For my dorm room. I'm looking to spend somewhere between $200-400 for the pair. They don't need to be stellar for that price obviously, but I'd just like something that will be a noticeable improvement over the Sony speakers that came with my 6 year old mini-system (currently being used as my mains). Right now I have a Yamaha HTR-5240 with an Energy Take 1 Center and a Mission 70AS sub. I was considering the Phase Technology Teatro 3.5s. I've heard excellent things about them, though they aren't very well known. Anyone have opinions or other suggestions? AS always, your help is greatly appreciated... Thanks.

'E

I am not trying to give you a smart answer but the only way to buy speakers is to listen to them.

You are likely to get alot of different responses from alot of different people. I could tell you what speakers I like, what I don't like and what I personally own.

Your ears need to decide for you!

Good luck

I know I need to listen to speakers before buying them. But dealers in my area each carry a much different selection of brands. I'd rather not waste my time someplace if they don't have anything that I should be considering. At a certain level speakers are worth listening to. But there are some that aren't worth the time. Some suggestions of small clean mains that others like would really be appreciated.

'E

It is a good idea to match your center with you mains. Since you have an Energy Take 1 center you might want to demo some Energy speakers. The Energy e:XL 16 bookshelf speakers may work nicely for you since size seems to be an issue. If you want to go even smaller then the Energy Take 2 speakers are a good alternative. They are the speakers that come with the highly rated Energy Take 5 HT system.

The only thing I have against Energy mains (lower-end ones anyway) is that they seem to lack bass. I DO have a sub, but still I'd like the mains to be able to nicely replicate some of the lows. Would there really be problems with timbre if I matched 2 non-Energy mains with my Take 1 Center?

'E

I am a bit confused now. I understand you are looking for mains in the $200-$400 range. What I am confused about is whether size is an issue or not. If you want good lows then you will probably need at least an 8inch woofer in your mains. It is hard to timbre match different brands, but in this case you may not have much of a choice. If timbre matching is not a huge concern for you then I suggest the JBL S-38's (bookshelf) or the JBL S-310's (floorstanding). You could probably find the S-38's for around $300 and the S-310's for around $400. Both are tremendous values for what you are getting and sound excellent for both music and HT. I own the S-310's and have been amazed at how well they perform.

http://www.goodsound.com/speakers.html

quote:<HR>Originally posted by ZenDog:
I am a bit confused now. I understand you are looking for mains in the $200-$400 range. What I am confused about is whether size is an issue or not. If you want good lows then you will probably need at least an 8inch woofer in your mains.<HR>

Not sure who you came to this conclusion,
there are plenty of tower speakers
with 6.5" drivers that have a tremendous
amount of bass (Paradigm Monitor 7, PSB,
B&W, Monitor Audio, etc).

quote:<HR>Originally posted by M i c h a e l:

Not sure who you came to this conclusion,
there are plenty of tower speakers
with 6.5" drivers that have a tremendous
amount of bass (Paradigm Monitor 7, PSB,
B&W, Monitor Audio, etc).

<HR>

I don't know of any of those brands that offer towers for between $200-$400 for a pair. If you know of any speakers that offer a tremendous amount of bass with a 6.5inch driver then your suggestions would be helpful.

I need bookshelves. I dont have the space for towers (floorstanding). But there are certain bookshelf speakers that obviously do a better job at reproducing lows than others. I'm not looking for an explosive sound, just something that has a decent low end. But the Energy Take 2s (at least to my ears) are quite shrill. I don't think it's a problem with the highs so much as it's a lack of lows. A few of the more bass-responsive bookshelf speakers I've listened to are the PSB IMage 2B and the Paradigm 3seMKIII (my friend has a pair of these, but apparently they're not made anymore... anyone know where to find 'em?). Hopefully that will help give you a better idea of what I'm looking for. Thanks again.

'E

Check out the Paradigm Mini-monitor -- $350/pair.

I sat them on top of my NHT 2.9s, and told
had my buddy over to listen to the 2.9s.
(He didn't know the 2.9s were unhooked,
and only the Mini-monitors were running).

He had no idea all that bass and punch was
coming from those "small" speakers, until
I told him.

He was very shocked, to say the least!

FYI:
http://www.paradigm.ca./Website/Para...iniMonOff.html

Ditto on the Paradigm Mini Monitors.I sed to own a pair and like Michael said,they have VERY good bass for a speaker that size.I HIGHLY recommend them.

Thanks. I'll definitely look into those

'E

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I went to my local Brandsmart today to give some speakers a listen, and they were having a sale on select speakers. The Energy e:xl-16 was on sale, so I took a pair. I think with the sub I have and the size of my room the bass output is more than adequate. I paid $210.67 for the pair, and that's including tax and warranty. I haven't been listening to them for very long, but I am extremely pleased with what I've heard so far. Plus, the timbre matches my Take 1 Center pretty darn closely. Thanks again for all the suggestions. Viva la DVDTalk.

'E

My DVDList, which I first compiled lastnight http://www.dividendclub.com/eric/mydvds.htm