please suggest the right speakers for me

[rhume55]

I have a small rec room. The TV & speakers are 12' away from the couch. I'm looking for 3 small to medium sized speakers to use as left, right, and centre channel.

Looks wise (do I get in trouble here for caring about that? ;- ) I prefer something that looks sleek and stylish, maybe with a natural wood finish or a white or chrome detail or something.

In casual visits to local shops I've seen have Tannoy, Mission, Paradigm, and Boston Acoustics speakers. But I'm willing to hunt down specialty items.

By the way, I'm buying a new receiver for this -- either a Marantz NR1501 or a Yamaha RXV-467.

Any advice is *greatly* appreciated!

rh

[TECHNOKID]

The looks seems to be of great importance to you and am I right to believe your reason for going with LCR only versus the typical 5 speakers is because you do not care for rear cabling? Also, you haven't mentioned anything about subwoofer therefore, are you looking for full range speakers? If looks matter and you want to stay away from cable clutter, would you consider surround bar as an option? If so, such package can also be acquired with wireless sub as an option...

[rhume55]

Hi Technokid,

No rear speakers because there's really no room behind the couch. The room is pretty small (12' from TV to couch) so I think rears would be overkill.

I guess I was thinking no subwoofer just because I don't need a big boomy base penetrating the ceiling into the rest of the house. Cosmetically, I also like the idea of having three items instead of four.

I would consider a sound bar if it's slim and sounds good.

Thanks.

[eljay]

I'm looking for 3 small to medium sized speakers to use as left, right, and centre channel.

What's your budget?

Looks wise (do I get in trouble here for caring about that? ;- ) I prefer something that looks sleek and stylish, maybe with a natural wood finish or a white or chrome detail or something.

Nothing wrong with worrying about esthetics, but it will likely mean a bit more hunting to find what you're looking for. A couple of well-rated options:
- Axiom Audio (.com) offers a real-wood veneer finish for their bookshelf speakers.
- Castle's Knight 2 bookshelf speakers are available in a sharp-looking natural finish. (They're available at planetofsoundonline.com, with stores in Toronto and Ottawa.)

Both manufacturers offer corresponding center channel speakers, if I'm not mistaken.

No rear speakers because there's really no room behind the couch. The room is pretty small (12' from TV to couch) so I think rears would be overkill.

One option would be a pair of bi-/di-poles (like, say, Paradigm ADP-190s), which would fit well behind your sofa (about 6' up from the floor and ~1/4 of the way in from the left and right walls). Because they're more "diffusive" than directional, you don't need to worry about being so close to them or about having to "aim" them at the seating area.

I guess I was thinking no subwoofer just because I don't need a big boomy base penetrating the ceiling into the rest of the house. Cosmetically, I also like the idea of having three items instead of four.

If you're looking at small to mid-size speakers, you'll likely want a sub to fill in the bottom end. However, you don't need a big sub in a small space. A well-rated small sub - such as the Energy S10.3 or even a Paradigm PDR-10 (both of which can be found from time to time on canuckaudiomart.com) - will provide the necessary bass without taking up too much space. And if you calibrate it / set it up properly, it won't be boomy.

[Tezster]

The surround speakers in a 5.1 setup are supposed to be located on either side of your listening position, and maybe just a tad back i.e. it doesn't (and shouldn't) be directly behind the couch, so no room behind the couch shouldn't be an issue

The choice is yours, of course, but a 5.1 system need not sound overpoweringly loud or boomy.

[eXcessive]

If you want style, Compact & Great sound then I would very much suggest Anthony Gallo A'Diva Ti's

http://www.roundsound.com/adiva-stereo-speakers.htm

These have a very modern and cool look and sound amazing for there size. I would say that the Anthony Gallo subs are not great but if you paired the A'Diva's with an SVS Subwoofer you would have a very sweet system for a satellite system. They do come in a Chrome finish as well as many other different colours and types. You can also Ceiling mount these speakers so you could put them in the ceiling on either side of your seating area pointed to the listening position for a great 5.1 surround system.

I've personally listened to these and loved them, Because I was only looking for a cheap and dirty HT at the time to get me through 6 months before I had my main HT built I ended up with a Paradigm system and I kick myself everyday for not spending the extra money to buy the Anthony gallo's which blow the doors off the Paradigms. When I redo my living room I'm going to invest in an Anthony Gallo system since its the best system for style and Sound I've ever seen.

Find a dealer and go have a listen if you look around the web you will find that Anthony Gallo's a very highly regarded speaker.

A 5.1 System would probably set you back $1500.00

[caper_26]

Not sure if these speakers suit your taste...they are definitely 'sleek', and with grills on, with that paint scheme, they actually blend into the walls:
[HERE]
They are discontinued, but you can still find them online at a few places for cheap.

[BCScott]

Dell has a good deal on today only : http://accessories.dell.com/sna/prod...1&sku=A3875328