# Satellites vs. Towers for Upgrade?



## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

Just getting into this hobby and I am beginning to see that, after getting a new 55" 4K display, my audio system is looking a bit rusty. My AVR is fine - Denon AVR-X2000 - it's my speakers that need to go!

I'm running a 5.1 system and have always had towers for my fronts, but my search for new fronts has led me to, among other brands, GoldenEar and their SuperSat 50's. They've come highly recommended, but these are satellites! I've never run satellites for fronts. I know many have and they sound great, and honestly; I do movies about 40%, TV about 20% and gaming about 30%, the rest is music so I'm hearing Sats will work fine for such a system.

Does anyone who has made a switch from towers to sats for the fronts have some insight for me to help me decide if this is a good move for me?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

in most cases if you have a sub in the system the difference is minimal. A good bookshelf speaker that uses a 6" or larger driver will have no issues hitting 60Hz meaning if your crossover is set at 80Hz your not going to miss anything.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

What size is your room (HxWxD)? If it's fairly large you may notice a difference by going from towers to sat's.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I don't recommend using satellite speakers for mains unless your setup is in a pretty small room. The SuperSat's look like nice speakers but I suspect they may leave you wanting if you have always had floor standing speakers.

How big is the room? What subwoofer do you have?


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

The room is part of an open floor plan and my listening space is about 14' deep by 22.5' wide with 20' ceilings, open on one side to a foyer, and open on about half of the back wall to a dining room. I currently have two 10" subs flanking the left and right fronts.

<Edit> It may be worth noting that my towers are pretty small, IMO, Infinity Primus 250's that I've been kicking around for several years, and I use the system primarily for movies and TV (about 60% combined) and gaming (about 30%). I'm not looking to set up a "Listening Room" just yet - that comes later when I do my basement build - pretty sure I'll be looking for some nice towers then...) ...if this helps...


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## Bruce Fisher (Nov 24, 2007)

I've been going through similar thought process as well. I would like to add to the mix... how about 3 identical LCR's versus 2 Towers/1 Center. I've always thought this would be a better scenario since all 3 speakers are identical? And the LCR's typically have more "depth" than satellites?


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

My short list includes a couple of options from GE - their SuperSat 50's (all 3 fronts would then be identical) or the Triton 7 towers and a SuperCenter X (a more "conventional" setup, IMHO).

Granted I've never done a sat system, but if my primary goal on this system is movies and TV, seems to me sats are pretty popular, and the SS50's should offer enough low-mid to fit the bill for the front 3, while the dual subs will/should fill in the blanks. 

Let me know if I'm on track here, or if there is something I am overlooking.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Philm63 said:


> The room is part of an open floor plan and my listening space is about 14' deep by 22.5' wide with 20' ceilings, open on one side to a foyer, and open on about half of the back wall to a dining room. I currently have two 10" subs flanking the left and right fronts.


Given that, I would suggest your consider towers instead. open floor plan + satellites = overmatched. I'd also reconsider getting tower speakers with any type of subwoofer. That's a very bad design in general, and rarely will they work anywhere near as well as separates. What you'll usually find is the best location for your speakers is not at all the best location for a subwoofer, so combining the two will often result in one of them being compromised (in most instances the sub).


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

I have to agree with going with towers. I had satellites and I never could push them to be loud enough, especially with music, When I changed to towers it was much better. That being said if you get a cheap set of towers it will probably have no difference than with bookshelf speakers. I don't know what your budget is so if you give us a number you will get some recommendations on both type of speakers.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

As mentioned above, it's possible to get a good blend with satellites, but in that size room, there's no way on earth you'll find sats that will give the dynamics of larger driver towers. Jman said pretty much what I was going to, but I'll add that also due to that size, the smaller subs in there should be upgraded too. I have a similarly large area, and have tried lots of speakers in it, and while good bookshelves can sound great, they can't excite that much airspace to deliver any impact. Subs are at an even larger disadvantage. I have 3 good 12's, and (4th soon I hope) while they are amazing, I'd be more comfortable with slightly higher output/headroom capacity. Big room, go big.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, agreed. With that size room your going to need something bigger than satt's.


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

Budget is around $1500 for the front 3, which gets me in trouble if I start oogling over the Triton 7's - with the SuperCenter X that would put me at $2k - over my current budget. Of course that is not to say my budget couldn't be adjusted...


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

Here is a setup that is right at your budget. http://www.svsound.com/speakers/view-all-speakers/prime-tower
And the center. http://www.svsound.com/speakers/view-all-speakers/prime-center


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Another potential option would be the Chane speakers. A set of A5's and an A2's are barely over a grand, well below your $1,500 budget.


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

Budget is currently under "reconsideration". Here's why: I just got back from auditioning some GoldenEar speakers. I had them play the Triton 7's and the SuperSat 50's. I was truly surprised at the difference - the Triton 7's covered so much more range than the SS50's. Not that the 50's didn't sound good; they sounded great, IMO, but I thought they were just lacking in some of the lower frequencies that I was expecting to hear, and the Triton 7's filled in those blanks nicely. 

It appears that what I'm really looking for is something with a bit more range than what satellites can provide. Like I've been told but hadn't done until today - ya gotta _listen_ to them before you will know what sounds good to you! I hear you loud and clear; and after finally listening to some, I'll stay with towers for now - Triton 7's, here I come... 

Thanks to all of you who responded for helping me make this important decision, it is appreciated.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Yanno, I'm not one to say "I told you so" but,.... :whistling:
The Triton 7, well I'd suspect those would do pretty well in your room. I still think you'd need some good subs even though the 7's will go low, you still have a lotta space in that room.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Philm63 said:


> It appears that what I'm really looking for is something with a bit more range than what satellites can provide. Like I've been told but hadn't done until today - ya gotta _listen_ to them before you will know what sounds good to you! I hear you loud and clear; and after finally listening to some, I'll stay with towers for now - Triton 7's, here I come...
> 
> Thanks to all of you who responded for helping me make this important decision, it is appreciated.


If you opt to go with the 7's just be sure you can return them if you aren't satisfied. They appear to have a pseudo-subwoofer included, listed in the specifications as "Two - 8˝ Planar Sub-Bass Radiators". That being the case they would fall in line with what I mentioned about avoiding integrated subs and speakers - such a combo is definitely a bad idea.

While looking over the spec's I noticed something else a bit concerning; the Triton 7's are listed as weighing a mere 32 pounds, yet they're 11" deep and almost 40" tall? That's less than half of what a speaker that size should weigh, so I'm wondering if it's a misprint. Hopefully they're more stout then that.


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

tcarcio said:


> Here is a setup that is right at your budget. http://www.svsound.com/speakers/view-all-speakers/prime-tower
> And the center. http://www.svsound.com/speakers/view-all-speakers/prime-center


Looking at the SVS Prime towers, is there any issue with the reported sensitivity being, dare I say, "only" 87 dB? 

Still pretty new to the concept of efficiency, but from what I've learned thus far, and please correct me as you see fit, if I am running a standard mid-level AVR (Denon X2000) with a stated 95 w/ch (into 2-ch), and I am mostly watching movies and TV which, in 5.1 mode, brings that stated power down a bit (65-ish w/ch, maybe?) will I have any trouble achieving good dynamic range with speakers having 87 dB sensitivity?

Also, does SVS report their sensitivity as measured in an anechioc chamber, or is this in a regular room? If anechoic, then I should expect a couple of dB more in terms of sensitivity, right?

I ask, because one criterion I've been pinned to since beginning my research on speakers a few months ago has been its sensitivity, with 89 dB being at the low end of my search criteria, 90 to 92 dB being optimal so I could be assured my "mid-level" AVR would have little to no trouble driving the speakers well enough for me to be able to enjoy good dynamic range.

I suppose that, in order for me to put the Prime towers on my short list, I'd need assurance that I'd be capable of driving them with my existing AVR and achieve good dynamic range. Warm fuzzies welcome...


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

I don't know if they are tested anechioc or not so you can give them a call and ask. About power, your avr should do fine with them as they are stated to have a power rating of 20-250w. That being said I do think if you were to add an outboard amp of 200w a channel they would give you better performance. But running them with 65w a channel will still be better than running satts with the same power.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Philm63 said:


> Looking at the SVS Prime towers, is there any issue with the reported sensitivity being, dare I say, "only" 87 dB?
> 
> Still pretty new to the concept of efficiency, but from what I've learned thus far, and please correct me as you see fit, if I am running a standard mid-level AVR (Denon X2000) with a stated 95 w/ch (into 2-ch), and I am mostly watching movies and TV which, in 5.1 mode, brings that stated power down a bit (65-ish w/ch, maybe?) will I have any trouble achieving good dynamic range with speakers having 87 dB sensitivity?


Anything in the low 80's would be a challenge to drive, but ratings in the upper 80's are not really considered difficult loads so you should be fine with that combo.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

http://www.svsound.com/support/customer-service
Everything you need to know!


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

Wayne did a nice review on the SVS Primes...http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/103897-svs-prime-tower-review.html


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## Philm63 (Jan 1, 2015)

tcarcio said:


> Wayne did a nice review on the SVS Primes...http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/103897-svs-prime-tower-review.html


Yeah, read that today - I tend to scour the Internet for anything being said about a component I'm researching, and Wayne's review was one of the more comprehensive and helpful reviews out there.

These Prime's really do look nice, and folks seem to have only good things to say about them. And what a bargain! I can buy the Prime towers and a matching center, and still have enough left over for an Oppo 103, and STILL have change left over when compared to the price of the GE Triton 7's and their SuperCenter X!

Thanks again for the guidance. I think (hope) I am closer to my final decision on replacement speakers.


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

Your very welcome. No matter what you decide keep us informed on your impressions. We always like to hear about personnel experience with peoples new toy's.:T


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