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Good $500-600 speakers??

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Good $500-600 speakers??

Old 08-03-04, 11:40 AM
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Good $500-600 speakers??

Originally posted this just asking about the Yamaha NS-FP9500 6.1 speaker setup, but really I'm looking for any good 6.1 speakers only setup for about $500. Has anybody had any experience with the Yamahas?They're also sold as part of a HTIB setup: YHT-F1500. I'm not sure if these are quality or not. They had it demoing at Fry's, but the store was too loud to really judge.
The last speakers I had were a set of 5.1 JBL. I don't have the specs with me, but I think it was a Northridge series I bought as a set back in 99. They're pretty sizeable and sound really good, but the front right one is blown and the subwoofer isn't truly independent- it gets its bass from all the other speakers plugging into it, so I don't think it's a true isolated .1 signal. The question is: are the Yamaha speakers even going to sound better than my old ones, or do I need to invest a little more $ to get a better set? And if so, any suggestions for a set of 6.1 speakers for around $500.
Old 08-03-04, 12:23 PM
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The Onkyo set for $200.
Old 08-03-04, 02:42 PM
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I don't think the Onkyo's would sound that dramatically different from the JBL's I already have. I want to hear a noticeable diff and am willing to spend $600, maybe more just for speakers. I figure that much has to get me something better than what I paid $400 for over 5 years ago.
Old 08-03-04, 03:50 PM
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Well in all honesty, pretty much anything is better than blown speakers

I apologize, I didn't read your whole post.

As to your question, I think they'll be comproble. Both JBL's and Yamaha's are bass heavy (big woofers, small midrange drivers in 3 ways). There are plenty good sets you can get for under $600, but most will sound very much like the JBL's you had. Maybe you should check out Fluance, I've never heard them, but for $500 you can get a nice set and a powered sub. Check their site or eBay (they sell on both).

Away from brands, let me suggest something. You would be happier, for HT at least, with quality 2 way fronts (I recommend dual midrange drivers at least 5 1/4" with a 1" tweeter) and a powered sub. That way, the frequencies stay where they are supposed to. I'd get a pair of fronts that could handle a drop down to 50khz, and set the crossover for 60khz. You'll get a nice sonic separation.

Check out the HSU subs, they are solid for the money.

As for cost, if you want better than JBL, you are probably looking at more than $600 (if that amount doesn't include the sub).

Hope any of this helps.
Old 08-03-04, 05:41 PM
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I love these, but didn't pay that much.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....2&type=product

Check the B&M stores, they have been clearing these out...sound great with my H/K receiver.

The matching sub runs about $200.00
Old 08-04-04, 08:54 AM
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Originally posted by Sdallnct
I love these, but didn't pay that much.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....2&type=product

Check the B&M stores, they have been clearing these out...sound great with my H/K receiver.

The matching sub runs about $200.00
I would suggest that these would not be an upgrade from what he already has. And on a side note the specs on these are a joke 25 hz from a 100mm mid woofer, uh yea right.
Old 08-04-04, 09:23 AM
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How about Streem speakers? Anyone heard these? This set looks pretty nice. Just need to add a rear center and sub:
http://www.streemspeakers.com/ht-33.asp
I don't know much about speakers, so if someone wouldn't mind, jump to this link and lemme know if these are good specs. The price is really cheap, which scares me. Can find it on Ebay for $320. I could easily get a sub and another speaker in for under $600.
Or other suggestions appreciated.
Old 08-04-04, 10:07 AM
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i hear good things about the Hsu ventrioquist system
http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html
Old 08-04-04, 10:47 AM
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I'm willing to put money down that OP isn't even considering micro speaker systems.
Old 08-04-04, 11:53 AM
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Yeah, me am like big. Keep the suggestions coming.
Old 08-04-04, 01:27 PM
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Originally posted by cseyer
I would suggest that these would not be an upgrade from what he already has. And on a side note the specs on these are a joke 25 hz from a 100mm mid woofer, uh yea right.
Celestion is a high end very respected speaker made in England. They make excellent products. Celestion are normally carried only in high in audio stores. I talked to a BB manager about these. BB was to carry these as an experiment. Celestion wanted a bigger showing in the US and BB wanted to carry a higher end product. It has been a failure. People who shop at BB for speakers would not buy these (they want the big box boomy speakers) nor do the employees at BB know anything about them. In addition, people who normally go to high end audio stores will go to BB to purchase a CD but would never look at speakers there. So BB is clearing them out.

Of another problem is people who shop at BB for speakers think you can tell how a speaker sounds by the spec's on the box.

Here is a review. Note he talks about these being sold for $900.00

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...ber=1&preview=

These speakers are not for everyone. They are not going to "blow your doors off". If you like Cerwin Vega's or speakers with 5 woofers in them, these are not for you. There was also a very noticiable improvement in the sound of these when I went from a Sony to Harman Kardon receiver. So your power source will play a big part.

However if you want nice, clean, quality, accurate sound, with good depth (at least in 5.1) these are great little speakers. BTW, I was so impressed with them I bought a 2nd set for my media room.

Never, never, never try to judge a speaker by it's spec's....go listen for yourself. Never, never, never buy a speaker without hearing it.

Personally, I have always prefered KEF speakers (yea, look at the spec's on those, I'm sure they "read" like a terrible speaker). I was going to go with the KEF, but with BB clearining out the Celestions, I went with them. I thought the Celestions were only "so-so" with my Sony receiver, but I love them with my H/K (of course my H/K is "only" 40 watts per channel so I suppose it is not good unit).
Old 08-04-04, 01:30 PM
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Originally posted by warcp
Yeah, me am like big. Keep the suggestions coming.
Sorry, did not read this when I went on my rant above. If you think bigger means better, no point in looking at the Celestions
Old 08-04-04, 02:31 PM
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btw, if you want, you can put together a sony system from outpost.com

center channel http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3656025
sattelites http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3655665

i have the SS-MB350H for my stereo speakers setup in my office and they are freakin' awesome. such clarity and pure sound. for $70/pair, they are a ridiculous deal. better than the big polks that i got for my main home theater setup and the mirage AVS system in my video game room. only thing i didn't like was that they use push type speaker connections. i'd have preferred 5-way. note that the 350's border on the "bookshelf" term. they're pretty big.
Old 08-04-04, 03:04 PM
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Originally posted by young
btw, if you want, you can put together a sony system from outpost.com

center channel http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3656025
sattelites http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3655665

i have the SS-MB350H for my stereo speakers setup in my office and they are freakin' awesome. such clarity and pure sound. for $70/pair, they are a ridiculous deal. better than the big polks that i got for my main home theater setup and the mirage AVS system in my video game room. only thing i didn't like was that they use push type speaker connections. i'd have preferred 5-way. note that the 350's border on the "bookshelf" term. they're pretty big.
I have to give these speakers a big thumbs down. I wanted to upgrade my Onkyo HTIB speakers, and these failed miserably. Very well constructed, but they were lacking in sound. I felt they didn't have the punch of the Onkyo's and the center was miserable for vocals.
Old 08-04-04, 03:19 PM
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hm... i don't have the center channel but figured if it matched the bookshelves, they would be good.

you didn't like the 350's?

here's a link to audioreview's reviews.
http://www.audioreview.com/pscSpeake...9_4290crx.aspx

Last edited by young; 08-04-04 at 03:23 PM.
Old 08-04-04, 03:41 PM
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warcp, what do you plan to drive your speakers with?
Old 08-04-04, 03:48 PM
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Getting either a HK430 or the Sony STR-DA3000ES reciever.
Old 08-04-04, 04:00 PM
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hm... i read some hiss/hum problems w/ the new ES receivers. you may want to do a search on AVSforum.com
Old 08-04-04, 04:18 PM
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Originally posted by Sdallnct
Celestion is a high end very respected speaker made in England. They make excellent products. Celestion are normally carried only in high in audio stores. I talked to a BB manager about these. BB was to carry these as an experiment. Celestion wanted a bigger showing in the US and BB wanted to carry a higher end product. It has been a failure. People who shop at BB for speakers would not buy these (they want the big box boomy speakers) nor do the employees at BB know anything about them. In addition, people who normally go to high end audio stores will go to BB to purchase a CD but would never look at speakers there. So BB is clearing them out.

Of another problem is people who shop at BB for speakers think you can tell how a speaker sounds by the spec's on the box.

Here is a review. Note he talks about these being sold for $900.00

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...ber=1&preview=

These speakers are not for everyone. They are not going to "blow your doors off". If you like Cerwin Vega's or speakers with 5 woofers in them, these are not for you. There was also a very noticiable improvement in the sound of these when I went from a Sony to Harman Kardon receiver. So your power source will play a big part.

However if you want nice, clean, quality, accurate sound, with good depth (at least in 5.1) these are great little speakers. BTW, I was so impressed with them I bought a 2nd set for my media room.

Never, never, never try to judge a speaker by it's spec's....go listen for yourself. Never, never, never buy a speaker without hearing it.

Personally, I have always prefered KEF speakers (yea, look at the spec's on those, I'm sure they "read" like a terrible speaker). I was going to go with the KEF, but with BB clearining out the Celestions, I went with them. I thought the Celestions were only "so-so" with my Sony receiver, but I love them with my H/K (of course my H/K is "only" 40 watts per channel so I suppose it is not good unit).
I wouldnt buy speakers by their specs alone but I certainly would exclude some. The specifications on bestbuy.com for these are inaccurate (big suprise!) the only way to get to 25 hz is by buying the matched subwoofer which is not included in the package. I have only seen them displayed in the store on a single shelf with all 5 speakers sitting together, not exactly a fair presentation. If Celestion was trying to break into the US market they chose a poor partner to sell their wares. On the other note H/K receivers are solid and also known to underestimate their power specs, a clean 40 watts with an efficient speaker can be more than enough.
Old 08-04-04, 04:21 PM
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Originally posted by warcp
Getting either a HK430 or the Sony STR-DA3000ES reciever.
If you are getting the HK, (no insult to that Sony, I just don't know anything about it and I know my old Sony was very, very crappy with regard to sound quality) do yourself a favor and find a decent HT or audio store and go listen to some,

NHT (SuperOnes or SuperZero's)
KEF (anything)
Celestion (if you can find them set up well)
Boston Acoustic
B&W (very sweet)
Monitor Audio
Magnapan (tho I'm not sure that H/K could drive them, but maybe)
Paradigm (I'm not much of a fan, but they have a big following)

There are also some Infinity's that I have liked, but IMHO, they are very hit or miss. Not everyone of the those listed above will have a set up in your price range. But many will. And it is worth a listen even if you can't buy.
Old 08-04-04, 04:29 PM
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Originally posted by cseyer
I wouldnt buy speakers by their specs alone but I certainly would exclude some. The specifications on bestbuy.com for these are inaccurate (big suprise!) the only way to get to 25 hz is by buying the matched subwoofer which is not included in the package. I have only seen them displayed in the store on a single shelf with all 5 speakers sitting together, not exactly a fair presentation. If Celestion was trying to break into the US market they chose a poor partner to sell their wares. On the other note H/K receivers are solid and also known to underestimate their power specs, a clean 40 watts with an efficient speaker can be more than enough.
Fair enough...and sorry if I jumped on my soap box a little quickly there. I just get so tired of the "need big speakers, need a 15" woofer, ect". You are correct, I never did get to hear them in BB. But I took them home and hooked them up to my Sony (knowing BB would take back anyting within 30 days). Felt they were good enough to keep, but not overly impressed and they had a good WAF. But when I got my H/K wow! The highs smoothed (with the sony the Celestions always sounded a still strained), and voices had much more depth with the H/K. With the H/K in 5.1 you get increadible depth from the from 3 speakers (not as good in 2-channel listening, but very good in 5.1).

Yup, my Sony was rated at like 85 watts and the H/K is only 40. Of course the H/K is high current and probably under-ratted. Great, unit.

And you are correct, Celestion screwed up going to BB. Celestion has been sold for many years here, but evidently they wanted to try a little more "mass market" and tried with BB. Didn't work.
Old 08-04-04, 04:45 PM
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Originally posted by young
hm... i don't have the center channel but figured if it matched the bookshelves, they would be good.

you didn't like the 350's?

here's a link to audioreview's reviews.
http://www.audioreview.com/pscSpeake...9_4290crx.aspx
Well as resident guru Brian Shannon will tell you, AR isn't exactly objective science

I felt the speakers were boomy and lacked midrange and upper end respond. No suprise - 8" woofer, 3 1/2" midrange!, basically empty cabinents save the magnets.

That's why I ended up keeping the Onkyos - dual 5 1/4" midrange drivers, narrow cabinent, focused tweeter. They aren't the greatest by far, but they are better than most.
Old 08-04-04, 04:54 PM
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Originally posted by Sdallnct
If you are getting the HK, (no insult to that Sony, I just don't know anything about it and I know my old Sony was very, very crappy with regard to sound quality) do yourself a favor and find a decent HT or audio store and go listen to some,


The Sony 3000ES is fantastic sounding it is a class D digital amplifier and has a wonderful tube like sound. It doesnt compare at all to the any of Sony's non ES stuff(which in my experience is junk!). I have had my 3000ES for about 8 months, it has had some issues, there was a recall for video upconversion problems. I had to send it in, but the service was good and they stood behind the product. I had it back in working condition in 6 calendar days.

Last edited by cseyer; 08-04-04 at 04:56 PM.
Old 08-04-04, 05:09 PM
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Originally posted by Sdallnct
NHT (SuperOnes or SuperZero's)
KEF (anything)
Celestion (if you can find them set up well)
Boston Acoustic
B&W (very sweet)
Monitor Audio
Magnapan (tho I'm not sure that H/K could drive them, but maybe)
Paradigm (I'm not much of a fan, but they have a big following)
I don't think I could get any of these brands as a 6.1 setup for under $600, could I?
Again, if someone in the know about speakers wouldn't mind jumping to this page:
http://www.streemspeakers.com/ht-33.asp
Are these specs pretty good? They also have a couple better package for a little more-
http://www.streemspeakers.com/ht-200.asp
http://www.streemspeakers.com/ht-808.asp
If someone more knowledgeable than me about speakers gives me the thumbs up on these, I'd probably get one of these sets.
Old 08-04-04, 05:21 PM
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Originally posted by cseyer
The Sony 3000ES is fantastic sounding it is a class D digital amplifier and has a wonderful tube like sound. It doesnt compare at all to the any of Sony's non ES stuff(which in my experience is junk!). I have had my 3000ES for about 8 months, it has had some issues, there was a recall for video upconversion problems. I had to send it in, but the service was good and they stood behind the product. I had it back in working condition in 6 calendar days.
So does the upconversion work well? That's one of the things I liked about this model- being able to put in composite and S-Vid and have it all come out via component. Also, have you messed much with the macros?

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