[DirtMcGirk]

I need some floor standing speakers for my 7.1 system.

I have an Onyoko TX-SR508 receiver. It puts out about 100w per channel, give or take for speaker wire.

I am trying to keep them under $500 a piece. They are going to be the left and right front channels in a room which is about 18' wide and 28' long.

Any suggestions?

 

[Sandwich]

CL "floor speakers", put in your price range, and see what comes up. Speaker technology hasn't changed a huge amount, compared to stereo receivers and the like. I picked up a pair of Vandersteen 2Cs for about $200. These were $1500 speakers in the late 80s or whenever they were made. They are the best speakers I've ever heard. Stereophiles get rid of things to try new things, much like cyclists, even if the **** is still fine. That Intense Uzzi SL from 2002? Still an awesome bike, just not as new as some other garbage.

 

[bean]

What center channel do you have? It should be matched to the left and right speakers so that you don't get weird changes in sound as things pan across the front.

 

[ebarker9]

^^^This.

I went through this a few years ago and wound up really liking PSB speakers. The T5 Towers would be a great choice in that price range:

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/image/Image-T5-Tower

 

[mandown]

Man up to the luxury. B&W 800 Diamond

One material sums up Bowers & Wilkins' quest for perfection in sound reproduction more than any other. Diamond. It’s the ultimate tweeter material – and the magic ingredient in our flagship 800 Series Diamond.

 

[Scrub]

No, this....http://www.guzer.com/pictures/big-cool-speakers.jpg

 

[jimmydean]

Mine are like these Infinity P363:

They were only $250 for the pair. My Onkio 606 powers them quite well, too. Just ask my neighbors.

 

[Sandwich]

What center channel do you have? It should be matched to the left and right speakers so that you don't get weird changes in sound as things pan across the front.

this too. My system sounds like **** because I have a microscopic, C-grade center channel and this bomb-ass L+R channels...but it sounds great for music listening on 2channel, just ****ty for dialogue in movies.

 

[narlus]

i bought a set of these (Paradigm Studio 60s) a couple of months ago and they sound awesome

but they are over your budget. sucks for you.

 

[sstalder5]

Well I'm a polk audio fanboy...

I'd say look for some used RTi's I got the A7s for $200 off Craigslist and they sound amazing.

Or if you can't find any used they have a line now called TSi which is their budget model.

 

[jimmydean]

Well I'm a polk audio fanboy...

I'd say look for some used RTi's I got the A7s for $200 off Craigslist and they sound amazing.

Or if you can't find any used they have a line now called TSi which is their budget model.

I was looking for those when I found my Infiniti's on sale at Fry's.

 

[dump]

Generally if you know what you're looking for, money spent on 10+ year old stuff is going to get you better stuff than what you could get for that money buying new.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I've got a Polk center channel, and I have a pair of the Polk bookshelf speakers as well. Was thinking of using them as the surround channels.

 

[buildyourown]

I bought a nice Yamaha 7.1 receiver and intended to get a full compliment of surround speakers. I bought a $300 set of Polks from Newegg and decided I didn't need surround. Maybe my room is just small but decent big speakers and a good amp sound good. I skipped the sub and all the wiring that goes with remote speakers.

Monitor 60 is what I got
Snagged them for $99 ea.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290206

 

[IH8Rice]

are you looking for speakers just for stereo use or are you looking to use them with home theater as well.
as others have said, you need to match you L&R speakers to the center channel you have...if you have one of course. you really should stay in the same brand and model line or the sound wont sound right.

the Paradigm Monitor 9's fall pretty close to your price range and they sound pretty good
as do the Infinity Primus series. IMO the Infinitys are a better deal overall, especially at their price of around $320/each

if youre willing to pay about $600/each, i would strongly recommend the Monitor Audio RX6. they are amazing sounding speakers. if you want to spend $500/each, the Bronze BX6's fall into that price range and are also great speakers


edit: just saw that you have Polk speakers. if you want to keep them, i would use them as the surround and surround backs and get a matching center channel to whatever L&R you get

 

[kazlx]

I hear you can get some sweet ones out of white vans.

Or you could check out audiogon.com. Most of the stuff is high end, but you could find stuff that is in your price range and will sound 10x better than anything you could buy new for the same price. Used speakers should still be pretty mint.

 

[SkaredShtles]

i bought a set of these (Paradigm Studio 60s) a couple of months ago and they sound awesome

but they are over your budget. sucks for you.

Quit pretending you can actually HEAR anything any more, Old Man.

 

[bean]

As others have said. If you don't love your front speakers now, consider moving all of those to the rear and buying a new front stage. If you buy something to match the cc you already have, it's going to sound very similar to what you've already got, probably just deeper and maybe a little more efficient.

Audiogon and craigslist are both good sources. You can find some pretty good deals in both places.

Since it's a fairly large room and you have a lower end receiver (which probably isn't putting out anywhere near the full 100 watts that are spec'd when multiple channels are drivent) Klipsch is worth considering because they tend to be so efficient. Most people either love or hate horn tweeters so make sure you listen to them first. I have a set of Klipsch in the living room and Denon in the office. I prefer the way my Denon speakers sound, but the Klipsch speakers are much better suited to louder volume and larger rooms.

Paradigm and PSB would also be on my short list, as would some of the internet direct companies like Aperion and Ascend Acoustics.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I hear you can get some sweet ones out of white vans.

Or you could check out audiogon.com. Most of the stuff is high end, but you could find stuff that is in your price range and will sound 10x better than anything you could buy new for the same price. Used speakers should still be pretty mint.

About 8 years ago, I scored an old pair of matching Klipsch Forte I speakers (built in 1985) on Audiogon. Great place to buy used high end goodies for a reasonable price

 

[jonKranked]

dirt, i think i might have a similar system to yours. or maybe not. same brand, same # of channels (7.1). i used to have the floor stands, and absolutely hated them. i got mad cheapo ones, so that may be why. At my old place our living room wasn't shaped in a way that was good for wall mounting, but when we moved our new place was. I've got the side and rear speakers mounted at the top of the walls (we have 11' ceilings) and its GREAT.

 

[kazlx]

And if you buy Bose I will personally kick you in the balls.

 

[sstalder5]

And if you buy Bose I will personally kick you in the balls.

QFT. Don't do it. Just don't.

 

[dump]

Nobody has mentioned the room... this plays a huge part in the sound of your gear... equally if not more.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Acoustically the room is pretty good. I set up the old system, and it sounded good. The main reason I want floor speakers has to do with our walls. I have plaster walls, so drilling and putting the speakers I have up just isn't an option.

That, and its a much bigger room than my living room at my apartment was, so the speakers just aren't filling it all up.

Those two sites are like crack rock. Thanks a lot for showing me those! I'm going to comb them for a bit, see if I can't find some Polk's or some Infinities on sale. I've had both brands, liked them quite a bit. Polk's weren't as "bright," which I liked quite a bit. But the Infinities were very precise sounding, so its a toss up.

Looked on CL here, found some Bose 401's which I know are old and Bose, but they get great reviews. The deal seems sort of shady, but what can you do? The only thing I can't figure out is what I'd do for a center speaker with these.

A friend of mine who is a gear freak audio fetishist has a full Klipsch set in his house. I've never heard it at full blast with a movie or music as his fiance is not a fan of loud, but it is a very clear sounding system at lower volume.

 

[Sandwich]

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/ele/2585300832.html hahahaha

 

[Sandwich]

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/ele/2571663060.html

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/ele/2516829074.html
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/ele/2585456847.html

I don't know anything about the sonys. Head out to any of these guys' places, and see if they'll let you have a listen. When I bought my speaks, the audiophile I bought em from was so excited to show them off. I didn't care, they looked cool. But they sound amazing, and knowing that he knew his stuff and liked these was good enough for me.

 

[IH8Rice]

if youre looking for a home theater front stage, buying stereo speakers from craigslist makes it almost impossible to setup your system correctly

 

[TortugaTonta]

I would not get too carried away on speakers unless you plan on upgrading to seperates in the future.

I have the previous gen Onkyo to yours and its fine for watching movies with modest speakers but just nowhere near enough power to make a pair of towers sing when pushing a full multi channel setup.

Generaly speaking Klipsch have a reputation for being very efficient and sounding good on very little power as opposed to speakers like the Polks that someone linked above that I know from experience need an honest 250wpc to sound good.

Just remember its a system just like a bike. You could put a XTR derailleur on a wallmart mtb and its still a wallmart mtb. Just like you wouldn't connect a mp3 player to a Mark Levinson stereo system.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

if youre looking for a home theater front stage, buying stereo speakers from craigslist makes it almost impossible to setup your system correctly

That's about what I figured.

 

[kazlx]

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast1.html

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast2.html

Done if you wanted a built and matched system. This place is in Anaheim by my house and I have hear their speakers in person. They sound really good. My dad has one of their subs. For the money, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

You could also try some internet companies. Axiom audios are good...I have heard them in person. I have heard really good things about Salk Sound.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/m60.html

http://www.salksound.com/songbird home.htm

If you have time to kill..... www.audioholics.com

 

[HardtailHack]

I can't be bothered reading all the posts to see if someone has mentioned power output of amps, anyways cheap amps usually do the RMS output figure with only one channel being driven.
Looks good on the specs but when tou crank seven channels you may get 50W RMS and inefficient speakers won't do jack with that little power.
I bought a Krix Centrix years ago to run off smaller Denon amp and the amp didn't have enough power to make it work properly.
Efficient speakers FTW!

 

[jdcamb]

I just helped my friend build a system with a Denon AV reciever (AVR 712) with some Salk Songbird floor standing speakers L-R and supplanted with a Dayton Audio Home Theatre system. Just by themselves those Salk Speakers sound incredible. He has the sytem pushing a Behringer PA sub which is beat to crap and not intended for home use. I told him to take the leap and based on the quality of the songbirds he should get a Salk sub when he can. I am very intrigued by Salks Jeff Bagby Continuums just based on the reviews. A lot of weight being thrown around on them. I like Studio Monitors for Primarys...

If you can swing it:

Klipsh THX ULTRA II 7.2 Surround Monitor Suite is a superb option for only $15,950.00 (it goes to 12)

 

[DirtMcGirk]

If I'm going to 11, I am getting a 9.2 system. FTW

 

[IH8Rice]

anyways cheap amps usually do the RMS output figure with only one channel being driven.
Looks good on the specs but when tou crank seven channels you may get 50W RMS and inefficient speakers won't do jack with that little power.

cheap amps maybe but most good companies list power output rating for all channels driven. his happens to be 80w, not 100w for all channels driven.
and on top of having efficient speakers, the Damping Factor plays a huge roll in how well speakers can be driven.

If you can swing it:

Klipsh THX ULTRA II 7.2 Surround Monitor Suite is a superb option for only $15,950.00 (it goes to 12)

THX speakers and products are a waste of money. everything needs to be exactly to THX specs in order for it be true "THX"......room size, power output, thx receiver, thx speakers

 

[DirtMcGirk]

After reading all afternoon while working, I think I am going with Axiom Audio's Epic 50 full system. Gotta stack some paper, but maybe in a couple months after some new guns I've got coming, but before I buy the new Yeti's.

Recession? What's that?

 

[IH8Rice]

meh, plenty of better options for that kind of moneys. do you really need 7.1 in your room? can you bi-amp the front speakers and run 5.1 instead with that receiver?

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I actually really like the 7.1.
Was watching the A-Team on BR the other day, and the sounds behind me made me happy in the pants. Well, that and B Cooper.

 

[kazlx]

My regular 5.1 sounds pretty damn good. I would like to run an external amp and possibly upgrade speakers at some point. I love the B&Ws.

 

[HardtailHack]

cheap amps maybe but most good companies list power output rating for all channels driven. his happens to be 80w, not 100w for all channels driven.
and on top of having efficient speakers, the Damping Factor plays a huge roll in how well speakers can be driven.

There really aren't many companies that make amps that drive all channels for the spec on the box.

Damping factor is a bit of a wank yes it is important but most amps are fine, power is what you need- DF is No1 in the Audio myths-
Top 5 Audio Myths Selecting drivers that are suited to the enclosure is way more important than having an amp with a damping factor of a trillion.

Earthquakes 7 channel 150W RMS(8 Ohm) weighs 36kg, it's heavy because it has a big transformer which you need when running 7 channels at 150W RMS.
http://www.earthquakesound.com/pdf_manuals/cinenova_manual.pdf

My car system has around 500W RMS avaliable for the front speakers alone and because they are so inefficient the seem to need quite a bit of the avaliable power. Next time I will get something more efficient as my system is murder on the charging system.

 

[TortugaTonta]

I actually really like the 7.1.
Was watching the A-Team on BR the other day, and the sounds behind me made me happy in the pants. Well, that and B Cooper.

Thats really funny, The A-team bluray is in DTS-5.1, the movie isn't even coded for 7.1. There are few movies that are coded 7.1.