need speakers for upa700 & umc200

[soup]

i have $2000 to spend on 3 speakers. Brands/models you recommend? brands to stay away from. thanks looking at kef & klipsch, and the usuals....

[Porscheguy]

You should get the ones you like the most.

[boomzilla]

What can you listen to before you buy?

[soup]

kef direct goldeneye klipsch Magneplanar

[garbulky]

With 2000 you can do a lot! I would reccomend just spending them on your front left and right for now.
But first,
What are your needs?
How big is your room
How loud do you listen
What are your music tastes
How important is the bass,
what qualities do you like from music and
what do you have right now in terms of speakers?
These are well reviewed: www.tektondesign.com/enzo.html
But so are a lot of stuff in that price range.
Golden ear is also nice.
Magnepans are great but you need a sub for the 1.7's and you have to be willing to be flexible in placement - you can't just drop it where you like.
The Polks LSI line is also nice.
Paradigm, monitor audio.
I use the axiom audio m80's.
Also emotiva's stealth 8's are a good bet though you would sort of not be using your UPA-700 here.
At 2k especially if they are just for your fronts you could do so very much.
For 2k for a surround system though your choices are more limited but not terrible.

[xki]

Oct 2, 2013 16:16:41 GMT -5 soup said:

i have $2000 to spend on 3 speakers. Brands/models you recommend? brands to stay away from. thanks looking at kef & klipsch, and the usuals....

Check out a Klipsch RF-52 System The entire setup can be had for $1600 - $1900 It's short to rear surrounds but those can be added.
It includes:
(2) RS-42 II Surround Speaker
(2) RF-52 II Floorstanding Speaker
(1) SW-110 Subwoofer
(1) RC-52 II Center Speaker

You can check out the specs at their website.
RF-52

Adding: Or you can get a pair of RF-7s and a center for about $2k. The 7's need a bit more power to really sing though.

[jinxeddeep]

1) Dynaudio DM 2/7 + DM Center for ~1600. Great speakers with plenty of detail with a generally dark sound but with plenty of dynamics and one of the best bass reproduction characterisitcs among monitors.
2) PSB Image T6 + Image C5 - Detailed sound with a sweet top end without sounding bright. Plenty of bass but not as focused and tight as some other models.
3) Paradigm Studio 20 + CC 590 - Simply superb. Almost everything right with almost no coloration whatsoever. A little outside your budget though.

[tme110]

Ascend. Like emo they do factory direct pricing.

[stiehl11]

If you can find a dealer that sells them (or willing to take the chance) my (obvious) recommendation is Phase Technology PC series speakers. For $2k you can get two PC-9.5 that are worthy competitors to B&W 800 series (805/804), IMO. The bass slams and the highs are very detailed (for a soft dome tweeter) without drilling you in the head. Or, you can go with 3 PC-3.5 that use the same woofers/mid/tweet as the 9.5; just smaller and not as deep.

[garym]

I have a pair of Klipsch RF7-IIs I'll sell you for $900 each. You'll have to pick them up (Spokane, WA), tho --- no shipping (no longer have the boxes).

[waden]

I have the UMC-200 and UPA-700 combo as well and was looking for a inexpensive home theater so I chose EmpTek speakers E5bi for the fronts and surrounds and E5ci center. The sound is great for bookshelf speakers. Between the pre/pro, amp and speakers I have about $1400 in the system along with an Oppo BDP-103 I have about 2k in the system and I think it is incredible. You defiantly need a good sub to go with this setup but it is a nice setup. Good luck. 

[SticknStones]

I would research on Audiogon just to see what is out there with so many brands. I would then with your budget go used instead of new to upgrade as much as you can. Speakers are like women everybody has different tastes. You will need to as someone else previously posted is list your must haves and make it an adventure.

I have personally sold and purchased items on Audiogon and find them to be a very safe business to work with. I think my largest transaction was $6K purchase and never any issues.

If you sort by $1000 min to $2500 max you get 127 listings. Some good looking product too.

[waden]

For around 2k plus shipping you can get a m-lore home theater set from www.Tektondesign.com which includes sub. They are high efficient (about 98db) so the 80 wpc that the Emotiva UPA-700 provides will be enough to rock the house off its foundation if that's what you are looking for. The Tekton website has links to reviews for all of their speakers. I think Home Theater Review did one on this m-lore 5.1 set. You can get them in different finishes as well for an extra cost. I have not demoed these although based on reviews it sounds like they kick some serious a..

[Nodscene]

I'd go and listen to as many different speakers as you possibly can. Everyone has different taste in hearing so what one person loves other people will be let down by them.

I'm not entirely sure I'd go with Tekton. Do some reading on the AVS forums about the issues people have had with the owner. Would give me cause for concern even though most people rave about the sound.

Another company (and their speakers) that people are raving about are JTR. You can get the Noesis 228ht for $1299 for the L and R which should leave you enough for a center. High efficiency at 98db so any amp can drive the crap out of them to ear bleading levels. jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/noesis-228ht/

For a modest budget I went with Angstrom myself (after extensive listening with more expensive speakers mind you) and couldn't be happier. They aren't all that pricey new ($950 for the Modular 4's), but I managed to get almost everyhting b-stock which is usually 50% off those prices. Also helps that they are Canadian made (at least for me) and extensively tested at the Canadian Research Council's acoustic testing facilities. www.angstromloudspeakers.com/

Edit: I wouldn't go with the Mod 10 sub though, there are better choices at the $800 mark. That being said I got mine for $200 and is a steal. I believe you can get the same price as b-stock though.