Ten Biggest Mistakes of Speaker and Home Theater Shopping
On the surface, it's not that irrational. If ________ (fill in Sony, Kenwood, any major electronics brand) knows how to build CD players, audio/video receivers or TV monitors, they must know how to design and build excellent loudspeakers, right? Not always. Good speaker design is so specialized, and requires such extensive acoustical research, measurement, and listening tests that the best speakers continue to come from companies with a long history of acoustical research and speaker design. 2. You bought speakers in a rush, without listening to them with your favourite recordings, and now you're disappointed because they sound boomy or harsh. Experienced listeners and professionals will tell you that making careful judgments on different speakers takes many hours of listening so don't be rushed. Visit several stores, taking the same group of recordings of music you know and like, for each test. If you have the option of auditioning the speakers in your own house, so much the better. That's the room where the speakers you buy will be placed, and there's no better place to listen to speakers than in the room you'll use them in. In any case, you'll likely keep them for years, so take your time and don't let sales staff pressure you. 3. You were knocked out by the deep bass from the subwoofer and didn't concentrate on the center channel and main left and right speakers. Sure, deep bass from a subwoofer is desirable, and it's impressive, but whether you watch movies or listen to lots of music, most of those midrange and high-frequency sounds--and all of the movie dialog--will come from the center channel and main left and right speakers. Listen critically to actors' voices. Do they sound "boxy" or unnatural and hollow? Are "ssss" sounds at the beginning of words exaggerated (sibilance) or sharp sounding? Do male actors sound nasal or if they had a head cold? Or are their voices "chesty" and too full? These are all speaker "colorations" -- unnatural changes in the tonality of speaking voices introduced by the loudspeaker, and they'll become tiresome and annoying after a short time. Voices should sound natural and dialogue should be easily understood. 4. You went for those attractive little cube speakers because they're so tiny and unobtrusive, but when things get loud with home theatre, the sound gets strained and off-putting. They may look cute and almost disappear into your room's decor, but those tiny satellite speakers can move only so much air. They're okay at quiet background levels but the little 2-inch cones inside get rattled when things start to rock and roll. Nor will a subwoofer fill in all the important upper bass and lower midrange sounds that the 2-inch cubes can't handle. Any speaker with any claim to authentic high fidelity, even a fairly compact model, must divide the sound spectrum into at least two segments, the bass/midrange for the woofer, and the treble for the tweeter. A single cone just can't do it well in normal rooms. As the price spectrum climbs, the best speakers divide the spectrum into three parts--bass, midrange, and treble--and use multiple drivers to achieve very clean high-level high-quality sound. 5. You saved money by getting two compact speakers you thought would be just fine to fill your 25- x 20-foot cathedral-ceiling living room with high-level sound. But they sound strained and edgy when you turn up the volume. A speaker is a kind of electromagnetic air pump, and a modest single woofer and tweeter can't be expected to fill a big volume of space with wide-range sound at high listening levels. Too many shoppers expect a "bookshelf" speaker to produce deep, resonant bass. Unfortunately, the laws of physics dictate otherwise. Sure you can get listenable pleasant bass to about 50 or 40 Hz from a shoebox-size enclosure, but if you want the resonant, deep and satisfying sounds a big pop band or orchestra makes or the deep rumbling of movie soundtracks, you must get a subwoofer or floorstanding speakers--or both! 6. You set up your subwoofer at the side of the room and you're disappointed at the lack of deep, low bass. Room placement of any speaker is critical, and with subwoofers it becomes crucial. Even shifting the subwoofer (or where you sit) by a few feet can have a profound effect on the quantity and quality of low bass you'll hear. If the subwoofer is placed in the middle of a "standing wave," the deep bass may almost disappear. Moving the sub a few feet along the wall or towards a corner may entirely correct the problem. Experiment with subwoofer locations! Every room produces "standing waves"--areas in the room where bass may seem too boomy or may almost be absent. Yes, subs are awkward, but you'll only have to position them once. And you can try moving the couch or chair as well, if that's easier. 7. You bought a receiver or amplifier advertised as having "200 watts total power output" and now it seems to be underpowered. Watts are comparatively inexpensive nowadays, but lots of amps and receivers are still advertised using the misleading "total power output" ruse, which sums the individual power for all five channels. That "200-watt" receiver may have only 40 watts per channel (40 x 5 = 200) which would be okay in a den or a dorm room (barely) but inadequate for good home theater in a living room. Look for the receiver's power output per channel into 8 ohms at a specified distortion level over a rated frequency range, preferably with at least two channels driven. The power at a single frequency, usually 1,000 Hz (1 kHz) is often quoted in ads, but it can be misleading. A receiver or amplifier with rated power output of 80 to 100 watts per channel, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, at 0.3% distortion (THD), with at least two channels driven, should be more than ample for all but the very largest rooms. And don't forget dynamic headroom . . . don't even get me started on that one! 8. Two really nice guys sold you two impressively large speakers at an amazing price from the back of their truck in a supermarket parking lot. Somehow, the sound seems to be lacking something. . . Don't laugh. This scam has been going on for years and even normally intelligent otherwise sane folks fall for it. The speakers will often have a brand name that's sort of familiar, like "Sonic Research", something close to that of a familiar brand. But such speakers are terrible. Often, they have tweeters or woofers that aren't even connected. They're just for show. The best speakers come from dedicated speaker designers who most often have been in business for 20 years or more. It takes that long to refine and develop really great loudspeakers. 9. You bought good speakers with excellent reputations and let your spousal unit or companion persuade you to put them out of sight inside an antique armoire or entertainment unit. Why buy really good speakers if you're going to place them inside shelving units or armoires? It's the old law of boundary effects. The more surfaces nearby or surrounding a speaker, the greater the likelihood of unpleasant colourations (see above). A speaker needs to operate more or less in free space. Smaller speakers sound their best on stands. If you must put them on a shelf, move the edge of the speaker so it protrudes from the shelf a bit to minimize boundary effects. Leave the armoire for electronics and storing CDs! 10. You went for the package speaker system from the famous-name manufacturer that runs the slick advertisements everywhere you look, and spends millions on promotion and little on research and design. The sound is a disappointment. Sad to say, certain companies use the cheapest possible cone drivers, and spend millions on slick advertising, diverting most of their profits not to research and development of better sounding speakers, but to getting manufacturing costs even lower. The systems ultimately disappoint; indeed, in some cases the basic design hasn't changed in 30 or 40 years. But the ads are very compelling. Before you buy, check out detailed test reports in reputable audio/video magazines and on the internet. Read message boards for owner's comments on particular brands and models of speakers. Ask questions about the quality and type of the individual component parts. And don't be seduced by fancy-sounding hype in slick ads. by Alan Lofft, Axiom Audio (reprinted with permission) |
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     Anonymous |
Great article! I have one minor suggestion. I find that when placing a subwoofer, it's easiest to go to the place in the room where you plan to do most of your listening (i.e. where ever you plan on sitting). Put the subwoofer there and walk around the room until the bass sounds good. Moving the subwoofer to that spot should give you the desired sound from your seat and should save you the trouble of moving the subwoofer more than twice. |
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Anonymous |
So true!! Two guys in a supermarket (Kroger in Cinci) tried selling me a set of speakers, that they "had extra" and that their "boss said to just get rid of them." They claimed they were from a local audio/video store, yet the van was busted all to hell and had no company logos on them. Sad thing is, someone probbaly really bought them. |
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michaelgg Unregistered guest |
^ my father. grafdales. surprisingly, they arent THAT bad. everything about them WORKS, certainly not the best quality though. if nothing else, very expensive boxes that we can fill with better components when the need be. |
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Anonymous |
I recently got new speakers "Logitech® Z-5500 Digital", and they sound nicer, than my expensive setup i've built over the past ten years, though I'm using the optical cable from my recevier the sound from my pc is almost as clear and chrisp. |
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Anonymous |
The article sounds like one big advertisment for those gigantic thousand dollar each speakers that I see in the "high end" area of audio shops. Seriously, you dont have to spend an arm and a leg just to get good quality sound, and remember, quality is subjective, if someone is perfectly fine with their lower powered, all-in-one solution, it works for them. I may not get a stiffy testing out 50 different speaker sets like the author probably does, but the only reason my purchases dont pay for much research, is that I dont get overcharged. Article should be titled "Ten Biggest Mistakes of Speaker Shopping, For People Who Do Nothing But Shop For Speakers". Your attention to the "rest of us" is lacking. |
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ErikTheRed Unregistered guest |
Actually, you can get very nice sound without spending 5 figures. Check out some of the lesser-known speaker brands like NHT - very clean sound with virutally flat response curves (they don't artificially boost treble or bass). Because of that, these speakers don't compensate for crappy audio mixes (whether movies or music) - bad mixes still sound bad (you can fix that with an equalizer on a disc-by-disc basis if you are really that an4l-retentive), but good mixes sound spectacular. Also, check out Onkyo receivers and amplifiers. They offer very good performace for the money. They're not well-known because they spend pretty close to zero on marketing. They do, however, deliver significant "real" wattage to the speakers (all of their wattage figures use "real-world" ohms) with nice, low distortion. You can find amps that sound better, but you'll spend a whole lot more. As a side note, I semi-jokingly tell people that if nothing else, they should buy amplifiers based on weight. In order to get clean sound at even a reasonably high volume, you need a nice big transformer and nice big fat capacitors. A good amplifier / receiver should weigh at least 30 lbs  For under $3k you should be able to build a system that sounds about as good as you can get without venturing into the price stratosphere. Oh yeah, and stay way the hell away from Bose. |
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Jeremy Stroud Unregistered guest |
I am very happy with my Bose 301 series IV but I wouldn't want to use them in a surround environment. They are perfect for listening to music in a den or office even at high volumes. I do agree that Bose is to be avoided like the plague for surround sound, the acoustimass series is a joke as far as I'm concerned. |
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Anonymous |
I have to agree with ErikTheRed. NHT makes awesome speakers -- SuperZero's, SuperOne's etc. They're affordable and the best sound you can get for the money. Their subs are also superb. I also agree that Bose is cr*p. They spend a fortune on marketing and it's the only reason they're popular (that and misinformed consumers). The 901 series was the last good loudspeaker Bose manufactured. I like Onkyo -- although I typically find myself liking Yamaha more. Clean sound, good pricing and very reliable. I have Yamaha receivers that are 15 years old and still sound as good as day one (with daily use of 2-4 hours!). |
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DJ Mastermind Unregistered guest |
Don't forget Cerwin Vega Speakers. They are a great speaker at a reasonable price. Tons of bass for your face!! Powered by a nice Yamaha Natural Sound Reciever and your all set. Bose speakers are overpriced and have a weak output. Stay away from at all costs. To the annonymous guy who thinks he can get away with buying a low cost system he is wrong. He will just end up having to replace them every 3-4 years when the paper cones in the speakers dry-rot. Besides there is nothing to be proud of if you have bad audio equipment. Everyone probably laughs at him when they see a KLH reciever and speaker setup at his crib. |
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rampal Unregistered guest |
I have a JBL set for movies and a good pair of yamahas for music.... I think I've decided to have two setups for these two different tasks because dinamically they sound quite different and yamahas have a warmer sound in comparison to JBLs for music. In other hand, although they (Yam's) have big enclosures, the JBL subwoofer does its work better. Probably this could be the solution for many people who feel dissapointed after listen their brand new Home Theather speakers at home with music.... If I want to listen Prokofiev, even St. Germain sounds OK in them, I'll certainly go for the yams; for movies, JBLs do they work right, specially with huge effects... Anyway, I was wondering If a good pair of B&W could substitute the JBLs front satellites and works fine with the subwoofer for both movies & music... |
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Anonymous |
Good article. People definitely need to do some auditioning before purchasing any audio equipment. It's a very subjective process. FWIW, I'm head over heels about NHT speakers - I have a set of SuperTwos hooked up to a Marantz receiver. I use Bose headphones, and I've heard some pretty good Bose installations at various homes, but they've all been relatively small spaces. |
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R6Racer Unregistered guest |
Go with an Onkyo 7.1 setup using Infinity towers You won't be dissappointed. Perfect for usic or movies. Bose is all highs and lows Bose knows no mids |
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Unregistered guest |
I run a 20, 000 Canadian system. Paradigm Reference Studio Series. From the wall I have a monster clean power bar stage 2, which actually for 300 canadian is worth about 3000 in performance! I run 3 triple shielded High current power cords for my Pioneer 59 AV-i DVD player, Anthem AVM-20 processor, and Anthem MCA-50 180x5 power Amp. Between the DVD player and Processor I run Ultra Link Pro Platinum Series interconnects for my 6 channel audio good for SACD, and DVD audio, and Ultra Link Pro Coax for surround sound. From the Processor to the Amp I run Monster THX-Certified interconnects. My Studio-100's version 3.0 are my mains bi-wired with Lucas Film THX-Ceretified Monster Cable as well as my CC-570 Center Channel. My Surrounds are Studio 40's version 2.0 which are bi-wired with Ultra-link 12-gauge. At the moment I am waiting on purchasing the Servo-15 version 2.0 Subwoofer, which contrary to what some might believe is one of the best subs everever made. 1200 watts/rms and 4500 watts/peak ultra class D amplifier which was originally in the signature series sub retailing at 4000. The new version will cost 3000 canadian and is worth every penny. That sub can play down to 10 hz with .0005 % total harmonic distortion at 121 decibles. Put simply it will need its own wall socket to generate the power! My projector is Epson Powerlite Cinema 500 LCD Display. I currently run it at 104 inches, because of room size. It can generate an image of 40 feet in 4:3 and 30 feet in 16:9. High Definition is amazing. I connect my Pioneer Elite DVD player to the projector with a HDMI cable and Also the HD digital cable box with DVI adaptor to HDMI to save a little on wires, considering I have over 3 grand in the system. If you are going to invest in a theatre system u should spend a minimum of 10% on wires. Any of u who disagree with this have no clue, or should I restate that as Have No Appreciation For HIGH FIDELITY SOUND, or Picture. The classic example is the joe who goes out buys a high definiton tv and never sees his investment at its best because he doesn't take the time to understand that to get High Definition u need A high defintion source ie. DVD player or CABLE/Satellite Reciever, a high defintion cable minimum component video, a high definition tv or projector that can if necessary up convert the image to high definition, and a high defintion signal for the CABLE/Satillite reciever, or A high defintion DVD which they are coming out with in the new year. Anyone who thinks that they can get High End sound out of a 2000 dollar home theatre system has not heard a 10000 plus system so they can just keep their opinion of what good sounding systems are all about. I hear to many opinions about u can't hear the difference between the too and I wouldn't have invested as much as I have if I couldn't. That's like sayin that a sunfire is as good as a Viper. The biggest difference between high end equipment and cheap low end stuff is design quality and power handling. There is no way that a 100x5 integrated reciever can play that 100 watt note cleanly considering that there is only one power cord for both the pre-amp and the amp. At loud bass note such as in Pearl Harbour DTS surround those explosions on my old JVC 100X5 would always overload my reciever. Try the Opening scene to Lord of the Rings the fellowship of the ring. After the dark lord is defeated there is a very low bass curve note that requires tremendous power reserves to play properly. With out a Subwoofer u will never play that note a 75% of full volume without the amp loosing control of the speakers and either overloading by the clipping, or blowing ur speakers. Count on spending about 5000 or 6000 dollars on a high current reciever then maybe u could play the note but even still an integrated reciever will never sound as good as seperate amps and pre-amps! Low end speakers are easy to drive, but high end speakers are power hungry and need high end equipment to produce what any home theatre enthusiast can dream of. Now I said my piece I look forward to someones comback! |
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Tony Ferraro Unregistered guest |
I love people who say sound is subjective and still insist on flatulating their critisizm. Ok I made a consious decision at the dawn of acoustimass to make happy my wife and send the twin towers to the garage. I thought the (acoustimass 7's with the passive sub) were great because they did not distort frequencies they were able to produce. Honestly I'm a Rocker and a musician. I don't care for a lot of midrange. (I always EQ'd it down in my car). Then I tried to replace the Denon pma757 with the "high current" 100 watt Onkyo, returned for 90 watt Yamaha, returned for 90 watt Denon 2505 theatre reciever. The bose sounded distorted, flat, lifeless all high no mids, some bottom with the any new amp. It was then I found out the older 80 watt amp was ULTRA HIGH Current. I recently went shopping for new speakers, but couldnt bring myself to spend $1000.00 on a satilite speaker system which do not come close to sounding as good as the Bose with the PMA757. I have decided to have the now 17 year old 757 wired as main power for the fronts only. I havent decided on surrs or rears yet. The Bose were the only satilite system out there at the time, and from what I hear at audio stores, they're still pretty damn good. |
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Shannan Unregistered guest |
I am so so so out of touch. I am currently trying to decide on a home stereo/surround sound system. My husband has insisted on Bose (he thinks more expensive means better). After reading several responses, that doesn't seem to be the case. I have heard that having components instead of an all inclusive system is better. I looked around at Best Buy, but there was so much equipment, it seemed overwhelming. I didn't even know where to begin. Any suggestions for a complete amateur? |
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New member Username: RustycatAus-Tex USofA Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-05 |
Onkyo or Yamaha are the best receivers for the money ..look for the lowest THD ratings and true wattage at 8 ohms.You want THD at .08 or less ( read real spec sheet , not the stores version,as .8 is not the same as .08!)You can get'em at BB or CC. Polk makes 2 to 3 levels of nice sets of surround speakers , but Infinity is great for the money ( better highs than Polk) . Get 6.1 or 7.1 receiverr to stay vogue. Infinity and Velodyne make quality , clean , crisp subs ( Polk sounds a little muddy). Denon receivers are great too , but hard to find ,and a little more pricey. Just one guys opinion. Avoid Kenwood , Pioneer , ..high distortion ,typically. |
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Anonymous |
Shannam, I would recomend going to a Home Theater speacialty store in your area, recomended by other people. You can tell them how much you want to spend and they will be able to get you the best bang for the buck. Best Buy and Circuit City have college kids trying to make a buck for school. Not specialist. I live in Raleigh NC and we have a place called Advanced Audio, who have been doing audio/video for 20 years. They do not have a webpage and do not sell over the web but I am sure they would be glad to talk with you over the phone. Here is there number (919) 481-3880 Good luck! |
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New member Username: Bottledz28Post Number: 4 Registered: Jan-05 |
"Best Buy and Circuit City have college kids trying to make a buck for school. Not specialist" You couldnt have said it any better. I totally agree on that. They are there with basic knowledge of what they sell. thats it. I overheard a saleperson at CC tell a customer that he HAD to get the best monster cables for the reciever he was looking at in order for it to work at all. After the salesperson left the area I quickly re informed this guy that everything he was told was untrue. This guy was a newbie who didnt have anything at all for home theater and I told him that BB and CC was NOT the place to get all your questions answered.BTW, I am NOT saying that all salesmen at CC or BB are stupid. Im just saying that dont listen to just 1 or 2 peoples advice on something. Do a LOT of research before you throw your hard earned money away. all well just putting in my 2 cents |
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Unregistered guest |
Shannan:http://forum.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?tpc=34579&post=210367#POST210367 The above article is very well written and does address many issues, don't let it overwhelm you, it is very accurate. You do not outline your needs or what you have, which is a very important part of your inquiry. First, are you near any full audio stores or is Best Buy and Circuit City your only choice? They specialize in quick sales and inexpensive equipment usually for people who feel buying a stereo is buying an appliance. Stereo stores exist because they do give you more service and better quality, but always want you to spend more than you had planned. Bose are OK speakers, nothing special, and are somewhat overpriced. You local stereo store would have many choices. Be aware that Home theater sound is different from stereo music sound. Are you going to use your system for both. Home Theatre sound is more directional, with more separation, with less fidelity (realistic music sounding) than stereo. Stereo speakers are less directional with greater fidelity. If you are buying a system for both, make sure the left and right speakers are “musical.” You do that by listening to your own CD’s before buying. Also, speakers should sound good while listening to your CDs without the subwoofer. A separate subwoofer is great for home theatre but needs to blend in more with stereo. How much do you wish to spend? Floor standing speakers (just for the front left and right) are the most expensive and usually sound the best, but are often too expensive or impractical. Which leads to another point: The single biggest factor in how your system will sound is the size, shape and layout of the room. That is why a good, experienced stereo salesperson is important, not a part timer at a department store. Finally, what equipment will you be using with your speakers, do you have them already?? Separate components do sound the best, but are the most expensive. If you are spending less than $4,000 (for a system and speakers) a separate amp and processor and tuner may not be easy to find. If you plan to get a unit that has the processor, tuner and amps in them try to listen to some that are not from Japan. For me the lower end Japanese units are a bit warm, while some like Marantz sound warmer and real. I also do not like speakers from Japan either. You must listen before you buy and make sure that you turn off the THX and other movie aids when you listen to regular music. |
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New member Username: Omega3002Post Number: 3 Registered: Oct-04 |
Believe it or not, I was driving down the road, and two teenagers (18/19) in a van pulled down their window, shouted to get my attention, and asked me if I wanted to buy a home theater, LOL! Had to disappoint them of course... ya most people don't know squat about this stuff and fall for a lot of this junk, but not all of us want to spend our life savings "bigman62a" (lol i think you went a little overboard there). For me I have chosen to go with Klipsch Reference with a nice set of separates and some SVS as the icing on the cake. |
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Silver Member Username: Thx_3417Bournemouth, Dorset United Kingdom Post Number: 177 Registered: May-05 |
Omega 3002 Matching loudspeakers for the fronts that is the three channels left centre and right it’s paramount that all three loudspeakers be the same make and model. So if you mismatch the fronts results will be poor. Will I have been using matched fronts for 16 years now and the performance has been indispensable. 20Hz to 20 KHz, JBL control 5, 50Hz to 20 KHz sensitivity 89db 175watts max SPL 110dbc Left 20Hz to 20 KHz, JBL control 5, 50Hz to 20 KHz sensitivity 89db 175watts SPL 110dbc Centre 20Hz to 20 KHz, JBL control 5, 50Hz to 20 KHz sensitivity 89db 175watts max SPL 110dbc Right Now then Ashley |
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Silver Member Username: DonaldekellyWashington, DC Usa Post Number: 115 Registered: Jul-04 |
"The article sounds like one big advertisment for those gigantic thousand dollar each speakers that I see in the "high end" area of audio shops." The article author works for Axiom - relatively cheap speakers with very good reviews. He also used to write for various stero magazines. |
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oicu812 Unregistered guest |
bigman62a, your username says it all! You truly are a big man with a big system. Are you compensating for something? |
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Unregistered guest |
system oynko 5.1 (120w) receiver (600w) total. axiom centre speaker, front left and right celestion ditton 110s (70w) , surround speakers polk refrence (100w) all for less than $200 and this system is crisp 5.1 sony dvd spdv digital hook up 5.1. the dittons are amazing concidering there age but better sounding than alot of high end newer speakers. sounds awsome. oynko 100w sub. dosent cost alot to have a great system. |
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fefe Unregistered guest |
system, onkyo 5.1, 160w A/V amp. technics 100w rms center speaker, pioneer 300w rms sub, pioneer 120w rms surround speakers and front speaker are home made (400w rms) all for under £200 and the sound is incredible |
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Anonymous |
ok, i have a yamaha rx 570 reciever, two csr-9 speakers, aswell as two technic ar-51's, and i need to now how to make it all sound good. ok, i really need some help. the reciever is rated at 220 watts total, each speaker is 200 w. i dont understand any of this. all i want is loud, bass music. someone help me please! |
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New member Username: CdanCa Usa Post Number: 3 Registered: Aug-05 |
i'm thinking about buying the polk rm20 system, but was wondering if i'm going to have to replace the subwoofer with something a little "more adequate". I've heard a lot of people rave about the rm6900 and only complain about the subwoofer not being 'enough'. The 6900 is side firing, the rm20 front firing and may be more efficient. Any comments?...thanx ps....using a yamaha rxv2500 |
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New member Username: DenklipPost Number: 1 Registered: Mar-06 |
Audio equipment has the biggest law of diminishing returns. Research ALOT before buying. A pair a $10,000 speakers are not going to sound 10 times better than a pair of $1000 speakers. Pair the correct speakers with the correct receiver. Buy better quality speaker cables for your mains. Buy speakers, receivers, cables, subs etc etc from companies that specilize only in those products. Denon DOES go well with Klipsch, well mine do. I have Klipsch reference RF-25 towers and a Klipsch reference RC-35 center channel. I have a Denon AVR-3806 and a Denon DVD-3910 hooked up via Denon link and the sound is incredible in both movies and music. My surrounds are Klipsch Quintet II sats. I use Audioquest CinemaQuest type 4 audio cables for my mains and just Acoustic Research 16 gauge braded speaker wire for my surrounds. I have a Velodyne DLS-4000R sub. I didnt spend a million dollors and I got an amazing system. I researched alot and talked to my friend who happens to be a bit of an audio expert. I have an audio consultant at Magnolia Home Theater that I talk to. He actually came over to check out my system and he was blown away, and he works around the stuff everyday. |
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New member Username: Arande2Post Number: 8 Registered: Dec-06 |
I'm sad to say that I use KLH for my mains and surrounds, but I'm also not even old enough to work. There's a place here that lets you work when you're 14 if that lets you know anything. I've managed to get some Paradigms for the centers and I found they actually do blend well with the KLH's to my surprise. A Yamaha Natural Sound receiver has enough power to make me feel the movie I'm watching and shake things up even at only -20 when watching Die Another Day, it works for me and I plan to do a huge overhaul anyway when I can get a job (never going to be a huge fan of expensive cars...). First up will be some MartinLogan mains and surrounds. |
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