Amplifier + stereo speakers

[mrporter]

Good day ladies and gents

Let me start off by saying I'm a pretty big 'noob' when it comes to hifi.

Recently I saved some money and I'd like to buy an amplifier with a set of stereo speakers. They will mainly be used for listening to music (with some heavy bass) and movies. I've gone through some best buys and forum topics here on whathifi and while it has given me some direction, it hasn't made my choice much easier. I've narrowed it down to the following options:

Wharfedale Diamond 220
Dali Zensor 3
Monitor Audio MR2

Could anyone tell me what would be my better choise? (You can suggest an even better one )

And would these speakers go well with the Pioneer A-10 .

Best regards

Thomas

 

[chris_bates1974]

I don't know if any KEF speakers fall in your price range, but I can tell you mine have a shed load of bass... Positioning has been the key to keeping it tight, but I would never even consider adding a sub!!!!

the one bit of a advice everyone on here will give is to listen to as much kit as you can before making up your mind.... Good luck!!!!

 

[Blackdawn]

Personally, i would go for the slightly more expensive pioneer a30 with the speakers you mention. Its gone down at least £70 since i bought mine new in 2012. Onkyo and Denon also do some decent budget amps for sensible prices.

Out of the speakers you mention i would go for either the dali or wharfedales. Dont forget some speaker stands.

I'd also budget for a decent source- cd player, record player or laptop-dac. If your using a laptop -try to make sure your audio files are lossless high quality files.

 

[DaanS]

I listened to all of those speakers recently so can give you my take on them. Please remember that's how they appear to me, I'll try to stay away from subjective terms (and fail miserably right away).

The Dalis really want to have a go at it, like an excited dog that knows it's gonna have a bisquit or a walk in the park. As such I feel you need an amp that's able to kinda reign them in. Pair them with a NAD for instance that's forthcomming when it comes to bass, the Dali sounds like it should be tripping to lay it all out there, while in fact it isn't. They do a good job but it's confusing to me. It's not unpleasant; quite exciting really but to my ears, that like a bit more control and clearness, it sounds a bit messy and fatigueing.

The Wharfedales are warm speakers with excellent control over the bass and more control overall than the Dalis, which makes them sound like they have a bigger reach when it comes to tones.

Monitor audio have more control still over the mid and high tones than Wharfedale, which makes them sound more clear than the other two and for me made for the most easy listen (others might find it dull though). They are very open and sound like they present the music without effort. The music feels very unconstrained and precise. This does make the music a little less exciting in some ways, sometimes you want to put a bit of preasure/focus on the bass or screaming guitars or whatnot. Monitor Audio doesn't do that, they leave it up to the music to deliver the excitement, they are very honest and that's something that must tickle you. This does mean that a bad press or bad mastering, is more apparent. A flat album will sound flat listening through Monitor Audio speakers, while Wharfedale will add some warmth and the Dalis will add some tempo. Of course the amp has a say in this as well, but only up to a point.'

A thing to consider as well is your room. My own room for instance is quite small and filled with bookshelves and paintings. As such there isn't a lot of reflection and a system will sound much warmer and smoother in my room than it will in most listening rooms. As such I chose the Monitor Audios (BX2). I don't need the excitement of the Dalis and the extra control and more open sound outways the warmth of the Wharfedales, because my room allready provides that.

I hope this helped, but only you can decide what is pleasant for you. I did find out that the reviews here on WhatHiFi are spot on, and ones you know what WhatHiFi for "exciting", "warm" or "dull" speakers mean to you, these reviews can point you in the right direction. I know that to me, "exciting" to WhatHiFi means "messy" to me; "too smooth" means "warm" to me; "dull" means "non-fatigueing" and "overanalytical" means "open" etc. A "dull" speaker in WhatHiFi-talk seems to be enough excitement for me.

To you it might mean something different still, so when I say I would never connect Dalis to a NAD, that might be just the ticket for you. You'll know it when you hear it. When I found the speakers that were right for me all doubt was gone.

 

[mrporter]

Thank you all very much for your replies!

 

[rainsoothe]

Hey - yes, by all means, audition if you can.

For your budget, I would pair Denon PMA 520AE with Q Acoustics 3020 or maybe Wharfedale 220. Either that or Dali Zensor 3 with Marantz amplification - BUT Marantz + Dali are more for jazz/classical and such, they have a very liquidy sound. Denon + Q Acoustics should be tighter, and I think they're a pretty good bargain. Later, add an Onkyo C-N7050 to this setup (or a Musical Fidelity V90 DAC or Micromega MyDac if you never intend to spin CDs or stream) and you're good to go.

If you don't mind the utilitarian looks of active studio monitors and will only use a computer as a source, then active studio monitors within your budget will sound noticeably better than their hi-fi counterparts (which is not to say the hi-fi will sound bad). If this were the case, a pair of Yamaha HS5 or Presonus Eris 5 + Behringer UCA 202 as a usb interface will be killer