Tony,

Since you already have experience with Paradigm I would suggest looking at the Paradigm Studio series of speakers. Having owned a pair I can only rave about the performance. The studio 20's and 40's are the bookshelf versions with the 60's and 100's being the floorstanding models. I had the 40's and quite honestly they were amazing. All but the 100's should be under $1000 which keeps the budget from breaking. The 60's would be a great choice if you are looking to get into a floorstanding speaker. If you view my system you will see B&W 600 series currently in use and they are on par with the studio series from Paradigm. Slight variations between the 2 lines with ultimately the user liking certain characteristics over others. Both the studio series and the 600 line from B&W would be a great improvement over the current set-up. One last note, whichever way you choose to go make sure to look at matching the L-C-R or left, right and center speaker from the same line and company as you want a seemless front end for theater applications.

Good luck.

nissancrazy December 28, 2007 19:41

Christiancoach

Speaker placement is a unique aspect of system set up and will differ in each situation.

First figure out if you are dealing with a front or rear ported speaker. Rear ports placed close to a wall will increase bass response, but often at the cost of highs and mids. My suggestion is to start by at least getting the speaker 1 foot away from the wall and go from there. If you are not opposed to it..... use masking tape to mark starting positions on the floor and then take notes moving the speakers a little, (often an inch or two is all you need) while listening to a familiar track. Also look to 'toe in' the speakers a bit which refers to pointing the tweeter towards the listening position, this again is a process of trail and error but you will know when it 'clicks' into position.

The other issue to account for is thus: get down next to one of your speakers on the side and you should be able to clearly look to the other speaker and draw a line or a string to the other tweeter. This line should be free of intrusions like a tv or rack. Without this clear line between speakers you will have a very difficult time getting the vocals and soundstage to snap into position.

What you are shooting for here is to actually hear a vocal placed somewhere in the middle between the two speakers, when there is in reality no speaker there. Again about 8 feet apart for the speakers should be a good starting position but this may vary depending upon your listening room and furniture.

I have experimented with throwing a blanket over my plasma that rests between the speakers and have liked the results. The best case would be that there is nothing between the speakers, however, this is often difficult given restrictions of space and furniture.

Give the above suggestions a shot and I am sure you will be pleased.

Regards

nissancrazy December 21, 2007 17:25

Great start. Paradigm has always been a solid speaker and outperforms speakers costing much much more, IMO. If you can get the bookshelf speakers out from the wall and attempt to keep them around 8 feet apart.

Regards

nissancrazy December 18, 2007 15:10