He guys, i'm rather new to hi-fi equipment and would appreciate some advice. I'm looking to buy a stereo set with a € 2.000,- budget. I was thinking of spending € 1.400,- on speakers, € 500,- on a decent amp, and € 100,- on a music streamer for OTA ability whether it be an Apple TV or a Sonos Connect (I can get the latter one with a huge discount btw, so that's why it fits). I'm already stretching the budget so the € 2.000,- mark is pretty unnegotiable.
I love all kinds of music, e.g. classic (Bach), minimalistic (Yann Tiersen), indie (Feist, The XX), electronic & dance (Daft Punk, Baauer), trip hop (Bonobo). Just really depends on my mood. I should probably also mention my room has high ceilings, the exact measurements are: 6m x 4m x 3.4m. A few weeks ago (when I hadn't made up my mind yet about the budget), I auditioned a few speakers at a local store including the BW CM8, BW CM 10, KEF R500, KEF LS50, coupled to a variety of high-end (+ € 1.500,-) NAD and Marantz stereo amps. I was suprised to conclude that even after an hour or two, I was only mildy impressed with most of them. To my ears, all of these speakers seemed unbalanced (and in the case of CM8 even horribly muddy). That is until I tried the Dali Mentor 6! Holy crap! That's the sound i'm after, a truly large sound, dynamic, fun yet bright! I guess after years with my (trash) Behringer Truth 2030A monitors, I've developed a preference for a neutral sound while slightly favoring a good bass.
After reading up on loads of additional information and considering my budget constraints, i've narrowed the speakers down to the Tannoy Revolution DC6T SE or Dali Ikon 6 MKII. Here's why: The Tannoy's simply because they won the WHF 2012 awards and I have yet to stumble into a negative review on them. I guess that has very good reasons. The Dali's because i'm still blown away by the Mentor 6s i've auditioned earlier. I'm aware of the fact that when i'd go with the Ikon 6s, I will probably have to deal with a gap in performance compared to Mentors. However, i've read numerous times that the sound signature across the whole Dali brand tends and is supposed to be very alike.
As for the amp (compatibilty), I must admit I haven't dove into it as much yet. The Marantz PM6005 and Yamaha R-N500 were the ones i've shortlisted sofar.
What do you guys make of all this?
I love all kinds of music, e.g. classic (Bach), minimalistic (Yann Tiersen), indie (Feist, The XX), electronic & dance (Daft Punk, Baauer), trip hop (Bonobo). Just really depends on my mood. I should probably also mention my room has high ceilings, the exact measurements are: 6m x 4m x 3.4m. A few weeks ago (when I hadn't made up my mind yet about the budget), I auditioned a few speakers at a local store including the BW CM8, BW CM 10, KEF R500, KEF LS50, coupled to a variety of high-end (+ € 1.500,-) NAD and Marantz stereo amps. I was suprised to conclude that even after an hour or two, I was only mildy impressed with most of them. To my ears, all of these speakers seemed unbalanced (and in the case of CM8 even horribly muddy). That is until I tried the Dali Mentor 6! Holy crap! That's the sound i'm after, a truly large sound, dynamic, fun yet bright! I guess after years with my (trash) Behringer Truth 2030A monitors, I've developed a preference for a neutral sound while slightly favoring a good bass.
After reading up on loads of additional information and considering my budget constraints, i've narrowed the speakers down to the Tannoy Revolution DC6T SE or Dali Ikon 6 MKII. Here's why: The Tannoy's simply because they won the WHF 2012 awards and I have yet to stumble into a negative review on them. I guess that has very good reasons. The Dali's because i'm still blown away by the Mentor 6s i've auditioned earlier. I'm aware of the fact that when i'd go with the Ikon 6s, I will probably have to deal with a gap in performance compared to Mentors. However, i've read numerous times that the sound signature across the whole Dali brand tends and is supposed to be very alike.
As for the amp (compatibilty), I must admit I haven't dove into it as much yet. The Marantz PM6005 and Yamaha R-N500 were the ones i've shortlisted sofar.
What do you guys make of all this?