[dla26]

I originally wanted to spend $5k on my speakers (5.1), but my budget got knocked down to $2k by my boss (aka wife).

I told her that I would see what was out there at $2k before deciding if I could live with it, or if I needed $5k speakers to be happy with life.


What would you recommend I audition for a $2k 5.1 setup? In terms of what I'm looking for, I'm not an audiophile by any stretch -- I usually can't tell the difference between a lot of the high end systems I've heard. The main audio pet peeves that I want to avoid are dialog that's too warm (and therefore hard to catch what people are saying) and distorted subwoofer bass (probably related to pet peeve #1). Another constraint is that the front speakers need to be wall mounted and the surrounds need to be attached to the ceiling. I can't get free-standing, and the wall is concrete with drywall over it, so I won't be able to put in in-wall speakers. For the surrounds, similarly, I don't have any wall space nearby (odd-shaped room) and I don't want to install speakers in the ceiling, since I have an heating duct nearby, and the sound could carry around the house.


So to sum up:

$2k budget for 5.1 speakers

On-wall for LCR (though sub on floor is ok)

On-ceiling for surrounds


Thoughts?

 

[dla26]

BTW, 2 pieces of additional info I forgot to include:


1. The dimensions of the room are roughly 17' W x 25' long x 8' H = about 3,500 cu. feet.


2. My receiver is a Denon 4308ci.


Thanks!

 

[AAnthonyy]

2 grand for a room 25"X17"...... i think you should get a new boss


I am looking at a simillar system, well my room is half your size too, but i was looking at the orb systems, apparently they sound great, and i love the looks of these This unit just fits your budget

comes with a 8" inch sub box too, personally id upgrade to the 10" for the extra 300.


i'd look into it if i were you, and the quad speakers are meant for bigger rooms like yours

 

[James63]

I have done my listing in the price range. A friend came to me with a budget of 2k for 5.1. I took him to listen to a number of brands I recommended. We listened to Klipsch, paradigm, Energy, B&W, etc. I just sat back and let him make his own thoughts before I commented.


We both came to the same conclusion. For surround in his price range Klipsch came out on top. They have very clear speech and great dynamics with good clean punch.


I have been to his house a few times sense the system (Front=RB61 back= RB51, center=matching center? with a 10" Klipsch sub with copper colored driver? and Denon receiver)has been set up. When I am there I am taken back by how clear the speech is on such a "cheap" system. The only down side for me is at high volumes I find them a little bright. But this is at volumes louder than I like anyway.


If I were going to by a klipsch system for 2k I would by RB-81 $700 a pair for the front, RC-62 $450 matching center, and hang the RB-61 or RB-51 from a mount on the celing $350/$450 a pair. I would not by the klipsch sub. It is ok but nothing special. Was not tight nor was it loose though. I might just be jaded (JL fathom 13).... as always use your own ears.


Side notes on other brands we auditioned.


Energy: Bass was to muddy for my tastes. A deal breaker right off the bad for me (also for him).... we moved on.


paradigm: Over all pretty good. They were not as dynamic as the Klipsches were. For music I thought the midrange imaged more naturally but for home theater it is all about dynamics for me. They had a good wide sound stage. They seemed a little bland but all in all very good for the money.


B&W: These were a little week in this price range and I though were out performed by both Paradigm and Klipsch for home theater. I have/own a number of B&Ws and they can definitely sing but you need to move up their line=$$$


Here is a link to a package Klipsch recommends that is in your budget.

http://www.klipsch.com/products/deta...er-system.aspx

 

[James63]

I forgot to mention the Klipsch RB-81, though very large can be wall mounted. They use a screw in type of mount (not the key hole type). They are 30 lbs each so you should see if you have studs in good spots for mounting.

 

[dla26]

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. I looked around my area (Seattle/Puget Sound) to see if I could audition the Klipsch and the orbs, as well as a couple others. Unfortunately, the closest retail outlet that carries Klipsch was about a hundred miles away! (There was a custom installer who was an authorized reseller, but he didn't have any on display.)


I actually ultimately decided on (d) none of the above, or more specifically, the Paradigm monitor series.


I wound up getting:


1. CC-390 for the center (I didn't actually audition this. I listened to the CC-290 and really liked it, and it wasn't too much more for what looked like signficantly more speaker, so I just went for it)


2. Titan Monitors for L/R


3. ADP-390 for surrounds


This came out to 2090, so I decided to stop there and forgo a sub for now. At some point in the future (Xmas?) I'll get a decent sub to complement the setup. When I listened to everything without the sub (and only the CC-290, not the 390) the bass sounded pretty good to my non-audiophile ears. In addition, the retailer's system was set up for a sub, so it wasn't even sending all of the bass info to the fronts, so it should be even better when I set it up at home.


Anyway, thanks again for the advice! I think I'll be pretty happy with these.

 

[Maple Red]



Quote:
Originally Posted by James63 /forum/post/14169096


I forgot to mention the Klipsch RB-81, though very large can be wall mounted. They use a screw in type of mount (not the key hole type). They are 30 lbs each so you should see if you have studs in good spots for mounting.

Can someone tell me where this screw type mount is? My RB-82's are flat in the rear.


Vince