Wife prefers smaller speakers...

I have a minor issue, my wonderful wife (I really mean it ) thinks my front Paradigm Studio 60 are taking to much space. Does that sound familiar to anyone? She is suggesting smaller speakers and wall mountable (satellite she is thinking of) to go with the plasma TV.

What wall-mount speakers can I use that are comparable with the Paradigm Studios? I've just upgraded the Pioneer Elite to 950/7100 combo and do not want to down grade the front speakers, if you know what I mean.

The rest of the speakers are Def Tech PF-15TL Power Sub, Paradigm cc-170 Center and ADP-170 Surrounds.



[This message has been edited by JkFruit (edited March 12, 2003).]

No 'micro' is going to give sound like a good set of mid - full size speakers, but sometimes factors intervene - I understand

Have a look at the Cambridge Soundworks stuff; Not the best audio has to offer, but a good sounding set of very small speakers, very nice for unobtrusive HT and casual music listening.

http://www.hifi.com/store/category.cgi?category=ht_package

I'm sure other 'micro' systems are out there too. How much 'intrusion' can she bear? It sounds like she wants the white cubes. Beware...

Avoid the Bose stuff. Some of the designs were OK, but the 'cube' based stuff pretty much sucks.

Charlie has the right idea. And.... if you want to look at something else, try the DefTech Pro Cinema systems. You already have the sub, so youre set.

I just listened to them this past weekend actually and they are decent little speakers

And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Defintive fanatic, LOL

Please, stay away from Bose. Like all things though, let YOUR ears be the judge, not our opinions.

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Play it LoUd!!

My first suround speakers when Dolby Pro Logic first came out were Bose Acoustimass(?) AM-10. Nice for being unobtrusive, but did not sound good at all. My wife did not mind when I got rid of it before . I definitely not going back to Bose.
At this time she is only suggesting, not demanding yet...In the mean time, it's a good excuse to audition new speakers...

Did you just post on the SMR forums? Someone else just asked this same exact question there.

In any case, I stand by my answer: if you like the Paradigm sound, try their Titans.

Jeff

These might work, wall mountable, about as deep as most plasma TV's, same high tech look as a plasma TV, full range three way speaker. I guess it depends on your homes decor and the installation of your plasma TV (wall mounted ?) Could look pretty nice wall mounted flanking a wall mounted plasma screen. The sale price does includes matching stands, you can always call to see what type of deal these guys might cut with out the stands, they are pretty reasonable to deal with. Authorized dealer - new/closeout item - full 5yr mfrs wty.


Sorry, the direct link to the speakers did not work, www.accessories4less.com -> speakers -> "floor standing" -> AR Phantom 8.3 speakers / w-stands

http://accessories4less.com

[This message has been edited by Steve_C (edited March 13, 2003).]

If you like doing things yourself, you could probably build a design using some of the seas excel speakers... you could make a wide but shallow box for a custom speaker that should sound very good and with all the copper parts in the seas they would look really good.....

look at http://www.madisound.com

I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you've got a plasma screen you might like the new SCHÖNBERG line from Vienna Acoustics. I was looking at the webern model but I have not found a local place to audition them yet. They are designed to be wall mountable and since they are vienna's they have to sound good right?

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/vienna_alum/webern.htm

I was also thinking Vienna Acoustics. Nice stuff. I'm considering the same solution for my new house's (yay, finally!) main entertainment space.
Of course, my gear will be in my "office".
Mix

Thanks everyone for your input.



D'Arbignal
That is not my post. BTW, what's the link to that forum?
I do like the Paradigms, however their depths (Titan @ 10 3/4") make them not feasible, at least to my wife, for wall mount.



Unferth
If I try to do it my self, it may not even look like a speaker , even if it comes in as a kit.

Looks like there are many possibilities.

• The Def Tech Pro Cinema
• AR Phantom 8.3
• Vienna Acoustics Webern from the new SCHÖNBERG line
• B&W VM1

I am not sure about the Cambridge line.
I like the look of AR, Vienna and B&W. They would match nicely with the silver plasma TV. Only if I could find them to audition.

At this time, I am only reseaching. No budget is set. I would guess $1000-$1500 if I would have to pick a range.
I am still recovering from recent vehicle and 950/7100 purchases and am waiting for that horrible April 15 tax deadline...There may not be any thing left for speaker budget .

I prefer to keep the Paradigm Studio 60 but if I have to get wall mount, at least it has to sound good to me as it would look equally good to my other.


corrected errors


[This message has been edited by JkFruit (edited March 14, 2003).]

http://forums.smr-forums.com:8080/




Have you considered in-wall speakers? There are some quite good ones available. In fact, I think even Meridian makes in-wall speakers these days.



Also, a friend of mine makes some really killer speakers. (I use some of his speakers in my bedroom system.) Check him out at http://www.rutledgeaudiodesign.com and tell him Jeff sent you. He may have something you like, or perhaps he can do something custom to your specifications.

Jeff

Thanks for the link.

I have considered in-wall speakers, except there is not adequate space on the wall.

Hmmm. Sounds like space is really really tight.

Definitely check out the Rutledge Audio Design page. Brian makes a set of speakers called the RAD Micros, designed at offering a higher-quality alternative to Bose speakers, that offer faithful playback from 85Hz-20kHz and only have a depth of 6".

Jeff

I'll suggest M&K like I always do. (I'm sure people are getting sick of this by now ) Their smallest speaker line are their Xenon speakers. I've seen them in person next to Bose (yuck!) and they are about the same size. There's a great review of them on the "Secrets of Home Fidelity and Hi-Fi" site. Here are the two links.
www.mksound.com
www.hometheaterhifi.com

M&K make excellent speakers. I highly recommend them.

Along the same lines, you might want to check out Atlantic Technology which are comparable, but not as good, as M&K.

Jeff

JkFruit,

Beings you wife prefers/suggests smaller speakers, she must also prefere smaller diamonds.

Ask her.

Paul

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the 1derful1

No need to ask. I thought it's embedded in the female's genetic that the bigger the diamonds the better...

Left work early today and stopped by a audio store to listen to the B&W VM1...it sounded like Bose...However, their in-wall CDM series sound pretty good. I would consider them except it would require some (may be alot) stud modifications to fit.
Sale person at another place also recommend NHT, he said it's similar to Paradigm. Any thought on this?

Looks like I should give M&K and NHT a try.

What holds for diamonds and size is also true with speakers, tell her.

I have read good things about both M&K and NHT speakers.

I would also consider DIY speakers. Accuton makes some drivers that have been used in some high-end systems that have gotten some excellent reviews. They make a couple of tweeters that have domes made out of ... diamond.

The diamond drivers are expen$ive, but the others, with ceramic diaphrams/domes, are reasonable for quality drivers.

Paul


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the 1derful1

[This message has been edited by Paul J. Stiles (edited March 15, 2003).]

Paradigm has an in wall also the "AMS-450" it uses the same drivers from the Studio line. The Bass/midrange is the size from the Studio 80 and the same tweeter as all of them. A buddy has them for his rear surrounds and the sound great. He plays a lot of multi-channel music and they sound great. We installed them in a breeze no issues at all.

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m-mmeyer
GO TWINS
My DVD's

Take advantage of Blose return policy and bring home the cheapest Boze made and A/B them with her. That should take care of that. If she's use to hearing her music from some studio 60s. Also take the Def Tech sub out of the loop and hook up the B.O.S.E(buy other stereo equipment) sub and put on a movie with bass that she is familiar with.

[This message has been edited by Q-man (edited March 16, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Q-man (edited March 16, 2003).]

So many choices and I haven't had a chance to audition more...may be I'll get her a diamond and keep my Paradigm .


Sorry Q-man. It's 4 AM and the baby has kept me up most of the night...I'm having a hard time understanding.
She does not care that much about the quality of the sound, more on the look and the open area for the baby to roam.

You know the in wall suggestion got me thinking... if you had the cash you might look at the Theil PowerPoints. I have heard them and they sounded fantastic.
http://www.thielaudio.com/THIEL_Web/Pages/pwrpt.html

Well, I'm just out of the hospital doped up on pain med. So, it really doesn't read well. The jist was once she hears the sound difference she won't be as eager for you to change speakers.

I see a lot of recommendations for Gallo Micros and Mirage Omnistats for "lifestyle" speakers.

[This message has been edited by Q-man (edited March 18, 2003).]

I was only kidding about the diamond...
Like I posted before, the budget if there is going to be one (what's left after IRS is done taking...), would be $1K to $1.5K max.
The Thiel is nice, they may be out of my range.


Q-man, hope you feel better.

[This message has been edited by JkFruit (edited March 18, 2003).]

So...this is what we have decided:
I get to keep the front Paradigm Studio 60 but replace the surrounds with in wall and add an in wall rear center.
I'll go with either Paradigm Studio SA-30, B&W CWM 800 or PSB CustomSound M6X6.1 in-wall speakers (they are available in the area for audition).
I'll let my ears decide.

Again thanks everyone for responding to my post.

Excellent choices all. I'm glad you were able to come to a conclusion you liked.

Jeff

JKF- Thanks, apparently the appendix is as overated as Bose.

Cambridge SoundWorks Newton Theater™ MC200 Home Theater Speaker System

Very nice speakers for smaller rooms. Have them along with the 1050 and a samsung p421 dvd player. Sound is incredible, very accurate and the sub is outstanding (500 Watt B.A.S.H. Amp with Dual 8" and very compact with external crossover and remote volume). The surrounds are switchable from dipole to bipole. The coolest part is the sub hookup. It uses a telephone 4-wire cable instead on the RCA, so it's easy to run and hide in any room. My room is about 11X9 and this fits the room perfectly.

"It uses a telephone 4-wire cable..."

Cool! I'll have to start a high-end telephone 4-wire cable company and sell overpriced cable with jewelry connectors on each end in packaging that costs more than the contents and have periodic updates to liberate $ from the perpetually insecure.

Anybody want to buy an Alexander Graham Bell limited edition signature ultimate telephone 4-wire cable?

Paul

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the 1derful1

Well, I thought I had made up my mind in keeping the Para. Studio 60 for fronts and going with in-walls for surrounds and rear center until I had a chance to audition the M&K 750 THX MII Front/Center and S-550 surrounds this week.

These are great small speakers, now I am back to square one! I probably could live with these or the M&K S-125 as fronts.

Anyone knows if the 7100 can drive these 4-Ohms speakers efficiently? I only have a week left with the 30 days return guarantee.

7100 Power Output (FTC):

7 x 100 watts @ 8 ohms, 20 - 20kHz, 0.05% THD, All Channels Driven
7 x 165 watts @ 4 ohms, 20 - 20kHz, 0.05% THD, All Channels Driven

This not a direct answer to your question but I think the 7100 will be adequate for the 4-ohm M&Ks. I have a 755 that is driving 5 M&Ks effortlessly. If you're interested in inwall surrounds, I'm using the SW-85s in the ceiling and these will mate with the 750s.

Good Luck.

Here are some diy's I made. These have good spousal approval. They are based on a Ed Frias (AR.diy) design. I think they sound great also.

http://photos.msn.ca/viewing/album.aspx?m7A!X9U3q6bynoZEhFj0U3Z*19DKLzl1YdtejAECrrYTktg1BvvXLfKRM2*qJctVREUTVx5iR*trab54hHR80QL5rCc9tcNHW0iVJtNWtjd2jEphB2CDyw$$

Hopefully this link will work. May have copy and paste the entire lengthy link url.

MCH, great looking speakers! however I can't replace floor standing speakers with another floor standing speakers.

DollarBill, which M&K model are you using for the fronts/center and how do you like the sound for music?
I have set my sight for a set of pre-owned M&K S-125 for fronts and center.

[This message has been edited by JkFruit (edited March 30, 2003).]

My mains are SW-95s and the center is a S-85TV. The SW-95s use the same drivers as the S-5000s (I've never heard these) and the S-85 TV uses the same drivers as your potential S-125s.

I really enjoy the setup for stereo, DVD-A and movies. When auditioning speakers, I heard the 750 system while a Steely Dan DVD was playing (I forget which one it was). I caught a couple of saxophone riffs in Babylon Sisters and was hooked. The system was crisp, clear and articulate. You will definitely need a subwoofer. If you're looking for a lot of warmth, you are probably better off looking elsewhere.

Check out the Gallo due's. I'm running micro's right now and am going to upgrade to the due's in the near future. I've ben very pleased with the micro's, the sound is great. But I've heard the due's and it's time to step up. My brother in law is running the due's as his rear surrounds and the qork great.

Thanks everyone. I finally settled for the M&K S-125's for fronts/center and ss-150 surrounds. Just pplaced my order in this morning, waiting period begins...