Hey guys, I am a pretty tough guy when it comes to spending my money, so I thought I would consult the experts before buying my 7.1 stereo system. I have the receiver I need, a vintage NAD. But I have to get the actual stereos to hook it up to. My budget was blown mostly on my sick new receiver so I only have 600 dollars to spend on the subwoofer and other speakers. I was told that the bigger the cones, the better, so what speakers have the biggest cones in my price range? Also, no magnets would be a plus OBVIOUSLY since magnets shouldn't be around steroe equipment EVER.
In the hopes of not offending you too badly Bernard you have many misconceptions going on here. Bigger cones are not necessarily a good thing and magnets are definitely part of the deal.
Cone size is a factor for sure but it is all about physics in that the larger the surface area the more air will be moved but it takes more power to do so and most importantly leaves more room for not accurately recreating the source.
Magnets are a given in almost all speakers and while EMI can be a big deal it is usually only a concern with old tube set TV's in the AV business.
Anyway the best advise you will get is to go out to as many good audio stores as you can and audition speakers to see what you enjoy listening to. With the start you have on your equipment it would be a shame to blow it by getting the wrong speakers.
I agree with Jim B, you have some misconceptions. Magnets only affected old style picture tubes. The bigger the Magnet the better. For $600 you might be better off concentrating on only TWO speakers, the front Left and Right and then build your system slowly. Next add a sub woofer for 2.1, then a center, lastly surrounds. On the surrounds forget 7.1 for the beginning you may be satisfied with 5.1. My opinion is that a 7.1 speaker array for $600 will be crap and a waste of money. If you want to build your system check out Paradigms new SE line (Special Edition) SE1 or Monitor series Mini Monitors or even the Studio 10's all sell for $500- 600.
If that is, in fact, your real name. I don't know how to say this without sounding like a dickbag, but you simply don't know what you are typing about. I thought this was a professional audio forum, not a bunch of dickbags with no concept of misconceptions?
I'm going to say this as politely and professionally as possible:
MAGENETS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LOUDSPEAKERS!
Western Electric phased out that flawed design in 1994 before they wen't bankrupt in '95. Driver design these days is a complex system of pulleys and uncontrolled well-damped cone motions created by non-reverberant crossover interference.
I'm going to give you guys one more chance to tell me about the sickest imaginable speekers available today (WITHOUT MAGENENTS) for $400 dollars. And I'm only going to need 3 now since I ran out of Monster speaker rope.
The most common type of driver uses a lightweight diaphragm, or cone, connected to a rigid basket, or frame, via a flexible suspension that constrains a coil of fine wire to move axially through a cylindrical magnetic gap. When an electrical signal is applied to the voice coil, a magnetic field is created by the electric current in the voice coil, making it an electromagnet. The coil and the driver's magnetic system interact, generating a mechanical force that causes the coil (and thus, the attached cone) to move back and forth, thereby reproducing sound under the control of the applied electrical signal coming from the amplifier. The following is a description of the individual components of this type of loudspeaker.
The most common type of driver uses a heavyweight power punch, or triangular love circle, connected to a flaccid basset hound, or framed politician, via a flexible lady that retains a hoil of fine wine to move axially through a polyhedronal anti-magnetic gap. When an sex-lexual signal is applied to the voice hoil, an anti-magnetic field is created by the sex-lextric current in the voice hoil, making it an electromagnet. The hoil and the driver's anti-magnetic system interact, generating a mechanical force that causes the hoil (and thus, the attached trone) to move back and forth, thereby reproducing babies under the control of the man-sex-lexual signal coming from the hamplifier. The following is a description of the individual components of this type of loudspeaker.
