jhiter24

I am looking to upgrade my HTIB speakers that I currently have. The Kenwood speakers actually sound pretty good but I was wondering if a $400-$500 upgrade for the Fronts and Center(combined price) would be worth it. If this price range won't give me a drastic, crisper sound then I will probably hold off. I am looking for some good theatre sound speakers......don't really need loudness but clear and crisp. Also, I read somewhere that if not upgrading everything, that usually it is OK to send the current fronts and use them as surrounds. Would this be alright in my case. The Speakers right now aren't the satellites but instead the bookshelf type. Thanks for any help.

bfrank

Yeap for sure!

You would be suprised how good some of the $100 plus 5 1/4" two ways are.

Short of time right now and I like to saty out of recommending any brands but the shopping part is a bunch of fun.

jhiter24

You don't have to recommend just one set but maybe just a few to put me in my way. I know absolutely zero when it comes to speakers and what to look for. These speakers are going to be in a medium sized room so it won't take much to fill the room. Thanks

bfrank

Well, I am a bit biased

I would rather point out some of the stuff to look for. The marketing and cliques around speakers have a life of their own.

I would look for a real 1" soft (or metal if you like the sound) dome tweeter instead of a plastic 1/2". One of the simplest way to look for this is a soft dome most of the time will not have a plastic phase plug (a shield in front of the dome). Also plastic domes are almost always shiny black plastic. Next look at the design of the woofer. Most in this price will be 5 1/4" of 6 1/2". Cone material is one of the biggest places for Marketing BS. The funny part is paper is one of the best materials but the market has a bad view of it. I would not get caught up in any of the cone hype. Look at the shape of the surround (the flexible roll on the out side of the cone) Many of the better engineers are working with this shape to minimize diffraction (high freq bouncing off any uneven surfaces) Some of the better sounding 2 ways have elliptical rolls instead of half circles. This is not a must but it show advance engineering was applied.

My biggest view is avoid recommendations cause most or based more on marketing and hype then any hard facts. Its kind of like asking who makes the best car. Get your own perceptions, go and listen. Only bring one or two reference tracks that you like and know well. The more you listen the more you will get a feel for what you like. This is the fun part.

If after you find stuff you think is good go online and read some reviews of them.

All this said there is something nice about having a speaker that is recognized with in the industry as have a good reputation, kind of like having a Rolex over a Timex. But there are some great Timexs out there.


You can also seach here for a ton of recommendations

Oraphus

I just got some Polk Audio R40 tower speakers from Fry's electronics for $200 a pair to replace my crappy JVC component/sub fronts.
Wow! The sound is incredible(compared to my old speakers)
For the price this is an owesome deal. These speakers sound great for music and HT, although the base is a little lacking but the highs and mids are crystal clear.
Try to audition these speakers at a local audio shop... for the price they cant be beat.

jhiter24

Oraphus,

Do you have a scan of your receipt that you could send me. I tried to go into CC and HH Greg here in Indiana and they wouldn't believe that someone would charge less than $300 for the pair. My girlfriend recently said she would buy the fronts for me so the price range for those are now $300 if anyone has any other ideas. Then I figured $200 on a center would be good. Thanks for any help. Also, do I need to get a Polk Center if I have Polk Fronts to match up.

skar

Paradigm Mini Monitors and a CC-170.

Or PSB Image 2B's and an Image 8C.

Seek out and audition some brands that you can't find at BB or CC. Many of them make incredible speakers in your price range.

jhiter24

I think I am looking into floor-standing speakers right now. I am not sure why but I just like the look. I was wondering if anybody had any thougths on the HTD level three floor standings or the Center speaker from them.

http://store.yahoo.com/htd/levthrespeak.html

jhiter24

I have a decent sub right now so I was wondering if I am going to see a big difference from bookshelp speakers to Floorstanding. Basically is it worth the extra $200 to upgrade to floorstanding?

brygx

Well, the sound isn't going to match perfectly.. but, I just picked up a pair of JBL N38II from J&R, $159 each with free shipping. These are quality floor standing speakers. Fits right in your $300/pair budget, too. The regular N38 I think is $149 at the same site.

wiz

Personally I have the PSB Alpha B's up front (They're about $249/pr) and the PSB Alpha Center (about $129). I love 'em and they sound great and I can't believe the amount of bass these little bookshelf speakers put out. The clarity is amazing, just need to pick up another pair for the rear here one day...

jhiter24

OK, I am just getting more and more confused in my choice. I really like the way that Floor-standing speakers look but I have some nice stands so book shelfs would be OK too. I don't really need much base out of my speakers so is it just for aesthetic looks that I would buy floorstanding like the HTD speakers or are these just way better sounding than the above mentioned bookshelves. Thanks

bfrank

Dont underestimate this factor. This is going to be a large part of your decor. Still go and listen. What I think you may find is the dfference is sound is far less then you might expect. Pride of ownership is a larger factor in recommendations than big differences in acoustics (when comparing equal price point products).
IMO

Oraphus

I dont have a ready access to a scanner, but i'll see if i can find one at work.
I'll email you a copy when i get it