r90hd versus r225hd

[admin_exported]

I'm considering both of these for LRC; however music performance is most important to me. Since I will be using a sub for the lower end, will they even sound different?

Also, if I go for the 225s then would it matter if I get the 180s or the 90s for rears. I find the 90s appealing mostly becaue I can use them for something else as a bookshlf speaker if I choose to later.

Sorry, last question, if I could get the old non-HD versions for %20 less is it worth i?

Thnks in advance for any advice or opinions.

-Mark

 

[Messiah]

Cannot give you a direct comparison I'm afraid but I use to have the R90HDs and they were very impressive. As long as they are used with a sub I cannot see that it would be worth paying the extra for the 225s. Although I would get the 225 for the centre as I expect it will be better for front speaker duties.

Sadly cannot compare it to the previous model.

(I found that they were very similar to the RS1)

 

[bigboss]

The R225HD is significantly superior to R90HD. I've got the R225HD for LCR & R90HD rears. The reason I went for the R90HD rears is because I could angle them to face downwards (see my home cinema pics). They're more than adequate for the rears, although I was advised by one of the forum members at that time that the R180HD is better than the R90HD.

The HD version is better sounding than the non-HD version. I think the HD version is definitely worth the extra premium, but only you can decide if it's worth the premium for you.

 

[Anonymous]

hi Messiah,

why are your r90HDs past tense?

 

[Anonymous]

hi bigboss,

that's a good point on the r90 over the r180. I also thought I might just put a lesser speaker in the rear to save some money. Do you think you notice the quality of the r90 in the rear as opposed to some cheapo speaker?

Also, since you've probably compared them side by side, how do you think the r225 sound different? One thing I should have mentioned is that I don't play loud.

-m

 

[Messiah]

curiousburke:
hi Messiah,

why are your r90HDs past tense?

Because I sold them.

I used to use them as rears in a cinema set up but I decided to ditch the cinema set up to fund the AVIs. I did run the R90HDs for a while in place of my RS1s to run them in and they were very similar to my RS1s. Not as good but quite close and in my opinion that says a lot for the R90s.

Bigboss has said the 225s are better so maybe try to audition them against each other and see what you think.

 

[Messiah]

curiousburke:
hi bigboss,

that's a good point on the r90 over the r180. I also thought I might just put a lesser speaker in the rear to save some money. Do you think you notice the quality of the r90 in the rear as opposed to some cheapo speaker.

You would probably get away with some cheaper speaker but if you can afford it I would stick with the R90. I would try to keep the tonal characteristics the same all round.

 

[Anonymous]

that's really good to hear they faired well against the RS1s.

What I was thinking about for the rears is that for the same price as 2 r90hds I can have the mirage prestige nanosats 5 speaker package, which I could then sell the parts I don't need or use them elsewhere. I found the nanosat sound doesn't stick out, and thought with their good dispersion that would make good, cheap surrounds, but it would probably be bad is I wanted to play 5.1 surround music

 

[Messiah]

They may be fine for surround but I think they would stick out with music.

 

[bigboss]

curiousburke: hi bigboss,

that's a good point on the r90 over the r180. I also thought I might just put a lesser speaker in the rear to save some money. Do you think you notice the quality of the r90 in the rear as opposed to some cheapo speaker?

Also, since you've probably compared them side by side, how do you think the r225 sound different? One thing I should have mentioned is that I don't play loud.

-m

I'm not in favour of mixing and matching different brands of speakers, even if it's for rear arrangement.

The R225HD has an acoustic design of twin 100mm MMPII mid/bass drivers and 25mm C-CAM gold dome tweeter while the R90HD has 100mm MMPII mid/bass driver and 25mm C-CAM gold dome tweeter. The extra mid/bass driver in the R225HD makes a significant difference. Especially if you're interested in music, the R225HD offers a superior performance.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for your opinions. They are greatly appreciated. I unfortunately have no place to demo these speakers, but I have heard the r90 non-HD. I think I will go with the 225HDs for fronts. The only thing I am struggling with is whether to go with 180 or 90 in the rear. I like that the 180 won't stick out as much, but the 90 is more versitile in the long run I think.

In any case, thanks again!

-mark