New Fronts for Sub780lime

[sub780lime]

I am going to be picking up these soon

I am replacing my current fronts because I they are bookshelves and I would like to get something that might fill a little better the larger room I am dealing with now in our new place.

I read a number of reviews and all of them have been good.

The main complaint has been with bass, but I am not concerned with that because they will be in a 5.1 setup and I like my subwoofer.

So what do you think?

Any other suggetions with spending the same amount of money?

These seem to be a good cost/quality pairing.

[ganthc]

Is this a coincidence or based off of what you found out from your other thread about favored speakers in a 5.1 setup?

Nice choice on speakers!! They look great.

[sub780lime]

lol. Unrelated. I posted that because I want a new center, but the center i want is $500. The wife feels better about me spending $400 on 2 speakers, than the 500 on 1. Got to work it how you can.

[Iguana Man]

Well they seem ok for the money, but have you considered the height factor? These stand 3' high and the speakers themselves are up top. Probably the upper 1' of the 3' height. I ask because your new center will be placed 'where' in relation to this height?

Meaning, if you buy these and then a center, how will placement play out? Will the center be around 2' off the floor? Alligning the center on a horizontal plane with the mains can really help the front soundstage IMO.

Just throwing some ideas out there.....

(I assume you've at least listened to them...yes?)

[chlngr1970]

Being a fan of Boston Acoustics, I thought I would throw in the VR2 Floorstanding Speakers. One Call has them for a little over 400 for the pair. I have all BA speakers in my HT and am VERY pleased with their performance. I am thinking of replacing my CR-9s with the VR3s for the front and the surrounds and center as I can...

j

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

Being a fan of Boston Acoustics, I thought I would throw in the VR2 Floorstanding Speakers. One Call has them for a little over 400 for the pair. I have all BA speakers in my HT and am VERY pleased with their performance. I am thinking of replacing my CR-9s with the VR3s for the front and the surrounds and center as I can...

j

Do you think I will get purer sound out of those that have larger bass drivers, or the ones i am looking at. I can let the sub handle my bass, so I would preview to increase the mid and high range audio quality.

Meaning, if you buy these and then a center, how will placement play out? Will the center be around 2' off the floor? Alligning the center on a horizontal plane with the mains can really help the front soundstage IMO.

That is something to consider, my center is current higher (above my TV), but the new one I will be putting below the TV...so either way they will not be level with the fronts. Definitely something to consider.

[sub780lime]

Apparently my mind was made up and yesterday I picked up a pair of Monitor 50's.

I spent last night demo'ing them a little.

I used Star Wars Ep 2 and Fifth Element (DTS) to try this babies out.

This are big improvement, maybe not sound quality wise (I was previously using Bookshelf B&W's for fronts), but the way they fill the room with sound is much better. I moved my B&W's to the rear to replace some older bookshelf Polks and they produce a much finer sound.

They also look much nicer next to my TV, instead of these small speakers on these skinny stands.

I will take pictures when I get a chance

One thing the new speakers did make me realize is I really need a new center. While the Polks have a much larger range (so I can turn it up higher) when I do that, I will get some shh noises at the end of certain dialogue. I especially notice this in Ep 2 when Jango and Boba talk during the astroid chase.

[Iguana Man]

What B&W's do you have?

[firestorm]

Enjoy your new speakers!

I would recommend trying things with a "phantom center". Just turn off your center channel in your receiver. The center should be matrixed to the front mains instead. You might find that the image is better without the center, compared to a sub-par center. Without a comparable center speaker, differences in timbre, range, etc... and the off-axis positioning, are likely going to adversely effect the sound.

With a phantom center, a lot depends on the sound field produced by your speakers. However, it will likely be more centered vertically, and likely very acceptable horizontally. It could even be better, if the mains are substantially more capable than your current center. It might be enough to get you by until you get a new center anyway.

[EM3]

Wow soon came quick! i looked at those speakers when I started wanting to upgrade but the wife doesn't want floorstanders.

Glad you are enjoying them! Keep up the updates.

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

What B&W's do you have?

A pair of LM1's

Wow soon came quick! i looked at those speakers when I started wanting to upgrade but the wife doesn't want floorstanders.

Yeah, I tend to jump on things once a decision has been made.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by sub780lime

A pair of LM1's

Ahhh! Those will be awesome for surrounds!

The ability to swivel them around when placed up on the wall is just one reason why I bought them.