Advice on floorstanders for Bel Canto system

[admin_exported]

Was hoping to gain some advice on my search for a good match of floorstanders for my Bel Canto system.

I've had Proac Studio 110s hooked up to my Bel Canto S300 power amp for some time now and was really enjoying the results. However after moving and gaining a larger living room I'm lusting after some floorstanders. My room has oak floors and is pretty hard throughout aside from a thick pile rug and sofa etc, the space is about 6m x 6m. I listen to a lot of alternative, electronica, dance as well as rock, jazz, ambient, folk. The amp rated at 150w per channel at 8ohms grips the speakers really well, bass articulation is excellent though can get a bit boomy, mid range smooth, high frequencies can be a bit harsh/ shouty. I'm guessing the boomy bass and shouty highs could well be the room acoustics.

I'm looking for a more relaxed and authoratitive sound and a bit more bass. Most listening quite low except on Friday nights.

My budget is up to £1100 and I'm predomininantly looking at second hand, ex dem and online bargains.

Here's what has caught my eye so far:

PMC FB1+

B&W N804

Epos ES30

Focal 816wse

Focal 826v

Proac D15

Wharfdale Opus 1

KEF XQ30

ATC SCM35

A far reaching selection, hence hoping to narrow my search with some advice from the forum.

Many thanks,

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Simeonc

First, a few thoughts. You have a big room to fill, and if the floor is suspended, you are probably going to have to make a concerted effort to isolate the speakers from it......otherwise the bass can either sound boomy, or disappear somewhat. This can be done with Granite slabs or Auralex Grammas.

You also need to play with the speaker positioning (in relation to the walls) and the amount of "toe-in".

You might also like to experiment with a different i/c, just in case this is contributing to the slight shoutiness. I'm a fan of the Linn Black and Linn Silver I/Cs, that can be got on ebay; or borrow some "all copper" ones from your dealer, like those from Audioquest. The Speaker cables you have are great.

The Bel Canto is a good amp, and of the speakers you've picked, I would be looking at Proac, PMC, Focal and Epos. Other brands that you might consider are Spendor, Audio Physic and maybe some ex-dem Kef R series floorstanders, if you can find them at the right price.

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this Cno

I'm intrgued by the Linn Black XLRs and found some on Ebay, on their way!

The floors on my ground floor flat are really solid, no bounce to the foot so don't know if they're suspended. The Proacs are mounted on Partington Super Dreadnoughts with attabite fillings. I've played with positioning but am limited in rearranging the living room due to the usual circumstances when you have a young family in tow!

I'm really into getting some floorstanders for reasons already stated, thanks again for your picks from my list and suggestions. I'm really intrigued by the Focal 816wses available new at a good price, they look so cool! But, I'm worried about the reviews which say the top end can be a bit on the harsh side, if they would work with my gear I would have no hesitation in buying them.

So on the secondhand side, would the PMC FB1+s, Proac Studio 140 Mk2s, Proac D15s, Epos ES30s and after your suggestions the Audio physic Spark 3 be a better bet? No decent Spendors available.

Have you any experience with Usher speakers?

Regards,

Simeonc

 

[Anonymous]

Or the new Epos Elan 35s?

 

[WishTree]

... to my Bel Canto S300 power amp for some time now and was really enjoying the results...

I am quite impressed. It looks like your DAC retails twice the price of your amp! I am right now on the look out for a DAC and your signature made me go relaxed a bit on my DAC budget !!

The amp rated at 150w per channel at 8ohms grips the speakers really well, bass articulation is excellent though can get a bit boomy, mid range smooth, high frequencies can be a bit harsh/ shouty. I'm guessing the boomy bass and shouty highs could well be the room acoustics.

I'm looking for a more relaxed and authoratitive sound and a bit more bass. Most listening quite low except on Friday nights.

I used to have the Proac Response D2 as They were on the top limit of my max streched budget for speakers.

Just ditched them for Tannoy Sig DC6T. The original purchase of Tannoy was for some other purpose, but when compared, I realized how much I was missing with standmount speakers. I feel that all these reviews of standmount should clearly say that if you can accomodate floorstanders then you should go for them. I might move on from Tannoy DC6T but what I have got is great layering, instrument seperation and much wider sweet spot.

I have figured out that, one should strech out to speakers with maximum diameter possible (everything sounds effortless with an 8" speaker vs a 6" speaker) as well as tweeter built into woofes (for wider sweet spot & coherence). Also, if there is a reviewer says that there is a tendency to sound bright, they are definetly very bright! This is all my accumulated wisdom and might be different.

From this view point, I would say Tannoy Sig DC6T, Tannoy Revolution DC8T, Kef R as well as reference series fit the bill, I guess. I have heard B&W (6 and CM series) and Dynaudio (Excite & Focus). I would avoid both as they color the sound more than normal.

 

[shooter]

Can you pick up Revels for 1100 or less? If you can Revel and Class D is a good combo.

 

[CnoEvil]

The Linn Blacks give a "no nonsense" musical sound.....if you like them, the Silvers (only refers to the outside colour) are a good improvement. The Blacks can usually be picked up for £20 - £30 on ebay.....let me know what you think.

If the wooden floor isn't on a concrete base, or in an old building, then it's probably suspended. I have this problem, and the bass all disappeared through the floor boards.....cured by Auralex Gramma sitting on Granite.

The Bel Canto with the Focals will give a neutral, clean sound with tight, controlled bass. For my taste, Focal are a little too forward, and while being very detailed, sound a bit analytical......this is just my opinion, as they have a lot of fans.

I haven't heard the Ushers, but they have a fine reputation. I find it very difficult to give you a definitive answer, as everyone has different tastes.

I heard the Bel Canto with some AP Sitaras and it sounded very pleasant, but I can't tell you what will work best for you.