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Mightyfire89 · 01-14-2009, 09:02 PM

I'll second OBCT's thoughts, especially on Paradigm and SVS. Both make excellent products. I own these speakers:

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference...-1-26.paradigm

and this subwoofer: http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/pb10ns...black-p-5.html

I also own some older C-series speakers made by Energy, which is another good Canadian company with a fine rep in the audio world.

I couldn't be happier with all of these.

Also the MTS series of speakers from SVS might be worth looking into, they seem to be getting good reviews and seemingly are right around the same quality as the Paradigm Studio series.

The key to being satisfied long term with what you purchase is getting out to audio shops and listening to as many different brands of speakers as possible and then buying what YOU like. Do your research and spend the time, it's a worthwhile investment.

Now I realize that doesn't exactly work with a company like SVSound because their products are internet only, but they have an excellent reputation and more importantly a 45 day money back guarantee, so if you're unhappy with what you got, you can send them back and no harm, no foul. (And I've never heard of anyone being unsatisfied with a product from SVS, unless they got a defective unit, in which case the company will send a new one once they receive the bad one back from you).

I indeed found some models of Klipsch speakers to be a little on the bright side for my tastes, but your mileage may vary which is why I stress getting out and listening to find out what you like.

As for receivers, I own one of these: http://www.yamaha.ca/av/Receivers/RXV1800B.jsp and again, I couldn't be happier with it. The thing with receivers though is that they don't have anywhere near the impact that speakers do on the overall sound of your system. That is to say that a certain set of speakers being run by a $1000.00 Yamaha isn't going to sound a whole lot different than the same speakers being run by a Denon or a Harman Kardon or a Marantz or an Onkyo or a Pioneer at the same price point. Again, do your research and find out which brand you prefer at which price point with the features that you want and go from there.

Speakers are the MOST important part of any home theater (or stereo setup). Your budget should be spent accordingly. Spend about 65% -75% on the speakers and then the remainder on everything else.

Don't get sucked into any cable/speaker wire voodoo either. An $18 HDMI cable from Walmart (as long as it's not defective) is going to perform every bit as good as a $160 Monster HDMI. Any speaker wire that is 18 gauge or better (16, 14, 12 etc) is going to work just fine. Monster products are well made but WAAAAY overpriced. Oh, and you don't need to buy one of those fancy "Power conditioners" for $500 - $1000. Just buy a decent power bar and you're good to go.

You should be able to get a very good setup for $3500 if you're careful and do your research. Good luck and have fun auditioning speakers etc, that's half the fun of this hobby.

01-14-2009, 09:02 PM	#8
Mightyfire89 And I Don't Care... Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The land of the eternally hopeful Exp:	I'll second OBCT's thoughts, especially on Paradigm and SVS. Both make excellent products. I own these speakers: http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference...-1-26.paradigm and this subwoofer: http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/pb10ns...black-p-5.html I also own some older C-series speakers made by Energy, which is another good Canadian company with a fine rep in the audio world. I couldn't be happier with all of these. Also the MTS series of speakers from SVS might be worth looking into, they seem to be getting good reviews and seemingly are right around the same quality as the Paradigm Studio series. The key to being satisfied long term with what you purchase is getting out to audio shops and listening to as many different brands of speakers as possible and then buying what YOU like. Do your research and spend the time, it's a worthwhile investment. Now I realize that doesn't exactly work with a company like SVSound because their products are internet only, but they have an excellent reputation and more importantly a 45 day money back guarantee, so if you're unhappy with what you got, you can send them back and no harm, no foul. (And I've never heard of anyone being unsatisfied with a product from SVS, unless they got a defective unit, in which case the company will send a new one once they receive the bad one back from you). I indeed found some models of Klipsch speakers to be a little on the bright side for my tastes, but your mileage may vary which is why I stress getting out and listening to find out what you like. As for receivers, I own one of these: http://www.yamaha.ca/av/Receivers/RXV1800B.jsp and again, I couldn't be happier with it. The thing with receivers though is that they don't have anywhere near the impact that speakers do on the overall sound of your system. That is to say that a certain set of speakers being run by a $1000.00 Yamaha isn't going to sound a whole lot different than the same speakers being run by a Denon or a Harman Kardon or a Marantz or an Onkyo or a Pioneer at the same price point. Again, do your research and find out which brand you prefer at which price point with the features that you want and go from there. Speakers are the MOST important part of any home theater (or stereo setup). Your budget should be spent accordingly. Spend about 65% -75% on the speakers and then the remainder on everything else. Don't get sucked into any cable/speaker wire voodoo either. An $18 HDMI cable from Walmart (as long as it's not defective) is going to perform every bit as good as a $160 Monster HDMI. Any speaker wire that is 18 gauge or better (16, 14, 12 etc) is going to work just fine. Monster products are well made but WAAAAY overpriced. Oh, and you don't need to buy one of those fancy "Power conditioners" for $500 - $1000. Just buy a decent power bar and you're good to go. You should be able to get a very good setup for $3500 if you're careful and do your research. Good luck and have fun auditioning speakers etc, that's half the fun of this hobby. __________________ Last edited by Mightyfire89; 01-14-2009 at 09:05 PM.