As a novice audio consumer, I've been making the rounds to all the nearby dealers. I found a place that was very professional and helpful, but the only brand they have in my price range (~$3k for a 5.1 setup) is Bayaudio. I auditioned the Cube and CubeXL. I've tried to find more info about them, but there are almost no posts on this board or any other. I couldn't find anything in a brief search of stereophile either.
Bar F-1, I took the liberty of cruising the companies web site. The home theater line looks ok. Decent parts. Pretty inefficient, so your gonna need a fair amount of power (100-150) clean power. That doesn't come cheap. They don't say a word about the x-over 'cept in the sub. Thats a pretty critical thing to leave un-mentioned. I think they may be over-priced....but then value is in the mind of the purchaser. Give em a listen. Listen to really old bad recordings as well as newer, digital ones. Do the bad ones sound unlistenable or not so bad? Thats a clue as to how time/phase coherent the drivers are. Listen to female vocals. Almost all speakers have a crossover in the critical female voice range. You'll hear it sooner or later. Male voices should never sound "chesty" No voices at all should come from the sub, as should no other high frequencies. Knock on the side of the cabinets. Solid? Or not? Walk around the room as you listen. Does the sweet spot stop suddenly? How is it when your standing off axis? Listen quietly...as well as loudly. Anything missing? Music change pitch? Bass go away? Then listen very loud. Any compression? Spitty? These are some of the things to listen for when evaluating speakers. Good luck
Thanks for taking the time to do a little research. And, thanks for the listening tips.
They might be a high quality product, but the fact that no one seems to own them is a big red flag for me. I think I'll go with something more established.