Need advice for speakers!?

Question

I am a complete newbie about these stuff and I decided to establish a HT system, on my own, according to my extensive, immense and obsessive researches on the Internet.

I purchased Denon AVR-988.

I am considering buying HSU's STF-2 subwoofer speaker.

As to the speakers, I want speakers that are nice but I am quite on budget. Honestly I did not set a specific upper limit for speakers. But since I want to establish a consistent, compatible and decent system, I was very biased against cheap models...Until I read some reviews on the Internet regarding Insignia's NS-B2111 model, the link of which is below:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705307&type=product&id=1138085354138

It is so praised that I am totally shocked! This price, for 2 speakers? Boy I call this a real bang for the buck!

My question is: Do you recommend these speakers? Would it be inferior, in terms of quality, to use with my Denon receiver and HSU subwoofer?

PS. I'll use this as center channel as well.

Answer 1

I am huge into Home Theater and actually flew out to Florida (live in AZ) to demo the Hsu speakers along with other brands (Def tech, AV123, Paradigm, Martin Logan, SVS and various other brands. Either internet or higher end store bought all donated by various companies.



We did A/B testing with all spekears hooked up to a 500watt Amp by Krell using a Denon 5805 as preamp. The Hsu came out very well even when compared to speakers costing thosands more. Dr, Hsu and his team put alot of thought into the design and drivers and crossovers used in his "budget" speakers. Hsu has always made top model subs and even though they have only been in the speaker design business for just a couple of years, they have come out of the gate with a winner speaker.



I would also look at SVS speakers, (especially there MBS-01 speaker (500.00 ea) but I attended a demo of this speaker last month and it was incredible.



The Insignia is a great low model speaker which means it sounds good for the money, but there are obviously way better speakers out there. If you are serious about sound, and can afford it, i would bypass the Insignias (I normally recommend the Isignias for people who want to spend less then 700.00 for a total system. The next step up for people wanting to get a better HT experience, I normally recommend the SVS STS-01 or Hsu speaker system. Especially with their subwoofers which rival any sub you could buy at a chain store.



I would stick with the Hsu speakers. Good bang for the buck



Also any speaker will play what it is sent including DTS-HD TruHD and DD+ you do need a reciever with HDMI 1.1 or higher (currently it's ver 1.3) to get lossless via HDMI.

Answer 2

Those are decent sounding speakers for what they are but are designed more for computer or boombox use. You won't be happy with them in a surround sound system. You may want to get a pair to use in the kitchen with the Denons multi-room capability. By the way, very good choice of receivers!



You didn't say what your budget is but the speakers are a very important part of the system and you should take your time and visit brick and mortar stores. Listen to a lot of different speakers before choosing. Most will last 20 years or more so it's a time/money investment that will be well spent.



I would suggest you listen to Cambridge Soundworks, Klipsch, and Boston Acoustics at the very least. Cambridge has some very good lower priced speakers. Klipsch will run around $2,000 for a 5.1 speaker setup but are my favorite in this price range (I own them). Boston makes a smaller set that sound much better than the Bose and are less $.



There are lots of other name brands and any speakers are subjective which is why you really need to listen for yourself. Try to find stores that let you compare one with the other in the same place. It's difficult to really compare otherwise (unfortunately, Cambridge only sells there own so it's hard to compare apples with apples in their stores but they do have a return policy that's fairly generous).



Don't buy a subwoofer yet. You'll want to match it with your speakers and some of the towers come with built in powered subs.

Answer 3

You can do all the research you want, but eventually you will need to listen to the set up. If you go to a good home electronics store, they should be able to piece together the different components and let you experience it in their studio. Of course, this will not be an exact match to your own home, but it should give you an opportunity to compare and contrast the various combinations. You may end up spending less on speakers in order to get a better receiver or amp.



Nobody can tell you which is "better". They can give opinions as to workmanship and quality of parts, but not of sound.



You may not be able to hear the difference between a $1,000 system and a $5,000 system, in which case the $5,000 would be a waste. Or you may actually prefer the sound of the $1,000 set up over the $5,000 system.



I was listening to speakers the other day. The 2 sets sounded very different. One was intended to give a more accurate reproduction of the sound if you were in the front row. The other set had a warmer sound and was designed to create an accurate reproduction of the sound if you were sitting further back. Neither was "better". In fact, one pair sounded better with smaller combos playing jazz while the other sounded better when listening to larger combos or when listening to rock and roll.



It's kind of like perfumes - you may prefer the smell of one over another but it would be a matter of preference and not quality.

Answer 4

You can do better because they are only 2 way speakers what you really need is three way for you to really enjoy every aspect of ht system I would recommend 3 way tower speakers along with your subwoofers I have a pair of KLH here are the features KLH 6.5" 3 Wy. 200W Tower Model #M365T

6 1/2" Polymer Treated Fiber Cone Woofer, 6 1/2" Passive Radiator, 3 3/4" Mid-Range & 5/8" Polycarbonate Tweeter

Magnetically shielded for ht.Finish: Black

6 1/2-inch Polypropylene Dynamic Woofer

4 1/2-inch Polypropylene Dynamic Midrange

1-inch Soft Dome Tweeter with Ferrofluid

3-Way Ported Design

Magnetically Shielded

Black Cloth Removable Grills

Frequency Response: 35 Hz to 20 kHz

Sensitivity: 87 dB at 1W - 1M

Suggested Amplifier Power: 5 to 200 Watts per Channel

Impedance: 8 Ohms Average

Warranty: 5 Years Limited Parts/Labor

Weight: 48.5 pounds.the sad part it's really hard to get a pair but 35 hz on bass and 20 hz on highs sounds better than the 2 way which only has 50 hz to 20 hz so when buying speakers don't go for double woofer with a tweeter or a two way go for a true three way speakers with a midrange.

Answer 5

You have a very good receiver and I suggest that you also get very good speakers to go with it. The recommendation is always to spend more time and money on the speakers. I agree with the folks here that you should audition Monitor Audio (Radius), PSB, Infinity, JBL, Definitive Technology, Canton, Paradigm and the host of other brands mentioned. Look at the link I have added here from Home Theater Magazine. If the brand they recommend is too expensive, look at the cheaper line or smaller size speaker of that brand.



I have a HSU research sub VTF-2 and I like it.

Answer 6

First the interest speaker has twin meanings. I rather have a pair of Yamaha branded audio device on my living house stereo .a short description of my yamaha's audio device is -A wood cupboard with components in it. the climate are a tweeter, midrange, woofer and a crossover community. The tweeter,midrange, woofer are additionally talked approximately as audio device. some manufacturers call the climate uncooked physique audio device. klipsch makes a large speaker. I rather have 2 units of boston acoustics 2.a million audio device and and a pair of units of altec lansing 2.a million they the two sound amazing (2.a million is two audio device and a million sub woofer). My chum has a set of two.a million JBL's that are large additionally.. No offence to logitech they could be good yet klipsch, jbl, altec just to call some, have made large audio device for living house audio over the years. I fix electronics for a living and a speaker is a metallic physique a cone and a copper tube rapped in cord and a magnet. Granted a tweeter is slightly diverse make up, however the tweeter, woofer and midrange(if the speaker cupboard has one in it) in my automobile speaker or living house speaker or laptop speaker are rather the comparable settle for for the wattage, actual length and impedance(ohms) try diverse audio device and hear the comparable cd or action picture on the differnet audio device and use the comparable laptop that way the sound card is the comparable. by using fact one sound card may appear diverse from the subsequent by using fact of extra appropriate componants or layout in one as unfavorable to the different.

Answer 7

Insignia is really a bottom end Chinese made brand. If you go to Best Buy, their stuff is always the cheapest.



If you want quality, stick with known name brands like Polk, Klipsh, Mirage etc. You will pay more, but your ears will thank you. With any sound system, always make the quality of the speakers your top priority. They produce the sound.