onkyo thx speaker SKF 980 vs b&w 683 s2

santosh4

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Team,

Any idea which one would sound better with marantz? I am having the SKF 90 speakers which are thx certified with i belive silk dome tweeters and I am thinking to upgrade to B&W 683 S2 any suggestion?
 
Santosh, I think this question is mute. Expecting the Onkyo speaker to match B&W will be incorrect.

cheers
 
The material makes no difference. It is the years of research and focus that B&W has on speakers that Onkyo can never match. If tomorrow, B&W says we make better AVRs that Onkyo, would you not take that with a pinch of salt?

Cheers
 
Team,

Any idea which one would sound better with marantz? I am having the SKF 90 speakers which are thx certified with i belive silk dome tweeters and I am thinking to upgrade to B&W 683 S2 any suggestion?

Santosh,
Onkyo is not a speaker company. So they will not be doing R&D into drivers, material, box construction, etc.
Like all Japanese conglomerates they want to sell their electronics and having a speaker package alongside is good marketing.
My guess is that they OEM their speakers and just re-badge and bundle it with the AVRs.
Having said this, the speakers you have may work very well for movies, but in a serious music listening session don't blame them for falling short.

Typically speaker & electronics companies get together to form "holdings"
To name a few:
B&W, Rotel, Classe
PSB, NAD, Bluesound
Paradigm, Martin Logan, Anthem

Cheers,
Raghu
 
THX certification claim can also be another way to make the customer bear the royalty company pays to George Lucas.
Speakers + amps must be able to go up to 85dB at listening position without complaining and have 20dB headroom.
SKF980 is 83dB SPL rated at 8 ohms.
The amp needs to have hot water geyser style power to drive them to meet THX reference. If you manage to source this kind of power, the speaker will blow up spectacularly if to attempt to push it to 105dB
BW 683 is 89dB SPL rated at 8 ohms.
It has a 6dB advantage straight away on paper.

Play with this calculator and see what you need and what you can manage with.
Crown Audio - Professional Power Amplifiers
Most HTs will perform well to give 85dB at listening seat with 6-9 dB of headroom.
Cheers,
Raghu
 
Some companies go beyond certification. I don't think B&W is even bothered about THX. Remember, THX was started by George Lucas to push his Star Wars sound. There is an ulterior motive behind that certification. To a large extent it will (or may) suit movies. Music needs a different kind of sound generation. B&W has never pushed itself for movies, and has always been a music centric speaker.

You seem to like Onkyo speakers. If you have listened to them and like the sound, go for it. Comparing it to something else B&W in terms of company competence and technologies will not make much sense.

Cheers
 
I have auditioned now with THX as well as the Music oriented eg: PSB.. you are absolutely right, you can never feel that in Onkyo.. As you said its better for movies, Thanks for the audio gurus for your detailed explanation, let others too get benifit of this knowldge.
 
It is like to trying to compare an good ole car (AKA Maruti, TATA nano etc., no offense meant here) to like say an BMW or an Bugatti Veyron!
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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