Looking for a Warm Musical Sounding Speaker to Pair w/Onkyo 608

DCM TIME WINDOW

I'm new here so please be kind and gentle.
I've got a 42" Samsung LCD and received a CS20 Center Channel Speaker
as a Christmas gift.

Now I need an a/v receiver and appropriate speakers.

For the receiver I am considering the Onkyo 608 or Yamaha 667--2 very
different sounding receivers. The former bright and latter warm.

I'm leaning toward the Onkyo 608, but want to match them to speakers that
are warm and musical to avoid the fatiguing and clinical aspect of bright sounding systems.

Which speakers will work best to suit my taste?

Many thanks for your attention.

polkfan38

With the CS20, you will need the Monitor 60s or 70s. As they are timber matched. Not much getting around that. To make it simple, if you don't match, they will sound funny.
If not the towers, go with the Monitor 40 bookshelves.
Welcome to CP!

maximillian

For any receiver you should get one with pre-outs. That way you can add an amp down the road and use more power demanding speakers.

As polkfan38 pointed out, if you already have a CS20 then you should stay in the same speaker family.

For speaker "taste" there are so many variables. Budget? What do you listen to (HT or music)? What is your room size? Do you have a sub? How much do you consider yourself to be an audiophile, i.e. how much does music quality matter to you?

BluBitRates

i believe the yamaha has preouts. Never heard a newer yamaha so no comment on the sound quality. I had a onkyo that worked great for me but i do not plan to buy another

nguyendot

What's your budget for receiver and speakers?
You can get some great deals on refurb receivers... My NR807 was cheapppppp.

mystik610

DCM TIME WINDOW wrote: »

I'm new here so please be kind and gentle.
I've got a 42" Samsung LCD and received a CS20 Center Channel Speaker
as a Christmas gift.

Now I need an a/v receiver and appropriate speakers.

For the receiver I am considering the Onkyo 608 or Yamaha 667--2 very
different sounding receivers. The former bright and latter warm.

I'm leaning toward the Onkyo 608, but want to match them to speakers that
are warm and musical to avoid the fatiguing and clinical aspect of bright sounding systems.

Which speakers will work best to suit my taste?

Many thanks for your attention.

Polk LSi's if you want warm musical sound. You'll want to look at a receiver with pre-outs though (608 is out of the question), and an amp.

A cheaper route to go would be the Monitor line.

Avoid the RTi/RTi-A's if you're looking for warm musical sound. They're a more HT oriented speaker...very bright (fatiguing) tweeter that throws highs around the room.

I find Yamaha's to be kinda bright actually. Harman Kardon receivers are the best route to go for a nice warm musical tone.

I think its best to match a warm receiver/amp with a bright speaker and vice versa.

I was running a Harman Kardon amp with my old RTi8's, and the HK did a great job of taming the brightness of the RTi8's and bringing the mid-range out. When I got the LSi's, they sounded too dry paired with the HK...particularly for HT use (which is what my system is primarily used for). A bright sounding amp like the EMO, and a bright set of speaker cables (audioquest cinemaquest) did the trick for me.

scottyboy76

welcome, i happened to see your moniker.

i own time frame 400s, will get some time windows someday, i scour cl from several citys everyday and one of the things i look for are tw speakers.

would love to hear some 700s someday,even if i dont think i can ever afford them.

DCM TIME WINDOW

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for taking the time to respond.

My living room measures 12 x 27 and is carpeted. As I want to be a good neighbor, I will forgo having a dedicated sub. My budget seems to be changing with every review I read and store I visit. Now it's $800 for an a/v receiver and $800 for front speakers and I'll certainly consider the TSi's you suggested.

Any thoughts on pairing the CS20 with B&W's?

As an aside, I bought my DCM Time Windows in 1982 and love them though I'll admit to Sonus Faber and Dali envy.

Thanks again.

dorokusai

I like the Harman Kardon suggestion and you can find some amazing deals online whether new or refurbished. If that's the case stick with the Monitor lineup to match your center channel. I'm no B&W fan and if that's the case you should get rid of the center channel and match it all. Plus you'll have to think a bit harder about your AVR choice as well. either way, good luck, I'm sure these guysnwill figure something out for you.

Mystic - The RTiA lineup is no brighter than the Monitor so your suggestion is odd. It's HT oriented because thats specifically what it is designed for being it stands for (R)eference (T)heater....then the (I)mproved was added when then line changed a long time ago.

tonyb

dorokusai wrote: »

Mystic - The RTiA lineup is no brighter than the Monitor so your suggestion is odd. It's HT oriented because thats specifically what it is designed for being it stands for (R)eference (T)heater....then the (I)mproved was added when then line changed a long time ago.

Thanks for reminding everyone what the RTI stands for Mark. Brightness may have more to do with associated gear/cables and the HK suggestion is spot on.

newrival

DCM TIME WINDOW wrote: »

As an aside, I bought my DCM Time Windows in 1982 and love them though I'll admit to Sonus Faber and Dali envy.

Thanks again.

Nice to see another DCM fan! I owned a pair of TW's the same year as yours, and subsequently 9 other DCM models. They were what got me addicted to this hobby!

By the way, I think the CS20 with the B&W's is a bad idea. As polkfan mentioned, timbre matching is very important. If you go with B&W's for fronts, you'll want to get the matching B&W center.

newrival

scottyboy76 wrote: »

welcome, i happened to see your moniker.

i own time frame 400s, will get some time windows someday, i scour cl from several citys everyday and one of the things i look for are tw speakers.

would love to hear some 700s someday,even if i dont think i can ever afford them.

Some projct TF700's here.

The TF700's are pretty nice. I owned both them and the 600's and I found the TF600's to be more musical, however. Either are worth while improvement over the TF400's, although the TF500 would not be. I see the 600's and 700's perhaps 5 tims a year in my area.They usually go for ~$200. If you want the TF form factor and a high-end sounding speaker the TF1000 is really nice. Or the ultra-rare TF2000 that was a prototype that I heard from another DCM collector in Michigan. The TimeWindows are really where it's at, though. Any of the TW iterations are fantastic. They disappear into the soundsage and are just beautiful sounding in my opinion. Especialy for the $100 I paid for them! :biggrin: Nice set here going in a few hours by the way. DCM's are an incredible deal for the money in the secondhand market. Well anything before the purchase by Mitek and the egress of Steve Eberbach, that is. I made sure to sell my favorite DCM's to friends so I can still hear them whenever I want. :biggrin:

scottyboy76

yeah, the last tw model that was their pinnacle, they go for thousands and steve even bid on and bought a pair off ebay once.

Those are the ones i meant to say i couldnt afford.

Im always looking for some of the higher no. tfs and tws.