Book shelf vs floor stander / quality vs quantity

[admin_exported]

Ok, I have always had plenty of space and have always had big floor standers. However, they (Mission M73) absolutely overwhelm my rather small living room visually.

So I think it may be time to go to a book shelf, in particular one that will sit on the window sill or fire place (never used).

I have a budget of £300, I use a DAC Magic, Arcam A18 amp, good quality cables. So my question is, what should I consider and will my dream of having them against a wall be ruined by the fact the bannana plugs will require them to be a couples of inches off the wall?

To throw another dimension in to the mix I have been offered both of the following for £300 - thoughts please?

Linn Komponent 110 (floor standing - should I just deal with a lack of space for this speaker?)

Focal 705 (stand mounted - but I want it to sit on the fire place and how will it compare to the big Linn?)

Thanks everyone!

 

[dannycanham]

one that will sit on the window sill or fire place (never used).

Blasphemy!

If you are really pushing them against walls and out of the way go for speakers designed to be wall mounted or speakers designed to be near walls, although alot of speakers are called bookshelf they aren't really designed for being on a bookshelf.

 

[MajorFubar]

will my dream of having them against a wall be ruined by the fact the bannana plugs will require them to be a couples of inches off the wall?

Most speakers which accept bananas also accept bare wires. This will save you some space but consider that not all speakers have recessed binding-posts, so even then you might not be able to flush-fit.

No speaker in the world is going to sound good on a window-sill or your fireplace, so accept that as a given compromise no matter what you buy.

Hardly ideal but couldn't you find place for a pair of sturdy wall-brackets?

I predict you'll miss the M73s!

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, on that basis I really should stick with the floor standers.

I guess than I need to consider how good (or otherwise) the Linn Komponent 110 is.

 

[Anonymous]

Spoke to dealers today who have all told me to steer clear of the Linn!

Time to start looking at Triangle and Focal.

 

[MajorFubar]

Hmmm...did they say why? Not that I've heard it...

 

[Anonymous]

That the Linn Komponent really needs to be run with a Sub and isn't well suited to music, but rather should be seen as one element of a dedicated home entertainment system. Apparently the Majik 109 is much better.

 

[juxter1]

I actually use these speakers with a Linn Majik DS-I and I can tell you that what the dealer has said is rubbish. I even swapped to a pair of Monitor Audio MA-14's for a while and found no difference in bass response at all. I think the dealer is working under the misconception that the Komponent speakers were designed for an AV surround setup and are therefore no good at stereo hi-fi applications. This is totally wrong in my opinion and for slim floorstanders they are more than up to the job. And they look good too.

 

[plastic penguin]

Ok, I have always had plenty of space and have always had big floor standers. However, they (Mission M73) absolutely overwhelm my rather small living room visually.

So I think it may be time to go to a book shelf, in particular one that will sit on the window sill or fire place (never used).

I have a budget of £300, I use a DAC Magic, Arcam A18 amp, good quality cables. So my question is, what should I consider and will my dream of having them against a wall be ruined by the fact the bannana plugs will require them to be a couples of inches off the wall?

To throw another dimension in to the mix I have been offered both of the following for £300 - thoughts please?

Linn Komponent 110 (floor standing - should I just deal with a lack of space for this speaker?)

Focal 705 (stand mounted - but I want it to sit on the fire place and how will it compare to the big Linn?)

Thanks everyone!

Look at Monitor Audio RS5 or RS6s. The former is certainly available for under your budget and the latter a tad over or a round about the £300. Both match exquisitiely with Arcam amps.

Both are compact floorstanders, but if you must have standmounters then MA RS1 or RX1 should do the trick.

 

[Anonymous]

i wouldn't be putting rs1's or rx1's on a window sill or fireplace pp..

 

[plastic penguin]

i wouldn't be putting rs1's or rx1's on a window sill or fireplace pp..

True, but the OP hasn't ruled out floorstanders. If he can make room for the 'big boys' he'll certainly find room for the standmounters I've mentioned.