Decent speakers for mid-level AVR
Greetings,
First time poster here. I am looking to upgrade my home theater setup with a better set of speakers. Been doing a lot of research, worried if the speakers i am looking at are going to be able to be driven with my AVR
I have an Onkyo tx-rz50 that pushes 120 watts into two channels. i omly have mains, a center channel and small surrounds. Well, i do have this massive folded horn sub but it has its own amp.
Been looking used in my area. Listned to a set of paradigm premier 85f. Nice, but a little bright for my liking. There is a local with a set of Focal aria 948. I hear gppd things about them, but also hear they are power hungry.
I dont really "rock out" much anymore, typical classic rock and 90s alternative rock se sensabilities. and home theater of course.
Any thoughts? trying to stay under $4k for a pair. i know that is pretty low end for auudiophile, but what can i say... i own 7 motorcycles and only one pair of speakers.
thank you!
Since you thought the Paradigms were bright sounding I’d avoid Focal for sure, and at this price level I’d avoid metal tweeters in general as well. You might consider some of the direct sellers who make pretty solid speakers and offer returns in case they don’t work out. These Ascend Sierra Towers (with RAAL tweeters) and Aperion Verus speakers are in your price range and should be a good step up from your Polks. Just a couple ideas. https://www.aperionaudio.com/products/verus-v8t-tower-speaker |
+1 @soix this was going to be my recommendation as well in addition to utilizing the preouts which had already been suggested by @deep_333. Many years ago I also had the Polk Rti8s, Rti4s, Csi5 center, and PSW 505. I then purchased the Ascend Sierra -1s (first generation with SEAS tweeter), which steadily took time away from my Polk 5.1 system. The Sierras were not only in a different ballpark, but a different time zone compared to the Rti8s. I still consider Ascend Acoustics “boutique” in terms of being an almost one-man operation, or perhaps now a family owned operation, which I strongly value. If I wasn’t regulated to the mains being on the wall by the spouse, I would definitely be eying those Ascend towers and center speaker. Still regret selling the Sierras - they were phenomenal for the price, while also helping me lean into 2-channel listening. |
The Ascends are a great choice. Would also suggest checking out Philharmonic Audio. They have 2 different sets of towers that are just over $4K for a pair but I think their sweet spot are the BMR monitors which are $2K for a pair depending on the finish you order. 3-way speakers that sound amazing without being bright. |
Three brands that have models in that price range that I really enjoyed & had minimal if any listening fatigue are: the Relatively newer KLH models, Mofi & Elac. In that price range, of course there are trade offs but the one thing for myself that is not negotiable is whether after a short time, I’ve heard enough because something is too far off. This can happen to me even with very pricey systems too. |
very nice collection.... wife and i used to ride a lot more when we lived in cali with the nice weather...moved to the midwest, got old, miss the good ol' days. @pdxmonkeyboy wrote
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