Having finally persuaded my wife to accept a home ciema system, I have found buying the TV (Panasonic TH-50PX70) and the receiver (Onkyo TX-SR605) relatively easy, but finding the right speakers is not! I am looking for powerful cinema surround sound and also good quality music - I like my sound 'beefy', with good solid base (can't stand Bose), but also want a piano to sound like... a piano! (I am considering buying the Marantz CD6002, which I have found for £229, or maybe the NAD C515 for about £180 - any views on which of these?) The room is 20ft x 16ft and, as we are renting, it might not be easy fixing any speakers to a wall. I live in Bracknell and work in Harrow, but a big frustration is that I have not yet found anybody who can give me a demo of the full surround speaker packages that I am considering. However, I have at least managed to find a local dealer where I have listened to the following 3 speakers in stereo pairs only, with CD music (from the Marantz player): - Q Acoustic 1010i: Good for the price, but I thought rather lightweight and trebly - Q Acoustic 1020i: A much better sound to my ears - fuller and less trebly - Monitor Audio BR2: A bit fuller again and definitely crisper; I thought them a little bright, but imagine this would improve when they are run-in. Following their excellent rating in What HIFI?, I had first thought my surround solution would be the Q Acoustic 1010i 5.1, but I do not want a pair of 1010i's as my hifi speakers. How would a system with 1020i's at the front and 1010i's at the rear work? Also, the sub was poorly reviewed, so should I substitute something like a Wharfdale Diamond 9 SW150 in this system? If I chose my preferred BR2s as the front speakers, I could go with the standard BR AV system... but do the BR-FX rears have to be wall-mounted? Anyway, my dealer recommends BR2s front and rear would be best... comments please? But my other problem is that the BR-FX centre is just too big to fit my TV unit! Substituting a Radius R225 has been suggested, but would this fit in well? and would an RS12 sub improve significantly on the BR-10? Ultimately, I could consider the R90-AV12 (seen at £1170) but I have not heard the R90's at all, so I wonder if they would give fuller hifi stereo than the BR2s? I am a hifi novice, but I have been doing some research... and I am now quite confused, as you can tell ! I would really appreciate suggestions for the best speaker solution.
BIG-SOUNDING SPEAKERS FOR UNDER £1000?
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Hi John,
Sorry to add to your options, but have you considered the Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom package? Another Award winner, slightly smaller centre speaker....
Sorry to add to your options, but have you considered the Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom package? Another Award winner, slightly smaller centre speaker....
Yes, I did see these recommended in What Hifi?, but I have not found anybody stocking them to listen to. I really want to hear a system before I buy (disappointed in the well-recommended Q Acoustic 1010i's) and this is proving very difficult. How do the Tannoys compare with Monitor Audio BR2 or R90? Can you please help me choose the system that will give me a big (not bright) sound? I don't suppose you can tell me where I might be able to listen to some of these systems? ...and now eddmac suggests the AE Aegis Neo 5.1 Package as well!
[quote user="JohnM"]Yes, I did see these recommended in What Hifi?, but I have not found anybody stocking them to listen to. I really want to hear a system before I buy (disappointed in the well-recommended Q Acoustic 1010i's) and this is proving very difficult. How do the Tannoys compare with Monitor Audio BR2 or R90? Can you please help me choose the system that will give me a big (not bright) sound? I don't suppose you can tell me where I might be able to listen to some of these systems? ...and now eddmac suggests the AE Aegis Neo 5.1 Package as well![/quote]
You can find details of Tannoy stockists here.
I'd expect them, performance-wise, to sit between the two Monitor Audio packages, but to sound less bright than either.
The Acoustic Energies are definitely also worth checking out if you can get a bargain - they were £1000 but you can bag them for under £700 now, which would make them a great, beefy buy! Details of AE dealers here.
You can find details of Tannoy stockists here.
I'd expect them, performance-wise, to sit between the two Monitor Audio packages, but to sound less bright than either.
The Acoustic Energies are definitely also worth checking out if you can get a bargain - they were £1000 but you can bag them for under £700 now, which would make them a great, beefy buy! Details of AE dealers here.
Well, the Tannoy F1 surround package is proving impossible to find for a demo. As a last resort, I have emailed Tannoy today, so we'll see if they can help. I have now listened to the Monitor Audio R90 full surround package - still rather too bright for me. Today I had a good demo of the Q Accoustic 1010i 5.1 package and must agree that this is excellent for £500. CD music in direct stereo mode was lightweight, but much better in surround mode. However, on both DVD audio and CD music, I felt this system was still a bit treblier than I liked , even after adjusting the treble tone control on the Onkyo 605 and the frequency on the sub. So for a bigger, richer sound (to fill my 20x16 ft room) it was suggested that I could substitute 4 x 1020i for the 1010i, or , even better, have 2 floor-standing 1050 at the front and 2 x 1020i at the rear. Is this likely to give me what I want? To get a demo, it was suggested I go direct to the Q Accoustic in Herfordshire...?
professorhat
Well-known member
Hi John
Welcome to the wonderful world of trying to pick a surround system! I was where you are now about 3 months ago. In the end, I decided on the B&W setup - 685s at the front, HTM62 centre and M1s at the rear - I wanted to go for 686s at the rear but was unable to due to space constraints in my front room. I have to admit, I never listened to the Monitor Audio's so I'm not sure how they could compare. However, I would advise checking them out, even if just to rule them out - they seem to be a love or hate system from what I can tell! I got mine from Sevenoaks and there's a branch in Reading which I guess would be easiest for you.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions on them and I'll get back to you!
Welcome to the wonderful world of trying to pick a surround system! I was where you are now about 3 months ago. In the end, I decided on the B&W setup - 685s at the front, HTM62 centre and M1s at the rear - I wanted to go for 686s at the rear but was unable to due to space constraints in my front room. I have to admit, I never listened to the Monitor Audio's so I'm not sure how they could compare. However, I would advise checking them out, even if just to rule them out - they seem to be a love or hate system from what I can tell! I got mine from Sevenoaks and there's a branch in Reading which I guess would be easiest for you.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions on them and I'll get back to you!
After only a month of communications with Tannoy, I have finally heard the F1 Custom 5.1 package today and I did like them better than those previously mentioned. However, I was then given a demo of a Mordant Short package (2 x 902i, 1 x 905i, 2 x 903i) still with the Tannoy TS12 sub, which I liked better - not too bright, but clearer than the F1s. Only one problem now: The 905i is too large for my TV cabinet, which takes max height 15cms! Can you please recommend a smaller centre speaker that will sonically match the 902i satellites (I am prepared to pay more, if necessary).
Hi. Re my posting below, I wonder if you can help me with a centre speaker (less than 15cms high) to match the Mordaunt Short 902is, please? Prepared topay more for this, if necessary.
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