[PsychNurse]

Hi!


I m looking for some help, I purchased Bose Acoustimass 10 for about $930CDN and when I unpacked it and saw the wires, they were plain and the receiver had to hook up to the subwoofer then to speakers, I was confused. I went here and did some light research. I should have done that before, but that's that and they are returned. So I now have ~$1000CDN to spend. I know nothing about speakers reason I ended up here.


So here is the help I would be grateful for. A 5.1 speaker setup for a 9' long 11' wide with 9.5' ceiling. Its a carpeted apartment, rectangular in shape and continues into the kitchen but that is roughly the area I have to work with.

I spend most of my time at work, and use the system for watching movies, very little gaming, only have 2 games for the PS3 but I do listen to music from time to time. I have a pioneer vsx-1018ah-k receiver and a Sony Bravia 46" 46w4100 LCD.


I know very little about speakers, and in general about home theater setup. I was just looking for something decent, and I am hoping someone can help me out. I mostly use Futureshop.ca or bestbuy.ca for purchases, I am still new to Victoria BC and I did not find a good electronic store yet.


I was thinking maybe the

Harmon Kardon 5.1 Speaker System (HKTS18) $699

Klipsch Cinema 5 Home Theatre Speaker System $999

Polk Audio 5.1 Home Theatre Speaker System (RM6880) - Black $849

Klipsch 5.1 Speaker System $979

or even Infinity Speaker System (TSS-450) .


I did try building a set by buying individual items but that always went way over my budget.


Hope someone can help, because I am lost.


Thanks.


PS I cannot post links to the items until I have 3 posts, doh!

 

[Mikeb53]

Maybe ................... http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/...16,35,265.aspx

 

[Browninggold]

+1 on the Aperion. I have had their speakers now for over a year. Very good customer service and you have a 30 day in home trial to see how they sound in your own ht layout. They pay for shipping to you and for some reason if you do not like their product they pay for shipping back to them.

 

[DogEarz]

Since you live in BC, I did a google search for "audio stores Victoria British Columbia" and had quite a few results. You might want to try that and see if there is anything that you find interesting. The other speakers posted above are very good, but I don't know that they ship to Canada or that if the duty cost would be prohibitive. As for your choices, there is quite a difference in sound between them. Most people either love or hate the Klipsch sound - not much middle ground there, so I would strongly suggest listening to them before you buy them. HK make excellent electronics but they are not know for their speakers, but they may work for you. Polk & Infinity are liked by a lot of people so they may be what you are looking for.


You space isn't large so the choices you listed would probably work in there. If at all possible, take a few CDs that you are pretty familiar with and go listen to some of your choices to get a feel for what sounds good to you. In Canada, I would also look into Paradigm and Energy speakers as well. With your budget, you should be able to find some very good speakers.


Let us know what you find.

 

[rick240]

There have to be a few stores in Victoria to check out.


I started like you with a $1K budget, and ended up going a bit higher. With your size room though $1,000 should be OK.


Do you ever get to Vancouver? You might want to look at the Definitive Technology ProCinema 600 system.


Whatever you get, you shouldn't buy without listening. Go to FS, BB and London Drugs, as well as any other audio stores you find and listen. Speakers can have big differences, some people will like and others will hate. Only your ears can speak for you.

 

[PsychNurse]

Excellent, I will check out the local stores a bit. The Aperion system looks good, but shipping out here to Canada makes it cost prohibitive.


I rarely go to Vancouver, the whole 1.5 - 2hr ferry ride is not for me.

 

[mayhem13]

I'd upgrade the front three for now, as that being the core of the system and the most important. Leave the existing satellites for now. After replacing the front three, sell off the remaining gear and use the funds on new surrounds.


$1500 is a healthy budget for the front three. The Ascend CMT-340s would be hard to beat at this pricepoint for quite a few reasons other than subjective opinions.


By driver quality and design, the CMTs deliver on the basic principles of what a good speaker is made of. First off, the SEAS tweeter which is an excellent low distortion driver that crosses over low and considering the 6.5 aerogel woofers, a great match. Aerogel is an excellent cone material and these woofers employ a phase plug which helps with linear excursion. The Crossover is well thought out by design as well and the 2.5 design allows for a cleaner midrange. Please note i don't own these nor have i heard them BUT from a design perspective and component wise, they start off by doing everything right and affordable! All CMT series up front also fits your budget.


As for Subs, that's a big space to fill. Multiple sealed subs would be a better option than 1 large ported sub. The sealed subs will offer lower frequency extension and a smoother in room response than a single ported sub. Once you've chosen your front three, repost in the subwoofer forum for the right match to your mains and room. I wouldn't make a sub choice until you've settled on the mains. The ability to blend at the crossover point is directly linked to the alignment type and bass extension of the main speakers.

 

[Tacoboy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PsychNurse /forum/post/15515373


Hi!


I m looking for some help, I purchased Bose Acoustimass 10 for about $930CDN and when I unpacked it and saw the wires, they were plain and the receiver had to hook up to the subwoofer then to speakers, I was confused. I went here and did some light research. I should have done that before, but that's that and they are returned. So I now have ~$1000CDN to spend. I know nothing about speakers reason I ended up here.


So here is the help I would be grateful for. A 5.1 speaker setup for a 9' long 11' wide with 9.5' ceiling. Its a carpeted apartment, rectangular in shape and continues into the kitchen but that is roughly the area I have to work with.

I spend most of my time at work, and use the system for watching movies, very little gaming, only have 2 games for the PS3 but I do listen to music from time to time. I have a pioneer vsx-1018ah-k receiver and a Sony Bravia 46" 46w4100 LCD.


I know very little about speakers, and in general about home theater setup. I was just looking for something decent, and I am hoping someone can help me out. I mostly use Futureshop.ca or bestbuy.ca for purchases, I am still new to Victoria BC and I did not find a good electronic store yet.


I was thinking maybe the

Harmon Kardon 5.1 Speaker System (HKTS18) $699

Klipsch Cinema 5 Home Theatre Speaker System $999

Polk Audio 5.1 Home Theatre Speaker System (RM6880) - Black $849

Klipsch 5.1 Speaker System $979

or even Infinity Speaker System (TSS-450) .


I did try building a set by buying individual items but that always went way over my budget.


Hope someone can help, because I am lost.


Thanks.


PS I cannot post links to the items until I have 3 posts, doh!

Energy C-series 5.1, at wwstereo

 

[ickysmits]

Hopefully you can find some stores in Victoria to listen to speakers, however, I’m sure you’d have more options in Vancouver.


Another option that fits you budget is the Polk TSi series from Visions (shipping won’t be too much):

TSi100 ($200x2=$400): http://www.visions.ca/catalogue/cate...9;&menuLevel=2

TSi CS10 ($200): http://www.visions.ca/catalogue/cate...9;&menuLevel=2

PSW10 ($250): http://www.visions.ca/catalogue/cate...9;&menuLevel=2


I haven’t heard them, but I understand they replaced the Monitor series that was well regarded. They’re in your budget and you might appreciate them more than small speaker packages for listening to music.

 

[PsychNurse]

Thanks for the great advice. I will post some of the local finds tomorrow, it seems most stores don't open or close early on Sunday's here.


I do have a follow up question to getting the first 3 speakers, and then filling in the rest. I think it's a good idea but what kind of budget would I be looking at? I mean if I spent $1500 on them then the proper subwoofer and rear speakers would be in the same price range? Meaning my budget would go from $1000 to almost $3000, although not at once but considering my receiver [Pioneer VSX-1018AH-k] would it be not be overkill?

 

[PsychNurse]

Alright, I have been searching and seeking some nice local stores, it appears most local audio stores have either shutdown or switched to the box setup. I have looked around and found two stores that ought m eye.


First one sells Paradigm speakers and was able to to show me a setup with a pair R7's (I think) a center and cinema series(?) surround for around my $1000 price range. Person was very knowledgeable and quite helpful. Second, more expensive option was the Bowers & Wilkins but that brought me up to $1650; so almost double. One think that the sales person pressed upon me was that with these level of speakers I will not be needing a subwoofer. He showed me the types of subwoofers he has, and I guess if its something I want I can get it later.


Second shop, was a speaker repair shop that sells used speakers. This was more of an eclectic shop, it has some very old receivers, and cd players designed for sound. The owner, was a little taken back when I suggested 5.1 home theater, he sells mostly pair speakers for sound and high music quality. When I mentioned Bose I did get the impression he was considering setting me on fire,he grinned his teeth and gently but firmly corrected me about the "loud $5 radio speakers" as he referred to Bose. After talking to him for a while he did offer me an option to do this. The front floor speaker look large and sounded great, he stated they are for high end music quality, they are in-shop repair so they are $600 for a pair, (sorry I did not catch their name) to them he showed me some Boston Acoustic, bookshelf speaker he said would do well for surround, but impressed upon me to go out and hear, see other speakers. He really seems to cater to audiophiles. Had a large collection of LP's.


Last was some more local stores that sell the box setups.

Most were Polk Audio, some Cerwin-Vega, Celestion, and KEF and Sounstage: Cinemastage. Most of these I am not familiar with, well in general speakers are quite new to me but all came in a box setup under a $1000.


I think this has confused me somewhat. Right now I am leaning towards the first two smaller shops. Now the question, which shop? Used but great value with mix and match setup or the brand new Paradigm without sub and going slightly over $1000 mark.


Options opinions appreciated.

 

[rick240]

You want to make sure that your front three speakers are not only from the same manufacturer but the same series so as to timbre match.


There is no way you were looking at any speakers that would remove the need for a subwoofer for HT.


I am really happy with my Kef setup (iQ1 fronts, iQ2 centre and 2001.2 for rears). The iQx line is being replaced with the iQx0 line, so there are incredible deals in the states on these. I spoke with the folks at Visions (unfortunately none on the Island I don't think) and over the phone they were ready to give almost as good a deal. Maybe you can talk your local store into an iQ2 and 4 iQ1s for a good price (impress on them that they are discontinued and they will be dumping them soon anyways); you should be able to talk them down to $650 - 750 or so (I got my iQ1 pair for $250 and my iQ2 for $230 back in June when the line was not in the process of being replaced).


I also ended up with a Paradigm DSP-3100 sub, which I am also happy with. The Cdn list is $569 but with two dealers here in Calgary, one was ready to give 15% off and the other gave me 20% off (I didn't play them off of each other, just asked for best price); so you should be able to talk them down to $450 - 500 or so.


Good luck.

 

[jakewash]

I would follow Rick's advice, I listened to his system the other day and for a bit of a budget system, the Kef's were nice and smooth and sounded very good. That little Paradigm sub is a great performer.

 

[PsychNurse]

Alright called Visions in Langley, was on hold for about 10 minutes then gave up, any calls off the Island to civilization are long distance. Then I called the Surrey one, got someone fast but, they will not ship or take orders over the phone, all has to be online or in store. Therefore no way to bargain and some speakers are in store only. So that stops right there.

 

[rick240]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PsychNurse /forum/post/15556979


Alright called Visions in Langley, was on hold for about 10 minutes then gave up, any calls off the Island to civilization are long distance. Then I called the Surrey one, got someone fast but, they will not ship or take orders over the phone, all has to be online or in store. Therefore no way to bargain and some speakers are in store only. So that stops right there.

Oh sorry, I thought you found someone local with KEF; but on re-read I see that was for the 2005 or 3005 systems. Too bad, unless they'd order them and still give a good price; otherwise you'd need to have a friend on the mainland buy them for you without you hearing them (bad idea) and convince them to ship or visit

For the sake of your long term listening pleasure, it might be worth a ferry ride (foot passenger isn't too painful)

Visions online would ship, but they certainly haven't got clearance prices up there ($260 for the iQ2 and $344 for the iQ1 - that'd be $960 for a 5.0

).

 

[afrogt]

Last one. Yamaha 6140 receiver with four Energy C-50 bookshelfs, C-C50 center and ESW-8 sub. From Futureshop for $699.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...on=&langid=EN#


Sell the Yamaha to recoup some of your cost.


Or Energy Take Classic for $599.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

 

[PsychNurse]

Good suggestion, making the ferry ride would be painfull, because I would pay car fee or if passenger I would need to get out there somehow then ferry accross and then get to the shop, and then back. Add that with the Vision shipping fees I would lose any $ deal, I think.

Buying the Futureshop series I heard that from the Futureshop sales person. Not quite sure on that, and I am not feeling like reselling the receiver.

Update to the two local stores.

The first shop that buys/repairs speakers. The owner was not there but I received some info. The two fronts are Mission speakers, never quite heard of them, and the rear Boston Acoustic. As the owner was not there I was not able to see the center of subwoofer, but did hear the speakers, great sound.


The second shop. Whoot I can now link stuff.


A pair of Paradigm monitor 7's http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/...-1-17.paradigm

Center is the CC-190 http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/...4-1-6.paradigm

For the rear there are a pair of stock/used speakers he has, and has offered to buy them back if I decide to upgrade down the line, for the pair of Energy bookshelf http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0088987&catid= they are $75 (buyback of $62).


But that brings the total to $1100 and no subwoofer, cheapest he has would run me $370. http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/...9-4-1.paradigm The sales person is very knowledgeble but I got the feeling he would rather be selling B&W speakers or talking more about the higher end speakers. He is running $7000 AMP's $600 cd players major $$, but nice enough to show everythig around.

He has several rooms setup just for listening.


So, I have given myself a deadline purchase of something by Friday, its nice to see and talk about the speakers, but I will need to make the step and get something.

 

[rick240]

Those Paradigm Monitors are really nice and I was looking at them as I was exploring last June, but they were a bit much and I really liked the KEFs when I heard them.


If you go the Paradigm route I would suggest (but probably higher than your original busget):

- Mini Monitors for the fronts

- if your space allows, a third Mini Monitor for the centre (best sound when all three match), if not a CC190 would be great

- Atom Monitors for rears

- DSP-3100 for sub


Mission are good speakers, so are Boston Acoustic. But you want to make sure the centre is also Mission and the same series as the front for timbre match.


Check out the second post in this thread . PM the guy, he's in Victoria and uses a Washington ferry to get things delivered; so maybe the KEFs from Vanns.


Have fun and good luck,


Rick

 

[PsychNurse]

I will check into how much the different Paradigm would cost me, and I PM'd the person you suggested, it will be interesting if I can do it. Will open a lot of option for me.


Thanks

 

[PsychNurse]

Final Choice:


I went with the odd setup because it met my immediate needs and was within budget.


So I choose the second shop that sell used and repairs speakers. Here they are and the cost I paid.


Mission Standing floor speakers pair 765i $600

Energy subwoofer e-XL-S8 $150

Energy Center EC-100 $50

Boston Acoustics Bookshelf pair A40 Series II $100


Sub cable $25

SP4 Cable $35


60 Day Warranty

Total $966

Comments options?


(BTW I have not received response to my PM about the Ferry US buying so maybe next time)


Thanks all who offered opinions, choices.