B&w 684 or 683 good for rock and pop? Now KEF REference 2.3?

peterpan

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What think you; are these good for rock and pop? Not too dull? I've heard the montor audio rx6 with rhe marantz 8003 and it have no body and i find the high too shrill.
 

d_a_n1979

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I'm very surprised by your comments re the M/A RX6's and the Marantz amp

What other amps did you demo?

The likes of the NAD C355BEE or the Rotel RA1520/RA06SE amps would be well worth demoing as well.

When I demo'd the B&W 683's and 684's a while back the 683's ousted the 684's with ease IMO. The 684's were too muddy and slack whereas the 683's soundstage was much more taut and controlled and obviously with superb bass.

The QUAD 22L2's should also be demo'd IMO; superb speakers and great with a range of music

The demo'd I did were with the NAD C355BEE amp and music ranged from Metallica to Pink Floyd to various Hed Kandi and modern electronica (Fisherspooner, Massive Attack etc...)
 
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Anonymous

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nothing shrilly about my system , now that the speakers are two months old its sounding better than ever , i love the combo , even with the less powerful 6003 , good bass too imo ..
 

poldo

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Hi Peterpan,

I can give you my opinion as i Have both owned the B&W 684 as the Monitor Audio rx/rs6.

I think the B&W is a great speaker with massive bass, but the Monitor Audio's bass is much more punchy and in control, the highs are perfect on the Monitor Audio, the B&W is a bit muffled.

I would advice NAD 355 with Monitor Audio and the Rotel 06se (or 1520) with the B&W 684.

I have changed my B&W too Monitor Audio cause I prefer metal music and the Monitor Audio is better then B&W. B&W is great with Dance music and R&B, Rap.

Other thing, the B&W is quite a large speaker so it needs room to breath! More then the Monitor Audio.
 

poldo

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The Denon is nice, I compared it with the NAD 355 and prefer the NAD.

The 683 was way too big for my room 5 x 5 mtrs. but if you have the room it is the better speaker.

Maybe you could look at the B&W CM7.
 

d_a_n1979

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peterpan:Maybe with the new Denon 1510? I like a full body sound. But indeed the 684 is too muffled. Or the 683?

The Denon is no match for the M/A RX6's or the B&W's IMO

Denon's AV amps are good but their stereo amps have always lacked IMO.

You need to see if you can demo the likes of the Rotels or the NAD amps as suggested. The NAD C355BEE and M/A RX6 combo I had (up until 2 weeks ago) was superb and VERY punchy indeed but with a superb soundstage and metal was some of my fave music to listen to on the system due to it being so well controlled
 

peterpan

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From Denon i've heard this often. it looks good but the sound is not so good.In the past i had NAD (with KEF; don't know which type). I could listen many hours. But NAD was extremely unreliable.

Also no Denon and no B&W 684.

I can try for the sound NAD with the RX6. Or the RX8? My listening room is 7 x 4,5 m. and around the corner again 7 m. ( L -form)

B&W 683?

Roksan Kandy K2?
 

d_a_n1979

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Dont bother with the M/A RX8's

The RX6's are better and more controlled. The B&W 683's and QUAD 22L2s would be my next choice
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The heavier weight NAD amps should be considered if available (i.e. the NAD C355BEE, C375BEE or the C165BEE/C275BEE pre/power combo).

The M/A RS6's are more than enough for your room
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I wasnt as keen on the Roksan Kandy K2 amp as I was with the NAD; the highs on the K2 are a little bit too brash, more so with metal music!

If you can get one and are prepared to go 2nd hand; an Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amp would be a superb choice IMO and would drive the M/A RX6's superbly. More so if you can budget for the matching power amp as well
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peterpan

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I will try the RX6 wirh a NAD combo. I saw there is a new amp; the 356 BEE. Good? And will try with the NAD poweramp.

Maybe also try the B&W 683, but is maybe too much for my room and can't get enough from the wall.
 

d_a_n1979

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The B&W 683's arent too bad at all close to a wall as theyre front ported
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Not sure on the new NAD amp as it hasnt been released as far as I'm aware. TBH I cant see it being much different/better (if at all) from the C355BEE!
 

d_a_n1979

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For rock and pop music; hmmm, not sure TBH

The Rega RS5's would be well worth demoing; superb speakers and very agile indeed
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I do agree that the B&W CM7's would be worth demoing as well but they are rear ported so need to have at least 12" behind them minimum.
 

Cypher

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peterpan:Something else; what about the Spendor A5?

I think these are a class above all speakers mentioned sofar. I heard the SA1, A5 and A6 and they were breathtaking.

If you find the Monitor Audio RX6 shrill sounding, why bother ? Buy the Spendors
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Just kiddin'. You should audition the A5 first but I bet you will not be dissapointed.
 

d_a_n1979

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Oh yeah dont get me wrong the Spendor A5's are superb speakers but they wouldnt be my 1st port of call, more so with the OP's taste in music and possible electronics!

I'm still surprised that he found the RX6's shrill as I've heard mine with electronics from Arcam to Audiolab to Cyrus to NAD etc and they never sounded shrill/bright at all!

If it were the RS6's I could see where he's coming from!
 

peterpan

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I have had the B&W 684 for two weeks to listen at home. I liked the full body sound, the bass and sweet highs, but also find it too dull. The electronics was Denon.

Now i have the RX6 at home with Marantz 8003. It has no full body sound, but isn't dull. But i miss something. Perhaps the speaker is not big enough, too little bass and thst why no full body sound. Maybe try the Rx8. And also listen to the Spendor A5. But my music, much older rock cd's are not good recorded. On which speaker they will sound the best? It must not be analytical.
 

WishTree

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I have tried PM7003 with B&W CM7

I got the feeling that Marantz Amp and CM7 both are working towards better separation of instruments but the combination made it a tad bright than otherwise to the extent that I parted with PM7003. Even with my current Denon 2310 (I know it is an AVR) CM7s are just on edge of bright. I used a Denon 3310 for a short time and it was really perfect with good base and matching with CM7

My opinion is that 7003 or 8003 would sound brighter atleast with CM series. I had 686 and 685 (as well as 684 demo) before and I felt them muffled and not just bassy (Ok.. this statement is hindsight after moving to CM series)
 
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Anonymous

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I have the Yamaha rxv-1065 with Elac's fs 127.

When auditioning them,I found them much better than B&W 684 with rock and metal.Play Rage against the machine and in my opinion it sounds much more detailed en bass also is very good.

There are just not a lot of people who seem to know Elac.
 
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Anonymous

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peterpan:

I have had the B&W 684 for two weeks to listen at home. I liked the full body sound, the bass and sweet highs, but also find it too dull. The electronics was Denon.

Now i have the RX6 at home with Marantz 8003. It has no full body sound, but isn't dull. But i miss something. Perhaps the speaker is not big enough, too little bass and thst why no full body sound. Maybe try the Rx8. And also listen to the Spendor A5. But my music, much older rock cd's are not good recorded. On which speaker they will sound the best? It must not be analytical.

What's analytical?
 

poldo

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I must say try the exposure 2010s amp, i did love that amp. Marantz and Denon stereo amps didn't do it for me.

NAD, exposure, naim are my picks with metal/rock music.

I don't think the Spendor a5 would bring you more it is just a very different speaker. If you want better then RX6 but the same full bodied sound you should look at the MA GS20 or B&W CM9.

MA GS20 with Musical Fidelity a5.5 or Exposure 3010s is very very good, as well B&W CM9 with Naim XS.
 

d_a_n1979

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TBH reading through all this I think the main issue lies with your music and the quality of recordings...

If youre going to buy a decent system its not going to mask the fact that the recordings are poor.

NAD, M/A and B&W will give you an honest reply of your music so if it was recorded bad it'll sound bad!
 
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Anonymous

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i also think the quality of recordings is very relevant here , ive got some cds that dont sound like much on my system , and others that sound amazing , as well as having plenty of 320kbps mp3 tracks , again , some mediocre sounding , and some amazing ..
 

d_a_n1979

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The RX8's have EXACTLY the same sound as the RX6's but with more bass; that's the only difference!

It seems to me that you require more bass to cover the quality of recordings you listen to
 

poldo

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The rx8 could be the answer if you have a big room, the bass is more but not better, then you should look at Monitor audio gs 20.

I loved the GS 20 in build and sound it is better then the rx6. But there is much more in that price range. Maybe you should look at Tannoy, they make superb speakers too.
 

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