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Best Towers Under $1500 for beginner system

Exactly as the title says, I am in the marketplace for my first set of decent tower speakers to set the front stage of my HT set-up. I am in my mid 20's and listen to all kinds of music with a heavier hand on electronic, rock, and motion picture sound tracks. Some examples being Paul Van Dyke, Armand Van Buren, Tiesto, or Paul Oakenfold. Rock examples would be Creed, 3 Days Grace, Metallica, Megadeath, Disturbed, Linkin Park. I think Motion Picture sound tracks are self explainitory, but I do prefer more orchestral or electronic types.

Now on to what I am buying,... I currently own a 7.1 Channel 110 watt x 7 Pioneer VSX series receiver. Have had it for about 5-6 years now, no HDMI switching or anything nifty like that, but it does have Optical In/Out which I am currently using. For a CD I use my PS3 for most everything. I have a new Sony 46" 3D LED TV anchoring my theater. My current speaker set-up is a HTIB made by Infinity called the HTS. Consists of an all bookshelf system with 4" midrange and 3/4" tweets in each enclosure that is ported. I have a small 8" 150 watt powered sub along with it.

This system has provided me a base appreciation for movies and music while in college and up until now. I recently got bit by the bug after buying my new TV and want something to provide truly impressive sound. My budget is very low and I understand that it is not easy shopping like that, but I will buy things one piece at a time.

My first purchase I am looking at is some front tower speakers. So far I have auditioned the B&W 603's, the Wharfedale Diamonds, and the Paradigm Monitor 11's. All of these were played through a $4000ea. SACD - Preamp - Amp combo that the home theater shop had in their demo room. From what I listened to I have a huge preference towards the Monitor 11's which are at the absolute peak of my price range for this purchase. I loved the sound, the speakers set a great sound stage, the music was very detailed, and I couldn't help but wait and listen for each coming note. The B&W's were also impressive but lacked the low end punch of the Paradigms. The Wharfedales I didn't like until I was cranking the power, and I don't want something that will require me to wake the neighbors to get decent sound.

I have been doing a great bit of research online, and love the look of the Axiom M60 and M80's. However the M80's are 4 Ohm Impedance and I don't think that my old Pioneer can push them. I looked in KEF iQ9's, Martin Logan Preface, Boston Acoustic VR 970/975's, Polk 500's, Monitor Audio, and a few others. I have read every scrap I can about them all, but have no way to audition any of them.

As mentioned previously the high end of my budget is $1500 on the pair, any money saved will go towards the next piece of the puzzle, most likely an amplifier or Sound Processor. I have a tendency to gravitate towards the speakers with better low end extension, and I don't like overly bright highs as I find them fatiguing. A more neutral sound is what I'm after. I will absolutely consider pre-owned equipment as well if I can get a better quality piece. I'm all about bang for the buck.
reaper60

Showing 2 responses by johnnyb53

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
These. Mirage OMD-15 omnidirectional, originally released at $2500 per pair, and very competitive at that price. I have had mine for over two years, and they have a captivating combination of smooth, natural tonal balance and deceptively high resolution. They throw a realistic soundstage and hold their tonal balance and stereo image regardless of where you're sitting or standing. Fairly efficient and good, tight bass extension down into the low 30's as well. Vocal reproduction is especially good.

Three more to consider are whatever Zu currently has on sale to fit your budget, the PSB Image T6, and the Magnepan 1.7's. The downsides of the Magnepans is that sensitivity is a rather low 86 dB and they present a 4-ohm nominal load, so your amp or receiver must have an FTC power rating into 4 ohms.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Every speaker design is a compromise in some way. Having many drivers, each handling only a couple of octaves, can produce more linear frequency response and higher power handling, but the multiple crossovers are either going to be very expensive or will suck much of the life and dynamics out of the music. That's why 2-way mini-monitors are so engaging within their operating range.

The primary Zu driver keeps the crossovers out of the main listening frequency range. They use a whizzer cone and a phase plug to help keep frequency response and dispersion pattern more uniform over its whole operating range. For the high overtones it hands off to the supertweeter just below it.

All things being equal (which they never are), small diameter drivers generally have less cone breakup and wider dispersion than large drivers. But if the 10" cone is properly designed with a rigid material, the voice coil is big enough and the magnet is strong enough, you can get very clean linear response from a 10" cone, no problem.

Pretty much any review I've seen from any magazine is very enthusiastic about the sound of the Zu speakers and complimentary about the seamless sound and uniform dispersion of their nearly full-range 10" driver. I seriously doubt that it's a problem, and if it is, you have their 60-day return period to break 'em in, listen, and decide.
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