The Speaker Thread ($800-$1,100 range)

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I blew my speakers this winter at the end of my metal kick. It was an Infinity subwoofer system I got 14 years ago, which I guess is a decent run considering the use/abuse they got. I'm dreading researching new speakers though, so I'm tempted to just get another Infinity. For now I've glued the torn part so the distortion isn't so excruciating. I figure that quickfix will last a few weeks.

I'd like to try to find the best system I can for under a thousand, though I'd go over for some amazing deal. I have a 425 sq ft studio apartment. I like the subwoofer, and I even custom built a place for it in my giant cd rack/entertainment center. I liked how the entire wooden structure became a giant bass cabinet and amplified it even more. However, my downstairs neighbor didn't like it too much. I put bubble wrap under it to minimize vibration on the floor. I'd ask her if that helped, but she moved out already ;)

I'd consider other setups that might minimize floor vibration. I'm leaning towards Home Theater setup, like the Infinity TSS-100. However I'm open to suggestions.

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Monday, 13 February 2006 12:25 (nineteen years ago)

I guess I'm on my own on this one eh. I just didn't feel like subscribing to a bunch of geek shop talk boards. I did some lurking though.

I really like the Mirage Omnisat V2, but it's too expensive, the speakers need to be 3 feet from the wall to do their thing, and the subwoofer won't fit into the space I have. Ah well. I decided I wan the front speakers to be a litte more substantial than your average home theater setups, so they can handle my loud rock, metal and reggae.

I'm curently comparing the Paradigm Cinema 330 with the Carver TS451S, which seems too good to be true. I think Carver may just be slumming with this one, lending its name to another manufacturer to make money with a mass-produced product. I just need to find a room that has it to hear for myself.

Paradigm Cinema 330, $1,200
Carver TS451S Home Theater System, $725

Also researched these:

NHT ST4 Home Theater Super Audio, $2,700
Mirage Omnisat V2, $2,400
Axiom Epic 50 5.1, $1,776
Totem Acoustic Dreamcatcher, MSRP 1,695
KLIPSCH Cinema 10, $1,545
Klipsch Cinema 8, $1,195
Aperion Audio 5.1 Home Theater System, $1,499
Aperion Audio Intimus 5.1, MSRP: $1,299
POLK AUDIO RM6900 Titanium, $999
Paradigm Cinema 110 CT, MSRP, $799, $624
Mordaunt-Short Avant Premiere, MSRP: $1100
RBH Sound CT-5.1, MSRP: $1199
Velodyne Deco, MSRP: $799

Any opinions welcome...

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 00:14 (nineteen years ago)

Paradigm has treated me VERY well. I love my bookshelf pair, my mind reels at what a twice-as-expensive version would sound like.

― sleeve (sleeve), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 01:27 (nineteen years ago)

Wish I could help but this is one area where there's very little overlap between US and EU brands; Sonus Faber, ProAc and Heybrook might fall into your price bracket but I've no idea whether they're available over there...

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 17:17 (nineteen years ago)

Paradigm has been great for me too, I only regret that I can't really crank them up since I have the Monitor 7 speakers and a third floor apartment...

― mike h. (mike h.), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

I went to Promusica in Chicago to listen to Paradigm speakers and ended up getting turned onto the Rega R5s. He probably thought I was a freak -- I had three mix CDs with everything from old Charlie Parker to Mastodon to demo with. I'm going to try to listen to some Paradigm Phantoms that are the same price for comparison, but my research shows that Rega has the edge. I love the look, with the bass on the side, and because it uses a front firing port, I can place it against the wall, which is a must in my 425 sq ft studio. I love Roy Gandy, that clever English bastard.

I'm going to wait to upgrade my center, rear and subwoofer (either Sunfire or Paradigm Ultracube). Will upgrade to a Denon AVR-3805 if I can get a used one for under $600.

Rega R3 Tower $795 pr, R Vox center, $375, Sunfire Super Junior Subwoofer, $825 ($1,995, no rear)
100W, Nominal Impedence 6 ohms, Sensitivity 89 dB
Sub – 11”W X 11”, 1500W

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Friday, 17 February 2006 00:36 (nineteen years ago)

Well, despite the 3 degree weather, I did my speaker auditions on Saturday. First stop was Saturday Audio Exchange, where I listened to the Monitor Audio S6 on an NAD T763. I brought two mix CDs of a wide range of songs I'm very familiar with. Charlie Parker's "A Night in Tunisia" and Charles Brown's "Black Night" were brought to life without the limitations of the 1940s recordings being too distracting. Charles Mingus' "II B.S." was a revelation -- I could the shuffling of feet, someone breathing, and the scrape of fingernails on the bass strings -- details I had only heard before on my Sennheiser headphones. James Brown's "Funky Drummer" was kind to the crisp snare drums without sounding shrill. They handled the distorted guitars of The Creation's "Making Time" very well. But on The Stooges' "Down on the Street" and Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On," they were starting to feel strained. And I hadn't even begun to truly torture them. They coasted through Curtis Mayfield's "Little Child Runnin' Wild" nicely, handling the range of the strings very well. The dubby 70s reggae bass of Cedric Brooks' "Free Up Black Man" and The Congos' "Congoman" was satisfyingly groundshaking and warm. The more pristine productions of Steely Dan and Rush sounded near perfect, and the razor's edge guitars of The Buzzcocks and Gang of Four were sharp without being painful. I was struck by another revelatory moment in Mission Of Burma's "Learn How" -- I've never heard it sound so intense. The acoustic guitars on Big Star's "Watch the Sunrise" filled the room with gorgeous ringing tones, while Prince's "Kiss" sounded perfectly tight. Fugazi's "Waiting Room's" bass was lean as it was meant to be. However, the real torture laid ahead. Slayer's "Raining Blood" started abruptly, and the speakers sounded like they were hanging on for dear life. Entombed's "Seeing Red" was just too much -- I was hearing some distortion. Public Enemy sounded a little flat (though I think they're overdue for a remastering job), while the Beastie Boys' "Shadrach" fared better. The rest of the songs held up well enough, from Laika to Tricky, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Radiohead, Squarepusher, Flaming Lips. Amon Tobin and Four Tet sounded particularly rich with details. But again, Mars Volta and Mastodon were a little too much. They're definitely worth the money ($629), but not quite what I wanted.

Next was Midwest Stereo Pro Sound to demo the Paradigm Cinema 330 and Monitor 9, again via a NAD. I heard bad things about the Phantoms, because they cut corners on the cabinet construction and it literally rattles. That's why I couldn't find anyone who carried them. Overall the Cinema 330 sounded nearly as good as the Monitors, except when it came to the metal tunes, in which it performed even worse. And of course they had less bass, but the subwoofer would make up for that. For their price and size, I was actually pretty amazed by their performance. For someone looking for primarily home theater in a small room for relatively cheap, I'd recommend them wholeheartedly. But since 90% of my time is spent on music, I need more *oompf*. The Monitor 9 certainly had it. They surpassed the Monitor in every way, and were particularly enlightening with The Stooges, Nusrat & Asian Dub Foundation's "Tao Deem Remix," Entombed and Four Tet's "Hands." Rich and powerful. Too bad I simply don't have the room for those suckers. Additionally, their design is pretty ordinary, e.g., the WAF (Wife Approval Factor). I'm not married, but were I to move in with a S.O., I wouldn't want them banned to the office. I'm no audiophile, and really I'm just looking for an overall tingly feeling from speakers that is not altogether logical -- kind of like music in general.

Last stop was Promusica, where I sampled the Rega R5. On a previous visit I briefly listened to the bookshelf R1 and R5. Granted, the comparison is a little uneven because these were driven by a high end Naim pre-amp and amp combo, but just the same I was really pleased. Compared to the Rega, the Paradigm Monitor 9's bass sounded a little sloppy. I liked the neutral, dry, crisp sound. My overall impression was this was the closest approximation to how the music was meant to be heard. Indeed, despite having heard parts of all 37 songs at least three times within the last two hours, I found myself getting lost in the music, caught up in simply enjoying the songs.

I was sold, and ordered a pair of R3 (they didn't have a pair in stock to demo...I know the side-firing 5" bass driver won't match the 7" on the R5, but my space is that limited). I'm confident that with my upgrade to the Sunfire Dominator D-10 subwoofer, they'll be perfect for my needs. The listening area of my apartment is a relatively modest 2,725 cubic feet. Not small, but not a McMansion basement either. Reading more reviews and history, I really like Rega's philosophy of aiming for real music lovers, not audiophiles. Hear hear. I mean, what's up with nearly every audio review using Diana Krall as a reference? And Manhattan Transfer . . . WTF? They need to realize that a $15,000 system will never make that shit sound good.

Next step is to upgrade my receiver, but I'll spare you the details this time.

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Monday, 20 February 2006 08:17 (nineteen years ago)

That was a great read. Thanks.

― sleeve (sleeve), Monday, 20 February 2006 22:24 (nineteen years ago)

thirteen years pass...

Wow, 14 years. Around that time I also bought a used pair of Wharfedale Evo 20 which served well in the bedroom until just over a year ago when a tweeter went out. I did some shopping again for this price range, and listened to a bunch of stuff. It had to be easy to drive since I have just a small 50W PS Audio Sprout. My top choice would have been Mission QX-5 based solely on great reviews, and winning a shootout against other top speakers, but I couldn't get any shipped to US at the time. I liked Tannoy Revolution XT 6F, JBL Studio 580, Q Acoustics Concept 40, but got a great deal on Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend Mk. II. They're kind of loss leaders to draw interest to the company, which hand makes the speakers in Utah.

https://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/omen-dirty-weekend-2

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 17 February 2020 05:42 (five years ago)

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