I am creating a new home theater system and am eagerly waiting getting the 950/770 combo.

I have been testing out speakers, mostly Def Tech, B&W and Klipsch.

My question is since there are no 950/770 combos in stores, what brand of receivers would you suggest testing speakers with? Our Outlaw products warm, that would imply a high-end Denon or maybe B&K. Are they bright?

Just looking for some help along these lines, as I would like to get my system up and running the day I receive my 950/770.

Thanks in advance,

Rich

Since neither the 950 nor the 770 are through production, there is no way to say how they sound. We all hope they are "great", but until people gets their hands on them, it is anybody's guess.

The best you can do is listen to speakers with electronics that are roughly in the same class as the Outlaw combo. The differences in the speakers will dominate any differences in the electronics.

I would say from my ears that Denon is more warm and B&W is bright. Rotel is probably one or maybe NAD is another you could try but the speaker still might change, but in my experience a good component will not make a good speaker sound bad. A bad one will make a good one sound worse or bad but...I agree with the above post speakers will vary more.

m-mmeyer

I also agree with the first two posters about the speakers making a much bigger diff. than the electronics you'd use to compare them as long as you don't use low end junk (which I'm sure you wouldn't).

For example, take the same say -high end Denon Rec., and plug in the three diff. speakers you mentioned and the sound change will be much greater than if you picked just one of those speakers and connected them to a high end Denon, Onkyo, or Rotel Rec.

As for speakers... instead of overpriced store speakers (though B&W at least are great speakers), look at some of the great online speaker deals.
Diva's are much more for the money than Klipsh for sure.

nohr.com

Those are awesome speakers using the best drivers, and have the best cabinets (marble!) this side of the new solid aluminum (and new car priced) Krell models.

Look up www.newformresearch.com for my personal choice as 'best sound/ best value' speaker out there though.

I have two pair (no center chan. needed with this line source design -which can add to the money savings and/or amp power), and they're AWESOME.

Very, very close to Matin Logan's effortless sound except Newform mates it's ribbon unit to one of the best bass drivers in the world (from Scan-Speak), and they don't have M-L's huge brick and motar price tag (that's part of why you're at Outlaw right?) and you don't have to plug 'em in like M-L's, and the 645 model is even 91db eff.

They don't look as cool as M-L's (though most speakers don't), but they don't get in the way either, since above they're 30" high bass cabinet the steel cased ribbon is only 3" wide for a micro-monitor 'invisible' sound.

They also have some cosmetic seconds sometimes that're 10-20% off the already screamin' deal price. Both of my sets are 2nds (still come w/ 5 yr. warr.), and one speaker has a tiny scratch on the back of it. That's it!

The ribbon is fairly harsh in the first few days, but after 2 weeks, it's not harsh at all, just very clean, clear, and resloving (meaning it'll pick up harsh solid state garbage if that's what you give it).
The bass drivers need lots of time to break in, so don't worry if the bass and treble don't blend seamlessly right of the bat, give it a few months, and then they'll become 100% seamless.

oops, type-o...

www.norh.com

sorry.

Build your own!
The best;
http://www.bamberglab.com/
http://www.northcreekmusic.com/
http://www.zalytron.com/
Cheaper but still a great deal;
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.speakercity.com/
Good online seller;
http://www.audioc.com/index.html
The norh's as well.
more info and vendors;
http://www.snippets.org/ldsg/intro.php3

Thanks everyone.

I agree about the speakers having the greater impact but I thought the amp/pro could affect it as well. Most of my "sound knowledge" comes from playing guitar. I figure if I use the same amp and the same settings and two different guitars, I can easily tell the difference between them, I thought the same may be true for amps/pros.

I also noticed that when the Denon 5800 was plugged into B&W's they sounded warmer (to me even muddy) then the B&K which still sounded warm.

Everyone says such great things about B&W and the store I was at was saying the B&W they were playing were an awesome value, but I thought they were a tad muddy (for lack of a better word). I thought the DefTechs were a little more neutral/clearer. Didn't finish testing the Klipsch yet, and I have to try out the Mirages.

As for the nOrh, I had looked at them before, but they hard to test out and my live in girl-friend said that I was ugly enough and that she wouldn't allow anything as ugly as them into "her" home. I am hoping she was kidding on the whole ugly thing and me , but I know she wasn't about the speakers.

The other ones, are they in stores? I am reluctant to spend money on speakers that I never heard.

Thanks again.

Rich

I would give Paradigm a try also if you liked Def Tech. Paradigm has a very neutral sound and with the exchange rate and the fact that the Canadian government pays for most of the R&D up there the price to performance ratio is really good. I would suggest there reference line over the monitor line though.
www.paradigm.ca

m-mmeyer

I agree with Paradigm, also would add PSB and NHT to the list of other good speakers.

I have PSB's so would agree with quattro. If you can find a dealer around and want to expand your horizons, give Vandersteens a try. Their web page is a little flaky right now, but there is a lot there.
www.vandersteen.com

I do have the Vandersteen sub. A music first sub and very clean. Still does very well for movies.