I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my
money.

I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older)
recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)

I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.

I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers
(Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size)
or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20
v.3s and upgrade my power supply.

Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.

What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog
on speakers or split the cash?

When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm
Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they
sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.

Any ideas?

Bob Frisch wrote:


I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my
money.

I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older)
recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)

I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.

I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers
(Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size)
or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20
v.3s and upgrade my power supply.

Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.

What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog
on speakers or split the cash?

When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm
Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they
sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.

Any ideas?








(1) If you really feel a need tgo upgrade your power supply via integrated
amplifier, for example, then you might want to consider getting a used pair of
speakers in fine condition from either a dealer (trade-ins, demos, etc.) or
even from a source like Audiogon or eBay on the Internet. That way you might
get more for your purchasing dollar in terms of quality.

(2) Unless you are unhappy with the sound of better speakers through your
existing amplification, I would defi9nitely spend most if not all of my money
on the speakers. In most systems, speakers will make a much greater
improvement in your system's sound than "better" amplification.

(3) If I were in your shoes, I would want to audtion other makes and models
than simply the 2 Paradigm models you mention. You might find that all things
being equal, there are other brands/models you might prefer. At any rate, just
using a sample of 2 speaker models to make a decision is an awfully small
sample size on which to base a purchase.



Bruce J. Richman

On 22 Sep 2004 10:25:36 -0700, (Bob Frisch)
wrote:

I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my
money.

I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older)
recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)

I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.

I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers
(Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size)
or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20
v.3s and upgrade my power supply.

Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.

What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog
on speakers or split the cash?

When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm
Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they
sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.

Any ideas?

My advice would be to start in the $1000 range for the speakers and
see if you can find something you like (by listening). If you are
tempted to try more expensive speakers, do so, as you can afford it.
Once you find something you like, figure out if you need to upgrade
your amplification. If you haven't gone too far out with the
speakers, you will have plenty of money left over for it. If you
can't afford the necessary amplification, and don't want to spend more
money within say a year's time, scale back the speaker purchase.

Personally I would not spend that much money without upgrading the
source (unless I was happy with it), but it sounds like your most
imperative need is the speakers and you are willing to spend whatever
it takes up to $2500 to rectify them. So I say do that first. You
might want to save $500 in case you find the source lacking after
changing the other components, however. Unless prices have changed a
great deal since I have last looked, you can get a very good CD player
for that price.

Remember you can sell your used components. They are one of the
things I have found pretty easy to sell on the Internet, years ago
through Usenet and more recently through Ebay.

Above all take your time and don't buy until you feel confident in
your purchase and satisfied that you have answered your own questions.
But go ahead and buy once you've found something you like and compared
it to other items for a similar price. Don't fall prey to the anxiety
that there could be something better out there.

Bob Frisch wrote:

I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my
money.

I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older)
recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)

I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.

I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers
(Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size)
or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20
v.3s and upgrade my power supply.

Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.

What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog
on speakers or split the cash?

When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm
Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they
sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.

Any ideas?

A good amp. isn't very expensive, good speakers are very expensive.
You have an interesting budget to purchase (very) good speakers.

So put *all* your bucks in very good speakers. Take your time, test, listen
and test again with your prefered music... Compare...
Have fun and good luck.

In article ,
says...
I am new to true audiophilia and I need some advice on how to spend my
money.
I have $2500 to spend and I currently own the following (older)
recievers:
Yamaha RX-595 (stereo only)
Pioneer VSX D608 (5.1)
I HAVE to get new speakers, my old ones stink.
I am trying to decide whether to put all of my money into speakers
(Paradigm Signature S-3, they have to be bookshelfs due to room size)
or to split my money and get something like the Paradigm Reference 20
v.3s and upgrade my power supply.
Currently, the main thing that I am looking for is stereo sound.
What is the consensus on purchasing in this situation? Go whole-hog
on speakers or split the cash?
When I was at the store, the higher-end deck made the Paradigm
Reference 20 v.3s sound much more accurate, but I cannot tell if they
sounded better than the S-3s will sound on my existing system.
Any ideas?

speakers.
------------
Alex