Post by synthy September 22, 2004 (1 of 22)
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Sorry to ask this, but there are so many audio equipment forums that are so full of crap that I thought I'd ask here. I'm looking to buy new speakers, a 5.1 system of some kind. Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000? I was looking at B&W systems, but there are so many moderate high-end speakers.
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Post by tailspn September 22, 2004 (2 of 22)
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Are you open to either building your own, or assembling a kit? There are several excellent transmission line kits available for much less money than dealer purchased, and with the savings, you can invest in superior drivers.
Tom
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Post by LC September 22, 2004 (3 of 22)
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synthy said:
Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000?
B&W is quite good, and they have a lot of different ranges, but I would probably recommend Paradigm. Paradigm have been consistently praised for their high-value products for many years. Do you need 5.1, or is 5.0 fine? Adding a decent subwoofer will take a big chunk out of that budget. What do you listen to?
If you happen to be in a smallish space and want maximum quality for music, you should be looking at five identical speakers. The new Paradigm Reference Signature S2 monitors (and the rest of the Signature series) are more "high-end" than what Paradigm has done before, but they are winning rave reviews for their quality (and also value, although the question of value becomes a little more subtle with truly high-end audio). Five S2 and stands would come in on budget.
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/paradigm_signature_s2.htm
If you will want a full range system that is also suitable for video applications, Paradigm lists several systems at different price points in their Reference (non-"Signature") series here:
http://www.paradigm.com/Website/SiteReferenceProduct/RModels/SystemChoice/systems.html
Presumbably the "Studio 60 System" One or Two would be what you want. The Studio 100 is enormous (a friend has them).
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Post by A90 September 22, 2004 (4 of 22)
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Dear Synthy,
I would suggest that you listen to Electrostatic speakers from Martin Logan. Bought a pair last year and compared them to B&W. The ML's were outstanding.
If you have a dealer nearby please have a hear on those.
Michael
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Post by LC September 22, 2004 (5 of 22)
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A90 said:
I would suggest that you listen to Electrostatic speakers from Martin Logan.
Martin Logan speakers are good. Quick and transparent (sonically and visually). I owned a pair of the previous generation mid-size models. But a 5.1 or even 5.0 system based around the Ascent, pictured above, will not be obtainable with your budget. If I were buying M-L again, I probably would not get anything below the Ascent, which is a slightly scaled down version of the very successful Prodigy. You could probably get $5,000 to cover a 5.0 system using M-L's new very compact designs, but I've not heard those, and suspect that they make some unhappy compromises. One big advantage of these speakers is having one transducer cover the whole frequency range from mid-bass up. The smaller the speaker, the smaller the electro-static panel and the higher up the crossover has to be. Also, set-up can be tricky with these speakers, although I see they are no making several wall-mountable designs. Not sure how good those could sound. And it can be difficult to know if you're overdriving them. I screwed up one panel on my pair even though the listening levels seemed fairly moderate.
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Post by tream September 22, 2004 (6 of 22)
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I have B&W's (804's) which I compared extensively to Sonus Fabers and some other brands, and felt they did the best job of reproducing the full musical spectrum top to bottom, with little distortion (unlike, say Magnepan's, which product a euphonic distortion that gets between me and the music). I've also like Spendors in the past. I have an NHT system in my second system which sounds extremely good for the money. However, speaker sound is highly subjective and extremely variable and I recommend you listen for yourself.
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I'm very happy with my Vandersteens, the "$10,000 speaker in the $2 box," as they call say. Get the best L/R main you can, I got the 3A Sigs--I found for Classical SACDs these do the lion's share or the work. The bass on these speakers is incredible. The rear surrounds I have are Vandersteen VSM1's--full range 6 1/2's and designed not to be 'beamy'--it is claimed that the sweet spot is wider. The center I have is the VCM1. It is also designed to throw the sound correctly from either a low position or high position. These speakers are phase correct, and over at Telarc.com they find phase correct speakers to be especially excellent for surround. Can't beat that! I've found the .1 channel on classical music to either be too soft or redundant to even bother with a sub.
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Post by seth September 22, 2004 (8 of 22)
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synthy said:
Sorry to ask this, but there are so many audio equipment forums that are so full of crap that I thought I'd ask here. I'm looking to buy new speakers, a 5.1 system of some kind. Since my main app will be listening to SACDs, what speakers do you guys recommend for under $5000? I was looking at B&W systems, but there are so many moderate high-end speakers.
Get whatever sounds the best to you. Don't be pressured into buying a speaker because everyone tells you it is the best.
B&W is an excellent place to start.
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Post by synthy September 22, 2004 (9 of 22)
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Thanks a lot, there are some good suggestions here. 5.0 is fine, I already have an Outlaw ICBM that I use with my current system. I listen to pretty much everything, lots of classical and choral but classic rock (Pink Floyd, Elton John) as well. So it would seem that people are split on whether or not to get less expensive rear speakers. It's obvious that in most SACDs there is far less activity in the rear than in the front, and I still do a lot of listening in stereo, so I want good front L/R. The room I'm in is pretty large, about 20 by 25 feet.
I'll have to check out the Paradigms and the many other suggestions here...now I only have to find a place to audition them.
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Post by nickc September 22, 2004 (10 of 22)
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synthy said:
Thanks a lot, there are some good suggestions here. 5.0 is fine, I already have an Outlaw ICBM that I use with my current system. I listen to pretty much everything, lots of classical and choral but classic rock (Pink Floyd, Elton John) as well. So it would seem that people are split on whether or not to get less expensive rear speakers. It's obvious that in most SACDs there is far less activity in the rear than in the front, and I still do a lot of listening in stereo, so I want good front L/R. The room I'm in is pretty large, about 20 by 25 feet.
I'll have to check out the Paradigms and the many other suggestions here...now I only have to find a place to audition them.
hi synthy
all things being equal it would be lovely to have full-range speakers all around in a MC set-up! i listen exclusively to classical and find that 99% of the time it is only ambience from the rears so a bookshelf type speaker is quite enough. try and match the centre to your main L/R speakers though; nearly all manufacturers sell matching centre speakers, and the bigger the better with the centre.
cheers
nick
BTW you can't really go wrong with B&W, but go and listen to a few different brands like others have suggested
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