£1500 to spend on speakers....I have two thoughts. What would you do?

[altruistic.lemon]

I'd have a look at the Dynaudio Excite series. Given space, they are a bit special for the price.

 

[BigH]

I would try the Kef LS50s to start with. There are some good deals around for ex-display/demo like Spendors about half price.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Good call. There's the Spendor LS3/5A type S3/5R2 too which is said to be pretty good.

 

[BigH]

Good call. There's the Spendor LS3/5A type S3/5R2 too which is said to be pretty good.

I was looking the S3/5R2 but they seem to have ghone now. I ones I saw today were the A3s, if you are near Southampton maybe worth a look.

 

[matthewpiano]

In that case you maybe better spending £1500 on amp and speakers there are some combos around for that money and then maybe upgrading the speakers in a few years time if you think you need to. The only way is to hear them.

I agree with this entirely. The 685s are about the best speakers I would want to put with the C326BEE. It is a fine budget amp but I think £1500 speakers will really show it up.

 

[mushroomgod]

In that case you maybe better spending £1500 on amp and speakers there are some combos around for that money and then maybe upgrading the speakers in a few years time if you think you need to. The only way is to hear them.

I agree with this entirely. The 685s are about the best speakers I would want to put with the C326BEE. It is a fine budget amp but I think £1500 speakers will really show it up.

that is a thought - but...Does it make more sence to purchase the better speaker with the intention of buing a better amp at a later date - meaning that I could spend around £2500 if I waited 6 months. Or, buy both amp and speaker now with my maximum budget of £1500?

Thats kinda my delema....ofcourse, the other option is to not buy anything and stick with what I have untill I have the funds for both at around £2500... :cheers:

Currently my combo is worth around £600. Would I notice a noticable step up if I went for a £1500 amp/Speaker combo now?

 

[matthewpiano]

I guess it depends how sure you are about having that extra £1k in 6 months time.

I think you could easily make a very noticeable step up with a £1500 amp/speaker combo now. Why not demo some different options?

 

[matt49]

Does it make more sence to purchase the better speaker with the intention of buying a better amp at a later date - meaning that I could spend around £2500 if I waited 6 months. Or, buy both amp and speaker now with my maximum budget of £1500?

Thats kinda my dilemma....of course, the other option is to not buy anything and stick with what I have untill I have the funds for both at around £2500... :cheers:

Currently my combo is worth around £600. Would I notice a noticable step up if I went for a £1500 amp/Speaker combo now?

I agree entirely: it is a real dilemma. One way to approach it would be to think about how long you're likely to keep the kit you buy now (for £1500) or later (for £2500). If you're going to stick with this kit for a long time (5 years? just plucked that out of the air), then it might well make sense to either invest all £1500 in the speakers now or wait until you have the £2500 budget. It might make less sense to spend all £1500 on an amp+speakers combo.

In answer to your last question, my feeling is you'd definitely notice a big difference between your existing £600 kit and any putative £1500 combo. The question is how much weight this thought should have in your deliberations.

FWIW my own preference (which I don't lay down as a principle for anyone else to follow) is to upgrade infrequently in larger increments. However, if you tend to buy second hand, upgrading more frequently in smaller increments becomes more appealing, since (assuming you buy well) you don't take a hit on depreciation.

 

[relocated]

I fear that if you ultimately intend to spend £2500, the spend on amp and speakers now[at £1500] will be something you will seriously regret in the future.

If you are determined to spend £1500 now, spend it on the best speakers that you like. The difference between speakers puts the difference between amps in the shade. You can enjoy the new speakers, get really used to them and then upgrade the amp and then really appreciate that upgrade.

 

[matt49]

I fear that if you ultimately intend to spend £2500, the spend on amp and speakers now[at £1500] will be something you will seriously regret in the future.

If you are determined to spend £1500 now, spend it on the best speakers that you like. The difference between speakers puts the difference between amps in the shade. You can enjoy the new speakers, get really used to them and then upgrade the amp and then really appreciate that upgrade.

Yes, that's the gist of what I was saying, but put more crisply and with less equivocation.

 

[Philim]

Persobally i would sell the nad. Add the budget to my 1500 and push myself towards the kef r500 and nait xs 2nd hand.

The r500 goes for 900-1000 and naits can be picked up for 850-900

 

[Jame5]

One small addition from me: if you do go for the CM8s bear in mind that I picked mine up for £1k with a small amount of haggling. If you have the time and patience audition both amp and speakers, buy the speakers now and then save for the amp.

 

[jcbrum]

I'd take the opportunity to dump (sell ? ) the entire legacy separates (passive speakers) system, just keeping your sources and phono stage (if you have one), and move to AVI ADM9s since they cost less than £1500 and will be better than anything else at two or three times the price, at least.

Go and see Ashley, if you can.

JC

 

[shropshire lad]

I suspect that prior to Mushroomgod's first post he had been thinking solely along the route he has been taking , namely the passive one . It might be useful to find out whether he definitely wants to stay with the type of system that he is used to , or is open to suggestions of a possible alternative route, namely active . If he does not want to change then it might save a good deal of pointless bickering by not suggesting any active options . If he is not completely set in his ideas then fire away with lots of active suggestions .

If it were me with that sort of money I would search out any passive suggestions that took my fancy and try and listen to them and then see if I could get an audition of some actives ( the AVIs would be my first port of call) and see if I can remember enough from the first demonstrations to see how different the actives would be .

 

[altruistic.lemon]

What is your system, Shropshire lad?

 

[shropshire lad]

What is your system, Shropshire lad?

I have an Audiolab 8000S and an 8000P amps

ATC SCM 11 speakers

An Origin Live Calypso turntable with Michell Techno Arm

And some DVD player inherited from my dad to temporarily replace my ancient Marantz CD-52 that went on the

blink .

Not my final system but it'll do until I get some money to go active . I had my eye on ATC actives until I became aware of a company that sells just the sort of thing I might be interested in , at half the price .

Prior to buying that lot I hadn't changed my system for over 20 years , which was a Rega Planar 3 turntable , NAD 3020A amp and Linn Kan speakers . All still happily going . I had other priorities back then .

Thanks for asking .

 

[mushroomgod]

I'd take the opportunity to dump (sell ? ) the entire legacy separates (passive speakers) system, just keeping your sources and phono stage (if you have one), and move to AVI ADM9s since they cost less than £1500 and will be better than anything else at two or three times the price, at least.

Go and see Ashley, if you can.

JC

Intresting - can anyone fill me in on what benifit powered speakers have over passive ones?

One small addition from me: if you do go for the CM8s bear in mind that I picked mine up for £1k with a small amount of haggling. If you have the time and patience audition both amp and speakers, buy the speakers now and then save for the amp.

cheers! I have to say this thread has had me thinking about buying second hand, or atlast as you poing out haggling. It looks like if I go down the used/ex demo route there are some real bargains to be had

 

[relocated]

I'd take the opportunity to dump (sell ? ) the entire legacy separates (passive speakers) system, just keeping your sources and phono stage (if you have one), and move to AVI ADM9s since they cost less than £1500 and will be better than anything else at two or three times the price, at least.

Go and see Ashley, if you can.

JC

Intresting - can anyone fill me in on what benifit powered speakers have over passive ones?

One small addition from me: if you do go for the CM8s bear in mind that I picked mine up for £1k with a small amount of haggling. If you have the time and patience audition both amp and speakers, buy the speakers now and then save for the amp.

cheers! I have to say this thread has had me thinking about buying second hand, or atlast as you poing out haggling. It looks like if I go down the used/ex demo route there are some real bargains to be had

Without wishing to be at all patronising. There is no benefit in sound quality terms between powered speakers and passive, they are substantially the same thing [although if a single full range speaker is used, people will argue].

The better sound comes from proper actives, those that employ an active crossover, because there is significantly better distortion performance in an active crossover compared to a passive one. Companies that make both types admit that their best speakers are active, eg. PMC, Linn etc; but they are somewhat more expensive.

But you can get all the benefit of excellent active speakers by buying AVI ADM 9RSS, brand new, for less than your £1500, right now. Should you ever need to upgrade, you can buy the dedicated AVI sub when you gain more funds; but because of room size/music choice or just personal choice many owners never feel the need. Massive immediate increase in sound quality, no future worries about cables and synergy and all for less than your £1500, job done.

Best of luck, you have an excellent budget, particularly if you make certain decisions.

 

[matt49]

Intresting - can anyone fill me in on what benifit powered speakers have over passive ones?

It's a very divisive issue, and discussions of it on this forum tend to lapse into playground antics pretty quickly. I'd suggest having a look at this current thread on PFM, where the arguments tend to be more technical and less ideological (though not entirely free of the playground stuff):

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138319

 

[Overdose]

Intresting - can anyone fill me in on what benifit powered speakers have over passive ones?

The distinction is between active and passive and relates to the crossover network. In an active speaker, the crossover network is powered and takes a low level signal at a preamp stage, before splitting it and sending the resulting frequencies to the power amplifiers of the speakers. Note, a powered speaker is just a passive system with amplifiers on board and this is not the same as an active system.

A better explanation HERE and with the benefits of active speakers explained.

 

[BigH]

And here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3A4UMh1AOHw

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Intresting - can anyone fill me in on what benifit powered speakers have over passive ones?

It's a very divisive issue, and discussions of it on this forum tend to lapse into playground antics pretty quickly. I'd suggest having a look at this current thread on PFM, where the arguments tend to be more technical and less ideological (though not entirely free of the playground stuff):

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138319

Reading that thread myself. Interesting, and unbiased.

By the way, if you have the space, flat panel speakers such as Magnepans are hard to beat. They have strengths which leave both actives and passives a bit behind. They'd work well with your amp, though you may wish to get a more powerful one to get the best out of them.