I'm looking for some floor standing speakers to use as my fronts. My receiver is an Onkyo 494 so the speakers will only see 55w of power. I've had good luck with Infinity and Polk in the past, any other recommendations?? I'm looking to spend $3-400.

Thanks in advance for any input.

You should buy high sensitive speakers like Klipsche. Anything that is at 92 db or more should suit your low wattage output problem. Or you could always add amps (as long as you had pre-amp outputs), but I think you stated that you had cost limitations.

**Stay away from anything that rates it's sensitivity in the 80's as they will be difficult to drive for your receiver setup.

Thanks thats exactly the info I was looking for.

The Onkyo 494 is not lacking in power. 55wpc of clean power (no other receivers in the price range deliver much more than that) will work fine in most situations. I would recommend looking for speakers sporting 87 dB or better. PSB and Paradigm are my two favorite brands. They both have many efficent speakers.

Note: I have an Onkyo 484 with some very inefficent 82dB speakers. That are not really loud, but if I turn the volume above 70 (on a scale of 80) it starts getting too loud for an apartment.

"I would recommend looking for speakers sporting 87 dB or better. PSB and Paradigm are my two favorite brands. They both have many efficent speakers."

87 dB is not very efficient... The #1 complaint about my main speakers (NHT SuperTwo's) are due to their inefficient sensitivity, which are 87 dB. Remember that every 3 dB in sensitivity is equivalent to nearly double in wattage.

"Note: I have an Onkyo 484 with some very inefficent 82dB speakers. That are not really loud, but if I turn the volume above 70 (on a scale of 80) it starts getting too loud for an apartment."

Let's not confuse LOUD with DISTORTED sound... If you turn the dial that much for a sustained period of time (anything past the 2 o'clock position or 90% of total volume control) you will likely cause damage to your equipment. NOT RECOMMENDED.

I am NOT a Klipsche Horn fan, but they make some of the most efficient speakers on the market... Depending on their model you'd be surprised at how loud and clear their speakers are given only 25 watts per speaker... Ear deafening!!!

This is true. The 494 has plenty of good, clean power. I have driven a pair of PSB Image Series towers with a 494 without any problems. I suspect lumpy19 may be underestimating the power of his receiver.

I too have a 494. I'm absolutely new to the A/V world. I need to get a speaker setup for my receiver. What do people recomend? I hear a lot of mentions of PSB. Where would be the best place to purchase them? And what kinds? For my total speaker setup I have about $500-$600.

Also, not to get off topic but... I need to get cables. My TV only has RCA so the video will be average. But for the speakers and the sound what should I use. Good quality but on a budget.
My DVD player has Coaxial and Optical Digital outputs what's the diff. and which is better?

PSB Alpha A/Vs work great with the 494. Here is a complete setup at a great price from an authorized dealer with great service:

http://www.yawaonline.com/psbalav5spea.html

Some reviews to get you started:
http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?241
http://www.psbspeakers.com/ReviewsAlpha.html

Got my 494 setup last night and WOW, absolutely amazing, so much better than my 3 year old Sony receiver, I didn't think I'd really hear the difference.

Also the Dolby Pro Logic II is sweet, makes TV shows much more enjoyable.

Anyway haven't decided on new speakers yet, still hunting around and saving money.

I have a harman kardon AVR 120 and it pushes only 40W X 5, my older receiver was a philips which did 100W X 5. I can't notice much a difference at all, and I only think the difference is caused by the old philips receiver being matched with the philips speakers correctly since it was an HT in box.

Anyways I'm looking for the energy take 5.2 (small room, 12 x 12) or WHARFEDALE towers or paradigm towers, anyone with an onkyo or evne lower wattage like me I would need some help in seeing if I should even get a tower or just go bookshelf..

-ELmO

Tower speakers are often more efficient than bookshelf / satellite speakers. In other words, more sound for the same watts.

Efficiency is measured by most mfrs as dB @ 1w/m, meaning how many decibels are heard at 1 meter away from speaker when fed 1 watt of pink noise. Higher numbers mean a "louder" speaker.

87dB sensitivity for a loudspeaker is a little low.

Your Onkyo's 55 watts will be better than a cheapie receiver's 100 watts ... if your Onkyo delivers high-current from discrete output transistors. I bet it does. Plus, you're using an active crossover for the sub-bass which is notoriously power-hungry. Your sub-bass is fed to a subwoofer with it's own amp, saving wattage for the satellite speakers to reproduce the highs which take less power in general. In other words, more bang for the watt from your Onkyo.

As always in audio, buy the best speakers you can afford and good sound will follow. Towers will sound better than smaller units, all other things being equal.

If you want bone-crusing sound get a monster sub, 12-15" with 200w or more, better yet get 2 or more of these subs. You can also add bass shaker units to your couch.

I've found that efficiency varies more by manufacturer than by speaker type. For example, the PSB line is efficient all across the board, both bookshelf and tower.

I agree with 90 and above.

The JBL S312 Tower speakers are rated very high at audioreview.com, and ubid has some. $109-$129 each (though $80 each shipping).

The Sensitivity says 92. I think anechoic may be 89-90. I know the Paradigms are 90/93.

What are people's opinions on JBL?

-ELmO

For what it's worth, I had this same question a while ago. I bought the Onkyo 494 for my parents to replace their old aging Technics receiver back from like 1991 (no DD or DTS). Anyhow, they have a pair of floorstanding speakers that are also Technics which house 2 12" subs a midrange and a tweeter in each. I was worried that the 55w per channel was not going to be enough, but boy was I wrong. They do not have a sub in their setup and to be honest, they will never need one either. My god the sound that comes from these speakers with the output from the Onkyo is amazing. Even my parents who are both 54 years old said that it sounded better and more clearer than what they were used to with their old receiver. They have the true 5.1 (minus the .1 for the sub) setup now with the rears on the wall behind them and the center channel and what not. I think they're actually enjoying watching DVD's again. My dad loved Pearl Harbor on his flat screen 36" TV with the dts sound.

As for me, I have smaller fronts to use, PSB Alpha B's (bookshelf speakers) to couple with my Onkyo 484, and it sounds great, but I have a sub to take care of all my bass. If you get good speakers, you shouldn't have to worry about the power they will be getting from the receiver, as it should be plenty. Cheers.

If you want the bookshelf version of the PSB's, you can go to SoundCity and get the PSB Alpha A/V's for $169 for the pair and the center channel for $129. I have the Alpha B's (replaced the A/V's in their Alpha line) and the Alpha Center and they are great. The A/V's I have are in the back for my surrounds.