help with stereo Speakers

[shaker718]

Finally after many years of great sound, my radio has finally started to die on me. The sound isnt clear anymore and the speakers have begun to buzz and crackle and the receiver doesn't have enough inputs to satify my needs.

Needless to say I can't stand listening to my records and it sounding like its coming out of a crappy tape recorder speaker. So I've decided to upgrade. I'm going to set up a sytem by buying different components at different times since Im on a tight budget until christmas.
So far I've decided on a sony receiver with plenty of inputs to connect other components(ie tape player, turntable, cd etc) But Im stuck on the speakers. I want good quality, with good highs and lows, no distortion and frankly I want to be able to turn them up whenever I have guests over. Also my apartment isn't huge so 6 foot speakers don't work for me.

Now even though I am on a budget I figure without good speakers whats the use? So with that in mind I've been looking at whats available at a local store here in NYC (www.JR.com) so far I've narrowed it down to either a set of JBL's, Polk Audio, or Yamaha. What do you guys recommend? Have you had any experience with any of these companies? how's the sound etc?
Thanks for the help. :afro:

[lumpyhed]

Grab your favourite Album and head on down there and take the opportunity to listen to that album on the speakers that are within your price range. If they wont let you do that (unlikely) then goto a store that will!

[ENU291]

I know J and R... nice place over there on Park Row downtown Manhattan. Are you looking for a surround sound setup or just left and right mains? If you are planning to get smaller bookshelf style speakers then you will definitely need a subwoofer. Don't get Yamaha speakers. They make great receivers but average speakers. If you are going to build a home theater setup you can get something like the Polk Audio RM20 speaker system or the Bose Lifestyle series. Give us an idea of your budget so we can recommend something more specific.

[shaker718]

I have a 5.1 set up on my computer, so I use that to watch dvd's. for music I prefer to have a separate set up, so yes Im just looking for left and right mains. I guess my budget right now is in the 300-400 dollar max range. I was considering looking for a subwoofer but I wasnt sure if it was necessary
. Im probably looking more towards bookshelf speakers but to be honest Im thinking floor standing ones might work out best since I dont really want to have to allocate more space for a separate sub.
sucks to be poor and an audiophile. :(

[lytalbayre]

Yahama's are NOT GOOD
JBL's are decent BUT OVERATED
Polk are GOOD DEPENDING ON MODEL

Some cheap but good speakers are:
Athena audition series speakers

I would recommend checking out AVSforums.com for AV info (These are really good forums that focus on audio video)

[shaker718]

thanks, I'll check them out.

EDIT: either you gave the wrong address or that site has been taken over by nonsense, i couldnt find anything other than ads for other sites selling things.

[lytalbayre]

thanks, I'll check them out.

EDIT: either you gave the wrong address or that site has been taken over by nonsense, i couldnt find anything other than ads for other sites selling things.

Here's a link to their Audio Area. (it's actually avsforum.com)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=88

Thanks, and good luck!

[ENU291]

Shaker,

The idea setup for you would have 2 tower speakers with a 20 Hz-20,000 HZ frequency response. The problem is that the closer you get to the low end (20 HZ) the more expensive the speaker. With your budget it will be hard to get a speaker that can output anything less than 60HZ. If you save some more cash I highly recommend the Polk Audio RTi10 series (cherry cabinet). They go for around $480 each msrp but if you look around I bet you can get them much cheaper. They have a response of 35 Hz-26,000 HZ and sound amazing. See if J and R have them but make sure you audition them in the sealed glass audio room they have on the top floor of their AV store. If money is a real concern then look at the RTi8 or the Monitor 60 series. Hopefully that'll help you out a little.

Good Luck! :)