Comparison help please

[Orange Peel]

Hey guys, I'm new to the board, and thought I would post a question. There seems to be a lot of knowledgable people on the board, so hopefully someone can lend a helping hand.

I plan to buy some new front speakers pretty soon, and was wondering what people thought of the comparison between Polk's line and stuff from Klipsch? I have heard Klipsch's stuff and man it sounds great, but it is a little on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for :)

I have a friend that can get me Polk stuff for about half the retail price, I just want to get the best speaker for my buck, like I'm sure everyone does, if Klipsch is better then I will save for that.

I'm more familiar with car audio stuff and car performance stuff, I'm just getting into home audio equipment now.

I currently have some not so expensive stuff, I have the Polk RM6000 setup (had to get it, got a smoking deal) with a Harman Kardon AVR125 reciever running it (dreaming of the 8000), Sony DVD player, Mitsubishi 60" TV, etc., just a breakdown fyi.

I plan to pick up a new sub too, that little 8" sub that came with the RM6000 isn't cutting it :) I've read that the PSW650 seems nice, what else is out there that's comparable?

What would you recommend for someone that doesn't want to spend $1k+ per speaker (fronts) but wants something that will kick some ass too?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!

Scott Goldsmith

[nascarmann]

OP

Get some Bose cubes....you can't go wrong there;)

[Orange Peel]

Are you being serious? I have heard some Bose stuff, but I think they are a little over priced and not that great for what they cost. My brother has a nice set of Klipsch towers and they sound wonderful, I just want to know what Polk has that comapres to them.

What is a good bang for the buck Polk floor speaker?

Scott

[wangotango68]

these will blow you out of the room!!

scott

[ziplin]

I plan to buy some new front speakers pretty soon, and was wondering what people thought of the comparison between Polk's line and stuff from Klipsch? I have heard Klipsch's stuff and man it sounds great,

Did I make a wrong turn and end up at Club Klipsch again?!?

All Kidding aside, You must listen to both and let your own ears make that decision Good Luck!

[Orange Peel]

I've never really listened to Cerwin Vega's stuff. How's their longevity? Does the sound crap out after awhile?

I kinda want to get all the same brand stuff, so if I go with Polk, or Klipsch, or Cerwin, etc, I will most likely keep upgrading to something they have, know what I mean?

I really like these forums, I wish I had come here a long time ago.

Thanks for the replies so far, keep them coming!

Scott

[Orange Peel]

ziplin - hehe, I take it people have asked about Klipsch before too? I just don't want to waste my money that's all, I want to do it right and once :)

I'll have to listen to everything I guess, darn ;)

Scott

[wangotango68]

a buddy of mine just bought a set last month and i have listned to them once and they blew me away!! it was like being in the front row at a live show. sure there are better sounding speakers out there, but for raw in you face rock and roll speakers they are hard to beat.

scott

[F1nut]

Originally posted by Orange Peel
Are you being serious?

He's not.......I hope!

OP,
Nascarmann has some SDA 1C's for sale, $700.00 I think. Great vintage speaker.

[ziplin]

http://www.audioreview.com/Main,Spea...00_100crx.aspx

I have nothing against Klipsh, In my humble opinion I think your bang for the buck lies with Polk. Check out the above site for other peoples opinions (hope it works) Again, if you have a chance to demo different speakers find the one thats floats your boat and buy it!

[Orange Peel]

wangotango68 - Thanks dude, I will have to go check them out. Are they pretty clear? I watch more DVD's than listening to the radio or CD's. So I'm more into a speaker that will rock when watching movies and such. I will let you know what I think of them.

F1nut - Good, I wasn't sure if he wasn't seeing with me or not, probably giving a new guy some crap :) I have been reading about the SDA's and such, it amazes me that a speaker that people bought in the early 90's and late 80's can be that good. Doesn't the speaker die off or deteriorate (Sp?)? I would love to hear a set of those, everyone seems to love them, and plus they seem to cost a fortune, some guy has a set of speakers like that for $20k listed, MY GOD! Can they really be that good?

Scott

[Orange Peel]

ziplin - Thanks for the link, I will definitely spend some time reading on the reviews. I like to get people's opinions this way I can narrow it down a bit instead of wasting the sales rep's time, and then not want anything after using him for an hour or more :)

Scott

[F1nut]

Orange Peel,

Welcome to the forum.....yeah, he's just messing around....probably too much "shine".
The SDA's don't "die off", because they have rubber speaker surrounds unlike alot of other speakers with the foam surrounds.
The 20K is just the way raife1 is saying that he isn't going to sell his 1.2's or any of his SDA's. Truth is you could get some 1.2's for $2000-2500.00.
"Can they really be that good?"
YES!

[nascarmann]

F1nut and I are in the 2.3TL club....

[F1nut]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Let's party!

[nascarmann]

Momma said NO party'n tonite....:( maybe tomorrow...:D

[liv4fam]

Orangepeel, your question is a good one. Klipsch speakers are very good at what they do, and that they have the ability to out rock almost any loudspeaker manufacturer out there. It's all about recognizing what YOUR needs are from the speaker to determine what to buy. If you like a lot of Rock,Heavy Metal, movies and so on then you should consider them a little more. If you len more towards jazz,classical,soft rock then you will need a little more laid back relaxed speaker like polk. On the other hand there are a lot of other speakers out there around and under a thousand dollars that are comparable like Paradigm, Energy, PSB. Really do your homework and try to demo as many speakers as you can before you buy because finding a speaker that completely meets your needs as an avid listener is very hard to do. I have been an AV installer for the past six years and I still haven't found the right speakers for myself.Hope this helps

[mantis]

Orange peel,
Polk makes good speaker for what you pay for them.Klipsch takes a certian kind of person to be happy with them.

Personally I agree with the post above about the inyourface rock speaker and live sound.They do it well.But when you want tosit down and listen to some softer side music,they lack big time to me.

But in the end you really need to get out there and listen to some stuff.Bring your own music and get your demoing on.Take your time,listen to everything in your price range.

In here your going to get a strong push for Polk's.We all love em.Some of us hate some of them but in general a good crowd.
There good but you deside if they are.

[F1nut]

OP

I agree with the "inyourface" statements concerning Klipsch speakers. At first they may seem alive/loud/intense, then listening fatigue sets in, they sound sharp and unrefined. I found myself wanting to turn down the volume as my ears were hurting. The trick to finding a good speaker is to find one that does most everything well. You've got to go out and listen, but remember that if you get a demo with a higher grade amp/receiver than you have those speakers aren't going to sound that good when you get them home.

[TroyD]

My experience with Klipsch is that the with a horn loaded tweeter, you sacrifice smoothness for detail. Many, myself included, find this to be fatiguing after a while. If you like the horn sound, Klipsch is a good company that builds a good speaker much like Polk.

Having said that, in the military, EVERYONE has Klipsch. They also have Sony receivers driving them which, IMO, is a potentially lethal combination.

As far as what YOU want? Man, that all depends on what you like and what you want to spend. Grab some of your favorite cd's, find a decent hi-fi shop and go get your listen on.

BDT

[Orange Peel]

Thanks for all the great advice guys! This forum seems to have a great bunch of folks that are willing to help eachother out, very cool! I will go listen to several brands of speakers to see which I like, Polk, Klipsch, Cerwin, etc.

I will post model numbers of the ones I like this way maybe someone will have it and give me their review of it as far as longevity, different pros and cons, etc.

Again, thanks a ton, I will be around here MUCH more often!

Scott

[TroyD]

Anyone notice that ol' wangotango just popped in with a post there? Apparently times aren't so desparate that he hasn't cut off his ISP.

Ten bucks says that there are still people out there waiting for thier money or goods.

BDT

[RuSsMaN]

**** wango, and the cloven hoof horse he road in on....

-Russ

[weavercr]

If you can get Polk for 1/2 of retail and pay retail for the Klipsch, the bigest bang for the buck is Polk. But all in all, demo everything and let your ears be the judge.

[burdette]

I owned two pair of Cerwin Vega back in college (an 8" 2-way with horn and 10" 2-way with horn). I worked part time at a Best Buy and got a great price. I think I'd probably label them the poor man's Klipsch. They were, if nothing else, LOUD! Fortunately, they had a bit more - I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't think they sounded good. But they fell short on classical music, piano, etc. I suppose some here are calling it "shrill" or fatiguing... they made everything sound "electric" to some extent. But for loud rock music at a party... they were dandy. I compared the 8 inchers to a pair of Wharfdale 8" 2-ways at that time, and the CVs blew them away on the bottom end. The WD were too warm and restrained for what I wanted then (but I bet the WDs had a smoother response overall). Roomate had a pair of Boston A70s, which were, in a way, the opposite of the CVs.. great on classical, acoustic guitar, piano... but couldn't kick out a hard rock or pop song to save its life, and most likely burned up a tweeter in the attempt.

[mantis]

burdette,
I have been seaching for new speakers for a very long time.I have found so many speakers that favored one type of music or another.Not many speakers out there can do everything well.
So far I only found one company maybe 2.The one company I think can play anything extremely well is Dynaudio.the other company I'm not sure yeat so I'm gonna leave the name out.
Dan