Large sound field and great detail

They lack some mid range

I initially purchased these speakers mostly for music. For my size room, 12x10, they were the perfect size. I must admit that out of the box I hated them. The highs were a little harsh for my taste and the mids were almost non-existent. However, as time went by they got alot better. The sound seems to have evened out. They now sound crisp and very clean. Female vocals on these speakers are amazing. They still lack some mid range but for the price I can hardly complain. These speakers actually perform better for home theatre use than for music. At first I thought they would be to harsh for HT but they really surprised me. The sound is very even but they still have plenty of detail. They provide a good sound field and match well with my CC170. I also noticed a big improvement when a changed out my old Harman receiver for a Denon 2802. They now have a much larger sound field, something that I had read about them but never really got to experience until now. Overall this is a great speaker especially for the price.

Nice full sound due to surprising bass and mid-range, They sound like a much larger speaker, Excellent value for $200, Like the Atoms they make great surrounds

Muffled and Boomy if not hooked up to a powerful amp, Small cheap tweeters

Nice speaker for the price and will flat out rock with a good amplifier. They have surprisingly good mid-range and bass for a speaker its size. In fact, it has the best bass extention of any speaker it size that I have heard. If you dont have these speakers hooked up to a good amp w/good 12g wiring they are going to sound a little muffled and boomy. The beter your amp, the better these speakers will sound. Maybe not a speaker your going to want to hook up to your 50watt shelf system. These speakers don''t have much imaging capacity, or channel separation. I think this weakness actually makes them a very good surround speaker, where directionality is not wanted. The tweeters sound cheap and distort way before the woofers. The cheap, small tweeters probably have something to do with its muffled sound. Overall, the Titans are excellent speakers with flaws you would expect from a $200 speaker set.

Modest price, compact size, reasonably full sound

Cheap construction, slightly "hollow" sound

These are decent speakers for $200, but no way are they five-star quality. They look and feel like cheap speakers, largely because they were designed for wall-mounting and were therefore deliberately kept lightweight. They are rear-ported, which gives them a boost in the midbass region, but their overall sound is slightly "hollow." The non-removable grillcloth and flimsy binding posts only add to the overall impression of cheapness. A reasonable choice for surround speakers or a bedroom system, but not up to serious music-making at a high volume. Compare to Bose, Technics and Infinity models in the same price range and if you like them buy them for what they are. You''''''''ll be happy. But don''''''''t buy them with any expectation that you''''''''re getting a "great" speaker fdor $200.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Infinity, AR, DCM, too many others to mention

Good components.

Sound is "stuck inside" without the little rewiring trick.

This is an update to a review. When I purhased these v2 Titans I was pleased, but not overjoyed. Always felt there was something missing, like the sound was inside the speaker wanting to get out. Along comes the review from Dave on Nov. 25, 2001. I implemented the little wiring scenario he engineered to correct the speaker''s perceived defficiency..and Voila!! Boy you can taste difference. Give it a shot...not responsile for damage relating to this work however, this is worth the risk (if any). Thanks again Dave! Say, if this little trick works for you, let me know..I''m very curious. Howard

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None of any value.

I haven't seen better speakers for the money. At less than $200 a pair, these are a steal. Mids and highs are nicely balanced. Bass response is somewhat impressive considering the size of these speakers. A great choice for anyone on a budget.

These speakers have me on a roller coaster. At first I loved them. Great sound for $200. I eagerly awaited for them to be "broken in" so they would sound better. Unfortunately, the sound did not improve. The highs seemed to become too forward and even shrilly.

I then auditioned some Energy eXL:25 speakers, some NHT floorspeakers, and Paradigm Mini-Monitors and Monitor 7s. I gained a new appreciation for the Titans. They only lacked a little bass compared to the Minis, but other than that it was a wash. Both need a good sub to have a full sound.

The Monitor 7s, at $700/pr, did not sound $500 better than the Titans. The NHTs sucked. The Energy 25s are the only ones that sounded better to me, but at $500/pr, I figured I had a better deal with the Titans plus $300 to spend toward buying a good sub, like the PDR-12.

Just be prepared, the Titans are a little too bright for their own good, but they are growing on me.

Good clean, wide-range sound for the price

Soundstaging, image depth could be better

I've had the Titan's in my system since 1994, driven by an 80 watt/channel Onkyo Pro-Logic receiver of the same vintage. I've always been happy with the even, clean sound from the Titan's, and am sometimes amazed by the amount of bass produced for such a small speaker. At very high volumes, they do become a little shrill, however, and the soundstaging is not exceptional - but quite acceptable considering the speakers only cost me $190/pair. I plan on buying a pair of Paradigm Studio 40's and a new receiver by the end of the year, and will move the Titan's to the rear for use as surround speakers at that point. My listening habits are about 80% music/20% home theater, so I figure the Titan's will be adequate for fulfilling my surround sound needs. The only real complaint I've had about these speakers is that the speaker jacks are spring clips, but I understand the current models no longer use the spring clips.

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none

imaging,detail,size

bass character too strong,ie boomy.

I bought these speakers to replace my Infinity LMPS satelites and move a pair of Boston CR6's to the front effects for a 7.1 system. I picked them up in a nice light cherry finish. One rap of the knunkles tells you they are a little light and probably have cabinent resinences, again look at the price of only $200. They do have a strong bass character to them that some will like but I found to be a little boomy. To help eliminate this I run these on small,(90hz) and have a foam plug in the port to remove the boomy character. They have a great tweeter that is really tizzy when first used but once time is in them they smooth out a lot and retain a lot of detail and are NOT fatiguing. They image well and aren't totally unatractive. Vocals sound very good for the price these are competing with and maybe a little higher ranges even. To the individual who blew them up, why would you use a 100watt pre/amp seperates system with speakers that are rated at 60 watts rms AND cost only $200? Use them appropriately and I think you'll be very happy with these, proving that you don't need to spend a great deal to get a lot. I think they also work very well for surround speakers as they aren't too heavy and have mounting patterns already tapped in back. They seem robust as I've put close to 100 watts for brief periods with no real strain. They sound very good with a very smooth treble and exellent bass and even mids, a prety even frequency respone from what they sound like and reviews I seen on the plotted graphs. I would highly recommend these speakers to someone with a limited budget or as a surround speaker. Great way to start someone on this hobby of ours. Value and performance are great.

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Paradigm Minimonitor, Boston CR6, Infinity LMPS Sats.

Cheap, sound good for the money.

Build quality is lacking.

I now believe that the Mini Monitor is a way better speaker and definitely worth the extra money.-

I bought a pair of Titans today and when I got them home, I noticed that one of the drivers was totally loose inside the cabinet! I figured that these were defective or got damaged in shipment from the factory to the hi-fi store. So, I brought them back to the store and exchanged them for another new sealed pair of Titans. To my utter dismay, when I got back home, the 2nd pair of Titans were also rattling! One of the drivers was loose inside the cabinet again!

So, I again returned to the store. This time, the employees opened up the Titan case while I watched. I saw that the build quality of Titans is way cheap. The way that the midrange driver is mounted inside the cabinet is such that it can fall off into the cabinet very easily. It is mounted from the inside. And, the port tube is just a toilet paper cardboard tube.

After seeing this poor build quality, I decided to spend the extra money and get the Paradigm Mini Monitors instead. The Mini Monitors have much better build quality and seem much sturdier than the Titans (although we did not open the Mini Monitors to see inside the cabinet). The midrange driver is mounted flush from the front of the cabinet (rather than from the inside like in the Titan), so at least the driver on the Mini Monitor can't fall off into the cabinet like on the Titan. Furthermore, the Mini Monitors use better quality drivers....

I'm not saying that the Titans are bad speakers-they sound great for the money. But if you are going to buy them, please be aware of the 'issues' and if you can afford to spend just about $100. US more, than the Mini Monitors are well worth the extra $.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Mini Monitors, Acoustic Energy Aegis 1

Tight bass, clarity, great imaging, big sound

build construction but for $200 I should just shut up.

Friends, I've spent many months experimenting with different bookshelf speakers searching for that near perfect sound and my search has finally ended. I am amazed at the sound I'm getting from these speakers. You get great tight bass that you FEEL not hear. The highs are nice and clear —I've heard so many bookshelves in this price range where the highs are so distorted—you know that sound—like chicken frying in a pan. The Titans will sound a bit harsh when taken out of the box so break them in, they will warm up. I for one am amazed these speakers are only $200—I almost feel guilty for not paying more for them.
I am kicking myself for going through two sets of bookshelves and not finding these speakers sooner.

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PSB, Bose, B&W, Cambridge Soundworks, JBL