I'm currently in the market for a front set of speakers. After much thorough reading with regards to reviews here from NMytree and the others, I'm trying to figure out which is the best bang-for-the-buck high-end (sort of) choice:
1.) $1,650/pair = Wharfedale Opus 2-2 (spend big, but be set for life) 2.) $900/pair = Jamo C-807 (great review by nmytree) 3.) $800/pair = Jamo C-607 (same as above) 4.) $800/pair = Energy RC-50 (real wood veneer, good reviews) 5.) $800/pair = Monitor Audio RS-6 (a lot of good user reviews) -or- 6.) $300/pair = Jamo E770 (save the $$$ and call it a day)
This is for 60% HT/ 40% music. Which would you choose and why?
Unfortunately, I live in a small town and there is now way for me to audition any of the speakers. This is purely just from researching online, reading reviews, lurking on forums, etc.
go and listen...it will do you some good in the long run.
Remember that in terms of audio equipment (especially speakers) that $1500 is considered upper budget price range, so better sound can usually be had in a standmount speaker.
If deep bass is required / desired... couple those standmounts with a quality subwoofer and the end result will almost always be better than a comparable floorstanding speaker of the same size. This is due to cabinet bracing and resonance. It is more difficult to design a floorstanding speaker cabinet that does not resonate than a standmount when cost constraints are taken into consideration.
another thing...
A standmount / sub combo may actually allow you to get BETTER speakers for the same price. For example, if you are looking at X floorstander for $2000, you can possibly get Y standmount for $1000 that is in fact a better speaker with better components and then you can buy that subwoofer.
not always... a sub gives you greater placement options,
and in the price range you are looking at, standmounts will almost always outperform floorstanders in midrange performance and clarity. The cabinets are not going to be damped as well as higher end (>$3000 per pair) floorstanders simply because the designer can not devote the resources into the cabinet to make it sonically inert.
They invest less time in researching non-parallel wall cabinet designs, the walls are thinner, and they have less bracing. These are just some examples of the differences of cabinet designs from lower end and higher end designs. Many times, these designs even use the same drivers (or versions of the same drivers), but the cabinet is vastly different. The end result is vastly different as a result. These designers will use the better cabs in their higher end designs.
Dunno, our living room is big, prolly around 20x20, with the dining and kitchen area right next to it. All in all it's about 800sq ft. open space. Plus i gotta spend on speaker stands. My sub is a Velodyne DPS-12, which is not great, but sufficient since wife can't take that much deep bass LOL.
I would just like to get the best value for the money. Detailed high/mids, warm, decent bass, equally good with HT and music, good looks, superb overall sound quality, and a wide soundstage.
Gavin, given the choices I enumerated, which would you spend your money on?
What are your upstream components? (amp, CD player, DVD)
Is the room live or dead? (carpet and thick padded furniture or bare walls and hard wood)
Lets start there :-)
All of these variables can affect the sound of your components. Music and movies less so, but I wouldn't really give a recommendation of Klipsch speakers to someone that listens primarily to chamber music and watches documentaries.
Thanks for the advice, I think I'll go for a pair of Jamo E770s and see if I like em... at least if I don't, I can always use them in my toddler's playroom (where I got the 2nd TV and an old receiver setup)... or just sell em later on :-) I'm just curious about the brand since I've never owned Jamos before, and these budget speakers supposedly won an EISA award.
Watch out for those Yamos......they can be palpable.
Are there any vendors (like Magnepan) which will send speakers 'on approval'?
K, give us the general idea where you are. Maybe a pilgrimage to the big city for a day, maybe even a single overnite with a few pre-arranged auditions?
But if you're anywhere in the North Carolina area (between Charlotte and Greensboro or any reasonable distance you're willing to travel)), you're more than welcome to come over and listen to my Jamo speakers and my Wharfedale Opus 2.
hehe thanks for the input nmytree. I've decided to purchase the E7700 for now, Vanns already shipped them and I should have them by next week. Other brands I've owned before are pretty entry level: Polk RTi & KEF UniQs. I just like to get some exposure to the brand before I go higher end. Our main HT is in the living room, plus I got a second one in a playroom. If I like the Jamos, I'll probably go with the Concert series next. Bought 3 E7700s for L-C-R (our LCD is wall-mounted on top of the fireplace, so there's plenty of room. I was really close to pulling the trigger on a 3.0 Opus set (they look beautiful), but decided against it since I don't have a proper amp (only an Onkyo 806 receiver). Guess I'll upgrade slowly lol.
Figured can't really lose on the vanns deal for $150 each shipped (considering they are 45 lbs each). I've done my research and they seem to be decent for HT, which will be mainly what they are for. Probably invest in a nice amp (or separates) first before I go for high-end speakers, save up some money for now :-)
UPDATE: The Jamo E770s came in last night. They are tall and slim, compared to my vintage KEF Q80s. I bought 3 for L-C-R, I drive them with an Onkyo 806 w/ 130/channel. Here are some comments:
1.) dark apple veneer is nice (they don't look cheap), way ahead of the cheaper looking cabinet/finish from ML Preface speakers that I tried out for a few weeks. Cabinet is solidly built. 2.) the grills are flimsy and cheapish when you feel them. 3.) warmer sound (compared to the Q80s) while having slightly better detail (ML Preface has much superior detail; but too bright) 4.) soundstage is not that big compared to ML Preface 5.) very musical (in direct mode, bypassing bass management from an onkyo receiver); has "real" bass compared to my KEFs and ML Preface. 6.) they definitely don't have a big wall of sound, then again I shouldn't be expecting too much since I only paid $150 for each shipped :-)
Overall, they are really decent speakers, equally good for music & HT. They should match well with a smaller viewing/listening room, our living room is large (not huge) so if this thing had one more midrange driver and a bigger 8" woofer, maybe they'll have a bigger soundstage. I'm impressed with the sound quality, a true bang-for-the-buck... I'd pick them over the much more popular bang-for-the-buck Polk Audio Monitor 70s from newegg (I sampled the TSis from Frys twice) any day of the week (just because I now prefer warm speakers).
Some things to note on my quick comparo: They are brand-new out-of-the-box, so they haven't been broken in yet. Perhaps they'll improve over time. The ML preface while I had them, probably had over 60 break-in hours before returning them, while the KEF Q80s I've owned them for 8 years.
I'm really satisfied with the speakers for the price I paid. I'm kinda wondering if I should have spent like $800 more for the concert series LCR set, but since I already have them, I'll keep them for awhile. If only there was a local Jamo dealer so I could hear the difference.
Would be interested in your thoughts on E770 after you've had them longer ie since break in period. I just ordered a pair this weekend and its been very hard to find reviews on this. It took me a while to decide but the price performance ratio just seemed very compelling.
After a couple of months breaking them in, I'd say they've opened up a bit more. I don't have expert ears, but they certainly have started playing louder and the soundstage has improved. I can't really tell now which front speaker is playing when listening to HD concerts on our AT&T Uverse DVR. Having a uniform L-C-R setup is really paying off.
