5 Channel Home Theater Speakers @ ~ $2k

falconcry72

I love my LSiM's, but I'm getting the itch. I could get roughly 2k for these 5 speakers, so I'm interested in other 5 channel options that would provide similar performance at a similar cost: 2-3k max, used is cool and probably preferable. It may very well be that these LSiM's are the best bang for the buck at this price point, in which case I will just continue to enjoy them. :biggrin:

I love the LSiM's for music, but I think I might prefer a more "exciting" sounding speaker for HT.

Here's a couple systems I'm interested in:

- Klipsch Reference Series: RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-52ii
- Martin Logan ElectroMotion Series: EM-ESL, EM-C2, EM-FX2

The Klipschs look boring as hell compared to the drop dead sexy LSiM's. I owned cheaper Klipschs in the past, and while I did like them, I ended up switching to Polk at that time. The Reference II Series speakers are supposed to be better sounding than some previous models. If they sound good enough, I might be able to get past the black box look.

I like the look and sound of Martin Logans in general, but I've never heard these particular models. I had a pair of SL3's for a little while, and I thought they sounded excellent... and they were over 15 years old. I'm curious as to how the center and surrounds will match the fronts given the different high frequency technologies.


The center channel is critical for HT, and that is one thing the LSiM's do extremely well. I may just get a couple different center channels and battle it out to decide which overall system to go with.


Anyobody have experience with these systems? Anybody have recommendations for other systems that will fit the bill? Thanks dudes.

B Run

I really like Klipsch a lot, I used to have Rf82's before I bought my ZU's. Crazy dynamics and great for HT, music was good on them too and they paired great with Rotel gear. I don't know that you'd be happier in the long run going from the Lsim's since it's such a personal preference, but if you want a more exciting HT experience Klipsch is hard to beat. Since you're running a separate 2 channel rig i'd say it's worth a listen, if it was your only setup and you used it for a lot of music too i'd say keep the Lsim's. Just my .02.

falconcry72

B Run wrote: »

...if it was your only setup and you used it for a lot of music too i'd say keep the Lsim's. Just my .02.

Yea I dig the LSiM's a lot for music. Ideally, I'd find a couple other pieces to sell so I can hang on to the 703's for use in a secondary 2-channel system. :cool:

ntculenuff

I setup a Klipsch system consisting of;
2 RF83 (L&R mains)
1 RC64
2 RF82 (L&R surrounds)
1 RSW-15
All this was ran from an older elite receiver and ATI amp
Have to say this system ROCKED! The guy I set this up for watched a lot of concert DVD's and at high volumes. The Klipsch performed great. I was not a fan of how Klipsch's reference series sounded before this series. They had always sounded disconnected the horn and drivers sounded like they didn't go together if that makes sense.

leroyjr1

Also consider Definitive Technology. For HT I'd put them in between the Polks and Klipsch with the Klipsch being the best. If you go Klipsch I'd look at the RF7II's and RC64II for the center.

txcoastal1

Build yourself something out of the Dynaudio series if you have the itch. The new Excite series will be releasing this fall. My suugestion would be to build it out used and save a bundle or move up a line.

I have played with both the Contour and Confidence series and if the Focus/Excite series follow their lead then expect you will be happy.

I have found Dyn's are very forgiving in jumping genres unlike my MD2's

Just a thought

cnh

You guys scratch too much! I recommend some Hydro-cortisone and a few well recorded SACDs on a A list player. Movie sound isn't really that hard to do so I'm not sure what the itch is about? I've heard 100K+ systems that seemed like a bad case of "diminishing returns" to me--weren't that much better than the systems described above. I didn't find myself blown away but scratching my head wondering why the system cost so much? But if you must, you must!


cnh

falconcry72

cnh wrote: »

You guys scratch too much! I recommend some Hydro-cortisone and a few well recorded SACDs on a A list player...

lol. Yes, I do scratch a lot, but I enjoy it. This hobby is a very "active" hobby for me, and I have a lot of fun by trying out new stuff, doing A/B comparisons, etc.

...Movie sound isn't really that hard to do so I'm not sure what the itch is about?...

I gotta disagree with you there. To my ear, good movie soundtracks benefit from carefully chosen equipment just as much as music does.

...I've heard 100K+ systems that seemed like a bad case of "diminishing returns" to me--weren't that much better than the systems described above. I didn't find myself blown away but scratching my head wondering why the system cost so much?

Well hopefully this potential switch will be revenue neutral, or at least close to it. I'm not really looking to move up as much as move laterally to a different sound signature.


The more I think about it, the more I think I can't do the Klipsch's. They're just to boring looking compared to the LSiMs for living room duty. A blacked out dedicated theater room might be a different story.

I'm liking the idea of the ML's, but I'd have to find some good deals on used ones to stay at my budget, and they don't seem to pop up too often. Going with the ML's is also dependent on that center channel, the EM-C2, being at least as good as the LSiM-704c, which seems like a tall order but who knows.

If anybody has experience with the EM-C2 that would be helpful! Thanks.

polkfarmboy

The Emc2 is garbage and would be smashed by even a csi5, Audio advisor has the $3k ML stage center channel in clearance for $1500 shipped right now. It may be over the budget but its a great investment as I knew this kinda deal was coming because of the new stage x so I sold my old stage for $1850 and just snagged a brand new one

falconcry72

polkfarmboy wrote: »

The Emc2 is garbage and would be smashed by even a csi5, Audio advisor has the $3k ML stage center channel in clearance for $1500 shipped right now. It may be over the budget but its a great investment as I knew this kinda deal was coming because of the new stage x so I sold my old stage for $1850 and just snagged a brand new one

hmmm good to know. The center channel is critical for HT. How's the Stage do? I guess you like it if you bought another one...

polkfarmboy

If your amps right the stage is the type of center channel that you can hear the pace of an actors breath between the words spoken. It sounds more like a tower speaker than a center channel with them 6.5 aluminum woofers and they are sealed so its very fast and accurate.

I never forget watching this samurai movie with a wooden practice sword fight. You could really hear those swords cutting through the air right in front of you and when they clashed is was hyper realistic, like there was 2 pieces of wood being smashed into each other with the proper density.

The stage is fast fast fast. on the cowboys and aliens movie Daniel Craig gets ambushed and then whips a shotgun out and blasts the guy. When he did that I was not expecting it and got the fright of my life as that sound was so quick and loud like a real gun. Things like I mention above really set it apart from a regular center channel but again you need a good amp and your all set. When I put the emotiva amp and the pioneer through the stage it never had the magic even though it was still really really good.

The only bad thing is that it has a limited range for off axis listening, if you aim it for where you sit its hard to get right annd once you stand up you notice a big drop in information to your ears.

falconcry72

polkfarmboy wrote: »

...The only bad thing is that it has a limited range for off axis listening, if you aim it for where you sit its hard to get right annd once you stand up you notice a big drop in information to your ears.

Yea I noticed that with the ML Cinema that I used for a little while. Sounded great in the sweet spot but really fell off to the sides.

The Rotel power amp I'm using now does pretty well. It was a definite step up from the XPA-5.

polkfarmboy

Well I would not wait around to order one as everyone is onto that audioadvisoradd and the ML club is buzzing with people buying them. That picture I posted was from last week and as soon as it came in the door I listed it and it sold 3 days later to an international customer so yesterday I had to order a third.

If you have spare cash laying around it might not be such a bad idea to grab one before they run out. I spoke to the rep on the phone to try get an idea of how many they have left. He would not give me a number but pretty much told me that they are flying off the shelf and wont be around too long at the rate they are selling.

falconcry72

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Well I would not wait around to order one as everyone is onto that audioadvisoradd and the ML club is buzzing with people buying them. That picture I posted was from last week and as soon as it came in the door I listed it and it sold 3 days later to an international customer so yesterday I had to order a third.

If you have spare cash laying around it might not be such a bad idea to grab one before they run out. I spoke to the rep on the phone to try get an idea of how many they have left. He would not give me a number but pretty much told me that they are flying off the shelf and wont be around too long at the rate they are selling.

I'll pass. The EM-C2 was already slightly out of budget, but I would have made it work if it was worth it. The Stage, even on this clearance deal, is 3X what paid for the LSiM-704, and I highly doubt I'll like it 3X better than the 704 based on my experience with the Cinema.

Used ESL's = 1500, Clearance Stage = 1500, used FX2's = 1000 .... that's 4k. Double my budget.


I'm thinking I might look at newer pre/pro's with XT32 instead of speakers at this point... but new speakers are so much fun!!!

falconcry72

Just to clarify... PFB, did you listen to the C2 in your system or are you going off reviews or what?

polkfarmboy

No I actually spent some time listening on many an occasion, its now been replaced by the other model with aluminum woofers.
I actually have a spare matinee center channel in my closet if thats something your into

falconcry72

polkfarmboy wrote: »

...I actually have a spare matinee center channel in my closet if thats something your into

hmmm... es possible, mi amigo.

polkfarmboy

Well its a fixer upper, I contacted ML and a new woofer is $100 and the bottom wing is $45. The woofer has a hole in it I posted long ago about it and the bottom wing is cracked andddddddd the voice coil inside it needs a soldering iron back onto the board lol

I figure if you wanted to do that you could have it in your rig for less than the emc2

falconcry72

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Well its a fixer upper, I contacted ML and a new woofer is $100 and the bottom wing is $45. The woofer has a hole in it I posted long ago about it and the bottom wing is cracked andddddddd the voice coil inside it needs a soldering iron back onto the board lol

I figure if you wanted to do that you could have it in your rig for less than the emc2

Nah, sounds like a PITA.

leroyjr1

DSkip wrote: »

shocker!!!

I knew that was coming sooner or later. Hehehe!!

nwohlford

falconcry72 wrote: »

I'm thinking I might look at newer pre/pro's with XT32 instead of speakers at this point... but new speakers are so much fun!!!

I would try one of the XT32 pre/pro's. I found they made a huge difference. I have the Onkyo PR-SC5508 right now, and it is great. I want to try out an Anthem AVM50v that I just picked up, so I might be able to lend out the Onkyo if you want to give it a listen.

polkfarmboy

Anthems plus arc equal good times, I think you will be surprised what it can do for music. I did a three channel calibration and was astonished how it blended the stage with the Vista's

Well you know I could fix that matinee and let it go for $490. Add a pair of electromotions for $1300 with the fx 1st gen surounds for $500 and thats one hell of a second system that may rival the main

falconcry72

nwohlford wrote: »

I would try one of the XT32 pre/pro's. I found they made a huge difference. I have the Onkyo PR-SC5508 right now, and it is great. I want to try out an Anthem AVM50v that I just picked up, so I might be able to lend out the Onkyo if you want to give it a listen.

damn man, the sc5508 was one that I had my eye on for a while...

falconcry72

Sonus Faber Venere's???

polkfarmboy

DSkip wrote: »

They're OK. To me, they don't sound like a HT speaker.

What does that mean?

I posted a while back about these, my friend got the whole setup and I thought they sounded fantastic and actually contemplated getting rid of my logans for them

falconcry72

Usher X-616 and CP-6311's??? Why didn't I think of that sooner? How is this series, particularly the X-616??? I'm familiar with the MD-2's...

falconcry72

DSkip wrote: »

They far outperform the LSiM series IMO, for both movies and music. The 616 is a frickin beast and the 6311's perform superbly in my room. If you end up going this route, let me know as I have a 616 with original packaging for sale. The 6 series is a bit more laid back than the MD2's, but the 6311's are much easier to drive than the MD2's, even though the MD2's are rated 3db higher. According to Danny Richie, the cloth tweeter in the 6 series isn't that far behind the Be/DMD tweeters, they're just severely limited by the factory crossovers.


It's been agreed by many that I don't need a subwoofer in my room with the 6311's for either application, even running off a mere 25 watts. The 616 made its way out of my system because I found with my setup the center was just too much speaker for the room and really added nothing to the experience (my screen is wider than my sitting area, so everything was fairly well-centered anyways from any seat).

Thanks for the reply. It's funny that I forgot about Usher, given how much I liked the MD2's! I don't have a Dancer budget for this system, so it would definitely be the 6311's and a X-616.

I'm think I'm gonna do it.

Clear your inbox so I can PM you about that 616.

EndersShadow

DSkip wrote: »

They far outperform the LSiM series IMO, for both movies and music. The 616 is a frickin beast and the 6311's perform superbly in my room. If you end up going this route, let me know as I have a 616 with original packaging for sale. The 6 series is a bit more laid back than the MD2's, but the 6311's are much easier to drive than the MD2's, even though the MD2's are rated 3db higher. According to Danny Richie, the cloth tweeter in the 6 series isn't that far behind the Be/DMD tweeters, they're just severely limited by the factory crossovers.


It's been agreed by many that I don't need a subwoofer in my room with the 6311's for either application, even running off a mere 25 watts. The 616 made its way out of my system because I found with my setup the center was just too much speaker for the room and really added nothing to the experience (my screen is wider than my sitting area, so everything was fairly well-centered anyways from any seat).

Skip, one of these days your going to persuade me to dump my LSi setup for Ushers lol.....

nwohlford

falconcry72 wrote: »

damn man, the sc5508 was one that I had my eye on for a while...

If you want to try it in your system, let me know.

falconcry72

nwohlford wrote: »

If you want to try it in your system, let me know.

Will do. Thanks Neil.

falconcry72

So, I jumped on a pair of CP-6311's. That was quick!

Now to find a matching 616...