B&W 684, A5, A6, RX6 or something else?

[admin_exported]

You may say I am comparing apples with pears across a silly price range, but to me money or lack of it spent on speakers is not the key thing (if you can afford the higher price of course!) - its whether I like the sound that matters and some cheaper speakers can out perform their price. So my question is not which of these do you recommend, but what you think each's style of sound is. I may prefer something different to you!

Some pointers from my listening experience so far:-

I like bass extension, but I found the A5's tiring on first listen because the bass to me sounded "flacid" and lazy. I compared some CM5's and while I found the sound less revealing and less tonally accurate, I preferred the bass - it seemed to keep up with the music better - toe tapping and not headache inducing. I will be trying again at another emporium - it may have been the room acoustic.

What I really want is something that is tonally accurate, soundstage to die for, clean and punchy bass, good with all music; if it has a bias, it has to be for mid and upper mid range to give an airy sound. And good volume. ideally around the £1000 mark, but if the sound knocks me over, I'd stretch to the A6 price range (And after that, I'd like peace in the middle east please!!)

I am using a Quad 909, so can drive most speakers to good volume if they have the power handling themselves. Source/pre-amp will be the Audiolab 8200CDQ.

 

[Helmut80]

if I am not mistaken, the A6 are around £2k. in that price range there are about 101 speakers to consider. My two cents: if you like bass, check PMC, Proac and Dynaudio.

 

[Anonymous]

I like clean, tight bass, but not too much of it. How much is too much? That's a moot point - given the A5's are not renowned for bass extension, my preference must be on the light side, but I quite like to use an EPOS M SUB with my current bookshelf speakers which (when turned back enough) give a lovelly toe tapping underline to the bass. I can't really square my use of the SUB with not liking the A5 for too much bass, other than the fact I can reduce the bass volume with a sub while increasing bass extension.

Speakers change the style of sound so much I am finding this a very hard part of the system to upgrade.

 

[plastic penguin]

TheMusic:

I like clean, tight bass, but not too much of it. How much is too much? That's a moot point - given the A5's are not renowned for bass extension, my preference must be on the light side, but I quite like to use an EPOS M SUB with my current bookshelf speakers which (when turned back enough) give a lovelly toe tapping underline to the bass. I can't really square my use of the SUB with not liking the A5 for too much bass, other than the fact I can reduce the bass volume with a sub while increasing bass extension.

Speakers change the style of sound so much I am finding this a very hard part of the system to upgrade.

I've recently had a speaker check, including the Spendor A5s. Wonderful speakers in many respects, however, I found them to be err... a little in ya face presentation. For me, however, I found the Totem Arro to really hit the mark: They are very punchy, controlled with a huge sound stage. Put simply, they amongst some of the best speakers I've heard. Period!

That said, it's advisable to go and listen to two or three different makes and decide for yourself.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi TheMusic

In addition to the Silver RX6 other speakers around £1k which are also worth a look are the Silver RX8 or Dynaudio DM 3/7 speakers. The 909 power amp also works well with ATC's SCM40 monitors. Fwiw, i feel the SCM40's are probably the finest VFM speakers currently available on the market regardless of price

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Mr Penguin,

Certainly will listen before I buy (to the point I will probably bore the local dealers I expect!), but trying to get some pointers and not miss out something I should be considering - not all dealers have all speakers.

 

[plastic penguin]

TheMusic:

Mr Penguin,

Certainly will listen before I buy (to the point I will probably bore the local dealers I expect!), but trying to get some pointers and not miss out something I should be considering - not all dealers have all speakers.

Understand totally...

. But if you go onto a manufacturers website they'll give you the nearest dealer. B&W, MA and Spendor shouldn't pose any real problems, but look at Totems http://totemacoustic.com/english/find-a-dealer/. Try and listen to a pair, they are amazing!

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

MUSICRAFT:

Hi TheMusic

In addition to the Silver RX6 other speakers around £1k which are also worth a look are the Silver RX8 or Dynaudio DM 3/7 speakers. The 909 power amp also works well with ATC's SCM40 monitors. Fwiw, i feel the SCM40's are probably the finest VFM speakers currently available on the market regardless of price

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Thanks Rick - The Dynaudio range seems to have passed undetected by my radar to date. Something else to consider, but I like the sound of the reviews, so thank you!

 

[Anonymous]

plastic penguin:Understand totally...

. But if you go onto a manufacturers website they'll give you the nearest dealer. B&W, MA and Spendor shouldn't pose any real problems, but look at Totems http://totemacoustic.com/english/find-a-dealer/. Try and listen to a pair, they are amazing!

Good luck.

Link did not work?

 

[duaplex]

I would certainly listen to the CM8 series, if you budget can stretch that far, the bass is tight as you like it and the sub is the best sub on the market in this range, if not the very best across all ranges. The output of bass and frequencies is unmatched. Also dont neglect having a look at the KEF speaker Q500 or Q700 at the front. And if you can stretch then look at the Q900.

Hope that helps