I'm finally moving into a house (yay!) from my apartment and I think it's time to upgrade the home theater speakers... I currently have JBL S36 mains, S-Center, N24 surrounds, and a Velodyne CHT12 sub. I think it sounds pretty okay, but the S36's sweet spot is really small. If you're not in JUST the right spot, the quality really falls off. My plan is to keep the sub and replace the other 5. I'd like to go with floor standing speakers (mainly for the aesthetics), but I guess I'm open to bookshelf's on nice stands. The room is about 15x15 with a tile floor
Listening will be about 70% movies/HDTV and 30% music. I don't pretend to be an audiophile, but I'd like to think I can appreciate nice sound.
I'd like to stick under the $1500 point... With Internet shopping, here's what I've come up with so far.
Infinity - Beta 50 main, C360 center, Beta 10 surround - $1100
Ascend Acoustics - CMT340SE main/center, CBM-170SE surround - $1200
Axiom Audio - M50 main, VP150 center, M2 surround - $1400
Polk Audio - RTiA5 main, CSi A6 center, RTi A1 surround - $1400
Klipsch - Reference RF-62 main, RC-52 center, RB-51 surround - $1500
I looked at AV123's "Rocket" series, but they're just so ugly I don't think I could have them in my living room, haha.
I'd LOVE to build something around the KEF IQ7, but they're just too expensive. Soooo pretty though!
Right now I think I'm leaning toward the Axioms. They seem to get great reviews and I think they look nice too. Unfortunately, Tampa doesn't seem like a hotbed of audio activity, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to audition any of these in person...
So, any other recommendations? Or any input on my short list?
Thanks!
Listening will be about 70% movies/HDTV and 30% music. I don't pretend to be an audiophile, but I'd like to think I can appreciate nice sound.
I'd like to stick under the $1500 point... With Internet shopping, here's what I've come up with so far.
Infinity - Beta 50 main, C360 center, Beta 10 surround - $1100
Ascend Acoustics - CMT340SE main/center, CBM-170SE surround - $1200
Axiom Audio - M50 main, VP150 center, M2 surround - $1400
Polk Audio - RTiA5 main, CSi A6 center, RTi A1 surround - $1400
Klipsch - Reference RF-62 main, RC-52 center, RB-51 surround - $1500
I looked at AV123's "Rocket" series, but they're just so ugly I don't think I could have them in my living room, haha.
I'd LOVE to build something around the KEF IQ7, but they're just too expensive. Soooo pretty though!
Right now I think I'm leaning toward the Axioms. They seem to get great reviews and I think they look nice too. Unfortunately, Tampa doesn't seem like a hotbed of audio activity, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to audition any of these in person...
So, any other recommendations? Or any input on my short list?
Thanks!