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Best pair of speakers under $1000?

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$1000 pair
12K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  Wooderson 
#1 ·
I'm looking to change my home theater's speakers and willl start with front 3. Any opinions on best pair (for L & R) of speakers available (tower or bookshelf - doesn't matter) for no more than $1,000 plus tax? Application is 80% movies, 20% music in 15ft x 16ft theater. These will always be used with subwoofers (dual DIY sealed Dayton UltiMax 15's) so performance in a strictly 2.0 channel setup is a non-factor. Also, I want something that has a center channel in the same product family. SVS Ultra bookshelves and Elac Uni-fi towers seem to be at top of most reviewers' lists, for what that's worth.

Any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
If you built your own subs , is there any reason you arent building your LCR's ?

Just curious - I just built this LCR set for about 1500 - but that is also a CC - so your L/R would be about 1K

Componants

DAYTON PT2C-8 tweeters
MOREL CAW 938 woofers
Dayton xover @2500

I also have a dual Ultimax 15 subs

Im running LCR + surrounds with XPA7
 

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#3 ·
I'm considering it, but don't have much spare time to invest in yet another project. Especially one requiring lots of research into drivers, WinISD calcs, etc. Were these from a kit or a recipe? Or did you design the cabinets and select/match components yourself?

They look great! How do they sound?
 
#6 ·
The Dana's are a legacy line of speakers, and for that price I'm not sure you could top them. The A series will stack up very well to the ones you mention, and depending upon your tastes may prove to be even more to your liking. They excel at detail and refinement, making pretty much everything sound good. A few years back I reviewed the model before those, the Arx. Click this link if you want one mans opinion of the A series predecessor.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Definitely considering the SVS Ultra bookshelf for left and right with an Ultra center. Does anyone have any opinion as to whether the Ultra center would perform well as left and right channel speakers for 2 channel music? For home theater use I think that would be an obvious upgrade over the bookshelves, and would provide three perfectly matched speakers across the front stage. But for 2 channel music listening, not sure how well they would do with imaging and soundstage.
 
#19 ·
Definitely considering the SVS Ultra bookshelf for left and right with an Ultra center...But for 2 channel music listening, not sure how well they would do with imaging and soundstage.
I'm currently using the SVS Ultra Bookshelf loudspeakers specifically for two-channel listening in my 15.5 ft x 10.1 ft listening room. They are a little more fussy about placement than other speakers that I have had in this space. Quite a bit of toe-in was required to achieve nicely focused vocals in the center of the soundstage. Even with sharp toe-in, the soundstage is wide, deep, and enveloping. There are times that could wish for a little more height, but on the right recordings, the stage extends from floor to ceiling (8 ft in my room).

I actually expected very good imaging from these stand-mounted speakers (currently using SANUS Steel Series 26 in. stands), but I was not prepared for the quantity or extension of bass that they are capable of. With careful use of DSP--only to pull down peaks in the room--I was able to achieve a response that's +1/-2 dB from the target over a range from 30 Hz to 24 kHz except for a -4.5 dB suck-out at 80 Hz (which I hope to sort soon).

I've been impressed by how easy the Ultras are to listen to. I can start an album, sit down, relax, and find myself wishing for more by the time I reach the end without feeling the urge to skip around.

That said, they do have their limitations--they are not the most efficient or dynamic sounding loudspeakers that I have tried. Bass-heavy tracks can produce noise from the rear firing port that is audible from the listening position at moderate to high levels. But keep them operating within their optimal range, and they are delightful.

If you don't require playback levels much above 85 dB in a similarly sized room, you may never need a subwoofer because of their excellent bass extension; however, I expect that adding a pair of subs will enable them to play at much higher listening levels without audible port noise. Hoping to find out soon...
 
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