Speakers for newbie

eMax,

The stated specs for your receiver rate the amp section at 110wpc with only two channels driven. I also noticed that the whole component weighs only 26lbs. I don't know, but I'm sensing that there isn't much of a power supply there. My two channel stand alone amp weighs around 40lbs.

Whatever you get, I'd stick with speakers that have a pretty stable impedance curve and are pretty efficient. I'd stay away from B&Ws. They really like power to sound their best.

4zoranss,

If I was you, I'd be looking at used speakers. That way, you can try them and if you don't like them you can sell them at a minimal loss.

You said that you have a medium sized room. Is this going to be a dedicated listening room or a family room. If you're only going to be sitting 7 or 8 feet from the position of the speakers, you may be better off going with a pair of nice monitors, since you already have a sub.

There is such a thing as having too much speaker.

4zoranss,

Man, I'm not trying to give you the impression that I know it all. I don't. All I'm saying is that A/V receivers generally aren't built to cater to two channel listening with full range speakers. Most people get small surround monitors and cross them over at 80hz or higher and let a sub do all of the heavy work, so that the receiver doesn't have to.

I know that weight isn't a very technical yard stick to use to measure an amp's performance, but I've found that when an amp is heavy, it's usually indicative of a good size power supply, which your unit doesn't have.

My only fear for you is that you might wind up with a pair of speakers that really need power to get good sound and any kind of volume out of them. This will have you pushing your amp. What kills speakers usually isn't power, but distortion and distortion is what you get when you push an amp to do something that it wasn't meant to do.

If I was in your shoes, I'd be looking at a set of speakers that present a stable 8 ohm load to the amp. When you look at reviews or tech specs, pay attention to the impedance curves. Some speakers are rated at 8 ohms, but can dip down to around 4 ohms when playing music.

I'd also be looking for something that is fairly efficient, say in the high 80db range.

I really can't recommend anything for you because I've had to stick to small monitors, due to kids and space limitations.

Right now, I'm running Silverline Minuets. They are pretty efficient and don't need much power, but they are SMALL and likely not what you're looking for. Perhaps you might want to look into the Zu Omen line of speakers. They are rated at 98db efficiency and present, I believe, a 12 ohm load.

You can, at times, find factory second Zu speakers on ebay at a good savings.

Of course, all of this is really just for the sake of discussion. The fact of the matter is that no one here can tell you what's going to sound the best in your home.

Quit tearing your hair out and don't treat this as though it's going to be a life altering decision. Stick to the used market and get something that you think you'd like.

As long as you buy smart and stick with quality, selling them won't be a problem.

Yeah, man. Go buy something and let us know how it sounds.

I've gotta admit, the Lores have my interest, since I found out today that we're gonna have a spare room pretty soon.

The only thing that bugs me is buying new, when in the situation that the OP is. Say he gets a pair of M-Lores at $650. He's paid $650 plus, what, $100 in shipping? Now say he doesn't like them. What's he gonna get for them. $400 plus shipping?

Now say he buys a pair of B&W 685s for around $450, used and he doesn't like them. He'll likely get his money back, if he sells them.

As far as amps go, considering your budget, I'd say look at some NAD amps. Some consider NAD to be poor man's hifi. You can pick up a pretty beefy NAD amp with 100+ wpc here and on ebay for a couple hundred bucks or there abouts. You might also want to check out some B&K amps. If you can scrape together another $1K, there's some nice stuff to be had here on the gon in the classifieds.

I've been running my 20+ year old Aragon for a little while now and am starting to get the itch to try something new myself.

Not trying to hijack, but I have to ask about the ATI amp.

Bob, how would you rank the ATI amps as compared to higher end amplifiers. I'm asking because I've seen some really good deals on the 1202 model and really not having much experience with them, just dismissed them, apparently out of ignorance.

After Bob's mention of the ATI amps, it kind of made something click in my head. I mentioned the NAD because that's what I started out with and many have had good luck with them.

Still, as mentioned by many, there is a lot of good stuff to be had used.

Just remember to be smart when buying and try to stick to reputable sellers. In any case, a quick search on ebay showed an ATI 1502 and an Aragon 2004 for sale. Either can be had for $400.

I don't know about the ATI stuff, but I've been running an Aragon 2004 for a while now and I really love it. It's rated at 100 wpc at 8 ohms and 200 wpc at 4 ohms. I don't think it's ever broken a sweat with anything that I've hooked up to it.

Bob, I appreciate the information. Personally, I'm a bang for the buck type of guy and have found that amplification is one of those areas where you can find some really good deals on oldish equipment.