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New member Username: Geo123Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-08 | I was hoping someone could give me direction. My space is a 20' x 30' open loft with 11' ceilings. I would like to use a projector system on one end wall and have an equally grand sound system to match. I am also a minimalist and want the speakers to not be floor towers, preferably wall or ceiling mounted. heard a lot about the Orb speakers and was told that the Mod 4's would do the job. I am skeptical that such small speakers can fill the space. What do you think, any other suggestions? Jose |
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New member Username: Hoosierdaddy29Post Number: 2 Registered: Dec-07 | check out www.cccustomhomeaudio.com Its a new on wall company thats making a bunch of noise in the industry. From what I understand they will customize anything if they dont have what you need and I saw the owner posted up he has another line being released in about a week which is when the site will allow orders. |
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New member Username: Geo123Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-08 | Thanks Kevin, I'll check it out. any other opinions? |
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Bronze Member Username: KillamabillaClear Lake, TX USA Post Number: 42 Registered: May-07 | Jose, I started out with Orbs 4 years ago. They're ok but not so great for a large space; I gave mine to my sister after a few months with them. Plus in terms of price they are really nothing special. You can do much better with say, Infinity Beta 20s and an SVS or Hsu subwoofer. SVS and Hsu also make decent bookshelf speakers for HT use. Other Internet direct makes worth looking at are Ascend, av123.com and Axiom. Athena speakers from audioadvisor.com are also a better choice than the Orbs. The Orbs are cool looking though. |
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New member Username: Geo123Post Number: 3 Registered: Jan-08 | Thanks Bill. Those are some really viable options. I have since (not sure if it was a good idea) walked into some high end HIFI stores and was seduced by the amazing quality and sound by more reputable labels. The first was 5 Definitive Technology speakers (mythos 8) and supercube sub with an AVR-350 Arcam receiver. = $10,000 Wow! Amazing sound in both video and audio. The second was 5 B&W 8 Series SCMS speakers with a Rotel RSX-1067 = $10,000 again, amazing sound! My lower end alternative (which I dind't) listen to was the Paradigm Millenia 20 speakers and a Cambridge Audio 640R = $7,000 so what do you think? Is the less expensive system that inferior in quality? Any help is appreciated! |
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Bronze Member Username: KillamabillaClear Lake, TX USA Post Number: 44 Registered: May-07 | Jose, it all comes down to your usage. For HT, I personally would not spend more than $2000 tops on audio, even if I could afford $20,000. It simply isn't worth it. HT requires clarity in the speakers particularly the center speaker, and a powerful subwoofer if you like action movies. Those criteria can easily be met with as little as $1000-2000 outlay. Put the bulk of your money into the display or projector because that's where your attention will be focused. Music is where a lot more nuances come into play...but ONLY if you are a critical listener. If not, the same $2000 maximum cap will suffice for the large majority of users. Many people on boards like this will disagree with me...especially if they sell audio gear for a living, or have invested a lot of money in audio gear. But ultimately only you and your ears can make the final judgement on cost/benefit ratios and the law of diminishing returns. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2656 Registered: Sep-04 | I disagree with Bill here (well, I would since I have spent vastly more than his $2000 on my HT system). I appreciate that movies are more about boom and blast than they are nuance and subtlety, but Jose has heard two systems in the quality band and been rather impressed. The question is whether he thinks they were worth the 50% premium over his cheaper option. If he thinks so then they are (to him) but if not, then they're not. Only Jose can make that determination. On the subject of small speakers working in large spaces, I would suggest looking at the Totem Acoustic line. Their speakers are usually far smaller than they have any right to be considering the sound they make. They're also very room friendly. Jose doesn't mention what the source was in the systems he heard. Jose, not all DVD players sound the same! If the Arcam was fronted by an Arcam FMJ DV139 I wouldn't be surprised if it impressed you. Don't forget the source when you buy your system. A decent source will give you the quality of both sound and video you need for a quality result. Finally, what sort of projection system are you looking at. By far the best I've seen to date is Panasonic's new 1080p PT-AE2000E projector. I've used this with both quality DVD players and BluRay machine. The picture is awesome even though it's an LCD projector and the unit is unbelievably quiet. This is miles better than last year's far more expensive darling the Sim C3X, and is definitely the one to aim for if it fits your budget. Regards, Frank. |
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New member Username: Geo123Post Number: 7 Registered: Jan-08 | Hi Bill, I would rather not spend the big bucks either but I can barely find a receiver for less than $2K, unless its a HT in a Box! What systems do you recommend for this value? Most say these starter systems will not fill my space. I also want something good for CD listening! |
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New member Username: Geo123Post Number: 8 Registered: Jan-08 | Thanks Frank, The problem is i do not have the opportunity to listen to the Cambridge audio package. I am leaning in this direction because it has good reviews and is reasonably priced. as for Speakers I am still debating. I also do not want to spend a lot of $ on a projector as the tech. is changing so fast and I am waiting for the 1080p to come down in price. I was thinking of the Sony VPL-AW15 for now. what do you think? Ok, I'll remember to get a good source. Do you mean a Blu-ray or HD dvd or just an upconverting DVD. PS. it was the new universal HD and Blue-ray playing Sanyo DVD player! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2669 Registered: Sep-04 | I'm afraid I don't have any experience of the Cambridge Audio so cannot help you there. As to the source, some are better than others. If you were impressed with the Sanyo then that should certainly be one in the mix to consider. Just ensure you check it with both DVD and High Def material since many of these players cannot do decent DVD. I get what you're saying about the projector stuff. The Panasonic I mentioned is £2000 and last year's C3X was over £10000! I do not know the Sony VPL-AW15 at all, sorry! Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: KillamabillaClear Lake, TX USA Post Number: 45 Registered: May-07 | Jose, You can get a perfectly good HT receiver for as little as $400 (Onkyo 605) to $700 tops (HK 645). The HK's are quite not as easy to use as the Onkyos but will give you better music performance. "Most say these starter systems will not fill my space." LOL! sounds like you've been talking to too many greedy salespeople to me. Any speakers with 8 ohm impedance and +88db sensitivity will easily fill up your space, especially if they are backed up with a powerful subwoofer. Yes, even if they are simple 2-driver bookshelves. My suggestion would be to go cheap on the HT and then spend more on a dedicated 2-channel music system in a different room. With new technologies emerging like Class D/T amps, production now largely moved to China, and Internet-direct speaker and subwoofer companies which offer 30 day in home trial periods, I really don't see any reason to spend more unless you simply want to support your local small audio store...not that there's anything wrong with that, just be clear about what you're really doing. |