Hi,
I am currently in the market for a new set of speakers. I will be
mostly be using it to listen to music, and sometimes for movies. Since
I listen to mostly trance, techno, dance music, I will need to have a
good clear (punchy )bass. I am wondering whether I should purchase one
of those speaker sets with the little speakers and subwoofer OR try to
build my own using a combination of good bookshelf speakers and a
subwoofer?

I would like to purchase the speaker system with the small speakers
since it would reduce the clutter in my apartment, however I am
worried that the they maybe tailored especially for use in the home
theater hence not be the best when listening to music.

Any thoughts please let me know

In article . com, "trancefanatic" wrote:
Hi,
I am currently in the market for a new set of speakers. I will be
mostly be using it to listen to music, and sometimes for movies. Since
I listen to mostly trance, techno, dance music, I will need to have a
good clear (punchy )bass. I am wondering whether I should purchase one
of those speaker sets with the little speakers and subwoofer OR try to
build my own using a combination of good bookshelf speakers and a
subwoofer?

It seems like if you know enough about building speakers then you should
know what you need. If you don't know either, I might suggest
some kits from Parts Express.
Chances are, those "little" speakers will not have what your looking for.

greg


I would like to purchase the speaker system with the small speakers
since it would reduce the clutter in my apartment, however I am
worried that the they maybe tailored especially for use in the home
theater hence not be the best when listening to music.

Any thoughts please let me know

GregS wrote:

"trancefanatic" wrote:

I am currently in the market for a new set of speakers. I will be
mostly be using it to listen to music, and sometimes for movies. Since
I listen to mostly trance, techno, dance music, I will need to have a
good clear (punchy )bass. I am wondering whether I should purchase one
of those speaker sets with the little speakers and subwoofer OR try to
build my own using a combination of good bookshelf speakers and a
subwoofer?

It seems like if you know enough about building speakers then you should
know what you need. If you don't know either, I might suggest
some kits from Parts Express.

Um, I think he meant "build" in the sense of buying bookshelf skeakers
and subwoofers separately rather than a prepackaged system. As opposed
to "build" in the sense of sawing wood and mounting drivers in a
homemade box.

Chances are, those "little" speakers will not have what your looking for.

Yes, don't buy the little sattelite speakers with the subs - they
invariably have a hole around 200hz that's a half octave wide or more.
Your best approach is to buy a pair of bookshelves that sound good on
their own, then add a sub to provide the bottom two octaves.

Big caveat here, however: most club dance music is engineered to sound
right on a big boomy inaccurate but loud PA system. A stereo system
that reproduces an orchestra with lifelike realism might not get you the
sound that you're after with that kind of music.

//Walt

In article . com,
says...
I am wondering whether I should purchase one
of those speaker sets with the little speakers and subwoofer OR try to
build my own using a combination of good bookshelf speakers and a
subwoofer?

Without a doubt go for the latter - there are lots of good
"bookshelves" at a variety of price points. You might consider some of
the internet direct companies if you are comfortable purchasing that
way. Companies like Axiom http://www.axiomaudio.com, Ascend
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/ AV123 http://www.av123.com/ all have
great reputations and very satisfied customers. And that's a small
sample of what's available.

If you prefer to shop B&M, then the list is even bigger (well, depending
on where you live it may be). Personally I have experience with a number
of offerings from Paradigm, B&W and Boston Acoustics and I consider them
all top notch companies with excellent products at a range of price
points.

It's best if you can do some auditioning yourself: put together a CD of
music you like, and maybe even include some stuff that you don't listen
to, but which will reveal how a speaker performs with different
material. Try a little acoustic jazz, some well recorded female vocals,
perhaps even something with only spoken voice.

I'd also recommend that you buy a subwoofer separately from a company
that specializes in subs. Hsu, Adire, SVS and Outlaw come to mind. It's
not that the other speaker manufacturers make poor subs - but usually
you get better bang for the buck with these "specialists".

Searching for speakers can be a lot of fun if you go in with the right
attitude. And remember that you are buying speakers for *your* ears, so
take brand recommendations like mine with a grain of salt - what I like
might not be to your taste.

Good luck and have fun!

--
Bill

"trancefanatic" wrote in message
ups.com

I am currently in the market for a new set of speakers.
I will be mostly be using it to listen to music, and
sometimes for movies. Since I listen to mostly trance,
techno, dance music, I will need to have a good clear
(punchy )bass. I am wondering whether I should purchase
one of those speaker sets with the little speakers and
subwoofer OR try to build my own using a combination of
good bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer?

Seems like an excluded-middle question, because you can buy speaker sets
with good bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer.

The general strategy of using what is known as a sub/sat system is good one.
It only gets into problems when the subs and the sats aren't up to the job.
There are people who are using sub/sat systems where the sats are
floor-standers.

I would like to purchase the speaker system with the
small speakers since it would reduce the clutter in my
apartment,

Reducing clutter is one of the less significant advantages of using a
sub/sat system. The major benefit is that the satellites being smaller and
not handling the deep bass, are easier to position for the best sound. Often
the best place in the room for bass is not the best place in the room for
midrange and treble.

however I am worried that the they maybe
tailored especially for use in the home theater hence not
be the best when listening to music.

Any good set of speakers will be tailored for the most accurate possible
sound, not a particular style or genre.



Any thoughts please let me know

Arny, did seeing your lies flung back in your face scare you that much,
that you decided you're better off not responding to my reply to your
litany of lies?:

-----------------
Arny old man, I realize you're getting old. Way old. This thread
started because Schizoid Man posted having heard the Orpheus. So my
question is.... do you have Alzheimer's and would you know if you did?
Do you remember how to spell your name?

Yet you don't find a problem telling people they're a rip off, no better than the 580 model.

Wow, where did I say that?

Hint: I didn't. You made this up all by yourself SHP.

Damn you, Arny. Why is it whenever you're faced with the option to
admit you're wrong or embarass yourself before everyone, you always
choose to embarass yourself?

This below is you saying what I said you said. You said it just a few
hours ago. Arny, get yourself checked for Alzheimer's. You're an old
man.:

ARNY'S LIE REVEALED:
----------------------------------------------------------------- So
are HD580s and 600s.

The Sennheiser Oprheus headphones are more of a pleasure to listen to than any $20,000+ pair of speakers I have heard from JM Lab, Wilson Audio, Sonus Faber, etc.

Begs the question, what do you do to a pair of $200 headphones to make
people want to pay $15,000 (quickly dropped to $5,000) a pair for them?


In the wacky world of high end audio the answer seems obvious:

(1) change some plastic external parts to wood.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Given the price of the phones, you'd never be able to get your fat grubby mitts anywhere near them, to try them - so you haven't.

Doesn't it get cold up in that ivory tower, SHP?

No, I have central heating.

Could you be more pompous and misleading if you tried?

I'm sure I could do anything if I put my mind to it, but I've never
done that before, so I can't really say. I don't see what's misleading
about saying that your broke ass can't afford $20,000 headphones?

Ergo, you don't know anything about the headphones (they come with a tube amp, as I recall),

So what's your point SHP?

I think my point was that you don't know anything about headphones.
Perhaps we can add that to the long, long list of "things about audio
that Arny doesn't know".

and yet you can "confidently" proclaim to people that they are merely Sennheister 580's with wood frames, and about $15,000 added.

Wow, where did I say that?

Hint: I didn't. You made this up all by yourself SHP.

Seriously, you really ought to get that Alzheimer's looked after:

ARNY'S LIE REVEALED:
----------------------------------------------------------------- So
are HD580s and 600s.

The Sennheiser Oprheus headphones are more of a pleasure to listen to than any $20,000+ pair of speakers I have heard from JM Lab, Wilson Audio, Sonus Faber, etc.

Begs the question, what do you do to a pair of $200 headphones to make
people want to pay $15,000 (quickly dropped to $5,000) a pair for them?


In the wacky world of high end audio the answer seems obvious:

(1) change some plastic external parts to wood.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

So besides being intolerant of my tweaks which you can't figure out and that frighten and threaten you,

Wow, where did I say that? Hint: I didn't. You made this up all by yourself SHP.

So now you're saying that you're not intolerant of my tweaks, that you
didn't mock or dismiss them, that you didn't get angry at Jenn for not
dismissing them as thoroughly as you would have liked? Either you're
saying that, or you need to get that Alzheimer's looked at.

you're also intolerant of high end cables, wires, cd players, turntables, headphones and of course, Jews.

Wow, where did I say that?

I guess your Alzheimer's is SO bad.... you just wiped out the last 10
years of life, in which saying the above is about all you did. Do you
remember which shoe goes on which foot, Arny?

BTW SHP you seem to be ignoring the fact that I'm routinely accused of loving Jesus, and by most accounts he was a Jew.

Jesus was as much a jew as you're a knowledgable audiophile. And you
just said you're "accused" of loving him, not an admission that you
love Jesus. If you answer this question we might be able to clear that
up:

Q. Arny: Do you love Jesus?

Any other forms of bigotry in you that we should know about, Arny?

Hatred of stupidity and lies. Does that threaten you, SHP?

No, it makes a lot of sense, actually. Since "stupidity and lies" is
what I've always proven you are full of, that is a tacit admission that
you hate yourself. Which explains why you feel a need to embarass
yourself all the time, like this, where you flat out deny things you
clearly said a few hours ago. You hate yourself, and you like being
humiliated. I'm sure that you live to go to S&M clubs, where you beg to
be whipped and peed on.

Two words: Sighted Evaluation.

Pray tell, how do you blind test a pair of headphones, say the Sennheiser 580 vs. the Orpheus? The Orpheus will be a heavier pair and clearly, you'll be able to feel the difference on your head?

Add helium baloons?

That's your response? You're rant about the fact that SM never did a
blind test to your specifications, you dismiss his experiences because
he didn't, and then when asked how one does such a test, your answer is
a stupid joke?

I think you finally elucidated for us exactly why we should not take
you or your stupid ABX tests seriously, and that ALL audio should be
purchased on purely sighted, subjective listening. You just admitted
that your ABX TEST IS A JOKE!! Thank you for that, Arny.

Uh-oh.... looks like someone threw another spanner in the works for Arny's "ABX Empire" agenda. I predict we'll find you hiding behind the fridge now.

Looks like I've already made you hide behind your posturing and lies, SHP.

Looks more like I did, Arny:

ARNY'S LIE REVEALED:
----------------------------------------------------------------- So
are HD580s and 600s.

The Sennheiser Oprheus headphones are more of a pleasure to listen to than any $20,000+ pair of speakers I have heard from JM Lab, Wilson Audio, Sonus Faber, etc.

Begs the question, what do you do to a pair of $200 headphones to make
people want to pay $15,000 (quickly dropped to $5,000) a pair for them?


In the wacky world of high end audio the answer seems obvious:

(1) change some plastic external parts to wood.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If the Grand Utopia Be's were sold in the more pragmatic marketplace of professional audio, the top asking price would be less than a tenth of that. Clearly a product for people who are impressed by their ability to buy things at a price they never ask. It's all about bragging rights.

Translation: "I wish I was wealthy enough to afford those speakers, damn it."

Wow, where did I say that?

Hint: I didn't. You made this up all by yourself SHP.

You must have forgotten that you said this already 10 times, Arny.
Definitely Alzheimer's.

Spoken like a true gearhead. Arny, you will die never knowing squat about what sounds good. There's something comforing in that, i find.

When you figure out what *comforing* is SHP, would you let us know? ;-)

Ooooh, Arny gets me on a "typo". Sure sign of a loser, losing the
debate! If I pointed out every time you made a type Arny, we'd never
leave this place. Well, you'll never leave this place anyhow, so I
guess that's moot.

Nor have you hear what's in Tom Nousaine's living room. His are speakers that blow other speakers away the old fashioned way: They create bass so low that it is best characterized as a strong wind that changes direction at low frequencies.

Typical gearhead thing to say. Who cares if they don't sound musical?!

Applying your own standards SHP -when was the last time you heard Tom's stereo?

I would never want to subject myself to the torture of listening to a
stereo owned either by you, are ANYONE YOU PERSONALLY KNOW. When was
the last time you heard a pair of Sennheiser Orpheus?

Ooops! Kryptonite!

Now you think you're Lex Luthor? Okay, Alzheimer's AND senility. Arny,
you're getting too old for this. Retire from RAO already.

The important thing is, they can rattle the foundation of the house reproducing "sounds".

I've heard Toms system play music on many occasions, but I never heard the foundation rattling, even when I was in his basement with everything going upstairs.

Inability to avoid taking everything literally, noted.

wrote in message
oups.com
Arny, did seeing your lies flung back in your face scare
you that much, that you decided you're better off not
responding to my reply to your litany of lies?:

-----------------
Arny old man, I realize you're getting old. Way old. This
thread started because Schizoid Man posted having heard
the Orpheus. So my question is.... do you have
Alzheimer's and would you know if you did? Do you
remember how to spell your name?

Yet you don't find a problem telling people they're a
rip off, no better than the 580 model.

Wow, where did I say that?

Hint: I didn't. You made this up all by yourself SHP.

Damn you, Arny. Why is it whenever you're faced with the
option to admit you're wrong or embarass yourself before
everyone, you always choose to embarass yourself?

This below is you saying what I said you said. You said
it just a few hours ago. Arny, get yourself checked for
Alzheimer's. You're an old man.:

ARNY'S alleged lie manufactured from the following true statement:

Schizoid Man" wrote in message


To call them stunning would be a euphemism. The only words I can think of
are lucidity
and clarity. They were simply gorgeous.

Arny wrote:

So are HD580s and 600s.

So, all I said about HD580s is that they have stunningly good sound,
lucidity and clarity, and are simply gorgeous.

I then went on to describe a proposed procedure for making some unnamed pair
of headphones appear to be worth $1,000s.

In short SHP you haven't made your case.

"trancefanatic" wrote in message
ups.com...

I would like to purchase the speaker system with the small speakers
since it would reduce the clutter in my apartment, however I am
worried that the they maybe tailored especially for use in the home
theater hence not be the best when listening to music.

Any thoughts please let me know

HSU claims their Ventriloquist satellite system gets around the 200 hz
response problem:
http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

Also FWIW, note that the Ventriloquist system with a sub will give you 6.1
surround not just 5.1. HSU has tended to focus on music as opposed to home
theater sound. They also make some great subs for the money and give a deal
on the Ventriloquist system when you buy it with a sub. And, no I have
nothing to do with the company, I'm just a satisfied customer.

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...

Reducing clutter is one of the less significant advantages of using a
sub/sat system.

Nonsense. Getting the big woofers out of the speaker cabinets and off into
a corner somewhere is a big advantage to many people.

however I am worried that the they maybe
tailored especially for use in the home theater hence not
be the best when listening to music.

Any good set of speakers will be tailored for the most accurate possible
sound, not a particular style or genre.

Cyborg speak. He means "good" for him, not "good" in your opinion.

jeffc said to the Krooborg:

Any good set of speakers will be tailored for the most accurate possible
sound, not a particular style or genre.

Cyborg speak. He means "good" for him, not "good" in your opinion.

Krooger is on record as klaiming that commercial audio designers and audio
consumers have the exact same goals. The depths of the Beast's confusion
have yet to be fully measured.





--
A day without Krooger is like a day without arsenic.

"jeffc" wrote in message


"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...

The general strategy of using what is known as a sub/sat system is good
one.

It only gets into problems when the subs and the sats aren't up to the
job.
There are people who are using sub/sat systems where the sats are
floor-standers.

Reducing clutter is one of the less significant
advantages of using a sub/sat system.

The major benefit is that the satellites being smaller and
not handling the deep bass, are easier to position for the best sound.
Often
the best place in the room for bass is not the best place in the room for
midrange and treble.


Getting the big woofers out of the speaker
cabinets and off into a corner somewhere is a big
advantage to many people.

I'm glad that you agree with my statements, above.