£2k speaker shortlist - help please

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Anonymous

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I have the GS60's and used them with my current stereo setup (the room is a bit small). After purchasing the B&W 805s I put the 60's back with the home theatre gear. Although the scale of the 805s's is not a dramatic they beat the 60's in almost every other way. For music I would not go back to the Monitor Audio's. The B&W's sound great.
 

Frank Harvey

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smo:I'd like to know how do you rate them (KEF XQ40 vs MonitorAudio GS60 - if their sound is similar or build quality is better in one of them...).From a personal point of view, I prefer the KEF's myself as I find them to be a better balanced speaker overall. Their bass is a little leaner than the MA's, which in smaller rooms is a necessity, and it helps retain midrange detail. I just find them a more musical speaker. The MA's will have an advantage in large rooms.

Just to let people know, KEF are increasing their prices next month, so anyone considering any KEF speakers may want to get their orders in before the end of the month. As an example, the XQ40's will be £2499.

Regards

David
 
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Anonymous

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Thank you very much Dave for your opinion.

Sometimes I think I have too much bass (on certain recordings) when listen to a moderate or high volumes. I love the way my RS8 perform at low-normal volumes though (which is what I usually do). Whenever I change my speakers I'll be between The KEFs XQ, MA Gold and B&W CM series or the equivalent range of its time.

The price rise is bad news bad I'm still considering whether to change my speakers or not... Mine are so new my wife would kill me

:eek:P

Cheers
 

drummerman

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FrankHarveyHiFi:
smo:I'd like to know how do you rate them (KEF XQ40 vs MonitorAudio GS60 - if their sound is similar or build quality is better in one of them...).From a personal point of view, I prefer the KEF's myself as I find them to be a better balanced speaker overall. Their bass is a little leaner than the MA's, which in smaller rooms is a necessity, and it helps retain midrange detail. I just find them a more musical speaker. The MA's will have an advantage in large rooms.

Just to let people know, KEF are increasing their prices next month, so anyone considering any KEF speakers may want to get their orders in before the end of the month. As an example, the XQ40's will be £2499.

Regards

David

Agree, most current mid/higher range Kef's seem nice to my ears. Maybe not so impressive in direct show room comparison with some other well known boxes but neutral(ish), fast and satisfyingly musical. Great tight bass too and for larger rooms a good sub should further improve on that whilst giving more flexibility.

ProAcs are good too. Some bargains around as the new range is coming in.
 

AEJim

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Just remember that when you say the speakers MUST be bi-wireable as you are bi-amping that you can also bi-amp left-+-right as well as top-+-bottom... People always forget that.

(by which I mean that one amp powers the left speaker, single wired, and the other powers the right one...) ;)
 

matengawhat

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jim can you run that past me again - does the power amp need to be set to a mono configuration for this to work?

And do you use both sets of speakers out but take positive from one set and negative from the other?
 

AEJim

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ÿ

"The second method of biamplification is known as theÿverticalÿconfiguration. This differs from the standard method in how the output of the two power amps is applied. In the vertical biamp, one amp is used to power only the left speaker and the second for only the right speaker. For this arrangement, the use ofÿidenticalÿamplifiers is imperative.

In this case, each amplifier will still receive two channels of information from the preamplifier, but they will both be the same. The amplifier dedicated to the left speaker will now receive a pair of left-channel outputs from the preamplifier to feed bothits right and left channel. The second amplifier, dedicated exclusively to the right speaker, will then receive a pair of right-channel outputs from the preamp for both its left and right input. This can be achieved in the same manner as used in the standard configuration, but by simply changing how the two patch cables are connected to the Y-adapters at the back of the preamp.

You then use each amplifier to run its own speaker rather than having the tweeters driven by one amp and the woofers by another. You would, for example, use the left output of the left amp to drive the left speaker's highs and the right channel of the left amp to drive the left speaker's lows. The right side being a mirror image of the left. No, it is not necessary to use the left channel for highs and the right for lows, I simply chose them in order to describe the hook-up.

This method has a distinct advantage over the standard configuration. Cross-talk (the tendency for one channel to "bleed through" to the other and thereby cause distortion) in the power amplifiers has effectively been eliminated. Both channels of each amplifier see identical information, so even if there is any kind of spurious leak-through of audio between left and right, because it is the same signal, it cannot create harmonic or inter-modulation distortions. This configuration offers the highest potential for left and right separation available from a biamplified setup."

ÿ

ÿ

Not my words, but explains it well! :)ÿ
 

matengawhat

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i guess thats the same as setting the power amps to mono configuration and then just connecting the left channel to one and the right channel as opposed to daisy chaining the amps in standard configuration?
 

SHAXOS

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Sorry to butt in and probibly be a bit contentious but i would not go anywhere near the KEFs xq series i had the xq30s for a week and was seriously underwhelmed (so much i returned them). They are very overpriced imo and you can easily get better performance for much cheaper - i brought the neat motives 2 for around 600 pound cheaper than the kefs and they blew the kefs away...
 

Hi Fi Decision

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I have the Monitor Audio PL100's after auditioning many, many speakers up to the £3.5k mark. I love the open sound and excitment they provide. They headed off the competition in my final shortlist which were Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M, Wilson Benesch Arc, and the floorstanding B and W 804s. One word of caution, if your other components aren't up to the job (about £2k per box minimum) they can sound terrible as they are unflinching in there presentation. I use a Meridian G08 and a Chord 2600 integrated and its a good match. You should be able to get a pair with stands ex dem for £2k.
 

JoelSim

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matengawhat:Hi Fi Decision - How do you find the bass on the pl100s?

You just look towards the bottom half of the speaker, and hey presto there it is
 

Hi Fi Decision

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matengawhat:Hi Fi Decision - How do you find the bass on the pl100s?

I find the bass full and detailed. These speakers are fairly sensitive to positioning (but not difficult to position) but once you have it right they sound good.
 

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