very attractive :
PSB ALPHA B1 : 222 S$
PSB SUBSERIES 1 WOOFER : 322 S$
I really wanted to audition POLK AND ENERGY but dont know who stocks them here.....
Conclusion :
I really liked the B&W 685 and the MA RX1 but the DEF TECH SM55 is my fav so far.
Although for the price I think MA BX2 / PSB B6 are pretty atttractive options too..
As I mentioned before I dont think I would upgrade to 5.1 anytime soon....but definitely want a complete 3.1 in 6-8 months...so should I go for the good speakers even if they are expensive and then worry about 5.1 when the time comes...or do I be budget concious now...take slightly cheaper speakers for fronts and move them to the back then I upgrade (not in 2-3 years).
As for the AVR : I think I am okay with DENON 1713 (600 S$) but really want that upscaling functionality which 2113 (850 S$) gives...
Also lot of salespeople were recommending the YAMAHA but I dont know if AUDESSEY is better or YPAO.
Please let me know if I have missed out anything here.....any advice on how to go ahead with...
Thanks a ton for reading this...any advice is highly appreciated....

I lived in Indonesia, I'm very jealous you can test Def Tech SM 55 sound. All I've got in here are Def Tech discontinued product:(
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post #20 of 34
11/20/12 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 
Hi guys,

a slight dilemma here..

I am beginning to think a SUB would take too much space, would be an overkill and would be nice fodder for my 1 yr old to play with smile.gif

I am thinking by getting a pair of floor standers and not get a sub, I could save some space and still have nice sound quality.

I have been offered a couple of deals :
infinity p363 : 1199 SGD (promo)
monitor audio RS8 + RSLCR : 1500 SGD.. (used , 3 yrs old)
Maybe wharfedale 10.6 around similar price

Does it make sense to go this way....I can get a sub later 2-3 yrs down the line..

What do you guys think of the above floorstanders? Do the infinity / wharfedale stand up to monitor audio rs8? RS8 is an old model? Would it make any difference that they have been used for 3 yrs?

Also what do you guys think about having just the above setups for movies....how long do you think before I will start getting the itch to get a SUB biggrin.gif
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post #21 of 34
11/20/12 at 7:56pm
Can you listen to any of these new options before purchasing? The Infinity Primus 363 is a very nice budget speaker. I would say the Monitor RS8 or Wharfdale 10.6 are superior options but that's just my opinion. Regarding the age of the Monitor speakers, it's not really that important unless the original owner abused them. Speakers can often last 20 years without any required repairs if treated properly.
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post #22 of 34
11/20/12 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Yep I will definitely listen to them before committing....my current living room setup is giving me headaches....

Can somebody comment on below 2 options...
option 1 : I can probably hang bookshelves but then that would not give me required bass for blu-rays..so would need a sub..which would again take some space on the floor....
vs
option 2 : I can get floorstanders and dont need to buy a sub right now....but havent heard any floorstanders and apart from the 3 options above dont know if there are any budget floorstanders available...the bookshelves some of them were slightly out of budget...

right now this looks budget friendly
AVR +

a) MA BX-2 + CENTER + SUB /
b) INFINITY 163 + CENTER + SUB /
c) INFINITY 363 /
d) WHARFEDALE 10.6

e) the other choices that I liked too, MA RX1 / B&W 685 / DEF TECH SM55 are expensive here and getting a center with a SUB will simply blow my budget...probably get these now and worry about sub and center later...

so which choice should be best ?

yeah lot of choices and lot of confusion....
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post #23 of 34
11/20/12 at 8:49pm
Either way you will need a subwoofer for the best HT experience. The floorstanders, without a doubt, will get you the closest to that experience until you purchase the subwoofer. That being said, if it were me, I would get the highest quality 2.0 or 3.0 to start and get a nice subwoofer later. Of your options the Deftech, Monitor, and B&W fit the bill. However, the matching center for the B&W 685 is not the best. Most say another 685 speaker makes the best choice for a center speaker. Because of that I would recommend the Deftech and Monitor options. If you can live without earth-shaking bass for a while these will be very enjoyable speakers. Once you add the subwoofer and surrounds it will complete the experience.
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post #24 of 34
11/20/12 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks! That is very nicely put....I think I will go back to what I started with....get a pair of quality bookshelves and keep upgrading later....
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post #25 of 34
11/20/12 at 8:56pm
Reading your last few post, and you asking for our thoughts.

I would go in this order:

a) MA BX2’s + Center + Sub
b) Ma RX1’s, and get center channel and sub later

Remember, whatever you select, you are going to want/need a sub for your movie viewing. A good sub is the only part of your speaker combo that can get below 19hz, and a good sub makes all the world difference for your movie experience.
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post #26 of 34
11/21/12 at 12:05am
Thread Starter 
Doing a bit more research now it seems RX1 are sensitive to good positioning...
because they are rear ported and have read that need good positioning to sound good....I don't have that flexibility to put them on stands and 12 inches in front of the wall..I am sure if I go for bookshelves I

so does that rule out the RX1?
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post #27 of 34
11/21/12 at 12:30am
Thread Starter 
I think I may get a good deal on a used Klipsch SYNERGY SUB-10

I know it might not be the best , but i think for the budget they are a steal...would they go well with the speakers that I might choose....for example MA BX2?
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post #28 of 34
11/21/12 at 1:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

I think I may get a good deal on a used Klipsch SYNERGY SUB-10
I know it might not be the best , but i think for the budget they are a steal...would they go well with the speakers that I might choose....for example MA BX2?
Quote:
Originally Posted by neeravks View Post

Doing a bit more research now it seems RX1 are sensitive to good positioning...
because they are rear ported and have read that need good positioning to sound good....I don't have that flexibility to put them on stands and 12 inches in front of the wall..I am sure if I go for bookshelves I
so does that rule out the RX1?


Not everyone has room to place their speaker so many feet from the back and/or side wall, and this apply to all speakers. The MA are not sensitive to rear wall placement. They do have a port on the rear and can be sealed if placement is to close to the back wall and does not bring the desired audio quality. I remember you looking at my pics, and believe me they are close to the rear wall. Watching movies, I have mine sealed, when I listen to 2channel music with the subs turned off, the port is opened.


I used to have two Klipsch Sub-12 subs, and I really liked the bass they produced. I would hate to tell you to get it, and then a little later you want to upgrade. I do believe it would be nice for now, until you want to get a serious sub.
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post #29 of 34
11/21/12 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
Great hamp...that clears a lot...

You guys are just great...I cant imagine so many doubts getting cleared so easily if I were to join a university that teaches "audio" biggrin.gif
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post #30 of 34
11/22/12 at 2:05am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys,

update : I auditioned some speakers today

Polk Tsi100 / Tsi200 : Both Sounded pretty good....I did like the sound and I think when matched with a nice center and woofer this would be a nice setup...
Polk Tsi400/ Tsi500 : Tsi400 sounded OKAY. I would go for the Tsi200 instead. Tsi500 sounded awesome...Could really feel the music....really liked it..
Could not audition RTi : but will be better than Tsi
Wharfedale 10.1 / 10.2 : Without doubt 10.2 is a nice sounding speaker...but there is difficulty in wall mounting due to its curved design....but can be achieved I am sure..
Wharfedale 10.4 / 10.6 : Did not listen to 10.4 but did to 10.6 . 10.6 were really nice speakers....difficult to choose between these and polk tsi500..tsi500 slightly on top.

Then the sales guy started explaining me some packages etc....where he would give me wharfedale sw-150 (good sub???) at a 300 dollar discount if I buy 3.1 from him.

He also showed me Mission- RX3 : Sounded pretty nice too...coudnt tell the difference between 10.6 and RX3...maybe 10.6 are made of slightly higher end components...but to my untrained ears they sounded almost similar...maybe RX3 were slightly more energetic...

With the mission RX3 - he said they were very very affordable....there is absolutely no difference between the Mission RX3 and Diamond 10.2 (with stands / wall mount costs)

So there you go....more listening..more options...

Again I have to say...at this stage..everything I listen to sounds good....

If I dont buy the package from this guy...then I have to make do with another sub-woofer (might be expensive) or have no sub-woofer for now and add later....

So I put all my choices so far in an excel sheet and was comparing the prices with / without sub-woofer

Just to show you some price comparisons :

Without SUB:
 (higher price first)
QUALITY BOOKSHELVES

DEF TECH SM 55 >> B&W 685 >> MONITOR AUDIO RX1 - cant say who is the winner here

NEXT RANGE BOOKSHELVES

PSB IMAGE B6 >> MONITOR AUDIO BX2 >> Polk Tsi200 >> Polk RTiA1 >> WHARFEDALE 10.2 - I think here MA BX2 wins

FLOORSTANDERS WITHIN RANGE
POLK Tsi500 >> WHARFEDALE 10.6 >> WHARFEDALE 10.4 >> POLK Tsi400 >> MISSION RX3 - if judged just on the basis of cost , MISSION wins...else POLK Tsi500...

If I add SUB to a non-wharfedale / mission set then I am looking to fork out atleast 300 more for another SUB...

At this moment the Mission RX3 is looking very attractive to me due to the fact that :
a) I prefer floorstanders to stand mounts...but if a bookshelf can be wall mounted I am okay
b) I can add a SUB in this deal and it is still doesn't cross my budget by much (package deal)

Am I going in a completely wrong direction?

Would I be better off by going with just a PAIR for now and add center and sub later...this would mean me sacrificing those low thumps for the time being when I watch my BLU-RAY's
or is the mission / wharfedale package good enough

you guys have helped me a lot till here...just some more so that I start my audio journey ..

Thanks!!
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