[tboneDX]

Hi all!

I'm finally looking into getting speakers for my nearly complete media setup. Right now I have a PC, Xbox360, and PS3 hooked up to a Denon avr 1907 via digital optical, and a Wii connected with analogue. I'm looking for a pair of nice bookshelves that I can put on stands on either side of my (rather crowded) desk. Price range is about 200-500 dollars, but mainly I want to hear what you would recommend for my setup. I am considering the av123 x-ls, because I hear they are excellent for the price range, but would shelling out a few $100 more get me something even better?

I will most likely take a field trip to one of the audio shops in this college town of mine (I'm in a dorm) and try some out, but I want to go in there with some knowledge of what I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jay.money]

NHT & Paradigm make fantastic bookshelf speakers.

 

[tboneDX]

I just went to the local audio shop, and I have a couple of speakers that I need opinions on. I'm deciding between the Paradigm Atom monitors for 250, the Paradigm Mini's for 400, or some Boston CR77's for $250. I was able to get a fairly good idea of how each of them sound, but since I only listened for a couple of minutes I might have missed something. Do any of these stand out at all as being a good deal?

 

[VicAjax]

paradigm makes great budget speakers, a little bright but great value for money. see if you can haggle that price on the Atoms down a little bit.

 

[GreatDane]

Paradigm makes great budget speakers imo. I have a pair of Atoms from 1995 that I think still sound nice, and they've only improved them since then.

I'm more impressed with my B&W DM303 that I paid $275/pair for a few years back. I'm not up to date on current B&W speakers but my DM602s3 still put a smile on my face.

 

[tboneDX]

so do you think the atoms would be better than the boston's?
I do like there small form factor, and the lack of bass response really isn't an issue for me. If I want bass I can add a sub later. The guy at the shop said that the Boston's are the best bang for the buck speakers he had, but he also said that the 100 dollar price drop was due to them not carrying them any more. I don't know if that should impact my decision at all.

What I got from my visit was that I like the small form factor of the atoms, and they have a really nice mid and high end sound. They might not be quite as balanced as the Bostons, but I'm not really looking for that much bass.

I guess I should let my ears decide, but it's tough to do that in a business setting :S

Let me know what you think. THx

 

[GreatDane]

Your thought on adding a sub makes sense because you won't get enough bass from any speaker in your budget anyway.

I can only suggest you trust your ears. Try to have another listen to them in a quiet room with a CD that you're very familiar with.

When putting together a 5.1 or even just a 2.1 system its always best to focus on the 2 main speakers spending as much as you can on just these, then add that sub later.

Plan to spend at least $300 or more on a sub (HSU is good)...or don't even bother.

 

[Sarchi]

I would stay away from Boston personally. Same for Axiom, and obviously Blose. I've always liked B&W monitors (I've had 302's and 201's). Good solid value for dollar. NHT and Tannoy are pretty decent too, I had Super One's for a while; probably the best budget speakers I've had were the Tannoy Mercury 2's...the earlier Made in Europe ones.

Mind you, if you're looking to get into tube amps, check out some Fostex-based monitors like Omega or Tekton. You'll find them occasionally on Audiogon classifieds.

 

[tboneDX]

So would you say that the 400 dollar paradigms would be the best of these choices? I have looked at some speakers online, such as the av123 x-ls and that great deal they have on the ref1's. I have no idea how they would compare to these as I have not heard them. Are the x-ls about equivalent to the atoms? or am I mistaken.

Yeah, I'm pretty new to this scene, and I'm leaning to the paradigms just because it's a brand name that I recognize and have some exposure to.

Should I look at another audio shop? The one I went to had about 3 different brands, and I don't know if I have heard enough to make a good decision.

 

[noseallinit]

I do not care for thumping bass either but having a speaker that produces a full sound(or as much as possible) is important to me.

a small footprint is important to me too and even more so now! one reason I dig these headphone systems.

I use to own some really good 3way monitors that I had for years that I spent almost twice the money on that I spent for my receiver. rule of thumb I was told then and even hear now is when buying a good system is to spend more on speakers than you do for your amp. they tell me here at Head-Fi the best upgrade to me system is on headphones first for they will make the biggest improvement.

it was really hard loosing the 3way monitors for the smaller 2 ways I have now. I still yearn for a fuller sound than the 2 ways put out which has a overall frequency response of 35Hz to 25kHz. even though the 2 ways are made by the same manufacturer the 3ways were a much better built speaker.

 

[tboneDX]

are you saying that i should spend more than the 600 dollars that i spent on my denon avr1907 on some speakers?

Decision making is hard, however I have officially decided to go to some more audio shops when I get the chance.

I need to find one that carries more comparable speakers so I can do some side by side comparisons.

 

[gz76]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatDane /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not up to date on current B&W speakers but my DM602s3 still put a smile on my face.

Not the most practical 'bookshelf' speakers tho - they're on the larger end of the bookshelf scale.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tboneDX /img/forum/go_quote.gif so do you think the atoms would be better than the boston's? I do like there small form factor, and the lack of bass response really isn't an issue for me. If I want bass I can add a sub later. The guy at the shop said that the Boston's are the best bang for the buck speakers he had, but he also said that the 100 dollar price drop was due to them not carrying them any more. I don't know if that should impact my decision at all. What I got from my visit was that I like the small form factor of the atoms, and they have a really nice mid and high end sound. They might not be quite as balanced as the Bostons, but I'm not really looking for that much bass. I guess I should let my ears decide, but it's tough to do that in a business setting :S Let me know what you think. THx

The Boston's bigger woofer will better enable you to integrate them with a sub. I have been checking out the CR77 and if they are anything like their predecessor, the CR8, these will sound great.

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gz76 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not the most practical 'bookshelf' speakers tho - they're on the larger end of the bookshelf scale.

I don't know why they call the 602 "bookshelf" but that would be a terrible place to put any speaker

Mine are on 24" stands:

 

[Audio Jester]

Can anyone recommend an amp for a set of Paradigm atoms?


Dumb question, but can you get Amplifiers with built-in CD players (kinda like a micro system without the speakers?)?? Sorry, Hifi-noob.