Speakers to match SVS Sub

[BrianC]

Hi,

I would appreciate some advice on the daily question -choosing some new speakers , but I have a new slant, I want to match the speakers against a particular sub - the SVS 25-31PCi. I chose a SVS sub based on the recomendations of the forum, and the 25-31PCi as the 20 seems to much lower "house shaking" bass for me when the kids are in bed

I am ideally looking for speakers that will take an amp upgrade I'm planning in a couple of months (after I've saved up some more money in my HT fund) - but I'm not decided on the make/model of the amp at this stage, but I am looking to spend about 700/800 pounds.

Here is my setup:
Room: 16 foot by 12 foot, Carpet flooring, painted walls
Amp: Yammha 630 RDS
DVD Player : HK DVD 25
Current Speakers: unknown mission 5.1 cinema pack, cost about 500 pounds 3 years ago in a clearence sale. Sub is the worst thing it in, its very wooly

Other sources:
Sky+
Xbox
PS2
Gamecube
Naff Nicam Video

Budget: about £1200 for 5 speakers, looking for 2 floor standers, 2 bookshelf and 1 center. The floor standers need to be suitable for standing near to a wall, and the rears need to be suitable for wall mounting - I cannot put them on a stand. I'm reasonably flexible about the centre speaker mounting point.

I listen to about 4 hours of music a day via Sky (radio 3 or 1Xtra) or CD, but its "background" only, where as dvds are obviously a "focused" activity
I watch at least one dvd per day
I watch about 10 hours per week on Sky (mixture of 5.1 movies, us imports)

In short, I want speakers that won't be swamped by the SVS sub and can match it for sound quality.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nobber22]

You need speakers with a front port to place them near walls/on walls and these are getting rarer surprisingly.

Monitor Audio Bronze series are front ported, but the rear B2's are large. Maybe some B1's would be ok? The B3's are good too.

B&W 600 series 3 are great, but watch for bass-boom from the 603's in small rooms. Avoid 2.5's - lame. Use 600's for rears and get the larger LCR600 centre.

Some Kef Q1's all round or the matching dipole rears would be a good choice too. Go for the Q4 for floorstanders, it's supposed to be much better than the Q3.

Wharfedale have the Evolution series - very nice sound from the Evolution 30's especially. They are also just about to release a new Diamond 9 series which will be worth hearing too IMO.

Hmmm, looking back, there seem to be plenty of speakers which suit your needs. A good demo should quickly help make your mind up.

 

[Ian J]

Originally posted by BrianC
Budget: about £1200 for 5 speakers, looking for 2 floor standers, 2 bookshelf and 1 center. The floor standers need to be suitable for standing near to a wall, and the rears need to be suitable for wall mounting

Why are you making life difficult for yourself by stipulating that you want floorstanders at the front. With such a good subwoofer you don't need the extra bass that comes with floorstanders so why not look at standmounts or even satellites which will be easier to integrate.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Ian makes a good point here, the SVS subs will go with 'anything' but the whole beauty of the use of the sub is that you are left with sufficient 'power' to drive your speakers correctly if you have removed the bass frequencies. A cut off at say 80 Hz means you can use virtually any amp of the quality you require, then you don't have any problems with the 'ability to drive a speaker which is completely different from the quality of the amp needed. Virtually every speaker can make a decent stab at these frequencies, even small ones!

 

[BrianC]

I've taken what Ian & Beekeeper have said on board, I'm switching to standmounts for the front.

Thanks for the advice so far!

 

[Ian J]

Nobber has come up with a good short list but although I haven't heard them I see that What Hifi gave The Castle Compacts a glowing review. These are five lovely looking small loudspeakers and a subwoofer. I don't know whether it is possible to just buy the speakers without the sub but they must be worth sticking on your short list for an audition if you can find them locally.

Shame that they weren't at the Bristol show last weekend though

You haven't said whether you are tied to buying new or whether you would consider buying second hand whci takes your budget onto another level in terms of speaker quality.

If you would consider second hand and considering that your music requirement is very secondary I would go for M&K. I would look for three S85 and a pair of tripole 55 for the rears or S85 all round. They don't come up very often but the combination of SVS and M&K is sublime which is why I bought it.

 

[Smurfin]

What happened to the rest of the thread

 

[Ettepet]

Originally posted by Ian J
With such a good subwoofer you don't need the extra bass that comes with floorstanders so why not look at standmounts or even satellites which will be easier to integrate.

Good standmounts, sure. Satellites however are hardly a match for such a quality product as the SVS sub.

 

[Ian J]

Originally posted by Ettepet
Good standmounts, sure. Satellites however are hardly a match for such a quality product as the SVS sub.

It depends what you mean by satellite. My M&K speakers look like normal standmounts but as they don't officially go below 80Hz they are satellites.

I can assure you that M&K and SVS are a perfect match as many that have heard my setup willl attest.

 

[Smurfin]

Originally posted by Ian J
If you would consider second hand and considering that your music requirement is very secondary I would go for M&K. I would look for three S85 and a pair of tripole 55 for the rears or S85 all round. They don't come up very often but the combination of SVS and M&K is sublime which is why I bought it.

M&K S85s are fantastic speakers, offering a level of performance which is at odds with their size and appearance.

 

[eviljohn2]

Originally posted by Smurfin
What happened to the rest of the thread

Found it here:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=120570

Clever mod.

 

[Jeff]

Are these little monitors OK at 80Hz? http://www.digidesign.com/products/details.cfm?product_id=3281

 

[Philly112]

Sorry to butt in on your thread!! - question for Ian J. I have 5 S85's and REL Storm 3 (driven by Yamaha AX1). I seem to remember reading here that you had an REL sub before the SVS. I probably know the answer to this (!), but will I get a big improvement over the Storm? I'll also be updating the amp soon, but there's nowt like a great big huge massive monstrous box appearing in the house to make the wife go mad! (and isn't that the whole point of this hobby??)
Oh, and to add a bit to the thread, the S85s are well discontinued now. I wouldn't sell mine for the price I paid for them three years ago, I love them so much (unless I was ugrading to some of their more esoteric designs that is). M&K recommend some others as a replacement on their website - if you've got the dosh I'd probably look at these. You'll find that the finish of the newer designs is better too.
Make sure you listen first though, cos some people bl**dy well hate the sound!!

 

[Ian J]

Originally posted by Philly112
I have 5 S85's and REL Storm 3 (driven by Yamaha AX1). I seem to remember reading here that you had an REL sub before the SVS. I probably know the answer to this (!), but will I get a big improvement over the Storm?

I noticed a huge difference as they just aren't in the same league which is very annoying as the SVS is considerably cheaper than the Storm. The difference wasn't minor either, it was quite profound.

I have the Pro equivalent of the S85 and love them equally as much. I would upgrade to the big M&K if I had a bigger room but they would be severe overkill in my living room.

 

[Philly112]

Thanks Ian.
Which SVS have you got? I was actually on their website (and also on AVS Forum) checking them out when you replied! How was the thing shipped etc? Presumably you had no problems, but it's alot of money to spend mail order with no demo!
Phil

 

[Ian J]

I have the 20-39 PC Plus. Buying is simplicity itself as SVS will charge your credit card for the cost of the sub plus the shipping costs. With luck the unit will arrive 10 days later and BAX Global (the shippers) will telephone you to make sure that you are at home to receive the sub and will tell you how much the import duty and Vat comes to so that you can give them a cheque when they deliver.

The downside is that you are buying directly from a US manufacturer and they have no demo facilities over here. I reckon that there are now over 30 SVS owners on the forum and I am sure that one must live near you and may answer your plea for a demo.

The £650 - £700 total cost for the sub may be a lot in pure monetary terms but it is the equivalent of a £1500 sub bought through retail channels.