Speaker Choices...

[Breex243]

So, assume that the following choices can be had for the same price. I'll be using a mid-range receiver via analog out from my Xonar D2x (or X-fi Prelude--still debating over which to keep).

1. AV123--Rocket 5.0s:
Two RS850s, 450s for the rears, and the "Bigfoot" center speaker

2. Energy-based setup:
2*RC70s
2*RC50s
1*RCLCR

3. Mythos-based setup:
2*Definitive Technologies Mythos 1s
2*Definitive Technologies Mythos 5s
+ $400 budget for a center speaker and a subwoofer

(a challenger has appeared!)
4. Polk-based setup
4*VM30s
+ $400 budget for a center speaker and a subwoofer




I'll be listening to a variety of music, from classical to mash-up and remixes to techno/trance to dirty rap. I also enjoy a good movie as well. The space to drive is approx 210sq ft, but only an 8*10 space is directly in front of the speakers. Loudness will be needed for parties--think 15ish people at a time in the room (Yes, it's a dorm room, and yes loudness can be OK).

Right now, with the addition of the Polks, I'm even more unsure of what speakers to get. So, there's a shootout between 3 and 4, as well as 1 and 2.
In the case of 3 and 4, I'm not looking for a sub that can reach sub-20Hz. Remember, I'm not looking for loudness, just accurate responses throughout the spectrum. My old favs were the Rockets, but shipping costs SO MUCH for them that I can't afford to get an extra sub. I can find both the Energies for quite cheap though, and was wondering if they're up to par. I'm loving the finish on the Energies, although the Mythos and Polks have a unique styling of their own.

Advice is greatly appreciated--I came upon a nice sum of money by giving up [redacted, haha], so I want to make up for the loss of a social life by throwing my own parties, complete with great music, and a great atmosphere.

 

[Alai]

I would go with the Mythos. You say you don't need a sub for sub-20Hz shaking, but, unless a speaker has a 10" woofer, the speaker won't hit 20Hz at all within the -3dB range. The budget for the subwoofer and center channel will be plenty for a quality subwoofer that will reach 20Hz and do it smoothly without excessive rumbling.

Rockets are great, but, again, without a sub, you won't reach the lower AUDIBLE bass.

Energy are nice, but, imo, their speakers don't warrant their price as much as other speakers. Kind of like most of Polk speakers.

EDIT: Are you looking at AV123's Rocket RS850 5.0 sale? You know there's an RS450 5.0 sale for $750 less? That's enough for an AV123 set + a larger budget for subwoofer. In fact, you could drop money on two subs which would provide an even smoother and even bass response.

 

[Sycraft]

While you probably aren't looking for more choices to look at, well I'll go ahead and add in what I'd choose:

SVS.

The make speakers and subs and I just couldn't be happier with them. I first heard about them when I went looking for a sub and man, their subs rock. They have bass like you just don't see from anything else I've heard. The only downside is their subs are MASSIVE. That's one of the reasons they have such good bass.

Because I liked their sub so much, I decided to give their speakers a try. I got the MTS-01 tower speakers. These, I like even better than the sub. Best sounding speakers I've heard in their price range, period. I am working on replacing the rest of my setup with SVS MTS speakers.

The setup I'm replacing, by the way, is B&W 600 series speakers, so no slouches, but the MTS series is just amazing.

So I'd give them a look if I were you. In your price range you are probably looking at their SBS series instead, which I haven't heard but gets good reviews.

So what I'd look at doing is getting one of their subs and then their bookshelf speakers for surrounds. I am a tower speaker fan myself, but in the general budget you seem to be looking at, I think towers would eat up too much of it. Better to get a good sub and bookshelf speakers.

SVS does have a trial available, if you don't like their stuff you can ship it back and they'll refund your money. Of course they don't refund shipping so you are still out some cash.

At any rate I'm just real impressed with SVS. I feel they give an outstanding value for the money. I'd call their PC20-39+ sub that I have the best $2500 sub I listened to (and I did audition a few in that range)... but it only cost $1000. It really is better than subs twice its price. Same deal with their MTS towers. To me they are as good or better than the B&W 703s but only half the price.

Of those you asked about, I can't give any specific advice as I've heard none of them. In general I'd say get a subwoofer if you want to do movies. Receivers implement a non-defeatable dynamic compression if they don't have a sub to protect the other speakers from the high bass you get in films.

 

[Breex243]

EDIT: Are you looking at AV123's Rocket RS850 5.0 sale? You know there's an RS450 5.0 sale for $750 less? That's enough for an AV123 set + a larger budget for subwoofer. In fact, you could drop money on two subs which would provide an even smoother and even bass response.

Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss much (namely pricing), but keep an eye on AV123 in the next 1.5 weeks if you're in the market for new speakers. Info came from a very reliable source...

I'm interested in the 850s over the 450s for both height and sound reasons--40in is about the minimum height I want, as there will be plenty of ears standing at 5-6ft when people are over. Omnidirectionals would be nice, but I also want to indulge myself when I'm just sitting on the couch (mirage low-end omnis can be had for only like 700 for a floorstanding 5.0 set)

How much better do the Energies sound than the Mythos? I've always been keen on a nice MDF-veneered cabinet for speakers, so I'm not sure if the Mythos are designed for music or movies.

What would you recommend for a sub/center then? I'll definitely do my sub shopping at Vann's--free shipping is AMAZING...especially when I have to factor in 260-460 for shipping from AV123. I haven't picked out a good center channel though--the ones from DT seem a bit overpriced, and I haven't thought much about subs (except I've dreamed about the mwf-15)

Regarding the need for a sub, from what I've read, the Rockets can stay under 50Hz even when under high load. Is this a bad spec? If I just listen to quiet music, they should still be accurate down to the rated 36Hz, and I'll probably only be running 50-60W max when I have people over. I would love a good sub, but I don't want to spend an extra $600 on one. Are there any sub-$300 subs that would suit my needs?

If it was a toss-up between the Rockets or Energies (both used with no subs), which would you prefer? Also, I'm looking for good build quality that won't fall out of style-a set of speakers I can use 'til I upgrade to the 8k range. The Mythos isn't impressing me too much--the drivers seem tiny, and the speakers aren't as sensitive.

 

[Alai]

Then I would definitely recommend the Rockets.

As for subs under $300, I would keep an eye out for Energy S10.3 or Mirage Omni S10 (or their bigger brothers, the 12" subs).

 

[Breex243]

Then I would definitely recommend the Rockets.

As for subs under $300, I would keep an eye out for Energy S10.3 or Mirage Omni S10 (or their bigger brothers, the 12" subs).

Thanks for the info regarding subs!

I just updated my choices with an option from Polk/changed the DT setup a big. From what I've briefly read about the Polks, they're only on the level between the Mythos 4 and 5--any idea how accurate this is? Polk/DT are owned by the same company, and the Mythos 1s and VM30s are both MSRPed about the same. Shouldn't they be quite similar preforming unless one was drastically overpriced?

 

[Alai]

Don't get Polk unless it is the RTi or LSi series. Or some of their vintage models. Lol.

 

[Breex243]

Don't get Polk unless it is the RTi or LSi series. Or some of their vintage models. Lol.

Heh. Thought they were pretty bad.
BTW, what do you think of my change to the DTs? Swapped a pair Mythos 5s for Mythos 1s, but lowered by sub+center budget to $400.

 

[Alai]

Mythos 1 are great, but I would still opt for the Rockets because it will be annoying to find a center that matches timber of the rest of the speakers.

 

[Breex243]

bump for any other opinions

 

[EndersShadow]

bump for any other opinions

I personally like some of Polks older stuff (Monitor series). As they were discontinued they can be had for very decent prices on the egg. I got both my Monitor 60's for 112 per speaker plus free shipping. Pair them with some Monitor 40's, another set of Monitor 60's and a decent center maybe the Polk CS2 and you have a decent setup for a discounted price. You can go all Polk and add a PSW125 sub, which is what I did, but there are better subs out there, I just decided to keep it all within the same brand for my initial build.

My setup sounds great to me, but I also havent physically heard any of the other brands mentioned, so I cant comment on if they are better or not. I just know the price is right and they look good and can be driven really loud by my Integra amp

 

[hmz]

Then I would definitely recommend the Rockets.

As for subs under $300, I would keep an eye out for Energy S10.3 or Mirage Omni S10 (or their bigger brothers, the 12" subs).

+1.

You cannot go wrong with Rockets. I would recommend testing the speakers first before buying the sub.

 

[Alai]

I personally like some of Polks older stuff (Monitor series). As they were discontinued they can be had for very decent prices on the egg. I got both my Monitor 60's for 112 per speaker plus free shipping. Pair them with some Monitor 40's, another set of Monitor 60's and a decent center maybe the Polk CS2 and you have a decent setup for a discounted price. You can go all Polk and add a PSW125 sub, which is what I did, but there are better subs out there, I just decided to keep it all within the same brand for my initial build.

My setup sounds great to me, but I also havent physically heard any of the other brands mentioned, so I cant comment on if they are better or not. I just know the price is right and they look good and can be driven really loud by my Integra amp

The OLD old Monitor series is way better than the current crap (Monitor 30 - 70) they have out. Monitor 5 through the Monitor 10 and the RTA series.

 

[Breex243]

The OLD old Monitor series is way better than the current crap (Monitor 30 - 70) they have out. Monitor 5 through the Monitor 10 and the RTA series.

Yup, the Monitor X0-series have been pretty crap. IMHO, for the price that they're always on sale for, might as well pay another $40 each and get a nice set of Mirages that are on sale--that would be my recommendation for a sub-$1K setup.

 

[Mr. Wolf]

Another vote for SVS subwoofers. I replaced a nice BIC H-100 with an SVS PB10 and am pretty blown away by how much cleaner/deeper is the bass output. Yes, the PB10 is one big, m*tha f*ckah, and it wasn't cheap, but it's an amazing sub.

 

[illgiveumorality]

Svs is definitely known for their subwoofers, and av123 is a downright great company.

 

[Breex243]

Svs is definitely known for their subwoofers, and av123 is a downright great company.

I was definitely thinking of getting a PC12, but at the price, the MFW-15 in a package is a close competitor. I get giddy like a little girl whenever I think about the utterly massive 24*22*18in cabinet and the 15in woofer.

So guys, it looks like AV123's Rockets won the shootout by a HUGE margin--I was expecting the Energy/DT sets to be good competitors.

 

[Alai]

They are good competitors. But the Rockets are clear winners. They don't win by a HUGE margin, per se, they are just clearly better. It's like $2 is clearly better than $1. Not by much, but still better. And clearly better too.

 

[Breex243]

They are good competitors. But the Rockets are clear winners. They don't win by a HUGE margin, per se, they are just clearly better. It's like $2 is clearly better than $1. Not by much, but still better. And clearly better too.

Well, quantitatively, $2 is only a dollar more than $1, but I could also say that $2 is twice as good as $1, haha. After more research, if the Rockets were rated an 8.9/10, then the competitors are around and 8.4-8.6. Does this seem correct? Reviewers also noted that the Rockets had some of the best bass reproduction for speakers w/o a sub--so that was a major tipping point over the Energy setup.

 

[Alai]

Something like that, yeah. Hahaha. Yeah, the Rockets will be sweet for a 5.1.