Me again.
speakers small or large?
im thinking of buying a set of kef small speakers or BOSE accoustimas 10 speakers, any thoughts.....

I don't know anything about Kef, but I know enough about Bose. Go with the Kef.

I say you can get better speakers for much less money, NHT comes to mind. Much less than Bose and REAL speakers.

Go with a SuperZero setup, much better than Bose and probably KEF too...although I've never heard them. Of course you'll need a sub too.

SuperZeros have been discontinued, but from what I hear the SuperAudio SB-1's have more than adequately filled their shoes. In the past Kef was good stuff but their foray into compact speakers leaves me flat. Are you looking at the Kef KHT2005 setup? If so you should head to an NHT dealer and listen to a 5.1 bookshelf setup consisting of 4 SB-1's, an SC-1 and the SW10 before you purchase anything else. I've seen a lot of reviews on more expensive Kef's and it's amazing how many times the term "dry" is used.

The Kef KHT2005's look like computer speakers to me. I'd wager the Klipsch Promedia 5.1's (computer speakers) would give them a run for the money.

Go to Yahoo and type in "nht superzero neutral", then type in "kef speakers dry". What a coincidence. Read some reviews and then go listen in person. (More NHT propaganda here).

I'd like to say as delicately as possible: Friends don't let friends listen to Bose. You can find other words of Bose-dom here.

Now, let's dispense with the NHT advertisement. Whatever brand you buy, have a look at the SB-1's and don't settle for anything smaller than that. There is NO magic in "twisty-cubes" or any brand of similarly dwarfed speakers. There is no "mass" in acoustimass. If you want to move some air, get a 10" sub MINIMUM.

Tractorman's shopping "micro-speakers" and I'm trying to move him into bookshelves at a minimum. Just thought I'd put that out there before I get sideswiped by advocates of the Wilson Grand SLAMM.

This message was edited by Sheik_Yerbouhti on 06/09/02 05:30.22.

Generally speaking, the larger the speaker, the "better" the sound reproduced. Smaller speakers usually equate to lower quality. Search this forum for many threads on this topic. -Bruce

Tractorman, the fact that you were shopping small in the first place leads me to believe you may have limited space for your equipment. (Perhaps I extrapolate too much??)

If that is true then a Sat/Sub combo makes sense.


Tract: When sometimes "snooty" publications like Stereophile begin fawning over products like the Acarian Alón Petites and NHT SuperZeros the question of quality is no longer a question. Note that these products were reviewed with the caveat of "(Restricted LF)".

When you choose a Satellite/Subwoofer combo you go into the deal KNOWING you are making some compromises for the sake of space and/or aesthetics. I won't bore you with the particulars of proper setup - you can search the web yourself and find enough diatribe on that subject to confuse you for a week. In the end you'll realize that the room you put the equipment in may dictate where that equipment goes, often contradicting "proper setup". Get the LCR correct, do your best on the sub placement, and see what the room "allows" you to do with the surrounds. ("Blend" is the watchword.)

Even if you don't buy there, go to a place with NICE display rooms and audition a couple properly setup Sat/Sub combos. (Audition bigger stuff too!) You can't experience a decent audition at most "one size fits all" mega-stores. Most mid-fi/high-end dealers will set up your stuff for next to nothing. (Or nothing.) Any responsible salesperson should ask for details on your room BEFORE they start suggesting equipment.


Okay Tract: Nix all I've said and go with the Wilson Grand SLAMM's. They'll look great in your room.