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Satellite speaker help...please direct

1100 Views 16 Replies 13 Participants Last post by kbp, Jun 1, 2006

gsrblack

Discussion Starter · May 5, 2006

Who here has a non-Bose satellite speaker setup? My home is prewired and all the 7 channels are wired at the ceiling. I don't want in-ceiling speakers, but would like to find something that can hang. Most searches and comments I've found here are at least bookshelf sized, which is too big for the surrounds.

Please steer me in the right direction on specific models that are out there that could be hung from the ceiling. I don't like Bose and especially hate the fact that you need to connect to the subwoofer before going to the receiver.

I don't have an A/V receiver yet, but I've been looking at something similar to or between the extremes of an HK AVR635, Denon 2807, or Infinity 6.6/7.6?

Thanks!

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1 - 17 of 17 Posts

tdogroeder

· #2 · May 5, 2006

Check out energy take series & Orb speakers.

http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/pr...page.php?id=35

http://www.orbaudio.com/

Nhan

· #3 · May 5, 2006

HTD Middies: http://www.htd.com/htdmiddies.html

Anthony Gallo (a bit more expensive than the orbs): www.roundsound.com

masterjer

· #4 · May 5, 2006

when buying my sats a few years ago, the local BestBuy had a few satellite setups. In fact, I had my mind made up that I was going to buy the Bose, but wanted to listen to them first before making the purchase. In the sound controlled BB room, both the Polks and Infinities were far better than the Bose, and at a cheaper price point. I haven't been sorry for my purchase. Two speaker brands diverged in a wood one day, I upgraded the sub, and that has made all the difference.

stevem650

· #5 · May 6, 2006

I have 4 Anthony Gallo Adiva Ti's and Gallo Due for my center. This system kicks butt. The sound is great and the speakers are the size of a grapefruit. I am using a Carver Detonator sub and a Yamaha RXV 1600 receiver. I would put these speakers against any bose system and are alot cheaper.

Nuance

· #6 · May 6, 2006

What is your budget? If you can afford them I suggest NHTxd series speakers. I imagine they are mountable since they are so small. I must admit however that I have not heard them yet. I am recommending based on other people's reviews and based on Kal's review of them in Stereophile.

gsrblack

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 8, 2006

Listened to some Tanoi vs. Paradigm Cinema 90/110c/adp and liked the Paradigm setup a lot more....this was at an A/V speacialty store.

Then hit Ultimate Electronics and listened to the Mirage Omnisat v2 satellite speakers. Those didn't sound too good, but it's due to the fact that the room they were in was horrible (everything was rattling).

What do you all think from your own experience of these?

Paradigm Cinema series (setup shown above) vs. Mirage Omnisat v2 satellites vs. Anthony Gallo?

I need to look into the NHTxd series as wel.

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gsrblack

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 17, 2006

I think I've narrowed down my search and ruled out the Mirage Omnisat V2s.

Can someone please comment on the Paradigm Cinema 90 package which uses Cinema 90's in the front left/right, either the CC or 110c as the center, either the Cinema 90 sub or Ultracube 10 sub, and 2 pairs of ADPs for the sides and rears (7.1 setup)?

How would that compare to the Orb Audio setup with an all Mod2 setup for 7.1 surround with the Super 8 sub?

I have heard the Paradigm and it sounds very clean. I have not heard the Orbs though.

BTW, I will try to post a pic of the room. But essentially, it is about 18' wide by 22' deep with the kitchen open in the back. Speakers will be mounted on the ceiling....all 7 prewires are setup to center around the tv. TV is off center, more towards the right. Here is a quick drawing in this text (hope it looks okay):

.niche...fire-........tv........niche

............place.........................

|........|.............|...........|........|

|-------\\______/----------------|

|................x..........x.............x|

|............................................|

|............................................|

|............................................|

|............................................|

|.................x|....couch.....|....x|

|............................................|

|.................x........................x|

|............................................|

...........open to kitchen...........

x = speaker prewires on ceiling

Any thoughts of these 2 speaker choices?

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stereojunkie

· #9 · May 17, 2006

GSR, I have Klipsch Refrence RSX5 that I have been very happy with. They come with a stand or used as a mount for the wall. Very efficent, and will fill decent sized rooms. I am actually upgrading to towers and have them up for sale, I can swing a good deal if you are interested. PM me if you maybe interested. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

FirebirdTN

· #10 · May 18, 2006

I used to have Klipsch Quintets, and although I found movie watching duties tolerable, they didn't sound right to me for music. Maybe part of my problem is I had "too good" of a sub, and they didn't match well? Anyway, I have had my mini bookshelves wall mounted for almost a month, and LOVE it. Just what I was looking for: GREAT sound in a small package (bigger than bose though).

I have 5 model 5s www.nsmaudio.com and a SVS PB1-ISD (now called the PB12).

-Alan

Mark McIntosh

· #11 · May 18, 2006

I listened to a lot of sub/sat systems before I decided on the Orbs. I listened to Gallo, Klipsch, Bose, Mirage, and some others (it has been well over a year, so I can't remember them all). I did not listen to the Paradigms, but of all the other brands, the Orb Audio system was clearly the class of the field. The Super 8 is a great sub for HT and music. My room is about the same size as yours and the 5.1 Mod2 system does a great job. I did try the Dayton sub with the Orb satellites and the system sounds much better with the matching sub. There are a lot of threads on this subject, but here is one that helped me a lot from another forum: http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/3/9497.html

There are also a number of threads on this forum comparing different sub/sat systems. Orb has a "no questions asked" 30 day return policy and the shipping used to be only $9. Good luck.

Russdawg

· #12 · May 18, 2006

Orbs....I own them as well. I echo every positive comment made here about them here. Make sure you get their sub though, I have a pretty good sub collection going on including a Mirage S8, S10, SVS PB10 and a SVS PB12/2. I have tried all of them and none even came remotely close to the Super 8 Sub that Orb sells, in fact out of all my subs in terms of performance (for its size) I rank it the best it really is something else

PULLIAMM

· #13 · May 18, 2006

It depends on your budget. The Athena WS-15's are shockingly good for the price, though only down to 100hz.

gsrblack

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 18, 2006

Mark/Russ, what are you guys running for receivers? I'm curious since if I get the Mod2 setup, speaker impedance would be 4-ohms. I want to make sure the receiver is robust enough to put out the power without heating up too much or cause damage to either the receiver or the speaker. What brands of receivers would you recommend with it?

Mark McIntosh

· #15 · May 18, 2006

I am running a 3 or 4 year old Yamaha RX-V800 and it works great. When I first got the speakers, the receiver got hot because the switch on the back was set to 8 ohms, but when I changed it to 4 - 6 ohms, it has not gotten hot at all. The speakers are very efficient. I think my receiver is rated (for what the ratings are worth) at 100 watts per channel and it is more than loud enough. If you have a particular receiver in mind, call Ethan or Will at Orb and talk to them about it. I believe they have tested the Orbs with a lot of receivers and should be able to give you some good guidance. The customer service is unbelievable and one of the things that sold me on the speakers.

1Time

· #16 · Jun 1, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsrblack
Mark/Russ, what are you guys running for receivers? I'm curious since if I get the Mod2 setup, speaker impedance would be 4-ohms. I want to make sure the receiver is robust enough to put out the power without heating up too much or cause damage to either the receiver or the speaker. What brands of receivers would you recommend with it?

I think I recall reading on Orb's site that a minimum of 30 watts is needed to drive the Orbs. It seems to me just about any base model receiver would be sufficient. Of course a better receiver likely would make them sound better. You might want to call Orb Audio to find out what they recommend.

kbp

· #17 · Jun 1, 2006

There are two threads going right now on the Paradigm Cinema line, FYI

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=666308

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=679013

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