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Any specific series from Monitor? I like them all, but Silver is more punchy, platinum much more neutral and reference quality. Platinum better for a variety of music and HT. You should listen for yourself, but also scout around for sales. Audio Advisor or Parts Connexion sometimes have recently discontinued items for a song. |
If you’re upgrading your front speakers but you haven’t yet added surrounds in the back of your room, get those set up first. Experiencing true surround sound from discrete surround speakers will forever change how you watch movies at home.
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Is this for 2-channel as well as HT? If so, what are you looking to improve upon over the B&Ws? Most importantly, what aspects of speaker performance and sound reproduction are most important to you? What electronics are you driving the speakers with? What are you using for a center speaker if any? Sorry for all the questions, but the more info you give here, the better and more useful the rcommendations will be. |
Revel’s have pretty much no fault other than limited bass, but if using a sub it’s a non-issue. Focal is solid, not the best usually but still worth their price point, and they look nice. B&W speakers image well, and that’s the only good thing I can say about them. Another user recommended Monitor Audio, they are solid as well, Stereophile reviewed/measured the Silver 300. I personally would not use dipole speakers for home theater, especially as they won’t have a matching center (unless you are doing an acoustically transparent projection screen and use the same speaker as the center), but then the nature of dipole would make being put behind a screen utterly terrible. |
How big is the room? I have a beautiful pair of Vienna Acoustics Strauss in Rosewood that sound as good as they look, but have 11" side mounted woofers and can put too much bass in a small to medium room. USAM. Used Focal 936 more modern, less traditional looking sound better than they should for the price, the revels are lightweight in the bass for floor standers though smooth and if you're handing off to a sub will be good. I find B&W speakers more system dependent than most. Have fun with it. |
@mzkmcv, Your impressions of Vandy's imaging isn’t great and have dampened bass,Is something I disagree with, and one I think most Vandy owners would, too. With proper setup, their imaging is great. As for bass, Yes, a 1ci vs a 3a sig won't go as low, but you can incorporate the Vandy subs and get as low as you can go, at a great price ( I know, as I am selling mine in order to get the new Sub 3's). One of the benefits is that the crossover relieves the amp from the power draining low frequencies, so you can use a less powered amp and still get great bass. @terrancej, How large is your room? B |
Once you've upgraded your front speakers and added in surround sound, the home theatre experience will be far more immersive and enjoyable. Rear and side surround sound speakers create audio effects that come from all directions - literally placing you in the middle of the action. Movies that were previously flat and one-dimensional will suddenly become vibrant and exciting. Dialogue is clearer, details seem amplified, and special effects will pull you into the movie world like never before. Investing in a surround sound setup will transform your entertainment space with a full frequency range, enveloping soundstage, and depth that can make anything from horror to romance even more thrilling. |