[Tony1970]

With the advice from you guys I had narrowed my search for a sub $600 surround system to the HSU VT12 and the Polk R300 ($99 ea). I saw the ad on Frys website that had the Polks for $49 and my local electronics store said they would match the price. I was ready to purchase them but I wanted to get your ideas on whether I should buy 4 matching speakers and a polk center for surround sound or if I should purchase smaller polk surrounds for the rears. Does it make a difference? They had polk monitor 30 which were smaller but cost just as much as the floorstanding ($99 ea.). My other question came when I stopped at Best Buy just to make sure I was making the right decision (and they have 36 months no interest). I ran across the sony ssmf 550 ($139 ea.) and they sounded great for music. They did not have it set up to test movies. Again, I am very new to this, but I was completely satisfied. I was even more pleased to see that on Vanns they had them on sale for $119 a pair! I could get the next model up for $199 a pair. After extensive reading hear I know you guys are not fans of sony speakers. Please help me understand why and tell me if there if there is anything comparable for the price? Consumer Reports has favorable marks for them.


Does it matter what speakers I match for surround as long as they are the same brand/line? Thank you in advance for your help. You guys have really educated me. At least I know to stay away from Bose.

 

[goodrich]

you want, at least, the front stage to be the same brand/model so they timber(sp?) match. it's important to have all the front speakers with the same tweeter and mid-range so everything sounds the same. rear speakers are mostly for effects. you can get whatever sub you want.

 

[armystud0911]

First of all, dont trust consumer reports at all, they are experts of nothing and each reviewer values their rating system differently. If you like the sony's thats fine and most important. I have several issues with them though. First of all, there is really no way to make a good tower speaker that sells for $119/pr, there arent many satellites or bookshelves that sound good at that price, let alone floorstanders. They look and sound quite cheap to me, very poorly made with an ugly black veneer and umm, yellow woofers. There is a lot of cabinet distortion with them and I have noticed that they will seem to play fine at certain moderate volumes and then one note will come through VERY distorted. Also, there seems to be absolutely no concept of stereo imaging conveyed through those speakers, the soundstage is very narrow and muddy. Consider this, I have a pair of upper entry level bookshelves and they are as heavy as these sony towers.


If you really want towers, I would look into something like the infinity primus 250's, they can be had for $200/pair. There arent a lot (read any) speakers that I can recomend for $119/pair, youd have to find a good deal on a higher msrp'd speaker.


Glad to hear you stayed away from bose, and WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!

 

[louthewiz]

The R-300 speakers are the same design as the RT-400 which are great speakers which I happen to own and they are no joke ,I am driving them with 150 watts of clean amplified power and they eat it up and are very musical and dynamic with hometheater while the sony speakers will bottom out distort and fry for sure with that much juice,

So don't be fooled by the price the reason fry's sells them so cheap is because they are liquidators for polk and when they run low the price will shoot back up to $399.00 a pair

so grab them while you can..

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/rt400/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/r300/

 

[simpleHT]

Do not trust the customer reviews posted on the manufacturer's web site. They normally filter out the bad reviews and post only the good reviews.

 

[Tony1970]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I have better insight now. OK one last question. The Polk R300 vs the HSU Performance II package. I am not particular to floor or satellite, just want best sound for the money. I cannot listen to the HSU's so I am relying on your expertise. I could not find the Infinity 250's shipped for much less than $300/pair shipped, which is above my price range. Again, thanks for your help.

 

[plimp]

The Sony 5.1 speaker package at BB says that they have a FREQUENCY RESPONSE of 45Hz - 50kHz. I checked a lot of other manufacturers specs, and they seem to top out at 20 to 24kHz. In fact, I couldn't find another manufacturer who had a top of 50kHz even if it was a $6,000 package (Klipsch, I'm looking at you). But Sony has such a bad reputation for speakers. I know 50kHz is way too far past human hearing range, but seriously, isn't the Sony 5.1 package a good deal at $467.95 thru BB? Isn't $549.99 for their 7.1 package a good deal?


I'm far from a sound expert, but when I listened to music at BB via the Sony SS-MF550H floor standing speakers and the SS-CN550H center speaker, they sounded great. I'm looking for home theatre sound for movies (want to have a speaker package for 5.1 & 7.1 uncompressed PCM for Blu-ray and/or HD DVD). What specs are lacking in the Sony package?

 

[aviman33]

For about $500 go with the HSU. Sony has never manufactured a good speaker and probably never will. You simply can't audition speakers at BB or CC. You really have to spend time with them to truly hear them. Remember the 1st thing you'll like about a speaker when you first hear it, is the same thing you'll hate about the speaker after a few weeks. That because what initally stands out about a speaker is it's colorations.


Jon

 

[aviman33]



Quote:
Originally Posted by plimp /forum/post/0


I'm far from a sound expert, but when I listened to music at BB via the Sony SS-MF550H floor standing speakers and the SS-CN550H center speaker, they sounded great. I'm looking for home theatre sound for movies (want to have a speaker package for 5.1 & 7.1 uncompressed PCM for Blu-ray and/or HD DVD). What specs are lacking in the Sony package?

BTW, ignorance is bliss!


Jon

 

[like.no.other.]

Sony audio department is good for casual consumers not the audiophile like people who

spends more on speakers. I've been jumping from an expensive speakers to my

very own Sony 6.1 setup and don't care too much because I don't look for everything

that is something wrong with the speakers as much as I do with TV's.

 

[mrjinglesusa]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony1970 /forum/post/0


I could not find the Infinity 250's shipped for much less than $300/pair shipped, which is above my price range. Again, thanks for your help.

Crutchfield has the Infinity Primus 250s for $250/pair SHIPPED. Just FYI...

 

[Kal Rubinson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by plimp /forum/post/0


The Sony 5.1 speaker package at BB says that they have a FREQUENCY RESPONSE of 45Hz - 50kHz. I checked a lot of other manufacturers specs, and they seem to top out at 20 to 24kHz.

First, both specs quoted are nonsense. Unless there is a specification of the linearity within the range, such as +/-4dB or similar, stated a range of frequencies means nothing. Second, since you cannot hear beyond 20KHz, if that high, specs beyond that, especially without qualification are useless.

Quote:
I'm far from a sound expert, but when I listened to music at BB via the Sony SS-MF550H floor standing speakers and the SS-CN550H center speaker, they sounded great.

That's what counts.

Quote:
I'm looking for home theatre sound for movies (want to have a speaker package for 5.1 & 7.1 uncompressed PCM for Blu-ray and/or HD DVD). What specs are lacking in the Sony package?

It is inlikely that there are any specs that can help you since the vast majority of speaker specs are meaningless (see above). Judge by budget, suitability to task, recommendations from those you trust and, most importantly, your ears!

 

[Zues]

Sony speakers are actually pretty decent and i think they do home theater very well. Warm-non fatiging sound that works well in smaller rooms.