Can someone suggest good home audio stereo speakers?

Question

I'm in the market to get a pair of front channel speakers and as luck would have it there is a lot out there that plays music! Unfortunately, I'm trying to find the best bang for my buck.

Bose? Klipsch? Denon? Sony?

I have heard that if your center channel sucks, there is no point getting great front channels... which is fine, maybe I'll get a center while I'm at it!

I listed those companies just as examples. The consensus seems to be that I definately need to hear the speakers so that I make sure I get what I'm looking for. I was maninly hoping to get ideas of what companies always had a really solid, quality product.

I've gotten several companies to look into, and I know to definately avoid Bose.

What about SDAT, Premiere Acoustic, and BIC?

Answer 1

i don't honestly know how much you are looking to spend....but I can suggest the following....which is kind of an unwritten law concerning audio equipment....the company that makes CD players makes excellent CD players...the amplifier company is great at amplifiers...etc., etc., down to the speaker company makes great speakers...

Denon speakers are really based on their professional line of equipment.

If you are looking for THE MOST bang for your buck....and have space for a small-ish (meaning footprint) speaker....I would look at the following...

http://www.legacy-audio.com/classicmain.html

With the Legacy Classic...you will get a true, full-range, top to bottom reproduction of the music and movies without having to place subwoofers in the room as their frequency response is down to 28 Hz.

If you don't want to spend THAT much money...I would go with Definitive Technology speakers.

http://www.definitivetech.com/

Good luck....

Answer 2

Skip the Bose, Denon and Sony! Not really good speakers. Some of others mentioned some good brands to research. In addition to B&W, I would look at Paradigm, KEF, Dynadudio and Revel. Depending on your price range, it can get quite high depending on the model. What is your budget very key, since allot of the models mentioned can run $20000 and above.

I use B&W 604 S4 3 Way for about $1250.00 and have been very happy so far, but I would have purchased B&W 703 or Dynaudio Audience 82 for around $2500, if i had the $$$ at the time.

Many of the B&W 600 series and the Dynaudio Audience around $800 for a 2 way speaker. Paradigm starts around $350 for a good pair of 2 ways. The Monitor 7 series is a best bang for the buck at around $600 for a 3 way design!

Bring some of your favorite CD's to a local audio store, not Best Buy, they have much better train sales staff. Also make sure they run the speakers through equipment similar to yours..

Good listening!

Answer 3

I agree with Bokir. If you spend a little extra and get M&K or B&W you will be delighted that you did for many years to come. Between the choices you give I would only consider Klipsch. Other brands that perform well at the price point you seem to be aiming for would include Paradigm, Energy, Boston Acoustics, and PSB. Do some comparison listening with the same CD and get what sounds best to you. Just be sure to only buy speakers you have listened to and preferably read reviews of in credible audio magazines (good retailers usually provide copies of these).

Answer 4

This is sort of like asking what flavor of ice cream is best. It depends on your own taste. Nobody else can listen with your ears. There are so many good brands out there. The best way to decide is to visit a few retailers and listen to the choices in your price range. ALWAYS bring your own music to listen with. If the dealer won't allow that, go elsewhere.
When you are auditioning the speakers, don't listen to to a bunch, one after another. Instead do an A-B audition of 2 pair, then do an A-B of the "winner" to the next candidate, and so forth. This way you are only comparing two pair at a time and you will have an easier choice. Try to visit the dealer at slow time, when the salesperson can spend more time with you.
When you have narrowed it down to the best that the first dealer has, go to the next dealer. Do this with maybe 2-4 dealers, using the same CD tracks for all tests. When you have it narrowed down to 2-3 choices, you may want to consider buying them all to audition at home and return the "losers". All very time consuming, but you will end up with the best for YOU.

Answer 5

Legacy Audio Classics and the Silver Screen center channel. Theses are a little more exspensive, but the quality is the most important thing to me. Plus, these speakers are made in the USA! This is what I have and the sound is the best I have ever heard. If you buy Bose, I will reach thru the computer and choke you to death.

Answer 6

Hi.I would have to know what type of speaker "sound"you like.Speakers are the most difficult components to buy because the all add their own coloration to the sound.What is the continuous output of your amplifier. What are the dimensions of the room they will be in .Does the room reflect sound more than absorb sound or is it about even. Do you want to listen loud or normal. How much are you willing to spend.All these parameters will affect the final sound you will hear.

Speakers (generally) have two types of "sound'.Some have a fairly bright sound with reasonable mid range and bass.Others have a smooth clear all round sound without emphasizing any parts of their frequency range.

Here are some models to consider :These are recommended retail prices. and by shopping around you should be able to get some of them cheaper.
But like i said these are only suggestions until you can give me moore info.on what you want.
Cheers.

Bright sounding :
KLIPSCH RF-82 150W.RMS.......about$450
CERWIN VEGA CLS15 3WAY.....about$400
JBL STUDIO L890 125W...............about $400
DEFINITIVE MYTHOS GEM 200W.RMS.....about$400

Smooth sounding :
KEF AUDIO iQ9 .................about$500
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 8.1 120W.RMS.
MONITOR AUDIO RS1 80W.RMS......about$435
MORDANT-SHORT AW162 180W.RMS...about $230.


Additional information :
I could mention another 30 or 40 brands but you would never be able to listen to all of them and remember how they sounded.The reputation of the British speakers are solid. They have been around for 50 or more years and are still going strong.Where other esoteric models have come and gone. My Power Amp is British and so are my Speakers which i am still using 23 years after i bought them.!

Answer 7

You would need powered speakers for this. Wireless speakers do not get the output power wirelessly, they get a low level audio signal, and the speakers built in amplifier provides the power. You would need a transmitter for the Denon receiver, and a receiver for the speakers. You'd be better served by just buying a wireless speaker system, and forget about the receiver you already have. Mixing technology is not always as easy as it sounds. Just wire it up and forget about wireless, or spend a bunch of dollars you don't need to spend.

Answer 8

I'm a sound engineer. In our studios we have Genelec and Miller&Kreissel studio monitor. If you have the budget go get their consumer version. You'll never regret it.

For my home use, I've been into many different set of speakers. And finally settled with B&W Series 600. I found it to be very good for both music (all range) and movie.

But as usual, what best for you is to hear for yourself. Shop around. Take lots of demo. Your preference might differ from us.

And remember, Don't judge a brand new speaker. As it tend to sound brighter and harsher then it going to be after a while (3-8 weeks depend on usage).

Answer 9

Both Bose and Klipsch are excellent sounding speakers. I haven't heard Denon speakers, but their audio components are top notch, so I'm betting the speakers would be great also.

I've never been a big Sony fan, but if you are looking for high quality sound at a lower price you could check out AR, JBL or Polk Audio speakers.

High end speaker wire is also crucial.

Hope this helped.

Answer 10

To be honest with you , you should go to your nearest audio dealer whether it be Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., and audition their speakers for yourself.
What I like and suggest you buy, and you may hate them.
But what you like and can afford.
Also bring some Cd's of music you like to listen to, more than likely if they sound great on music, they should not have any problems replicating movies either.
There are a lot of fine speaker makers out there some may be available to you and some may not.
I tend to like speaker mfg, that only make speakers only, nothing else(receivers, radios, TVs. etc.), because their only livelihood is making quality speakers and nothing else.