Which speakers....?

[rst]

I have not got a clue guys....

I have a SOny DB1070 dts receiver, and a pioneer dvd player that supports DTS.

What sort of speakers should I go for...?
What considerations do I need take into account?

Are these any good..

TEAC LS5.1 Surround speaker package now £119.95.
or the Etax stargate £109?

[britboy1979]

the TEAC's are made by Eltax. Both are pretty good, I guess it comes down to what you would prefer, a smaller metal eltax branded set of speakers, or a wooden TEAC, larger set.

[rst]

Originally posted by britboy1979
the TEAC's are made by Eltax. Both are pretty good, I guess it comes down to what you would prefer, a smaller metal eltax branded set of speakers, or a wooden TEAC, larger set.

The black teac speakers...do look...cheap imho.

What about quality? are thy suitable for my receiver?

[Bapapapa]

As you're asking for opinions, is this in the right forum?

Anyway, how much £££ do you want to spend? I personally wouldn't touch those 5 speaker £100 sets with yours mate, but it depends on your budget.

[rst]

Originally posted by Bapapapa
As you're asking for opinions, is this in the right forum?

Anyway, how much £££ do you want to spend? I personally wouldn't touch those 5 speaker £100 sets with yours mate, but it depends on your budget.

YES...THIS IS THE CORRECT FORUM :p

So they're crap then...and wasted on my receiver spec?

Probably £200 tops..

[Bapapapa]

Right, I originally had a budget of £300 for my speakers - went on a speaker hunt, fell in love with my R2s and spunked the whole budget on them - just 2x floorstanders, but they were the <u>only</u> ones I liked. Used crappy old speakers for rears and ran a phantom centre until I could afford to buy the rest of the set - R1s & RC. Cost me all told ~£650, but I'm very happy with them.

What I'm trying to say is you've got a fair old piece of kit there and maybe it'd be best to rather than spunk all the £££ on a substandard set that you'll prolly hate, buy a set you really like gradually. ie. Mains > Rears > Centre. (I haven't even got a sub yet).

Auditioning the Tannoy MX or Mission M72 ranges would be a good starting point.

[Bapapapa]

Oh and don't forget to budget ~50 on decent speaker cable.

[britboy1979]

For £100 you aren't going to get THX quality speakers, but IMHO Eltax make some pretty good surround speakers, particularly the Silverstone 3 pack satellite and centre package. Not quite sure why this is as Eltax make some pretty ropey other stuff....(Titaniums for a starter...)

But I also agree with Baps...if you can spend lots and lots of money (and get MS906/902's and a 905c )

[rst]

So my first priority would be a centre and to fronts?

The rear and the sub being least important, i guess?

[Radiohead]

Originally posted by Bapapapa
Right, I originally had a budget of £300 for my speakers - went on a speaker hunt, fell in love with my R2s and spunked the whole budget on them - just 2x floorstanders, but they were the <u>only</u> ones I liked. Used crappy old speakers for rears and ran a phantom centre until I could afford to buy the rest of the set - R1s & RC. Cost me all told ~£650, but I'm very happy with them.

What I'm trying to say is you've got a fair old piece of kit there and maybe it'd be best to rather than spunk all the £££ on a substandard set that you'll prolly hate, buy a set you really like gradually. ie. Mains > Rears > Centre. (I haven't even got a sub yet).

Auditioning the Tannoy MX or Mission M72 ranges would be a good starting point.

Good advice there. Cheap speakers are a false economy with a 1070.....get some decent ones and hear them sing.

[dtsrules]

Originally posted by rst
So my first priority would be a centre and to fronts?

The rear and the sub being least important, i guess?

Correct

Don't waste your money with the 5 speaker £100 deals my bro in law has one and he thinks it sounds brill but who am i to tell him different :D

As Bap says spend it on a good front set up.I had £300 to spend and got a set of B&W DM601S2's and a cc6 centre and used my old aiwa surrounds for a month.Then i bought some B&W DM602 S2's and stuck my 601's as rears.
Ive still not got around to getting a sub as im more than happy with the sound im getting at the moment.

£100 for a 5 speaker set up is cheap and sounds cheap.

[MikeK]

The thing to remember with speakers is that if it sounds good to you, and you enjoy listening to them, then no matter how much they cost they are a good buy for you despite what anyone else might say or think.
Also remember that no matter what you buy in the end, there is always something better available if you are prepared to pay for it, and indeed even want it.

Most people like BMWs, Mercs and Ferraris etc, but relatively few people own one. Just because a BMW is a better car than a Focus, doesn't mean a Focus isn't a perfectly adequate car for many people.

If your budget is £200, then it's pointless people telling you that whatever you get will be crap and nowhere near as good as their £700 speaker set - big surprise.
True it's unlikely that a £200 set will be as good as a £700 set (these £700 sets are probably crap compared to a £2000 set), but you can certainly get reasonable sound quality for £200, even if it isn't cutting edge hifi. Crap is a very relative term.

The Teac LS5.1U set you mentioned may not win any hifi awards, but is still remarkable value for the money.

Unless you go for a set like that, your big problem will be the subwoofer. A reasonable one will eat up too much of your budget - so it would be best to go for a set with a pair of floorstanding fronts, a centre and a pair of bookshelf rears. There is no real need to even have them all from the same maker, it's just that there's a better chance (although it's not guaranteed) of getting a tonal match between the centre and fronts.

Richer Sounds are always good for a bargain, but there are other places as well.
If home cinema is the priority, you could look at something like a pair of Wharfedale Valdus400 floorstanders (£100 www.qed-uk.com) (or 500s at £140) coupled with Valdus200 rears (£30 Richer) and a Valdus centre (£30 Richers), but there are plenty of viable alternatives.
If music is a high priority, then IMO you need to be a bit more careful, hopefully by getting demos first. (you really need to make sure you like the tonal character before you buy - it's not reallly as important for movies)

[JonnyO]

I'm afraid you really ought to be taking your budget up to around £300 or so to really do the 1070 justice. If you can't stretch that far then maybe second hand may be your best bet.
I would really recommend Tannoy's Mercury series (M or Mx) to go with the Sony amp. They do a good job of smoothing out the rather shrill sound that the Sony has. Don't get the Mission 700's! I know you can get them cheap'ish from Richers but the sound will be so harsh and tiring.
My advice is, leave out the sub for the time being. Get that when you can afford it.
Get theeself over to Hi Fi Store (http://www.hifistore.co.uk) . . You might find something cheaper elsewhere but Gary is so damn helpful that his quality customer service is worth every penny.
Give serious consideration to the Tannoy MXAV3 package but if you can't stretch that far give the Yamaha NS-45E package a listen. Much better 'value' than the Eltax, thats for sure!

Oh yeah, don't forget to budget for some decent speaker cable. Maybe you could talk Gary into doing you a deal on that if you buy it from him with the speakers...

[Bapapapa]

MikeK - I was only giving my personal opinion, as were you, but I certainly wouldn't put a £50 Kwik-Fit exhaust on a Ferrari and nor would I stick £2000 speakers with an Alba hi-fi. If you've got a fairly decent bit of kit, why not try and make the most of it, that's all I was saying.

:D

[MikeK]

Originally posted by Bapapapa
MikeK - I was only giving my personal opinion, as were you, but I certainly wouldn't put a £50 Kwik-Fit exhaust on a Ferrari and nor would I stick £2000 speakers with an Alba hi-fi. If you've got a fairly decent bit of kit, why not try and make the most of it, that's all I was saying.

:D

And for the most part I'd agree.
But if you only had £50 to spend on an exhaust for your Ferrari would you use a KwikFit one then, or let your Ferrari rot on the driveway? :)

All I'm saying (and it wasn't particularly directed at you Baps), is that if someone says they only have £200 to spend, it's not very helpful to the guy if people reply that their £700 + set is great - just a pity you can't afford it.
Most people are aware that a £200 set won't be as good as a £700 one.
What he's after is advice on what the best way to spend his £200 would be.

Is it worth spending more than £200 on a set of speakers for a Sony 1070 - certainly, but only if you've got it to spend.

[Bapapapa]

Yeah, but that's why I said get a front set first and use any old crap for the rears temporarily. I'm sure you could get a very reasonable front three for a shade over £200.

Just giving the guy something to think about. :)

[rst]

Thanks...:)

Both your imput is appreciated, and it had given me something to ponder over.

Many Thanks
Paul - rst
:)

[Justin]

Originally posted by rst
I have not got a clue guys....

I have a SOny DB1070 dts receiver, and a pioneer dvd player that supports DTS.

What sort of speakers should I go for...?
What considerations do I need take into account?

Are these any good..

TEAC LS5.1 Surround speaker package now £119.95.
or the Etax stargate £109?

To be honest you really should be looking at something more expensive and better quality then what you have shortlisted. You have a fairly decent amp, putting something that costs about £120 is not going to do it any favours:( If you cannot afford to spend too much, just do a bit at a time, such as a pair of fronts, then a centre and rear later. Or buy them on credit:)

I would recommend for the sony a good match would be something like a Tannoy MXAV3 pack, or some Mission pack. I wouldn`t look at anything below £250ish.

Hope that helps.

[rst]

Justin...how much would these cost me then....? :D

*me runs to my mum....."mum....its my birthday soon....."*
:D

[Bapapapa]

Is there an echo in here?

:D

[MikeK]

Often the thing with budget speakers, especially from the more established manufacturers, is build quality and finish.
The Tannoy R1 for instance uses the same drivers as did the Tannoy M1 - it just uses a different crossover and uses a better made enclosure, finished in a nice veneer instead of a vinyl wrap.
It was also more than twice the price - and certainly didn't justify that difference on the grounds of sound quality. (actually I remember reading a review which reckoned the M1 was better - they reckoned the fancy crossover in the R1 did little for the sound. Personally I think most people would have been hard
pushed to differentiate them for sound quality, but there's no doubt the R1 is built and finished better).
Now, I'm not having a go at Tannoy R1s - I'm just pointing out an example of where paying more money doesn't necessarily get you better sounding speakers, just better made speakers.
True, build quality can affect the final sound quality, but providing the budget unit is made to a reasonable standard in the first place, the difference probably wouldn't be big.
Finish is another issue, and this is where many budget units reveal where the cost savings have been made.
Vinyl wrap on chipboard (possibly MDF if you are lucky) is the order of the day.

If I were you, if £200 is your budget limit, I'd get a copy of What Hifi and start phoning round, looking for bargains, which will most probably be discontinued stock. They are there to be had, that's for sure, and for £200 or thereabouts, you still have some options for a decent setup.