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BIC Acoustech Owners Thread - Page 4

post #91 of 4070
3/21/08 at 11:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by corey99699 View Post

I hate that you have to go through all that but Im glad it won't be an issue for anyone else(unless they get a bad tweeter too).I'm glad they're taking care of it with no hassle,let us know when you get the new one and if it gets fixed.

Yea, its not really a big deal because it still sounds pretty good... and really, things like this really tell you something about the company that you are dealing with. Any company can be good when everything is going right, but its when something unexpected like this that comes up when you find out what they're really all about. They've shipped me a horn tweeter yesterday with no question, no charges, and without even requesting the old tweeter. I must say, so far I'm impressed. No big deal.
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post #92 of 4070
3/21/08 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

Yea, its not really a big deal because it still sounds pretty good... and really, things like this really tell you something about the company that you are dealing with. Any company can be good when everything is going right, but its when something unexpected like this that comes up when you find out what they're really all about. They've shipped me a horn tweeter yesterday with no question, no charges, and without even requesting the old tweeter. I must say, so far I'm impressed. No big deal.

That's very impressive. I know you got this set on Ebay from the certified seller. Was it easier to just go through the manufacturer than deal with him picking up and shipping out a new set? I know he said he'd cover the first year of repairs himself.

Also - did you find a place to register your speakers? Most of them have a seven year warranty, so I was curious where one could register them so they know how long they're covered.
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post #93 of 4070
3/21/08 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgstewar View Post

That's very impressive. I know you got this set on Ebay from the certified seller. Was it easier to just go through the manufacturer than deal with him picking up and shipping out a new set? I know he said he'd cover the first year of repairs himself.

Also - did you find a place to register your speakers? Most of them have a seven year warranty, so I was curious where one could register them so they know how long they're covered.

The owners manual says "All warranty repairs must be accompanied by the original bill of sales.no other document is acceptable or required"
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post #94 of 4070
3/21/08 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgstewar View Post

That's very impressive. I know you got this set on Ebay from the certified seller. Was it easier to just go through the manufacturer than deal with him picking up and shipping out a new set? I know he said he'd cover the first year of repairs himself.

Also - did you find a place to register your speakers? Most of them have a seven year warranty, so I was curious where one could register them so they know how long they're covered.

I didnt even think to go to the original seller... i just called these guys up and they were just like 'sure no problem'... Im sure if i went through the ebay seller, i'd have to ship the old one back and then wait on a new one... he probably doesnt have spare components ready to send out. I'm not sure about registering them. They may just go off of the serial numbers or something.
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post #95 of 4070
3/21/08 at 4:10pm
I'm curious - did either of you guys compare this set to the Premier Acoustic set from the same eseller:
http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/c...pid=1248&sc=27
Seems to have very similar specifications to the higher end BIC set, and the PA-12 sub is a little more powerful than the H-100. Just something I've found in my research, but I've never heard of Premier Acoustic.
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post #96 of 4070
3/21/08 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
1. I thought they looked kinda ugly and cheap
2. The sensitivity on those speakers is a lot lower than BIC which means a lot
3. Those speakers use traditional dome tweeters and the acoustech's use horns.

I'm pretty certain that the Acoustech's are a much better set of speakers. My opinion will stand that they are THE BEST speakers that you can get for the money. You will be hard pressed to put together a system that has anywhere near the sound quality and build quality and appearance of the acoustech system that i put together. If you doubled your budget you could probably do a little better, but not for this price. Just my 2 cents... who knows, you might think that those speakers are perfect for you
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post #97 of 4070
3/21/08 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

1. I thought they looked kinda ugly and cheap
2. The sensitivity on those speakers is a lot lower than BIC which means a lot
3. Those speakers use traditional dome tweeters and the acoustech's use horns.

I'm pretty certain that the Acoustech's are a much better set of speakers. My opinion will stand that they are THE BEST speakers that you can get for the money. You will be hard pressed to put together a system that has anywhere near the sound quality and build quality and appearance of the acoustech system that i put together. If you doubled your budget you could probably do a little better, but not for this price. Just my 2 cents... who knows, you might think that those speakers are perfect for you

You seem a bit ignorant and biased now. A bit more biased than a regular owner would. Are you affiliated with BIC by any means?

1. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but by no means are these ugly: http://www.bicacoustechspeakers.com/...d=270&offset=2
Gloss black top, cherry sides, doesn't look ugly to me, but whatever floats your boat.
2. Okay, so the PA8Fs sensitivity is 6db lower than the HT-88. Most people will have a reciever with atleast 100wpc anyways, not too big of a deal unless you're using tubes. Even then... Not such a big deal.
3. Horns and Domes are a matter of taste, neither is better than the other. Now their is such a thing as a tweeter being more suitable in a situation (such as PA's. Horns are 'better' (thus more efficient, superior) at throwing sound, and lots of it, farther distances.
I wouldn't really rule out the PA8Fs. They're extremely neutral.

Regarding built quality.. The PA8Fs and the HT88s are roughly the same weight. Weight is usually a good sign of quality. According to this: http://www.bicacoustechspeakers.com/...d=269&offset=2

the PA8C and the HT-85 weigh the same.



I've heard the HT-75s, pretty darn good speakers. Also heard the PA8Fs. To me they seem more neutral, 'better' as you may term it.

Although that is an unfair comparison. Judging by the speaker types used, I think it would be fair to say that the HT88s would have a better off axis response (if it is a true horn tweeter) versus the the PA8Fs. Although the PA's will sound less in your face and neautral and probably better for music.
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post #98 of 4070
3/21/08 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spezzy View Post

You seem a bit ignorant and biased now. A bit more biased than a regular owner would. Are you affiliated with BIC by any means?

1. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but by no means are these ugly: http://www.bicacoustechspeakers.com/...d=270&offset=2
Gloss black top, cherry sides, doesn't look ugly to me, but whatever floats your boat.
2. Okay, so the PA8Fs sensitivity is 6db lower than the HT-88. Most people will have a reciever with atleast 100wpc anyways, not too big of a deal unless you're using tubes. Even then... Not such a big deal.
3. Horns and Domes are a matter of taste, neither is better than the other. Now their is such a thing as a tweeter being more suitable in a situation (such as PA's. Horns are 'better' (thus more efficient, superior) at throwing sound, and lots of it, farther distances.
I wouldn't really rule out the PA8Fs. They're extremely neutral.

Regarding built quality.. The PA8Fs and the HT88s are roughly the same weight. Weight is usually a good sign of quality. According to this: http://www.bicacoustechspeakers.com/...d=269&offset=2

the PA8C and the HT-85 weigh the same.



I've heard the HT-75s, pretty darn good speakers. Also heard the PA8Fs. To me they seem more neutral, 'better' as you may term it.

Although that is an unfair comparison. Judging by the speaker types used, I think it would be fair to say that the HT88s would have a better off axis response (if it is a true horn tweeter) versus the the PA8Fs. Although the PA's will sound less in your face and neautral and probably better for music.

1. There's no reason to call me ignorant OR biased. I just happen to think that for a 12" sub, 4 towers and a center, you're not going to get any better for 1300 shipped.
2. They are not ugly to you... I happen to think that half black half light wood color is unappealing. And yes, that is my opinion and as you've stated everyone is entitled... the guy asked my opinion so I gave it.
3. I agree.. horns and domes are a matter of taste. My statement was "Those speakers use traditional dome tweeters and the acoustech's use horns." Never did i say horns are better. bgstewar stated that the package looked similar and i was pointing out the differences.
4. Yes the two center speakers do weigh the same but, one has 4 drivers and a slightly larger enclosure while the other only has 3 drivers. Again, i personally think their appearance kinda sucks.
5. I have no affiliation with the company other than being a happy customer and an appreciation for them.

You just verified all of the points that I stated in response to his question yet you still have the audacity to call me ignorant and biased? Perhaps you're the ignorant one... or maybe you're just looking to start up an argument.

I made this post originally because when I was looking for a set of speakers I could find absolutely nothing on these speakers. I had talked to the people at BIC before purchasing and figured that if the rest of their speakers fell in line with the reviews for the H100 then I would give them a try.... glad I did. So after my purchase I made this post with plenty of pics and my opinions on them so that others would have more to go on than I did. Now I could really care less about helping pompous @$$holes like you in your decision making. Thank you spezzy for encouraging me to no longer post to this thread and this forum. I'll also not be wasting any of my server space or bandwidth on hosting my pics. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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post #99 of 4070
3/21/08 at 9:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

1. There's no reason to call me ignorant OR biased. I just happen to think that for a 12" sub, 4 towers and a center, you're not going to get any better for 1300 shipped.
2. They are not ugly to you... I happen to think that half black half light wood color is unappealing. And yes, that is my opinion and as you've stated everyone is entitled... the guy asked my opinion so I gave it.
3. I agree.. horns and domes are a matter of taste. My statement was "Those speakers use traditional dome tweeters and the acoustech's use horns." Never did i say horns are better. bgstewar stated that the package looked similar and i was pointing out the differences.
4. Yes the two center speakers do weigh the same but, one has 4 drivers and a slightly larger enclosure while the other only has 3 drivers. Again, i personally think their appearance kinda sucks.
5. I have no affiliation with the company other than being a happy customer and an appreciation for them.

You just verified all of the points that I stated in response to his question yet you still have the audacity to call me ignorant and biased? Perhaps you're the ignorant one... or maybe you're just looking to start up an argument.

I made this post originally because when I was looking for a set of speakers I could find absolutely nothing on these speakers. I had talked to the people at BIC before purchasing and figured that if the rest of their speakers fell in line with the reviews for the H100 then I would give them a try.... glad I did. So after my purchase I made this post with plenty of pics and my opinions on them so that others would have more to go on than I did. Now I could really care less about helping pompous @$$holes like you in your decision making. Thank you spezzy for encouraging me to no longer post to this thread and this forum. I'll also not be wasting any of my server space or bandwidth on hosting my pics. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Well, sorry that I did come off as a bit insulting.
I thought I read your post saying that the BIC's were better because of the horns or something. I'm really not sure if I was really even thinking when I posted.
Please accept my apologies.
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post #100 of 4070
3/21/08 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

Thank you spezzy for encouraging me to no longer post to this thread and this forum. I'll also not be wasting any of my server space or bandwidth on hosting my pics. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Lilmike, you've done this forum a HUGE service by starting this review thread. I know it sucks, but you'll find guys like Spezzy all over the place (I used to post a lot in High Def Digest until all the blu-ray haters made it impossible to post there). I, personally, totally trust your opinion and am extremely grateful for your thorough review.

Before this, I really never realized the difference between the horn vs. dome speaker. I emailed the eseller to see if he could elaborate on the differences between the PA and the BIC set, and he was of little help. All he said was:

"built in same factory
only main difference is tweeter
if you like treble-highs-you go with horn tweeter-bic
if you like it more even sounding Premier"

which helped me about...zero percent.

As long as you don't think the BICs sound like typical horn speakers (all in your face, super high trebles, etc.) then I think I'm convinced that these Bics are the best bang for your buck speakers out there. And that's exactly what I always look to buy.

So in essence, thanks for saving me (and a lot of other people) LOTS of cash
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post #101 of 4070
3/22/08 at 6:32am
"lilmike2069"
please remember that the hand-brain interconnect can misfunction all too rapidly with instant email or forum postings. In a world where opinions are sought and freely expressed, there will always be someone who makes a mis-statement in responding to a post. You have an apology above, so I would ask that you reconsider your plan to withdraw from the forum. This is a wide-spread community where we all have opinions and will all run into occurances where someone may say something insulting or off-color to which we can take personal offense.

A hard lesson I personally have had to learn is to ignore the occasional mis-statements and inappropriate responses, because overall there is too much good information exchanged on this forum. Your posting has added much needed information on a line of speakers extremely suitable for people who do not possess unlimited budgets for "audio stuff". Please remain a member of the community and continue to post
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post #102 of 4070
3/22/08 at 9:52am
Lilmike, if you're still on here - have you compared the sound with the grills on vs. off? Have you noticed any difference?

I was just looking at how the BIC Venturi DV-84 compares...seems the Acoustech line is top-of-the-line for Bic. Granted the DV-84s are much cheaper and dome instead of horn, but I was curious if anyone else compared the two. Still seems Acoustech is the way to go.
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post #103 of 4070
3/22/08 at 2:47pm
Lilmike,

I hope you'll continue to be a part of this forum. Not enough people give a damn about newbies and their many repeated questions about HT. I know when I first posted, rarely a response to any of my questions. You have brought an awareness to BIC speakers that have been mostly ignore here. From my research, I do agree too that these are hands down one of the best bargain for HT, especially floor standing towers.

bgstewar,

This guy at audioholics.com forum bought the Acoustech and Venturi and he ended up liking the Venturi more. From my readings and research, those who favored Home Theater go with Acoustech and those who favored Music more tend to go with the Venturi. Venturi are BIC's older model when compare to Acoustech.
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post #104 of 4070
3/23/08 at 12:10pm
Thread Starter 
I suppose I'll still post.
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post #105 of 4070
3/23/08 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgstewar View Post

Lilmike, if you're still on here - have you compared the sound with the grills on vs. off? Have you noticed any difference?

I was just looking at how the BIC Venturi DV-84 compares...seems the Acoustech line is top-of-the-line for Bic. Granted the DV-84s are much cheaper and dome instead of horn, but I was curious if anyone else compared the two. Still seems Acoustech is the way to go.

I can't tell a difference with the grills on or off,some people might but not me.I leave mine off(no kids)
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post #106 of 4070
3/23/08 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

I suppose I'll still post.

Thanks for giving your time to this forum. Could you please enable the pics in this thread?

I have got a good quote (under 1K shipped) from Sound Distributors for Ht-88 Towers One Pair, Ht-85 Center One Each, and H-100 Powered Subwoofer One Each (3.1 system) and thinking about returning my Polk Monitor 40, Klipsch KSW-10 for Acoustechs.

I also have on-order Polk RTi10 pair from Amazon for a really nice price (shipping time-frame within next 2-3 weeks). Since I cannot audition either, I do not know which speakers will give me bang for buck performance. Also I have been reading on the internet about Horn v/s Dome tweeters.

Still undecided.
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post #107 of 4070
3/23/08 at 9:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by liamtoh1 View Post

Thanks for giving your time to this forum. Could you please enable the pics in this thread?

Most original pics were deleted but I took some new ones. Sorry if some seem a little dark, sometimes my camrea darkens the pics even when using the flash.. probably due to some ISO setting that i havnt found. You can view these on the original post now. Enjoy
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post #108 of 4070
3/23/08 at 10:09pm
lilmike

do you mainly do movie watching or listening to music itself?

I'm thinking of grabbing these and my room is almost identical in size to yours. I am 99.99% movies and .01% music.

thoughts?

Anyway, I can get some pics?

I'll PM you my email.

thanks
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post #109 of 4070
3/24/08 at 4:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

Most original pics were deleted but I took some new ones. Sorry if some seem a little dark, sometimes my camrea darkens the pics even when using the flash.. probably due to some ISO setting that i havnt found. You can view these on the original post now. Enjoy


Thanks.
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post #110 of 4070
3/24/08 at 5:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdrex28 View Post

I'm thinking of grabbing these and my room is almost identical in size to yours. I am 99.99% movies and .01% music.

I read a review on audioholics.com that said these were much more geared towards HT than music, but that they sounded great for both. I found a couple of reviews on that site as well, and they all seemed to love these speakers.
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post #111 of 4070
3/24/08 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdrex28 View Post

lilmike...

do you mainly do movie watching or listening to music itself? ...

...Anyway, I can get some pics?

I mainly watch movies... its nice on the weekends I listen to music some... I'd say probably 90% HT and 10% Music. Most people will say that speakers with horn drivers are geared more toward HT. I like them because they are loud, crisp, and not very directional. I think they sound pretty good with music too... I'd say a few of the tracks that sound the best through them (at least the best quality tracks that I have) would be "Satelite and Ants Marching - Dave Mathews Band", "Island in the Sun - Weezer", etc... Anything with good instrumentals and vocals really.

I added new pics to the first page for your viewing pleasure. They are not nearly as dark so you should be able to see them better.
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post #112 of 4070
3/24/08 at 5:22pm
FYI, I emailed BIC with some questions (in blue). Here is their reply:


Can one easily justify paying twice as much for the 88s over the 75s?

In my opinion, no, not as long as you plan on using a subwoofer.

Also, is the Acoustech line your top of the line BIC product? I was looking at the Venturi DV-84 and how they compare to the other Acoustech towers. Can you elaborate on the differences?

The Acoustech line in general emphasizes high sensitivity (greater output volume for a given input power) at the expense of some restriction in the bass range. Also, the Acoustech cabinets are better fininshed than the BICs.

I'm slightly concerned that the horn tweeters on the Acoustech line will be too tinny and in my face, compared to conventional dome tweeters.

If accurate music reproduction is very important to you, I would recommend the BIC speaker line. If the system will be used primarily for video material, most would choose Acoustechs given the choice.

Fred for BIC America Service.
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post #113 of 4070
3/24/08 at 6:50pm
lilmike,if thats the samsung stand I have the same one.I plan on having a bigger one built this one won't hold my receiver.I dont know what I'll do when I get my center.I have a dlp so I cant do the same thing you did with yours.
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post #114 of 4070
3/24/08 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Its not a samsung stand... i'm not sure what the brand is, i got it at HHGregg. I plan on building my own soon similar in size but i want the outside of it enclosed and painted to match the walls with wood trim around the base. That way it looks kindof like its built into the house. I've already got most of the wall plates and whatnot to hid the wires behind the sheetrock... i've already done this with the rears, just need to clean up the front now I suppose if it is not open at all below your tv, then the only option is to set your center on top of the tv. Not really a bad thing... just make sure it doesnt fall off .
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post #115 of 4070
3/24/08 at 7:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike2069 View Post

Its not a samsung stand... i'm not sure what the brand is, i got it at HHGregg. I plan on building my own soon similar in size but i want the outside of it enclosed and painted to match the walls with wood trim around the base. That way it looks kindof like its built into the house. I've already got most of the wall plates and whatnot to hid the wires behind the sheetrock... i've already done this with the rears, just need to clean up the front now I suppose if it is not open at all below your tv, then the only option is to set your center on top of the tv. Not really a bad thing... just make sure it doesnt fall off .

I dont know exactly what brand the stand is but its the matching stand for some samsung tv's.I MIGHT be able to remove the middle shelf and stand up the 360 and ps3 on each side of the center on the bottom shelf as a temporary solution,slightly aiming the center upward.I don't really know how much support the middle shelf adds if any.The bezel of the tv is very thin and the shell is pretty flimsy so I would hate to set it on top.
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post #116 of 4070
3/24/08 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
The center speaker comes with brackets on the back for mounting it to the wall. I dont know if that helps much. If you did, i would try and make sure to hit a stud with one of the screws since the 85 weighs 28 pounds.
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post #117 of 4070
3/24/08 at 8:26pm
Back to the center speaker possibly using a different crossover in an effort to tone down the high end a bit I have not noticed it much at first. When I had my old RPTV with lots of room on top I did not notice it at all. When I got my new Samsung DLP set I had to relocate the center down on the shelf below the TV. Always a slightly less ideal place for it but no way to mount it on top of this new TV. Down below it seems the center is a bit more muffled however I never thought it was the possibility of the crossover being different. I have been experimenting with different vertical angles by adjusting the tilt of the speaker with mixed results. Some (but not all) horn drivers can be very directional in the vertical plain. With the center speaker tilted upwards it does sound a bit better but still slightly muffled. Before I heard the crossover theory I thought it was just how it was going to be because of the shape of the cabinet in the TV stand. Curious how the results will be with the crossover swap.
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post #118 of 4070
3/25/08 at 2:27pm
Lilmike-

Quick question, if you don't mind. My room size is about the same size as yours (20' X 20', vaulted ceilings). Are you glad you went with the 88s instead of the 75s for the fronts? Were they worth the extra $200? I keep going back and forth and am just not sure. I'd like more fuller sounding fronts, but then the 75s match the woofers and tweeters of the HT-63 surrounds unlike the 88s. Just curious - thanks.
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post #119 of 4070
3/25/08 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgstewar View Post

Lilmike-

Quick question, if you don't mind. My room size is about the same size as yours (20' X 20', vaulted ceilings). Are you glad you went with the 88s instead of the 75s for the fronts? Were they worth the extra $200? I keep going back and forth and am just not sure. I'd like more fuller sounding fronts, but then the 75s match the woofers and tweeters of the HT-63 surrounds unlike the 88s. Just curious - thanks.


Well it really depends. I was glad that I went with the HT-88's for a couple of reasons. First, the bass response is obvioiusly better. If I had a smaller room, then I probably would have gotten 75's for front and rear. The reason i say that, is that the room is so wide, if my towers didnt put out much bass, then it would be a lot easier to tell where my sub is located. They are also pretty good about picking up some of the higher bass frequencies around the areas where the H100 may start to taper off which provides a pretty consistent bass response up to the several hundred Hz instead of just 150Hz-200Hz. Even though the HT75's may respond to the same lower bass frequencies as the 88's, they dont do it with as much volume and extension. Second, the HT88's weigh twice as much as the 75's. This may be of little or no concern to you, but if you've got a pet or children, they may be able to knock the HT75's over where I think they'd have a hard time knocking over an 88. Another option you could consider is, rather than getting the 88's, would be to get the HT75s and the HT65 instead of the HT85 and HT88's and put the 300 you saved toward a higher output sub or even a second H100. Just keep in mind that if you run a dual sub setup there are some complications with positioning due to sound cancellation, etc... I'm no expert on this matter but it would take a lot of trial and error to get the most impact out of a dual sub setup. A lot of people go this route so its not something that is impossible by any means... just something to consider.
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post #120 of 4070
3/26/08 at 10:47am
I recently purchased an Onkyo 605 receiver and have been contemplating on what my next step should be- return the receiver and get another theater in the box type setup (due to limited space in the stand) or continue building and change as time goes. I haven't had much luck finding information on a good tower speakers, center and a sub combination until now. As everyone else has said, we really appreciate your extensive review and post and updates regarding these speakers.. It's very much appreciated and now I'm definitely leaning towards get basically the same set up. I was already convinced on the H100 and preferred getting the same brand but couldn't get any suggestions. B/c of the price difference I'll probably go with the HT75s and HT65 for the center along with H100. I think it will produce more than enough for the amount of space in my living room (19X13). I also have to be considerate to my neighbors and wallet. lol I will be getting in touch with the seller on ebay and also Mike from http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/ to negotiate an offer. Thanks again!

Acoustic designs lists this package (http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/c...pid=1061&sc=32) for $799+ 129 shipping= 928.. this includes the HT 63s which I wasn't really thinking of getting.. What do you guys think??
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