loudspeakers?

This is the right board, actually.

Let me tell you something... I just got a pair of the old Klipsch Forte II's, and they are in the process of kicking my butt every time I lay ears on them. They are, flat-out, the best speakers I've ever heard in my life. I've heard high-end Polk, Yamaha, JBL, Paradigm, and many other Klipsch setups, and none of them even come close. Joelongwood can back me up on this: they are easily one of the best bargains in loudspeakers and one of the best Klipsch speakers ever made. I paid $400 for mine, for reference.

You can wander over to the Klipsch forums and read the same things I read as I distracted myself reading about how many different models Klipsch made, past and present. I looked at the older and newer Reference stuff, the Legendary series, Synergy (since I have the B3's_, but ultimately quite a few people convinced me to stick with the Fortes, and now I'm scared to think about what I'd be missing if I hadn't gotten these.

They're certainly not the prettiest speakers ever made. They're large heavy 67-pound wooden boxes (veneer over MDF) with a three-way speaker underneath that will probably make you want to leave the grilles on. I think aesthetically, the Reference line looks much nicer. But Klipsch owners who own both will tell you they prefer the Fortes they spent $600 on over the RF-83's they spent over $2000 on.

I cannot possibly impart to you the amount of wow factor these things had when I first powered them up and continue to have. Sound-wise, they are easily the most balanced speaker I've ever heard. The frequency response graph is quite flat, but they still sound extremely engaging in all genres I throw at them. Great bass. Unbelievable detail. These things will reveal everything in your music, and, in my opinion, the most impressive thing about them is that they can do everything even at whisper-quiet volumes. I've never heard another speaker that acheives such a huge dynamic sound at such low volumes.

I've also posted before that what truly baffles me about these is that they accomplish something most headphones cannot - a true compromise between an analytical and an engaging presentation. Grado versus Sennheiser versus AKG, etc. These speakers pretty much pound out the best of everything.

They are quite sensitive to amping, though. My HK 430 is down right now, I'm in the process of repairing it, and I hooked up my parents' old Pioneer SX-3700, and while that amp sounds a little better on the B3's, the Fortes don't sound half as good on it. So invest in a good amp.

Now obviously I'm quite enamored by these right now because I'm finally hearing something in loudspeaker form that's as good as my Grados or better, but there's my shameless plug!

Oh, and I've always been into speakers. I think everyone here also enjoys speakers, even if we love what headphones can do.

go to av123 and search for the Ninja Encore X-LS and it's reviews. Great speaker

The Klipsch Forte is a good bargain.

av123 now has a no risk deal. you buy from them, end up not falling in love(not likely), and they reimburse you for EVERYTHING. shipping costs both ways on them.

aperion has the same deal I believe.

look on audiogon within your zip code. look at craigslist. let us know what you see and like.

looks like you want 2 speaker full range? dude, that is TOUGH to get. my rocket 550 mkII are great down to 40 hz for $450 used. Still need a sub.

Sherwood 6500 receiver I just got is impressing me btw. $120 shipped for stereo it is a GREAT buy.

If the dealer was poo pooing the mirage he's an ass. They are great speakers which must have a sub. I have the cheapest versions of the mirage and they do fine with a 12" sub at 150hz and down.

here is the link to the SkiingNinja


x-ls Encore Upgrades

Some speakers that impressed me recently, both are stand mounted speakers

Era Design D5, ~$1000. These small bookshelf speakers are among the best compact mini-monitors I've heard in a long time, utterly smooth, detailed, and very 3 dimensional. The bass driver is custom designed by Michael Kelly of Aerial Acoustics (which make some of the best very high end speakers around). Great little monitor for a small room. Optionally couple with one of their very musical subs and you have a top class system for a small room. Very musical and performs like a much larger speaker. It does need lots of power to come alive, but it should be easily usable with your average amp in your smallish room. Beautiful real wood finishes too.

6moons audio reviews: Era D4 & D5
Home Theater: era D5 Series Speaker System

I own the NHT Classic 3 bookshelf speaker, also about $900. It's a very neutral speaker with a good emphasis on midrange coherence and linear accuracy. They soundstage very well thanks to the thoughtful 3 way sealed design with textbook perfect dispersion only a good 3 way design can provide. Bass is tight, tuneful and never boomy. The sealed alignment will sound best in your small room, as you can place them tight against the wall without port interactions.

For your small room I'd actually suggest stand mounted speakers. A floorstanding speaker can easily overwhelm your room with too much bass and good floorstanding speakers tend to be designed with larger rooms in mind with lots of space around the speaker to image properly. Later you can always match a good sub with your bookshelf speakers and you'll have more flexibility in positioning the sub for best bass response because the smaller the room, the more tricky placement can be due to room modes

All true warp. The 2.1 or 2.2 with all small is probably ideal for you. Totem makes a cool little sub called the storm? I think. It is tiny but does the low end job well.

I think my 550s are doing very well in a similar sized room. They are kind of extend-o bookshelves. Not really floorstanders and not really bookshelves.

Bottom line is that for full range, in that small of a room, you need a sub. Full range floorstanders will overwhelm the area.

av123 is my current favorite for banging the buck. Get a pair of their bookshelves like the new monitor ELT 525M and a mfw 15" (jk kind of lol) you could get an incredible 2.1 setup. There is going to be a larger version of the 525 soon too.

I'll go against the conventional wisdom and strongly recommend the tiny floorstanders by Rega... the Rega R3. they should be available for around $850.

i have their bigger brother, the R5, and absolutely friggin' love them. they are crystal clear with exceedingly tight bass. very groovy... the kind of speakers that suck you into the music.

i auditioned dozens of speakers from every major manufacturer and a few esoteric ones. these made magic... and after 2 years of ownership, i still love them as much as i did when they were new.

an excerpt from a 6moons system review:

The Rega R3s created their own special magic. Playing the Beach Boys' Surfs Up produced a 3D effect particularly in the vocals. The Regas -- and this sounds like hyperbole -- established some kind of Sensurround effect, creating fat, nearfield vocal images that were larger than life and extremely impressive. I got lost in the sound as if I was smoking the weed of my youth. Again, the actual notes were rather foreshortened and perhaps a little flat tonally, but in nearfield position the R3s produced a thoroughly enveloping sonic presentation. The midrange was more flat than bloomy, bass notes were short but nicely warm and rounded and the treble was detailed and rosy but not rolled off. The R3s nicely coupled bass warmth to the detail and speed of a mini monitor. Overall, coherence was top notch!

Yup. Rega is good too. I wanted a pair but they are $850. I paid $450 for mine. I think the rega is pretty natural sounding. I need a better support system for my 550s. The R3s I heard were backed by some serious hardware. I have a sherwood 6500. not bad but........lol

Triangle makes some nice speakers in this range used.

I agree that in a 11' x 11' room, you'd be better served by monitors or slim floorstanders. If you get anything much bigger or more full-range, they'll start firing notes right past you & your money won't be well served. Some excellent recommendations already. Rega R3 would match the room well, as would Totem Arro. There are some monitors that have pretty unbelievable bass performance... look into Silverline Minuets, for example... I think they're around $600. Check Audiogon for deals... good luck!

Monitor Audio RS6 - great reviews - new at $1K. I love mine, but don't have extensive listening experience with all the other great suggestions here. My one local HiFi dealer here stocks these, and I did compar/listen to comparably priced Klipsch, and some Sat + Sub systems. I much preferred these for my jazz and classical listening. Perhaps other speakers might be better for hard rock.

These have been mentioned several times in magazine reviews as being super speakers for the price.

They are floor standers, I use them in a 14x14 room, usually with the amp never louder than -38db.

Too bad you weren't in the market a few months before, because vanns.com had been clearing out the 350's for $200 a pair new and the 550's for $260 a pair

The Mirage's need lots of room around them otherwise their detail suffers. You don't really want too many early reflections from the omniguide.

I'm sure this has been mentioned, but check out Audiogon, your dollar will go much farther. I bought a pair of Epos m22's for 1000.00 mint, 2000.00 new. Also it has been my experience that in order to get good deep tight bass, you need a good amp. I had and older, what I believed to be ok Yamaha amplifier, but even the first pair of bookshelves I had sounded like crap through the Yamaha. A 179.00 Adcom amp from Audiogon blew it away, in every sense. If I had 1000.00 to spend today, I would buy a pair of used Epos m12.2 bookshelves for around 500.00, and an Mccormack DNA .5 amplifier for about the same at Audiogon, both are currently for sale.

good luck