Will someone help me find some good floorstanders?

[Vehementi]

Hey guys,

For my birthday, in one month, I want to get a new pair of floorstanding speakers for my 5.1 home audio system for my machine. The ones I have now are shot, and actually on loan from my cousin

I will be a bit strapped for cash, so under $250 would be optimal.

My first discovery would be Sony's SSMF750H. Etronics has them for $233 shipped. How do these sound? pun intended.

Anyone have any other reccomendations? Thanks in advance

 

[Vehementi]

Bump

Will noone help me?

 

[poertner_1274]

I don't see why not, Sony usually makes some pretty good audio equipment. I don't have any floor speakers, but a guy in my house had some Sony's, not sure which model, and they sounded great.

Just make sure you will get the most out of your money with your receiver.

 

[lalaji]

The only piece of advice I can give you here is dont get one of those theatre in a box systems. Or any subwoofers featured in them. All i hear is that they woofers lack power and you can barely notice they are there. The regular audio channel speakers from sony should be good though, just stay away from the woofers.

 

[olefarte]

I've been searching around the net looking for something better than the Sony's and I don't see anything for that price that's better. In fact Best Buy has them for $280. The place you found, looks to have a very good price. If you live near a Best Buy, I would suggest going in for a listen before you buy.

Just a thought, you might want to consider looking at a quality bookshelf speaker, and latter on maybe you could get a small subwoofer. I think you would be happy with that setup. It might not look as good, but might sound better in the long run.

Just remember, when buying speakers, looks isn't everything. I saw a speaker for about the same price, with a 15" woofer, that looks real good. But in the long run you get what you pay for. I'd be willing to bet the one you are looking at will sound much better than the one I saw with the 15" woofer.

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by lalaji
The only piece of advice I can give you here is dont get one of those theatre in a box systems. Or any subwoofers featured in them. All i hear is that they woofers lack power and you can barely notice they are there. The regular audio channel speakers from sony should be good though, just stay away from the woofers.

Not all HTIB are that bad. This may happen to the cheaper ones. Besides, he getting those floorstanders, shoudn't be a big worry.

 

[poertner_1274]

Originally posted by lalaji
The only piece of advice I can give you here is dont get one of those theatre in a box systems. Or any subwoofers featured in them. All i hear is that they woofers lack power and you can barely notice they are there. The regular audio channel speakers from sony should be good though, just stay away from the woofers.

I disagree very much, I purchased this set of Cerwin Vega surround sound speakers, and they actually kick @$$.

I dont' think I could be happier with a surround sound package, of course buying each speaker individually is a better idea, but for the price and what I got, this was a great deal.

And the sub situation, I have to have mine set on less than half volume because it is too loud otherwise.

I think it is all in the system you buy, if you get a cheap system you will get cheap results, but if you get a nice system you will be pleased with your results.

 

[olefarte]

Cerwin Vega's are very good speakers, and that was the brand I was looking for when I did a search. I couldn't find any listing in the price range Veh is looking for, although I'm sure they probably exist. I've owned several different models of Cervin Vega's in the past, and was very happy with them.

I think it is all in the system you buy, if you get a cheap system you will get cheap results, but if you get a nice system you will be pleased with your results.

I agree 100%.

.......you get what you pay for.

 

[MattG]

I would take a look at Bose and JBL. I have heard both of these home audio speaker systems while watching movies with alot of bombs and stuff going off and it sounds REALLY nice.

Im not sure if you can get these for under 250, but its worth a look.

Also i would check out your local Tweeter store and see if they have anything to offer ya.

 

[Vehementi]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Currently I have a subwoofer, it sounds very nice under my desk and right in front of my chair [size=1]I didn't want to say right between my legs...[/size] and it sounds excellent. It's a 150W Yamaha. My receiver is also great, I haven't had any problems at all with it whatsoever so far. Whenever I pop in a DVD, it automatically detects Dolby Digital/DTS...which is very nice for those of you who haven't experienced it.

If I find a pair of Cerwin Vega/JBL speakers that are as cheap/cheaper than the Sony's, but looks like they have lower specs than them or are older, should I get them anyway?

I'm looking on epinions for these speakers, as they have user reviews and good price links for alot of speakers, and other stuff.

 

[Vehementi]

Hmm...

I've been looking around an awful lot for different speakers - the ones I still end up coming back to are the Sony's. They're Sony's top of the line model (from what I've seen) and right where I want the price.

I still have a couple weeks now, and I'm liking them more and more.

 

[poertner_1274]

Well IMO you should get them. Just because someone says something different, we are only offering suggestions. They aren't going to end up in our houses, get what you want. I think those sony's will do an excellent job.

Might as well order them now, so they will get to you by the time you want them

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by MattG
I would take a look at Bose.....Im not sure if you can get these for under 250, but its worth a look.

I wouldn't take a look at BOSE, most of their products are awfully priced very high, so you can't get something good from BOSE under $250. Compared to other companies, BOSE has done too much marketing. There other potential manufacturers out there like Cerwin Vega, JBL, B&W, and loads more.

Veh perhaps if you could strect your budget a little it, a pair of Cerwin Vega might be within reach. No harm actually, Cerwin Vega has been known for its value for money.

P.S Veh, how did you sneak in the sub into your home?

 

[olefarte]

I agree with Poert. Veh, you are the one who's got to listen to them, if you like the Sony's, they certainly look good. Get them, you might as well be enjoying them sooner rather than later.

And as to the Bose, they are expensive, I don't believe you will get anything in a floor standing speaker for you price.

And I did see some Cerwin Vega's in your epinions link that were in your price range, along with a lot of others. But I'm sure you've researched that already.

If you have anyplace you can listen to these or other speakers, I still suggest you go and have a listen.

 

[Nic]

Buying speakers without at least reading some reviews, will likely lead to disapointment. Even well respected brands like Sony, have been known to produce crap. I made that mistake before, and you only end up hating your purchase, and trying to ditch and upgrade again as soon as you can.

A bargain isn't such a bargain when you discover you don't like them. See if you can find some comments by other customers, on that model if you can. If not, then go for something that you can either listen to before buying, or get a model that others have had good experience with.

Don't rely solely on opinion, brand, or discounts, to judge quality. If you're not fussy about sound quality, so long as its reasonable, then go ahead and buy those Sonys. You have to be very unlucky to find a complete dud these days.

Edit: I just googled for some reviews on those Sony's. It seems that they are pretty good (for the money) from what I've read. Here's a quote (from an online etailer) ...

I must say that these speakers are some of the best sounding speakers I have owned. They deliver Crisp, Clear, Accurate Sound. I Rate these Speakers a 5/5 for the following reasons: Small Footprint, Excellent Freq. Response, Clarity of Sound, Price. I also very much likes that instead of the basic push pin wire connections at the back there was instead a firmly made screw out binding post, Banana Plug Capable. They are a excellent Value. These Speakers I would say in my opinion rate up next to Speakers costing twice as much.

Here's another (from a forum) ...

You will rarely see a review of Sonys floorstanders because almost everybody in the industry thinks they're **** (in my experience) and will almost laugh at you when you ask. I personally run Sopny speakers all the way round. Mags and Website dont benchtest or compare Sony speakers often because they beleive that specialist speaker manufacutrers so a much better job. Somebody older and wiser might remmeber a test a while ago that didnt go well for Sony that was the catalyst for this opinion. But I beleive that tall poppy syndrome is mostly at fault. i.e. Sony make walkmans, TVs, video cameras - how can they be any good at speakers..... To round up - these are the lower speakers in the Sony range - the current high end are the EX series which I think are great. Im not certain about the SSM range, but they loko pretty good value to me. Make sure you do a side by side listening test with another brand before you buy though.

 

[poertner_1274]

And even if it is a dud, I'm sure they will let you take them back if it's within their alloted timeframe, usually 14-30 days. So give it a shot, and if all else fails make sure there is a return policy on them.

But personally I think you will be satisfied with them.

 

[Vehementi]

Well, I found quite the steal for Cerwin Vega floorstanders over @ Overstock.com [size=1](if you've never been there I would highly reccomend the place, I've ordered a few things from there already, they have great prices)[/size]. Problem is, it looks like the Sony's have higher stats, a better frequency range and more power output. But that might not mean anything AFAIK and it's not like I'm gonna notice the difference.

For Cerwin Vegas I could get these, these or hey even these. Dunno about those last ones - they may be too short, but very cheap and I could get something else cool I'm liking the second ones, I like how they look and they were the most expensive before Overstock got ahold of them

I can't believe these deals I'm finding - this is insane! Thanks again for all your help guys.

 

[Vehementi]

Whoa - I just noticed E708s and the V6Fs I was looking at had a five year warranty each. Wow - that speaks alot about Cerwin Vega.

I dunno guys, I'm really liking the E708s, although my budget may take a hit.

 

[olefarte]

Veh, I don't know, but I think I'd go with the Sony's, even though I've been bragging about Cerwin Vega. The Sony's are three way speakers, by that I mean they have a tweater, midrange and bass driver. These Cerwin Vegas are all two way. Generally speaking, a three way system will be better. And if I understand the specs right, the Cerwin Vegas only have a 6 1/2 inch mid/woofer. The Sony's have dual 8's.

As far as the specs go, yes the Sony's do have better specs. The bass goes a little deeper and the upper range is higher. But don't be fooled by the upper range specs. Most speakers are only rated on the top end up to 20kHz, but in this case the specs go higher, so you are in good shape there. You can't here above 20kHz anyway and up to that only if you have exceptional hereing. On the low end, you can here down to about 20Hz, but you would need a pretty good subwoofer to get down that low, and I do mean good.

Hz ratings are really kind of variable, unless they give a rating of something like 35Hz to 20kHz +or - 3db. The db rating means that, lets say the bass might have a rise in efficency at 45Hz, but when it gets down to 35Hz, it might fall off in efficency by 3db. What this means is your bass will not be as loud at 35Hz as it will be at 45Hz. If you have an equalizer, you could boost that frequency to a certain extent to level it out. This is just an example, for your information, I'm not saying these speakers, act in that manner, just giving you an education, in case you don't know already.

Since you are asking for opinions, if it was me, and these were the only choices, I'd go for the Sony's.

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by olefarte
On the low end, you can here down to about 20Hz, but you would need a pretty good subwoofer to get down that low, and I do mean good.

Yeah, thats true. Only those sub that cost a few thousand are able to stretch all the way down to 20Hz. Besides, if your sub can handle down to 30~32Hz, it is already pretty good as that the lowest where most audio content go.

 

[Nic]

And we all know how specs have little to do with sound quality. You only need to look back to the 70's/80's when japanese equipment had higher specs than uk hifi, yet they sounded like junk. Later the japanese started getting uk designers in to 'tune' their hifi systems, and now they are very much better. Most CD players have near identical specs, yet they don't all sound the same. If they did, then you'd simply go for the cheapest.

Specs still don't tell you how something is going to sound, but that doesn't mean that those Sony's won't sound good. Basically, buying any speaker without first hearing them, or reading some reviews on that specific model, is a risk. You might get lucky, or you might get a real dog. I've had both at one time or another.

Generally, two-way systems sound better than three-way systems, though their specs will be worse. This is because two-way systems have simpler crossovers than three-way systems, and so don't add strange phase shifts and other distortions to the signal. Also, they emulate a 'point source' better due to the drivers being closer together, and so stereo imagery is often better. But again, it all comes down to design so there are no hard and fast rules. Same goes for woofer size. If you find an incredible bargain, then you should be even more causious, as manufactures will often dump inferior products that aren't selling well, by offering them at significantly reduced prices. Occassionally you will find a real gem, so its not all bad.

Some quotes on the Sony's ...

I must say that these speakers are some of the best sounding speakers I have owned. They deliver Crisp, Clear, Accurate Sound. I Rate these Speakers a 5/5 for the following reasons: Small Footprint, Excellent Freq. Response, Clarity of Sound, Price. I also very much likes that instead of the basic push pin wire connections at the back there was instead a firmly made screw out binding post, Banana Plug Capable. They are a excellent Value. These Speakers I would say in my opinion rate up next to Speakers costing twice as much.

You will rarely see a review of Sonys floorstanders because almost everybody in the industry thinks they're **** (in my experience) and will almost laugh at you when you ask.

I personally run Sony speakers all the way round. Mags and Website dont benchtest or compare Sony speakers often because they beleive that specialist speaker manufacutrers so a much better job.

Somebody older and wiser might remmeber a test a while ago that didnt go well for Sony that was the catalyst for this opinion. But I beleive that tall poppy syndrome is mostly at fault. i.e. Sony make walkmans, TVs, video cameras - how can they be any good at speakers.....

To round up - these are the lower speakers in the Sony range - the current high end are the EX series which I think are great. Im not certain about the SSM range, but they loko pretty good value to me.

Make sure you do a side by side listening test with another brand before you buy though.

 

[Vehementi]

Dang it guys, make your minds up!!!

I'll plan to go to Best Buy to listen to these Sony's sometime before my birthday, or maybe even the day of.

I think I'm an audiophile already Or maybe I'm just bad at making decisions.

Thank you guys AGAIN for all your help!

 

[Vehementi]

Bump. It appears the Sony's are it, then.

The Cerwins are worth 2x as much retail and have a 5 year warranty though

Edit: Actually it'll depend on the sound test - anyone know a store in Everett that sells Cerwin Vega's where I can listen to them? I know I can test the Sony's at Best Buy, and there's a Circuit City nearby.

 

[Vehementi]

[triple post]

I think we have a winner. I found the Cerwin Vega E708's on Ebay for $183.50 shipped. OMG, that is the probably the best deal on the internet I've ever found. They can be found here.

I did find a pair of E712's for $275, but I think they're too expensive, and they're used anyway. Plus I'll have a tad of money left over to buy something like driver's ed if I get the cheaper ones. Hehehe.

 

[poertner_1274]

Pay?

Originally posted by Vehementi
Plus I'll have a tad of money left over to buy something like driver's ed if I get the cheaper ones. Hehehe.

You really have to pay for that stuff? It was inclueded in my high school coursework. I took it and passed, then took my test and aced that.