Advice please - which speakers

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jc.com

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Jun 8, 2009
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Just acquired Quad 99CDP-2/Quad 909 (as part of first upgrade in 100 yrs.) feeding Mission 753s through Chord Crimson/ Chord Silver Screen (biwired).

Well impressed with the improvement over Phillips CD150 (anyone remember that?)/Quad 33/405, but the big question is, as the subject line says, what to do re the speakers? I'm thinking a budget of up to £2K and definitely floor-standers (room is 8m x 5m)

Ta!
 
jc.com:

Just acquired Quad 99CDP-2/Quad 909 (as part of first upgrade in 100 yrs.) feeding Mission 753s through Chord Crimson/ Chord Silver Screen (biwired).

Well impressed with the improvement over Phillips CD150 (anyone remember that?)/Quad 33/405, but the big question is, as the subject line says, what to do re the speakers? I'm thinking a budget of up to £2K and definitely floor-standers (room is 8m x 5m)

Ta!

Hi jc

Please consider ATC's SCM40. I have used Quad's with ATC's and have customers who own Quad that also use ATC's happily(including the 40's). A great match.

I owned 753's for many years and also use to sell them and whilst very good the ATC's are significantly better. The engineering of the 40's is superb (which includes the state of the art studio soft dome mid range unit) and as result having (amongst qualities) a neutral, uncoloured, powerful and natural presentation will help the Quad's to breathe. This (due to the low distortion levels) in turn will allow the Quad's character to come through.

http://www.atc.gb.net/studioDriveUnits.htm

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft
 
Thanks, Rick.

I didn't think the choice would be so simple! At least I won't have the "this dealer has those speakers and this amp; that dealer has these speakers and that amp" dilemma! Should simplify matters somewhat - perhaps asking about cables would have provoked more response
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Seriously though, folks, no-one else with an opinion?
 
jc.com: Just acquired Quad 99CDP-2/Quad 909 (as part of first upgrade in 100 yrs.) feeding Mission 753s through Chord Crimson/ Chord Silver Screen (biwired).

Well impressed with the improvement over Phillips CD150 (anyone remember that?)/Quad 33/405, but the big question is, as the subject line says, what to do re the speakers? I'm thinking a budget of up to £2K and definitely floor-standers (room is 8m x 5m)

CD150? Yeah, I remember those......Philips used to be mudget CD player kings. Where are they now?

As for the speakers, Try the Proac D18's, which can sound stunning on the right system, and probably the 'nicest' sounding speaker at this price point. If you like the Quad sound, try the Spendor A6's. Lovely midrange, and a little smoother than most, with a much bigger scale of sound than their little brother, the A5. Personally, my favourite for this system would be the Proacs, as I wasn't overly struck on the ATC SCM40's on the end of a Quad 909, 99 and CDP. They just didn't seem to quite exhibit the same qualities that I like them for, but by all means give them a try.

You have a pretty big room, so I assume you have space to place the speakers wherever you like.
 
If you can still find a pair (there might be one on Ebay come to think of it), Revolver RW45 floorstanders. Apparently an excellent speaker, well rated by Hi Fi World and a very capable and musical set of boxes by all accounts. You might also find a pair on ex-dem, or end-of-line sale if you shop around (and hence with a healthy discount thereon). Think they retailed for around £1500 originally, so you could save a decent amount into the bargain on your original budget.

Not sure how the overall synergy is with Quad kit, but only you could decide if that's for you.
 
FrankHarveyHiFi:[

You have a pretty big room, so I assume you have space to place the speakers wherever you like.

I also have a wife, so not as much freedom re placement as I'd like!

To be serious for a brief mo - thanks to everyone for the suggestions- I'm now getting a reasonable shortlist.
 
jc.com:

Thanks, Rick.

I didn't think the choice would be so simple! At least I won't have the "this dealer has those speakers and this amp; that dealer has these speakers and that amp" dilemma! Should simplify matters somewhat - perhaps asking about cables would have provoked more response
emotion-5.gif


Seriously though, folks, no-one else with an opinion?

Hi jc

Thanks for your post.

The Quad's will work a treat with the ATC's. The Quad's have plenty of character to them and drive to back it up so ideally neutral speakers such as the 40's will help out without really adding or subtracting anymore from the Quad's character. The performance potential of the speakers is big and they will readily show up differences in your system (should you choose to evolve it) for many years to come.

The ATC's superb neutral and coherent presentation (the drive units work together almost seemlessly and as a result there don't appear to be any gaps) enables them to be placed pretty much anywhere in a room (even a few inches from walls) without the sound (bass in particular) getting itself into a twist. ATC owners (some of my customers who are also members on this forum) have also noticed this near freedom of room placement.

The above are some of the reasons as to why i have successfully used and why some of my customers happily use Quad with ATC speakers.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft
 
Frank Harvey HiFi and Musicraft,

Am I correct in thinking you only recommend speakers you carry in your shops?ÿ
 
Usually retailers will be familiar with the brands they keep in store, and less so with brands they don't. Some retailers may have heard brands outside of their portfolio, and may be in a position to comment on them if they've heard them for a period of time, or have owned them in the past. Personally, I will only comment on speakers I have heard, and the combinations in which I have heard them. Likewise, I'll only mention negative points if I have witnessed them, and not just pass on information parrott fashion. If I've heard a speaker that we don't keep and I think it fits someone's system better than what I keep, then I'll recommend it. My interest here is helping people with the knowledge I have gathered over a quarter of a century, to stop people making costly mistakes and to get the best from their systems. Yup, there are still some of us around
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I've been in retail since 1990, and this has been a hobby of mine since the mid/late 70's, and I've heard quite a lot within that period of time. I have worked for five specialist retailers over the past 19 years, and have been with Frank harvey for almost 4 years. Just a bit of background
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Can I ask why you ask that question?
 
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