Upgrading from Klipsch R-26F. 90% home theater use in a living room. Most interested in JBL 590 andRevel F36. Secondary interest in B&W 603 and KEF Q950.
I tried the ML 60 Xti version. Much too bright/forward in my low ceiling space but very well built and fantastic bass response. Those could work for you, and Best Buy carries them and has a 14 day trial. I got mine from Crutchfield to try and it was $10 for each speaker to ship back. I kid you not.
Glancing at your list and considering other reviews, my guess is the Ascend tower would be an amazing value. They seem to have great customer service and a friendly attitude. I had a couple exchanges over email with them and was very close to trying them. Read the blogs -- people love Ascend.
I am no expert but I love my JBL studio 590’s. And I have a PS Audio s300 amp. They sound great. A true story. I was in the Harman store in NYC and they were demoing some nice popular well reviewed Revel book shelves that cost 4 times the price. We listened to Dark Side of the moon on some high end gear. I told him my JBLs sound better. He said it was because my JBLs are full range flour standers. True story. My only advice is obvious. Make sure you can return them after you listen to them. Good luck. And have fun.
This are all used prices for the most part. The only one that may be a new price is the first price listed. I'm also hard considering the HSU
CCB-8
center speaker and maybe 3 for LCR. Anyone use those?
I’m really not familiar with most of the speakers you listed, but whatever you decide it is best that you use a Center speaker by the same manufacturer and same line as your main speakers. All the best.
A good set of well matched speakers (that you like/love) will serve you well. The other stuff like your ht receiver, dvd/Blu Ray player and tv will come and go as technology evolves.
Around 25 years ago I bought my first home theater system. I blame my neighbor Richard for my audiophile addiction. He had a pair of Klipsch La Scala’s. When he wanted to sell them and "downgrade" to a pair of Heresy speakers, I wanted to buy them. I was 15. I had the money. Parents said no. Sorry about the trip down memory lane. Back to the ht system. I got a Sony 5.2 Prologic receiver, a Klipsch 8" sub, a pair of KG 1.5 speakers and a matching center for under $1000. Would have been around $1300 if I got matching rear speakers.
My wife was getting "concerned" about the cost. The salesman asked if I had a pair of speakers at home that I could use for rear speakers. He literally said anything that could make noise would work. Low pressure salesmen and a family friendly environment. We did our shopping with a 4 year old in tow. This place had the lion king playing on their av displays.
So 25 years later, one receiver upgrade, at least 5 dvd players, two Blu Ray players, three TVs and two VCRs I kept the original speakers. After the second move I did replace the rears with ceiling speakers.
The trick to matching LCR speakers is having the same or very similar drivers. I was going to suggest the Zu Audio Souls for $2600. I now know they are out of your buget. I am putting this out there for other people following this. The matching speaker is their Cube for $500 each. The Cube would make a nice surround speaker, but you would need a subwoofer or two.
To sum it up: You could buy 5 Cubes for around $2500 and use the subs you have. You could go with the Soul/Cube for around $3100 and use what you have subs and rears. A pair of Souls and three Cubes would run around $4100. Zu Audio does offer a 60 day in home trial.
Why the Souls and not the Omens? Simple math. A pair of Omens is $2200, a pair of Omens bookshelves is $1800 and an Omen center channel is $1200. $5200 total. Although you don’t have to buy them all at once.
Based on your present Klipsch speakers, and your budget, I would recommend searching for a used pair of Sonus faber Venere 2.5 or 3.0 speakers. I owned the 2.5's and upgraded to the Sonetto V's. Great speakers.
My nephew just got the Definitive Technology BP-9080's with the remainder of the 9080 series for center channel and surrounds. No need for a sub as the tower speakers have built-in powered 12" subs. The 9060''s have contain 10 "powered subs. One of my sons also has a Definitive Technology home theater set-up but with a soundbar, separate subwoofer and smaller surrounds. I highly recommend that you go with the 9060's.
Your not giving us enough to get good advice back. What are you trying to accomplish with an upgrade? Is there something you like about the Klipsch, or dislike? Room size, musical tastes, amplification, etc. Not sure how people can be so quick to advise without this information.
Klipsch especially can be tough to upgrade from since they play very loud and go low with a tiny amount of power. I would try and better quantify what you want to get out of an upgrade and solicit more targeted feedback.
If home theater were my main use I would look hard at the SVS towers. For some reason SVS speakers have not caught on in the US - but they are seriously popular in Europe where they continue to win EISA awards.
I have the SVS ULTRA TOWERS heard some of the other speakers. I blast blues rock and some electronic music and play jazz at moderate volume and the towers sound awesome, lots of punch and slam. Highs are slightly deficient but it could be my declining hearing. Best bang for the buck
If you like the klipsch I expect the JBL would be the next most efficient and subjectively least disappointing as we will pick the loudest speaker as best in short term listening.
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