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getting a little obsessed with my first purchase

alright, I've been into music for a while now, however my budget for audio equipment has always been in the sub 500$ range until now. My GF bless her heart, bought me a DE875 sony for christmas. I want to set up a home theater but my priority is music so I'm gonna start with two loudspeakers. I don't want to spend any more than 700-800$ and I'm looking squarely at used equipment (because I always want better than I can afford). I have been obsessing over the DefTech 2006tl's. However I haven't seen any of these for sale second hand anywhere on the net. I need advice from an old hand here. Is my choice a good one? Can I do better? Keep in mind the low end receiver/amp. Also I have a relatively small living room in an apartment. It's probably around 15-16 feet by 9-10. I have been stressing over this purchase for over a month now and I need to buy something fast for the sake of my girlfriend and my health.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Patrick
elchuppa
duanegoosen
355 posts
 
The Snell recommendation sounds like a good one, haven't heard the Zephyrs, but know they're highly thought of by some well informed 'philes. With smaller speakers (pretty much the only way to go w/ your room size), good stands are important. Not sure what sonic attributes you're after, but would agree w/EWHA that you'll need to upgrade the front end and your amplification to get a good idea of what your speakers are capable of. I saw a pair of Spendor sp1's go for $500 on this site a couple of weeks ago. They don't come up often (for good reason). Usually these are the last things to go when a person who owns them falls prey to the dreaded (seldom dormant) upgrade disease. You'll have to spend a lot of bucks before they become the weak link in your system.
Good Luck-
elchuppa OP
7 posts
 
thanks for the responses! I am curious about the snell's however I see that they weigh 200lbs according to the classified. Are you sure that my amp could drive this speaker?
audiokinesis
1,872 posts
 
Elchuppa -

I think the Type A's are only moderately efficient, like maybe 86 dB, but I think they are an 8 ohm load which your Sony would have no trouble with. This is my recollection, which is highly fallible - I suggest you contact the seller.

And now that you mention it, they are kinda big for your room! My recollection is they're about four feet tall by two feet wide by one foot deep. If that rules them out, well, I understand - but considering how natural these speakers sound, they are a steal at the asking price.
racerx90
26 posts
 
You could come VERY close to your price range and have a killer setup with a pair of GR Research Paradox 1's and an Adire Rava Subwoofer. It's a great combination that would give you a full range frequency response. The imaging should be excellent, and in addition, it should have plenty of punch and rythm without sounding dry. I think it would be a perfect match for your Sony.

I suggest you go over to Audio Asylum (www.audioasylum.com) and check out the Speaker forum as there have been MANY reviews and commentary on the combination.

The best part is you could buy it new from the factory and have a warranty on everything (if that matters to you.)

Good luck.
soix
2,133 posts
 
Forget the DefTechs. If you're gonna be using the Sony for at least a while I'd generally stay away from speakers with metal dome tweeters, at least in your price range(although the Triangle Zephyrs recommended above may be an exception). This is a recipe for bright/harsh sound.

Given the size of your room you may be better off with monitors than floorstanding speakers, and you'll tend to get more for your money. One suggestion that falls right in your price range used would be Soliloquy 5.0s with their cool and beefy matching stands. The 5.0s produce a good amount of bass for their size, huge soundstage, full midrange, great detail, disappear in the room and are very efficient so should be easy for your Sony to drive effectively. You can add a sub later if you want, but either way you're off to a good start on a great system. Best of luck.

Tim
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