From headphones to speakers... help!

[wakeride74]

My brother is looking for some new speakers... he has some crumby sony 5.1 in a box thing and he is not online so I told him I'd do some searching for him.

He really liked my PS-1/ PPX3 Slam rig but he also liked the same amp with my HD650's So what 5.1 rig would he like? He can't afford the Klipsch ref rig that I have and they don't make them any more.

I've looked around avsforums and seems to be a lot of sub $2k recs for Aperion, avs123, Axiom, and a few others. Can anyone here make a rec... such as "since your brother likes the tube amp sound with the PS-1 he would like _________"?

He has about $1800 to spend and has a Kenwood receiver (not sure which one).

 

[Wodgy]

It's difficult to extract anything specific out of his sonic preferences. Liking the PS-1/tube rig suggests that he likes a bright sound tamed by tubes, but then he also liked the HD650 rig which suggests he also likes a darker sound. I would go for a good well-balanced rig. Right now, the AV123 X-series products are the best balance of technical performance and price. Axiom's products are poor performers and do not compare. I haven't heard the Aperion products.

 

[VicAjax]

www.avsforum.com is a good place to ask about 5.1 speaker rigs.

it depends on what sort of room he has, but the new x-series speakers from Onix (av123.com) are supposed to be a fantastic bargain (i've heard and was impressed by their pricier Rocket series). if he likes a warmish sound, the Onix should do nicely.

Ascend also makes superb sounding speakers, but i think they're ugly.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax /img/forum/go_quote.gif www.avsforum.com is a good place to ask about 5.1 speaker rigs. it depends on what sort of room he has, but the new x-series speakers from Onix (av123.com) are supposed to be a fantastic bargain (i've heard and was impressed by their pricier Rocket series). if he likes a warmish sound, the Onix should do nicely. Ascend also makes superb sounding speakers, but i think they're ugly.

Which Rockets did you hear and what headphone/amp combos would you compare their sonic character to? I believe he is looking for floor standing for the fronts so I did not look at the x-series.

Right now it seems like a toss up between Aperion and av123... but I have no idea how either of them sound other than to say people have had favorable things to say about them both.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which Rockets did you hear and what headphone/amp combos would you compare their sonic character to? I believe he is looking for floor standing for the fronts so I did not look at the x-series. Right now it seems like a toss up between Aperion and av123... but I have no idea how either of them sound other than to say people have had favorable things to say about them both.

i heard the Rocket 550 MkII... discontinued and replaced by the smaller 450, which is supposed to be fantastic. the Vifa tweeter is very smooth. not the most detailed speaker i've ever heard... definitely picks smoothness over detail. i'd say that a sennheiser fan would enjoy the rockets.

the x-series actually now has a whole set of floorstanding options he may want to check out, including one with a d'appolito array that looks like a real monster.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right now it seems like a toss up between Aperion and av123... but I have no idea how either of them sound other than to say people have had favorable things to say about them both.

The only way to know for sure is to hear them yourself. Speaker preference is a very individual thing. But with speakers it's harder to pin down since the room affects the sound so much (more so than any amp/source combo)

You should also consider going to some actual hifi stores and listen to the more traditional brands. PSB, B&W, Paradigm, Boston Acoustics, NHT, Monitor Audio, Revel, Totem, Focal, companies that have been around for a while and all make solid quality products for varied tastes. At a real hifi store, often you can do some comparisons and help narrow the field a bit. I believe that the actual sound of a speaker is often more than the sum of individual parts, and often you can't look at individual drivers parts (insert speaker driver brand here) and decide whether the speaker sounds good to you. It's all in the integration of cabinet, crossover design that makes or breaks the speaker. For example, I've heard a lot of speaker using Dynaudio drivers that sound better than the actual Dynaudio speakers themselves.

 

[F107plus5]

Since I have no idea what a PS-1 through tubes sound like

I can't very well comment on that, but I can say that my MS2i sounds a whole lot like my M50/M3 Axiom speakers. I also know a few folks who feels that their Grados also sound like M2/M60 & M80 Axioms. I like my Axioms so well that I searched out phones that sound like THEM!!

So he/you may want to take a look at the Axioms.

 

[wakeride74]

Thanks for the info all... I'll pass it along to him. I'm not going to spend too much time on this, he'll have to research some himself!

Maybe I'll just sell him my RF-7's and buy new stuff...hmmmm

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info all... I'll pass it along to him. I'm not going to spend too much time on this, he'll have to research some himself! Maybe I'll just sell him my RF-7's and buy new stuff...hmmmm

that's the ticket!!

 

[auradud3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My brother is looking for some new speakers... he has some crumby sony 5.1 in a box thing and he is not online so I told him I'd do some searching for him. He really liked my PS-1/ PPX3 Slam rig but he also liked the same amp with my HD650's So what 5.1 rig would he like? He can't afford the Klipsch ref rig that I have and they don't make them any more. I've looked around avsforums and seems to be a lot of sub $2k recs for Aperion, avs123, Axiom, and a few others. Can anyone here make a rec... such as "since your brother likes the tube amp sound with the PS-1 he would like _________"? He has about $1800 to spend and has a Kenwood receiver (not sure which one).

if your brother likes the klipsch sound then all he has to do is go to craigs or ebay, your reference is good, but if he goes and buys klipsch heresies, could get 3 pair for under 1200, they would make you jealous, the only klipsch reference series speaks that can keep up with heresies are the rf 7, i had all the klipsch in home at one time, my ht used to be klipshorn fronts lascalla center and heresiy sides. still sad i sold them, but the cornerhorns were just too big.

 

[tenzip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auradud3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif if your brother likes the klipsch sound then all he has to do is go to craigs(list) or ebay

This. Even some of the lower-end Heritage line will make him smile if he likes your RF-7s. I have Chorus IIs doing main duty, with Quartets for surround and an Academy center. They really do a nice job, and look pretty, too.

The KG series are pretty good also, and are available more often.

The Academy regularly goes for $500+ by itself, so it might not be the best choice for a center.

 

[Canuck57]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auradud3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif if your brother likes the klipsch sound then all he has to do is go to craigs or ebay, your reference is good, but if he goes and buys klipsch heresies, could get 3 pair for under 1200, they would make you jealous, the only klipsch reference series speaks that can keep up with heresies are the rf 7, i had all the klipsch in home at one time, my ht used to be klipshorn fronts lascalla center and heresiy sides. still sad i sold them, but the cornerhorns were just too big.

There's lots of great vintage speakers out there at very reasonable prices. My favourite speakers are the Klipsch La Scala, I also have Klipsch Cornwalls and Klipsch Heresy.

I have the original Advent and the new Advents as well...very nice speakers...