[phillyd]

I'm a Best Buy employee, and I am looking to replace my M-Audio BX8-D2. They're good but not my tastes. I want more bass, relaxed treble and a warmer mid range.

The Sony SSCS5 are quite a good deal with my discount, but I'm not sure they'll fulfill my tastes, especially the bass response. I could get a sub to help with these though. The Definitive Technology SM55 also show promise, but are a bit more expensive. The passive radiator is interesting and might allow for sufficient bass response, but I'd like some opinions about the mid range and treble. I'd also like something that isn't super directional.

I would also need an amp or a receiver to power the speakers. I can get the Yamaha R-S201BL for a pretty good price. It's 100W per channel peak at 8ohms, and could power either of the pairs I mentioned above. Any opinions?

Another option would be to get something like the Polk T15 and add a subwoofer to the mix. Anything that is carried on bestbuy.com (under the best buy items tab) is fair game. If I could stay under 500-600 for the current sell price that would be great. I'm not allowed to divulge the discount but any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cel4145]

Get the best sound speakers you can and THEN get a sub in a year or two. No bookshelf speaker can produce bass like a sub can.

 

[phillyd]

Get the best sound speakers you can and THEN get a sub in a year or two. No bookshelf speaker can produce bass like a sub can.

It will be sooner than a year. I've picked the Polk Psx220B in cherry and the Yamaha RS201 receiver. I might grab the polk PSW125 too.

 

[cel4145]

That sounds nice! But an entry level AVR would be better for bass management/sub integration, if that's important to you, as well has having the flexibility to expand your setup with more speakers if you ever wanted to.

 

[phillyd]

That sounds nice! But an entry level AVR would be better for bass management/sub integration, if that's important to you, as well has having the flexibility to expand your setup with more speakers if you ever wanted to.

The PSW125 has speaker level input/output, so that isn't exactly a priority. I'll get a nicer amp from emotiva or a nice AVR later on.

 

[cel4145]

The PSW125 has speaker level input/output, so that isn't exactly a priority. I'll get a nicer amp from emotiva or a nice AVR later on.

Speaker level input/output is not bass management. Best sub integration will typically be above the speaker's tuning point. Whereas without the crossover features of an AVR, one has to try to integrate the sub lower down where the bass starts to rolloff on the speakers. Well, unless you get a sub with a high pass filter on line outs. But those are generally pretty pricey in comparison and probably not a feature on BestBuy's subs. Maybe DefTech subs have it???

 

[phillyd]

Speaker level input/output is not bass management. Best sub integration will typically be above the speaker's tuning point. Whereas without the crossover features of an AVR, one has to try to integrate the sub lower down where the bass starts to rolloff on the speakers. Well, unless you get a sub with a high pass filter on line outs. But those are generally pretty pricey in comparison and probably not a feature on BestBuy's subs. Maybe DefTech subs have it???

Hm. I always assumed anything with speaker level would have a high pass crossover system. That sucks. I could get some crossover filters.

Any suggestions for an AVR with bass management as cheap as possible? If it's on best buys site, I'll get a discount so even better.

 

[cel4145]

Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer--see what you guys got

 

[phillyd]

I have no idea how to see if a receiver has crossover for the speakers...

Here are the cheapest ones with some form of subwoofer output (assuming all 2.0 lack sub out)

Pioneer VSX-524-K
Denon AVR-S500BT
Yamaha RX-V377BL

 

[cel4145]

They all should. It's a standard feature for surround sound receivers that aren't HTIB sets. Some stereo receivers have sub out, but almost none have crossover management.

One advantage of the AVR is that if your computer has HDMI out, you can see if you get better sound via the receiver's DAC or via your HifimeDIY.

But I'm partial to Denons myself.

In case this is a better price for you, this Denon 1513 is the earlier model of that receiver. SQ should be the same. You can find out about feature differences here (scroll down in that first post). Batpig that created that post over on AVS is the Denon guru of Denon models, so he definitely knows what he's talking about. The guy has almost 24,000 posts over there (lol)

For that matter, the Polk Outlet has Monitor II 40s which are the predecessor of the TSx220B. Might be able to save money there, depending on your discount, or jump up to the RTi6s

 

[phillyd]

They all should. It's a standard feature for surround sound receivers that aren't HTIB sets. Some stereo receivers have sub out, but almost none have crossover management.

One advantage of the AVR is that if your computer has HDMI out, you can see if you get better sound via the receiver's DAC or via your HifimeDIY.

But I'm partial to Denons myself.

In case this is a better price for you, this Denon 1513 is the earlier model of that receiver. SQ should be the same. You can find out about feature differences here (scroll down in that first post). Batpig that created that post over on AVS is the Denon guru of Denon models, so he definitely knows what he's talking about. The guy has almost 24,000 posts over there (lol)

For that matter, the Polk Outlet has Monitor II 40s which are the predecessor of the TSx220B. Might be able to save money there, depending on your discount, or jump up to the RTi6s

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll probably get one of the Denons...I was liking the newer one, but I'll have to see the pricing.