I'm in the market for excellent speakers

[TBreezy]

I've a little bit of experience in sound so I'll give you my two cents ..

If you go to a hi-fi store they will tell you that "A SONY/JVC/Samsung/BrandX stereo system cannot compete with high end Marantz/Denon/whatever". They aren't necessarily lying to you .. it's just that most of the population will not notice the difference!  

I would suggest a wholistic approach, consider:

• are you a musician or at least an audiophile
• what type of music do you listen too (trust me dead boot legs will not be helped by the best audio system).
• what is the media type of you audio? Vinyl? MP3? CD?
• are you looking to augment your system with something of comparable quality?  Buy something to serve as a cornerstone for future upgrades? trying to get something accceptable but cheap?
• I would bring my 3 favorite / most diverse discs with em to the store and ask them to let me hear them...

Hifi systems absolutley make a difference - particularly jazz (imo) where i can close my eyes and feel the kiss of the highhats right to my left and the buzz of the bass to my right.  But remember audio is only gonig to be as good as your weakset component.

[moiso]

Bose are junk.  They have good commercials but anyone who knows anything about audio will tell you all they do is really boost the midrange.  I would suggest PSB,  they are cheap for good speakers and sound good.  You can get a surround setup with a good sub for about 1K. Paradigms are good too.  PSB has a nice website too.  They are small but pretty decent speakers for the cost.

Go to stores and listen.  All ears are different what sounds good to me may not sound good to you.  You can tell a difference between say Marantz and Sony its obvious those who have never listened to good audio may say you can't hear a difference.  But on one system I can hear guitar on the good one, I hear nuances like picks on the guitar and subtle things I missed on the budget system.  Take a disc you listen to alot and make them play it.  A good song I use to test speakers with is Jane by Jefferson Starship/ Airplane.  It has a lot of rock and drums and singing and gives me a pretty good idea of a what a speaker will sound like with what I listen too.  If you listen to rap bring rap CD etc.

My audio company also said the same thing about Bose.

[Banner_18]

Thank you all for your responses...They really were awesome. Just to give you some sort of idea about my intended use:

I really don't have a ton of experience in this area. The music that I listen to is in mp3 format  (I get most of my albums via torrents). I listen to alternative rock, R&B, some hip-hop, Jazz, and some Chill. To clarify, I was looking at some suggestions/numbers, and there were a few that were too expensive. I can't exactly give you a solid number, but let's just say that I want some good speakers for a good deal. Refurbished/used is even an often. I bought refurbished a Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.ing fast/awesome computer last year for 600 dollars, where by just getting parts alone, it would probably cost nearly double.

Thanks again for the great suggestions.

[oldmanspeaks]

The key to saving money on speakers is to only buy those ones where you can actually tell the difference. The best decision I made was when I figured out that I couldn't tell the difference between some lower priced ones and supposedly top of the line ones. Most people's hearing is damaged by 21 so take that into account. (there is actually a scientific reason why men can't hear their women later in life. They have lost that frequency).

[oldmanspeaks]

PS. remember the room matters as much as the speakers. I once heard the Temptations and the 4 Tops live but in a poor room. The acoustic system didn't matter.

[kgiessler]

My first reply in a long time...

I am one of those audiophile types.  People often drop their jaws in shock when they learn about my stereo systems, and I suppose rightfully so. 

Fortunately, even though I am eccentric with my own purchases, I can also look at the whole thing realistically.  I'll do my best to do that for you.

Most of what has been said here is true, but I want to point out a few key points:

-Bose is not the best sound quality for the money, or even close, at any price point.  That being said, they offer attractive warranties that they seriously back up, and their products have nice features for the size unit.
-Used is always the best value; I do my best to buy used always.  Out of my 3 systems, my best features a rare set of Yamaha NS-1000X speakers from *1980*,complete with carbon fiber woofers and beryllium midranges and tweeters. The technology has not changed enough (in speakers at least) to negate the discount in buying used.  Ebay is your friend.
-The Edirol speakers that were recommended are active, meaning that not only is the amplifier built in, but there is an amplifier for each 'driver' in the speaker.  This is highly beneficial for many many reasons, to the point where I was able to even give a whole lecture once on the benefits of active speakers.  My secondary system features active speakers (Fostex NF-1A's).  I would greatly recommend getting active speakers, and those Edirol's are a fantastic recommendation if that is the price point you are looking at...next point...
-Pick a price point.  Good sound can be had for almost any price if properly chosen.  It goes without saying that the more you spend the better, but you would be impressed how far even $100 can take you if spent wisely.
-Go with what appeals to you, sound and features.  For years I was laughed at in the audiophile community for having a computer based system (I built my first htpc in...*1999*), now it is common place.  There is a lot of bs out there in the audio world, so stick with what you want.
-The pro market can be a great starting point.  There is very little marketing and hype there, performance always matters most, and margins are very small. 
-Please feel free to PM me with products you are considering and I will give you feedback individually on them. 

Here is a link of professional active speakers, I recommend taking a look at them and see if any questions arise: http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?cat=2864&cat2=&rl=&rh=&instock=0&blowouts=0&ob=p19&filter=&q=&form=search

[Bahku]

From your phrasing I assume you're looking for a surround-sound system for your entertainment set-up, and as KGeissler said, eBay is a great source for used equipment, (as is Amazon, though I prefer the auction format).

Bose is a very good system for the money, and their customer service and support is tough to beat. However, as technology is changing so rapidly, I would suggest going to a review site first, so you can get feedback from actual customers and professionals on the most recent products available.

I have a recording studio in my home, and most of the equipment I get is pro audio/recording and sound reinforcement/signal processing stuff. I just replaced my studio speaker system with some active KRK Near-Field Reference Monitors, and they are excellent for the application I needed.

I know you're looking for an entertainment set-up, but the companies I deal with most of the time also handle the type of systems you're after. As the previous poster noted with his link, Zzounds is a great company, and I deal with them a lot ... also ProAudio.com, AMS (Amnerican Music Supply), and Musician's Friend.

I have found that ProAudio.com has the largest selection by far, and they are having a clearance sale right now ... however Zzounds and AMS offer a 3 or 4-payment plan with just a credit card which has no additional finance charges, and I've found that very convenient at times.

I get the bulk of my stuff from ProAudio.com, mainly because I've found their customer support to be th best, and the selection the largest, but again, going used with eBay is my favorire alternative.

Review sites, and there are many, (make sure it's an independent site with no ties to any manufacturer), are always the best place to start, because you get real feedback and opinions from people who have already "been there, done that", and you'll get a great feel for what's best for you, what the most recent and technologically sound investments are, what the majority of people find is best in a variety of categories, and what kind of customer service you'll get at different places.

Hope this has helped and not confused. You'll have to let us know what you finally decided on, and how they're working for you. The best of luck!

[kgiessler]

Don't know if you are still checking this thread or not, but I just wanted to follow up on my post and specifically the link that I provided.  

I'm looking through it and finding that alot of the speakers in that list are *powered* speakers  but are being advertised as *active* speakers, and there is a substantial difference.

Powered speakers have the convenience of having (1) amplifier built in handling (2) drivers, which does not have nearly as many sonic benefits as an active design.  More information than you need to know, but oddly the name active speakers refers to what happens at a part inside the speaker called the crossover that separates the signal for the drivers...when the amps are after the crossover it is called an active crossover and thus active speakers.  

Nonetheless I wanted to point this out, and again, if you have any questions on any particular models let me know; especially regarding this matter.  I'll be sending zzounds an angry email now...

EDIT:  Just noticed those edirol's are powered and not active.  I should have done more thorough research before endorsing them.  It appears though that in that price range, it is hard to get active designs.  I have a pair of Jamo CS-5's that were in that price range and are active; unfortunately they haven't been made for years.