CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Well, not quite, but...

I'd like to upgrade my mains. My speakers are still the eensy little satellites that came with my Onkyo HTIB. Not bad for the price, but hardly ideal.

But naturally my budget is near zero, so I'm cruising craigslist for some local possibilities. I don't know these speaker lines that well so I'm looking for a little guidance on whether any of this stuff is worth anything.

* There's a pair of DCM Timeframe 700's for $250, including a receiver and CD player, so maybe I could talk him down for just the speakers. I remember the Timeframes being very well-regarded. http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/ele/750483621.html

* Are Linear Dynamics PR-950S's any good? Supposedly a 4-way speaker including a 15" driver, but other than that I can't find much about it. For $50 it would be hard to go wrong, yes? http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/ele/752304102.html

* JBL HLS615's for $100. Horn-loaded system good for action/dialog punch? http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/ele/736528335.html

* Cerwin Vega D-9 for $150? I assume those aren't that great. http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/ele/747523644.html

Do any of these look like screaming deals, or should I keep diving?

A set of these might do for the L & R. I still have to figure out something for the center. I believe matched L / C / R is the ideal but you don't see sets of 3 or 4 very often. Any suggestions?

Tanks!
Gary

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

How much do you want to spend?

AV123 is in your backyard. Save on shipping and go pick up a trio of X-CS encore and don't look back.

http://av123.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,33/category_id,21/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,37/

Or get something bigger. All I know is that these are nice quality cabinets for next to nothing...oh yeah, and they are supposed to sound pretty nice. 8)

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

I'll second the X-series. But if you are interested you want to act fast as they have a great sale on this line that ends today.

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject:

Wow, $89 apiece is truly amazing. You can't even buy decent drivers and a crossover to DIY for that kind of coin.

That's $270 for the LCR's. Go for it, Gary - that's a steal.

SC

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

It's hard for me to move that fast, unfortunately. Especially since according to their sales guy, the sale already ended this morning.

I know AV123 is supposed to be good, but other than that I don't know much about those speakers. They do have the 30-day test drive, which is tempting. Maybe another time...

drice1234 · Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 1309 Location: Allen, Texas

Gary,
Check out the below link from Fry's outpost. Polk Audio R50's for $59.99 plus about 20 bucks shipping per speaker. They seem to review well. I'am going to stop on the way home to see if I can find these in a store to give a listen to them.

http://shop1.frys.com/product/4005092

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

Crap! That's a deal! Thumbs Up

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=34522

You can't pass this up. I am going to pick up a pair of RS250's![/quote]

paw · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1176 Location: Arvada, CO

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

So given the fact that people are recommending other (new) speakers, I assume the CL specials I listed are not worth pursuing? I thought at least the Timeframes would be of interest. They seem to be very popular with owners -- here are some reviews of the TF600, one model down from the TF700's. Here is a writeup by a reviewer who replaced his beloved TF700's with a pair of $12000 speakers!

But the x-cs's do sound like a deal, especially on that B-stock sale. Or maybe x-cs Encore. Or x-sls. Hmmmm... Smile

paw · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1176 Location: Arvada, CO

The $89 deal that Greg linked to is not B stock. They're new. The B stock is priced HIGHER. The Encore speakers have a new tweeter and cross over. The high end is better. I don't think I've seen a better deal on the X-CS speakers or even X-LS speakers. Which have one less woofer.

I don't know about the CL speakers.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

No, the B stock x-cs is $59 -- $30 cheaper than the $89 deal that expired yesterday. A pair of x-mtm's at $199 and an x-cs center for $59 sounds pretty good....

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

I have no experience with any of the speakers you have listed and I am a BIG fan of av123 that is why I mentioned them.

Plus you are close enough to pick them up. I would have way too many speakers at my house if I live in your neighborhood.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Have any of you contacted them about this sale? I emailed the address they gave last night & again this afternoon, and still no response. I'll be ticked if they sell out while I'm trying to reach them, after I went to the trouble of convincing my wife. Very Happy

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

These sales happen every so often and they get SWAMPED.

I'm sorry Gary. I should have qualified my statements. AV123 I am a BIG fan of...their delays, I am not. They make excellent product and have such a large crowd following every development that they get overwhelmed regularly.

If you are patient you will be rewarded...if you need instant gratification, you should go to a local audio shop, craigslist, or Best Buy.

That thread is over 18 pages now! Lots of interest!

drice1234 · Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 1309 Location: Allen, Texas

I e-mailed them about a set and have not heard back yet either.

paw · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1176 Location: Arvada, CO

Call them! You'll get quicker response. I did see the price was still on the website today. I looked at the B stock page and didn't see any speakers there. There were some yesterday. B stock and disappear quick.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

I was probably not clear enough in my order -- I didn't realize how these things get swamped so I asked a question and that probably kicked me out of the order queue. Those guys DO seem to have a rabid following!

I almost decided to get a pair of x-mtm's, but then I started wondering if that made sense. Would x-mtm's be overkill for an x-cs center? For movies at least (which is most of what I listen to in the HT), the center probably has 5-10x more content & volume than the L/R, doesn't it? So does it make sense to spend $200 on a pair of sb x-mtms and $59 on an x-cs center?? Or should I forget the B-stock x-mtms, keep my current cheezy L/R, and save up for a better center? Or just go with 3 x-cs's??? I'm soo confused... Smile

Maybe I can find somebody in CO who's upgrading in this sale, and buy their castoffs...

drice1234 · Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 1309 Location: Allen, Texas

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Where's that recommendation? Is it one of the posts on the forum, or a page on the main site?