Seeking advice on new [not vintage] speakers

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Wally Swift, Feb 14, 2018.

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  1. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Let me first post the living room system specifics;

    Pioneer SX-88o receiver
    Technics SL1200MKII stock
    SONY XA20ES CDP
    Onkyo TA-2026 cassette deck.

    Current vintage speakers: JBL L19s. One of the woofers is giving me trouble and I'm trying to troubleshoot exactly what's going on. I've narrowed it down to the woofer itself and I suspect the refoam is beginning to fail. I'm taking these out of the system and when I do eventually get this sorted I think I'm going to move them into the bedroom for another system.

    I would like to try some new speakers in the living room. My budget is $600. I mostly listen to 60's/70's rock, Heavy Metal and Country and to a lesser extent Jazz and Classical.

    I want floorstanders and front ported because of their proximity to the walls. I like what I've read about the Polk Audio RTiA7. They are 8ohm impedance and 89db sensitivity. [My JBLs are 87]. The specs say "20-300" watts. My Pioneer is 60 watts per channel. There seems to be a lot of online comments that these speakers are "power hungry". Anyone think this might be a good pairing?

    There is a Best Buy near by that has speakers by Klipsch, Polk, Pioneer and a few others. Last time I was there they had one set of floorstanders from each manufacturer set up to listen. Would Polks [or other manufacturers] in a similar price range necessarily sound similar or could they be radically different?

    Thanks
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  2. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
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  3. Dougr33

    Dougr33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    $100 over budget, but probably worth it. I had the 225's for awhile, and they had a very sophisticated sound for the price (and rocked!)...
    https://goo.gl/7UELvq Pretty sharp in white!
    "Derived from the Jade Series' Aperiodic bass-loading system, a slot-loaded distributed port created by the plinth exits the base of the speaker cabinet. It allows for greater freedom of speaker positioning, meaning Diamond 240 can be placed as close as two feet from a wall and still operate at peak potential."

    If you're one of those people smarter than me, that actually sticks to their budget, then get the slightly smaller one
    Wharfedale - Diamond 230 Tower Speakers (Black) **DEMO** | Shop Music Direct
     
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  4. Budysr

    Budysr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pensacola, FL.
    I picked up a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 240 floor standers back in December for about 650 on sale. I think they normally go for around 750 but Music Direct runs sales all the time. These are ported on the bottom so they CAN go closer to the wall than rear ported floor speakers. I have mine about 8 inches from the walls and the bass is very good, not boomy and out of control(the owner's manual says the speakers can go as close as 200mm(7.87 inches) from rear walls) I'm very pleased with the overall sound too, fantastic midrange and warm highs. I would think your SX-880 would have no problem driving these at all. They are 4 ohm speakers
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2018
  5. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I overlooked that 4ohm part. I know the SX-880 is 60wpc into 8ohms. So 4ohm speakers aren't problematic? Never did fully understand all that.
     
  6. Dougr33

    Dougr33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    Shouldn't be, AS LONG as you don't try running a second set of speakers on B at the same time.
     
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  8. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Any that you know of that are not rear ported? Took me a while to find a picture of the back of the F6 which has 3 port holes.
     
  9. Budysr

    Budysr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pensacola, FL.
    Elacs were on my short list before I bought the Wharfedales but everything I read told me that they needed to be a good bit out from the walls. My setup is also in a living room and close proximity to the walls is the only way. It’s a shame more audiophile speakers aren’t built to be able to go up near walls.
     
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  10. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I'm trying to grab the ELAC's currently on offer in the classifieds. Rear ported but I can get 12" from the wall so I'll give'm a try. The price is right.
     
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  11. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Any other suggestions?
     
  12. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Has anyone specifically listened to ELAC's with a late 70's silver faced Pioneer? Mine's an SX-880.
     
  13. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    Those Elac's in the Classifieds didn't pan out. I think I'm going to go with the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 Towers. I'm going to demo some speakers at Best Buy on Wednesday but unless I hear something that really impresses me I think I'll go with these Wharfedales. Would love to hear from anyone that has paired these with a vintage 70's SS receiver.
     
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  14. Paully

    Paully De gustibus non est disputandum

    Location:
    Tennessee
    Before I went high effeciency I used PSB and was happy. So that is a thought. Not a lot of experience with modern speakers beyond that but at $600 I would be looking used, not new. And for Klipsch I would stick to vintage / Heritage series if you want to go that route. Also, I couldn’t imagine buying speakers from Best Buy, but that could just be me. Seems like there are much better used options to be found with a little hunting.
     
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  15. jeffmackwood

    jeffmackwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa
    The owner's manual (quick Google search turned it up) for the SX-880 does specify 4 ohm capability, however the power rating into 4 ohms is also 60 W, at a slightly higher (0.08%) THD rating.
     
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  16. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 loudspeaker

    John Atkinson's measurements revealed a pretty easy electrical load and 89.7 sensitivity, so 60 honest watts should work pretty well if your space isn't too large or volume demands with the metal aren't at stadium level.

    I have a 35wpc SX737 which used to live in a fairly large room at a friend's house, driving a pair of PSB 500s which were nominally 6 ohms and 89dB sensitivity. They did a pretty credible job, though there was no metal being played.:p
     
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  17. Radio

    Radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I recently purchased the ELAC UB5 “slim” speakers on sale from Music Direct for $499. Not floorstanders but you might want to consider them especially at that price (regularly $749).
     
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  18. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I don't want to go the used route because I don't want to inherit someone else's problems.
     
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  19. Budysr

    Budysr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pensacola, FL.
    those Diamond 10.7s are rear ported and not bottom ported like the 230, 240, and 250. You might not be able to get as close to the walls? I see that the 240s have gone back up in price and are 999 now! Yikes. I guess I lucked out on the sale price I got last December. I would think that they would go back on sale again soon though. I would call Music direct and talk to a salesman and see what they say about the price.
     
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  20. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I'm going to make some changes that will get them away from the walls.
     
  21. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    What was the sale price in December?
     
  22. Budysr

    Budysr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pensacola, FL.
    I think it was about 750 with free shipping and no sales tax. When I placed my order over the phone, I was told of the 12% off in addition to that price so I wound up with a price of 658 to be exact.
    The 750 price was from more than one vendor. The extra 12% off that was from MD. IF you could score some diamond 230/240/250s I think you would be really happy. Not saying the 10.7s aren’t good too but I know they are down the line so to speak. Not to keep reapeating myself but I am really happy with these 240s.
     
  23. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I'm vacillating back and forth between the 10.7 and the 230s. I was told by the salesman at MD that the 230 are a more laid back sound and that the 10.7s are more forward sounding. For what it's worth I went on YT and listened to demo videos for both to see if I could detect differences in sound. I thought the 230s did seem to be more laid back sounding and I prefer that sound.
     
  24. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    The Diamond 230's are 8 ohm compatible. The 240's are 4 ohm speakers. According to the manual the SX-880 is 4 ohm minimum. So the 240's would be fine so long as I only use the one set of speakers right?
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2018
  25. Budysr

    Budysr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pensacola, FL.
    Absolutely. Although I don’t have a SX-880 to prove it, I am certain that amp would have no problem with the 240s. I wouldn’t hook up and play another pair of speakers to it at the same time though. That old pioneer you have is a beast of a receiver! I have a SX-550 and also a SX-440 that get use in secondary systems. I love those old Pioneers
     
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