Big comparison topic B&W vs Focal vs Harbeth vs ATC vs ProAc vs PMC vs KEF vs Audio Physic vs Tannoy vs Sonus Fabere

[plastic penguin]

I would agree but hopefully the OP, having been disappointed when he bought Diamond 11's on spec, will realise that whatever we think or state in here is going to be pretty meaningless unless he can actually audition some for himself, unfortunately.

Concur. With the OP's budget it would be madness not demo.

 

[plastic penguin]

[/QUOTE]

Can I throw another combo into the mix?

Wilson Benesch Discovery speakers and Luxman amplification. I heard this combo and it's fantastic.

Wilson Benesch are rarely mentioned on this forum, with the right amplification they are stunning: Luxman or Accuphase should be a great mix.

 

[Al ears]

Can I throw another combo into the mix?

Wilson Benesch Discovery speakers and Luxman amplification. I heard this combo and it's fantastic.

Wilson Benesch are rarely mentioned on this forum, with the right amplification they are stunning: Luxman or Accuphase should be a great mix.

Good suggestion, I have heard both Luxman (nearly got one myself) and Accuphase amps but, as you say, Wilson Benesch speakers are rarely mentioned and I have to admit I have yet to hear any.

 

[plastic penguin]

Good suggestion, I have heard both Luxman (nearly got one myself) and Accuphase amps but, as you say, Wilson Benesch speakers are rarely mentioned and I have to admit I have yet to hear any.

Yeah, I've heard WB on two occasions. Once at my old bosses place, Discovery and Luxman, and once at a dealers. It was entry-level WB Square Ones IIRC with Bryston amp and CD player. Both combos were very impressive.

Certainly if I had the money (and space) the Discoverys and Luxman would high on the list of 'must audition'.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Under £10k I’d be happy with the active version of my current ATC SCM40 which list at £7,800.

SCM40A's UK RRP is a little bit less @ £7400/pair 🙂

 

[nopiano]

SCM40A's UK RRP is a little bit less @ £7400/pair 🙂

Sorry, Rick, you’re quite right of course and that was a typo. I should have noticed! I’ll edit it now.

 

[Surly Sid]

So Arthur, did you pull the trigger on any speakers?

 

[RoA]

I was disappointed every time I heard WB at the Bristol. No such problems with Harbeth and ATC.

 

[nopiano]

I was disappointed every time I heard WB at the Bristol. No such problems with Harbeth and ATC.

My experience too, much as I wanted to like WB they always sounded awful to me. But the room was often busy, so some must ‘get it’.

 

[Satanh636]

Hello everybody. I think this topic will be interesting because my goal is to gather all speakers unique sound characteristics in one place.Please express your opinion without any hesitation and no judgments and no fight!

I live in third world country and I have no place to hear (most of) these speakers. I wouldn't buy them without audition of course, I am just curious what are the differences between them and their unique characteristics.I would like to hear YOUR PERSONAL OPINION and without any judgement. Please describe them as you wish. For example I heard B&W is on the brighter side adn open and forward, Harbeth should be warmer, Sonus Faber dark...
I repeat, I would like to hear your personal opinion.

B&W 800 series (D3, D4)

Focal (Utopia, Sopra, Kanta)

Harbeth

ATC (Classic series)

ProAc (Response, K Series)

PMC

Kef (Blade, Reference)

Audio Physic

Tannoy

Sonus Fabere

I have a set of Focal Utopia III Evo they sound great one of the best speakers ever made , well worth the price . In the studio we use Focal as they are the best professional grade monitor speaker you can find , which is why I went with Focal Utopia's for my home system , Musicians are well acquainted with Focal , so don't many people will be able to tell you much about these speakers to the price is more then most people can afford . I did have a set of ProAc they are a good speaker not as good as the Focal thought . Here is some advice a lot of audiophiles will contest but I will say it anyway , Don't get bookshelf speakers they are not as good as people think they are in fact they suck , the bigger the speaker the broader and further the sound waves will carry as professional musician who knows all about sound , Go for tower speakers , unless your in a 4 by 4 meter room then just buy a good AIO Ghetto blaster with detachable speakers and a line in so you can hook your TV upto it .

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I have a set of Focal Utopia III Evo they sound great one of the best speakers ever made , well worth the price . In the studio we use Focal as they are the best professional grade monitor speaker you can find , which is why I went with Focal Utopia's for my home system , Musicians are well acquainted with Focal , so don't many people will be able to tell you much about these speakers to the price is more then most people can afford . I did have a set of ProAc they are a good speaker not as good as the Focal thought . Here is some advice a lot of audiophiles will contest but I will say it anyway , Don't get bookshelf speakers they are not as good as people think they are in fact they suck , the bigger the speaker the broader and further the sound waves will carry as professional musician who knows all about sound , Go for tower speakers , unless your in a 4 by 4 meter room then just buy a good AIO Ghetto blaster with detachable speakers and a line in so you can hook your TV upto it .

You are replying to a thread that's been dormant since 2021, and where the OP hasn't been back since.

 

[ultraminiature]

I have some ancient speakers that when working I have no need to better. Ove the passed 10 years they fail more frequently and have spent longer in for repairs. So I got some replacements and then two more so I have a working 5.1 system. These are also old and beginning to need fixes.

So I set out to get more modern speakers and hopefully not of worse quality.

I tried some life style speakers. Wireless streaming DSP active speakers. They impressed me by the high quality and for most of the time a good enough replacement for my floor standing big box speakers but in a more compact form. But they have poor latency and so watching TV, movies or YouTube using them is not good. I did have the chance to experiment with Bluetooth, Airplay 2 and wi-fi (DNLA) from a computer to them with a noticable improvement of wi-fi over both Airplay and Bluetooth (same wave file as source).

To resolve the connection to play back movies I went from the £3K pair to £14500 speakers that have WiSA (low latency wireless) and also the same wi-fi Airplay and Bluetooth as the smaller less expensive speakers. The bigger speakers are better, a tiny amount better and not anything like £11k better. A huge disappointment and all the reviewers seem to have no clue. Then the WiSA transmitter arrived. This turned them into a completely different speaker fuller, more low end, better stage and almost worth the difference in retail price (I got them second hand for 50% of the then retail price, 12 month sold).

They are still not better than my 45 year old speakers, different, as good, maybe. But I can live with them and that is all that matters.

I think selecting your choice is harder now than ever. Audio memory is poor. You can't walk into one demo and then go across town to another demo and make any real sensible distinctions between two high quality systems. Even side by size one may be better with some music but not on all choices. Fewer places can offer any A/B comparisons as they do not stock the models and can't order them in for a demo with just a potential sale of just one of system.

At the ultra high end I would always short list Linn, Naim, Meridian, some Dynaaudio, Dali and Kii and am still tempted to get in to test Buchardt speakers to hear if they really are 17-40kHz and the Cabasse The Pearl Pelegrina Wireless Speaker 10-27KHz when most are more likely to be 30/40-23kHz.

 

[Al ears]

I have some ancient speakers that when working I have no need to better. Ove the passed 10 years they fail more frequently and have spent longer in for repairs. So I got some replacements and then two more so I have a working 5.1 system. These are also old and beginning to need fixes.

So I set out to get more modern speakers and hopefully not of worse quality.

I tried some life style speakers. Wireless streaming DSP active speakers. They impressed me by the high quality and for most of the time a good enough replacement for my floor standing big box speakers but in a more compact form. But they have poor latency and so watching TV, movies or YouTube using them is not good. I did have the chance to experiment with Bluetooth, Airplay 2 and wi-fi (DNLA) from a computer to them with a noticable improvement of wi-fi over both Airplay and Bluetooth (same wave file as source).

To resolve the connection to play back movies I went from the £3K pair to £14500 speakers that have WiSA (low latency wireless) and also the same wi-fi Airplay and Bluetooth as the smaller less expensive speakers. The bigger speakers are better, a tiny amount better and not anything like £11k better. A huge disappointment and all the reviewers seem to have no clue. Then the WiSA transmitter arrived. This turned them into a completely different speaker fuller, more low end, better stage and almost worth the difference in retail price (I got them second hand for 50% of the then retail price, 12 month sold).

They are still not better than my 45 year old speakers, different, as good, maybe. But I can live with them and that is all that matters.

I think selecting your choice is harder now than ever. Audio memory is poor. You can't walk into one demo and then go across town to another demo and make any real sensible distinctions between two high quality systems. Even side by size one may be better with some music but not on all choices. Fewer places can offer any A/B comparisons as they do not stock the models and can't order them in for a demo with just a potential sale of just one of system.

At the ultra high end I would always short list Linn, Naim, Meridian, some Dynaaudio, Dali and Kii and am still tempted to get in to test Buchardt speakers to hear if they really are 17-40kHz and the Cabasse The Pearl Pelegrina Wireless Speaker 10-27KHz when most are more likely to be 30/40-23kHz.

Please read the post before this one.....