Your favorite high end speaker brands besides Polk and Kilpsch

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neokeelo

[H]ard|Gawd
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I am thinking about upgrading my mid level RTi Polk system to a new 5.1 system in the next few months. I want to move into a high class of speaker but still stay within a sane budget. I guess my budget would be around $2K-$4K Possible a little more. I also would not mind buying used to get more for my money.

One company I was looking at is Paradigm. http://www.paradigm.com/

Anyone have any other recommendations? Size of the speakers is of no concern, they will be in a dedicated room.
 
lol. Yea I am a member there as well but it seems when I ask those guys it takes a few days of reading through their responses and arguments. Just wanting to get some quick simple thoughts here.
 
Jim Salk. Jim Salk. Oh... and Jim Salk.

http://www.salksound.com/

If for some reason I couldn't buy salksound stuff, I'd build something. Polk's LSi series (what's above the RTi) didn't impress me very much, and I haven't listened to Klipsch in a long time.
 
I have Monitor Audio and they sound fantastic. I don't know how they rate as being high or low -- probably on the low end of high.

Check out SVS. A friend of mine has these in his theater room and they sound amazing.
 
Another vote for Magnepan. Bower & Wilkins. That, or I've always wanted a pair of really nice electrostats. Of course, a pair could easily put you at the top end of your budget, depending, and 4+ channel electrostats would use a crazy amount of power, plus you'd still need a sub.

Also Boston Acoustics and Acoustic Research... but I'm more a vintage guy when it comes to stereo equipment (to the point that I don't believe in surround sound). If I were looking at Klipsch I'd want some Cornwalls. I think both companies have fallen out of favor more recently.

Example: I've been carting around a huge (75 lb +) Pioneer SX-1250 receiver for years now in hopes I'd have the time or money to get it properly rebuilt. I own several pairs of AR3a's and A400's with dry-rotted surrounds I'm hoping to fix up, too.
 
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i've been out of it for a while (I've had my current setup for 10 years), but I like B&M and Velodyne ;)
 
Besides the suspects mentioned, Fritz, Norh and Thiel. AV123 used to make some nice stuff if you look used.
 
I've only listened to a few expensive systems but the ones I listened to sounded very very good.
Polk Audio SRS SDA 1.2 and the 2.3's
Martin Logan electrostatics
and a pair of Stax Electrostatic headphones on a Stax tube amp.
The Stax setup was about 4 grand and had the cleanest natural sound I have ever heard. The Demo CD had a woman walk into the room and walk around while talking and I swear it sounded so real it was unbelievable.
 
Zepher said:
The Stax setup was about 4 grand and had the cleanest natural sound I have ever heard. The Demo CD had a woman walk into the room and walk around while talking and I swear it sounded so real it was unbelievable.
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Omega2 setup? To this date, the best sound I have also ever heard. However not sure it qualifies for a surround HT setup.;)
 
friend'scatdied said:
Omega2 setup? To this date, the best sound I have also ever heard. However not sure it qualifies for a surround HT setup.;)
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Not sure what the model was, this was back in 1990/1991 I believe, when I was living in Europe.
 
Also, I think the demo CD sounded great mainly because it seems like you heard a binaural recording.
 
I second the Definitive Technology speakers. Great over all sound with nice tight bass. A friend has their flagship 7000SC's. Absolutely awesome. Their C/L/R series are more affordable and sound great as well. Can't go wrong with Definitive Tech. They have a range from the entry level on up to floor standing bipolars. When I decide to go HT it's on my short list for sure.
 
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
 
Also forgot to mention Anthony Gallo Acoustics.

The Stradas rival some good speakers that range in the tens of thousands of dollars.
 
I'm using Paradigm Reference speakers I bought 12 years ago and their still going strong, I love them.
 
We need a price range you want to stay in for the speakers, if you want 7.1, 7.2, 5.1 etc and if you have a receiver or need to replace it, want separates and if you have a sub, if you need an amp etc. Also, what is the power output of your current receiver, make and model?

I can give you some amazing setups I have heard, have owned and want to own, but they are probably out of your price range - especially if you are buying an entire setup to stay in the 2k-4k territory instead of just replacing the fronts and center channel.




If I was building a whole new setup from scratch, I would get the following (for under 4k):

B&W 683s for fronts , B&W HTM61 center channel, use your current speakers for surrounds or grab some cheap insignias, I use B&W 685s for surrounds in 7.1 but that is overkill.

Receiver: Onkyo TX-NR1007

Sub: SVS PB12-NSD

Speaker wire from Monoprice, as well as HDMI cables
 
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ProAc and Dynaudio if you have some serious money to spend.

If you have even more get a pair of WATTPuppy 7 :D

Cheap or affordable end and less source&amp worries try M-Audio or KRK Rokit, good sound from serious sound makers in this bracket. I have a couple of monitor size speakers, I will gladly recommend, its a Danish brand called Audiovector (Signature M1). They have great clarity and resolution, huge soundstage and very good imaging, surprising amount of bass when the volume goes up, lastly they have beautiful treble from a special driver that spreads it out more than ordinary drivers.
 
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So are you replacing everything ? the 683s uses the same FST driver as the 800 series, they are quite an impressive speaker
 
I have Monitor Audio in the office for stereo and KEF in the living room for cinema.
 
HenryBravo said:
I have a 6.1 arrangement of Axiom speakers w/ an SVS box subwoofer. The SQ is excellent, for both music and home theater. The combined price range of these speakers will be around $3k - $4k which is within your budget OP.

http://axiomaudio.com
http://svsound.com/products-sub.cfm
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I second this.
I also have Axiom 6.1 speakers w/ an SVS sub.
I went with the M50s as my main front speakers, to save a bit of money, bur mainly because my living room is small and anything bigger would have been overkill.
 
cool, head over to a local stereo shop and try out some stuff on your own. (And I don't mean to go to Best Buy). I would go to the B&W website and find a local dealer, they will carry other brands than B&W - and see what you think of their stuff for yourself. Different speakers have different types of sound, you need find what suits you. Here, the dealer is called Stereo One. You need to take in your favorite couple of CDs and have a listen to the speakers for yourself. If all else, you can ask them questions and if they are anything like the dealer here, they tell you what they think is the best bang for the buck - Hell, the guy selling Classe and McIntosh amps told me to buy my Emotiva because he had nothing that compared to the price/performance. Usually those guys just love the business and want someone to come in and enjoy the music and gear as much as they do. I hope you have a similar experience as I do with my B&W dealer.
 
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