[benfica1]

For a 17 x 15 living room with high ceilings, harwood floors that opens up to a hallway. Speakers will be on stands and probably only a few inches away from a wall. Will be used for listening to 2 channel music. These are my options right now:


Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 (new)

Ascend Acoustic CBM 170 (new)

Polk Audio RTi A3 (used)


Please help me decide between one of the above or throw in some other suggestions and why. Thanks.

 

[afrogt]

Speaker preferences are subjective. Its best that YOU listen to all 3 and decide what you like. Will you be able to audition all 3 of these models?

 

[gtpsuper24]

Arx A1b is IMO one of the best under $400 even $500. I have the smaller cabinet original A1 and compared them side by side with the $500 Axiom M22 and IMO outperformed it, in almost every way. The A1b is a bigger cabinet, deeper extension and more refined crossover tuning. http://www.theaudioinsider.com/manufacturers.php?mPath=13

 

[benfica1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by afrogt  /t/1468739/bookshelf-speakers-for-400#post_23216022


Speaker preferences are subjective. Its best that YOU listen to all 3 and decide what you like. Will you be able to audition all 3 of these models?

The only one I may be able to listen to are the polk's. was hoping that others may have already listened to them and compared the strengths and weaknesses of these. I've read as much as I can about all 3, from professional reviews to reviews posted here and they all seem to be well reviewed. Aesthetically the wharefdale's and the polks are nicer but more important is how they sound. I've also been waiting for energy rc-10's to come up for sale to match with my rc-70's so if anyone has an option on how the rc10's compare with the speakers I mentioned above I'd be interested in hearing opinions.

 

[benfica1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gtpsuper24  /t/1468739/bookshelf-speakers-for-400#post_23216081


Arx A1b is IMO one of the best under $400 even $500. I have the smaller cabinet original A1 and compared them side by side with the $500 Axiom M22 and IMO outperformed it, in almost every way. The A1b is a bigger cabinet, deeper extension and more refined crossover tuning. http://www.theaudioinsider.com/manufacturers.php?mPath=13

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check them out.

 

[postrokfan]

That's a really large space. How far away from the speakers will you be sitting? While not particularly aesthetically appealing, the CBM-170SE is an accurate speaker with decent bass for a book shelf. However, they may struggle to fill your listening space. I would be inclined to go with the CMT-340SE mini-towers but unfortunately they are out of budget. Ascend Acoustics has a 30-day return period so you could audition the CBM-170SEs at home. However, you would need to pay return shipping if not satisfied.

 

[benfica1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by postrokfan  /t/1468739/bookshelf-speakers-for-400#post_23216119


That's a really large space. How far away from the speakers will you be sitting? While not particularly aesthetically appealing, the CBM-170SE is an accurate speaker with decent bass for a book shelf. However, they may struggle to fill your listening space. I would be inclined to go with the CMT-340SE mini-towers but unfortunately they are out of budget. Ascend Acoustics has a 30-day return period so you could audition the CBM-170SEs at home. However, you would need to pay return shipping if not satisfied.

I'd be about 6 to 7 ft away. Having a 30 day return policy is definitely nice and worth giving the ascends a try for that reason. Do you think there would be an issue if they were placed too close to a back wall since they have a rear port?


L

 

[postrokfan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by benfica1  /t/1468739/bookshelf-speakers-for-400#post_23216185


I'd be about 6 to 7 ft away. Having a 30 day return policy is definitely nice and worth giving the ascends a try for that reason. Do you think there would be an issue if they were placed too close to a back wall since they have a rear port?


L

6-7 feet away is perfect. As long as they have several inches behind them they should be fine (rear port isn't that large). You'll know if they're too close as the bass will seem over accentuated. Conversely, if you want a bit more bass you could move them a little closer to the wall (although a little less articulate).