Your favorite high end speaker brands besides Polk and Kilpsch

JacobC1983 said:
I would vote B&W.. Their 600 series, especially their 683s with FST driver are a great speaker and an incredible bang for the buck
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Another B&W vote for me. I have an older 300/600 (602.5 fronts, 600-series center, 600-series sub, 301s in the back) setup that I have loved listening to for the 8 years I've owned it.

The great thing about speakers is that a good set can last you a long, long time. A much better place to throw money (IMHO) than PCs or TVs.
 
PurduEE said:
The great thing about speakers is that a good set can last you a long, long time. A much better place to throw money (IMHO) than PCs or TVs.
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Completely different industries, of course. The absence of aggressive obsolescence means that in many cases your equipment will lose (comparatively) very little value over the years you own it, especially if you buy used.
 
I am a big fan of speakers that have a huge soundstage like Definitive and Mirage. You lose a little of the pinpoint directionality, but in return, you get a huge expansive soundstage that doesn't require you to be sitting in a specific location.

I'm currently using the Mirage 5.1 Nanosat system (only $800 or something) and it sounds and feels like a far, far more expensive sound system.

I have B&W and Vienna Acoustics speakers as well, but I prefer them for listening to music. For home theater, I like the bigger soundstage offered by my Mirages.
 
Gawd not klipsch!

I've had Paradigm Studio's for a few years, found them not as bright as comparable B&W's...and of course SVS is the only way to go for the sub.
 
A brand a little more on the affordable side.. BIC America. I've had their lower-end products and found them to be exceptional. I am, by no means, an audiophile, but I have heard some quality systems, Meridian, B&W, etc.

That's my 2 cents.. probably more like 1 and a 1/4, but w/e :p
 
BIC is cheap... apparently there is a mod you can do one some of their towers that really helps out.

search for it on AVS, might have to look in the archives.
 
Paradigm.

Best bang for the buck high-end speakers out there, bar none.
 
From my experience, $800 is the most that anyone should be spending on their 5.1 speaker system. Beyond $800, it's only the audiophiles and extremely picky people who can really tell any difference in quality.

Sound quality vs cost follows a major diminishing returns curve. Up to $500 or so, there is a substantial improvement in sound quality. After $800, the improvements are tiny compared to how much you have to spend.

When you are watching a movie or playing a game, the majority of your attention is focused on the video screen. You don't have much leftover brain power to focus on the sound.

A lot of the companies mentioned in this thread have subsat HT systems that are priced around $800. Paired with a decent receiver, it's more than enough to satisfy anyone.
 
gs274 said:
I've had Paradigm Studio's for a few years, found them not as bright as comparable B&W's...and of course SVS is the only way to go for the sub.
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Only qualm I have against Paradigm are their constant revisioning and countless versions of the same damn speaker for each model they have.

SVS is definitely the way to go for the ass end. The only thing I'd replace my sub with would be a JL Fathom or Gotham wayyy down the line.
 
The ONLY thing I agree with is that high end audiophile equipment follows the law of diminishing returns. But this happens way beyond the $800 price point. Hell, my 4 rear speakers for 7.2 cost more than that.
 
You have a point Jalysenne but like JacobC1983 said, I think your figure of $800 is a little off. I could see $800 (per speaker) as a decent performance per dollar spent but you have to remember, a nice tower speaker can have more than $800 worth of raw materials in it even before you have to pay sound engineers to design, build and tweak it for the next 2 years.

But I do agree that the big $80,000 a pair hi-fi speakers are ridiculous. But I guess some people buy those not just for the sound but also as works of art.
 
Two major points...

1. I did point out that audiophiles and really picky people can tell the difference, but the vast majority of people will be perfectly happy with a $800 speaker system. It's all too easy to get caught in the trap of spending far more money than you need to spend on audio.
2. If you are only listening to the music and doing nothing else, you can devote enough attention to the sound quality to appreciate super high end speakers. But I'm talking about home theater here. When you are watching a movie (or playing a game), most of your attention is on the TV screen. You will find that you lose a LOT of your ability to be critical of the audio quality.

I have done a lot of comparison shopping...B&W, Paradigms, DefTech, Mirage, Vienna, etc. These guys offer reasonably priced speakers. I've also listened to far more expensive HT setups. If I'm just sitting there only listening to the music and being critical, yes, I can tell the difference. Once I turn on a movie and I'm involved, all those differences vanish.

My previous HT speakers did cost $4000+. A few years ago, I went out shopping for a HT setup for my new house. I had planned to spend another $4000+ and buy some nice tower speakers, etc. Instead, I came home with a $800 subsat system with tiny satellites. The Mirages flood the room with great sounding music. They have a huge soundstage that goes really well with movies. The sub is tight and plenty powerful to rock my windows.

Anyways, I'm kinda rambling here.

If you want to spend a ton of money, feel free. In my experience, I found that you don't need to spend that much on audio to give yourself a great HT experience.
 
I read your points and understand your side of the argument. That being said, I still disagree with your point of view. And I am neither and audiophile or very picky. Even my half deaf father can tell the difference between watching a movie in my living room and watching one in his living room.
 
JacobC1983 said:
I read your points and understand your side of the argument. That being said, I still disagree with your point of view. And I am neither and audiophile or very picky. Even my half deaf father can tell the difference between watching a movie in my living room and watching one in his living room.
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Sure. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I guess my ears aren't as discerning as yours. Obviously, there are plenty of people who agree with you. Otherwise, there would be no business for high end speakers.

Personally, I'm glad I spend $3000+ less on the speakers. I couldn't be more happy with my current HT. No buyer's remorse at all. They sound great and since it's a subsat system, I don't have big towers dominating my room.

I think spending the money on video is far more important. IMO, the sound just needs to be good enough to immerse you. People get far more information from visual sources.
 
A slight tangent...

I have the same opinion about components/receivers. You don't need to spend that much to get great quality audio. I spent a good time auditioning separates and various high end receivers. Big waste of time, IMO. My last two receivers have been $350 Denon's and they were perfect for all purposes. The only reason to spend more is if you need a particular feature, but now a days, even Denon's entry level products are jam packed with features.
 
alysenne said:
A slight tangent...

I have the same opinion about components/receivers. You don't need to spend that much to get great quality audio. I spent a good time auditioning separates and various high end receivers. Big waste of time, IMO. My last two receivers have been $350 Denon's and they were perfect for all purposes. The only reason to spend more is if you need a particular feature, but now a days, even Denon's entry level products are jam packed with features.
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I very much agree here... 99.5% of the quality for 1/50th the price, honestly. I have auditioned high-end B&W's that run $20,000 for a set, all the way down to Onkyo HTIB small satellites, Polk Monitors, and older AV123 gear... in the end, I bought Polk Monitor 60's for fronts, CS2 center, 40's for the rear, and used an HTIB 10" sub + receiver (around the Onkyo SR504 in specs) that I had from an Onkyo HTIB setup. I also auditioned receivers costing ludicrous amounts (thousands each) from several brands in a high-end home theatre store near me... On a side note, I also tested out some projectors ranging from 720P Epson's through 1080p Epson 8100, 8500UB, Panasonic AE4000U, and some $10k+ ones. In the end I bought an Epson 8100 for my upgrade and couldn't be happier.

Even the audiophiles there at the shops I visited admitted that the price/performance curve ends at about $800-1000 for the speakers for a 5.1 setup, where after that it's a nearly flat horizontal line with price on the horizontal axis, and performance on the vertical. They also told me that above $1500-2000 on a projector and you're just buying slightly better shades of black.


I'm inclined to agree.
 
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