Budget stereo speakers for an Arcam AVR2800?

[admin_exported]

Just purchased an Arcam AVR280 and now on the look out for some nice stereo speakers that suit the receiver.

Reason for stereo is that we decided to make do with our existing
surround speakers for the time being and upgrade later, as the stereo
performance is important to us for listening to music I decided it
might be better doing it this way and saves us shelling out alot of
money in one hit.

So, understanding that different speakers suit different
amps/receivers, does anyone have any recommendations for some budget(up
to around £150) stereo speaks that would compliment this receiver?

The main types of music I listen to are HipHop, Drum & Bass and
Electronica so would prefer speakers that have a decent amount of bass
to them, as well as being fairly punchy and not muffled.

I do have my eye on a pair of speakers which not only fit my budget but
are a brand that I really like and look very stylish, the only thing is
being a bit of an audiophile noob I'm not sure if they'll be a good
match for the AVR280.

The speakers I'm looking at are the KEF IQ1's and I have found them available for £122 which sounds like a bit of a bargain to me.

Another possible option at a slightly cheaper price(although the missus doesn't like the look of them so might be a hard sale) would be the Mordaunt Short 902i,
from what I've read I imagine the Arcam would handle them well.

Any opinions on either of these matches, or other speakers that I should consider at a similar price? Will be mounted on Atacama Nexus 6 stands by the way which I already own.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the Kefs should be right up there in your list, along with the Tannoy F4 Customs which are available in your price range on superfi.co.uk and I would also check out the Wharfedale Vardus 400 speakers, if you like a big, beafy, loud sound.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, that was a fast reply

My only reservation on the EQ1's is I'm concerned they might be lacking a bit of punch for electronic music styles, although from the whathifi review I gather if I position them carefully they should be ok?

Funny you should mention the Wharfedale Vardus 400's as I was looking with interest at those earlier on, couldn't find any reviews about them though and was a bit dubious about the quality of them for that amazing price(for floorstanders). Have you had any experience with these speakers then[EDIT]Just shown the other half and she doesn't like the black finish of those so that rules the Vardus 400's out[EDIT]

Those Tannoy Custom F4's do also look very good, not sure how I missed those while browsing SuperFi earlier on.[Another EDIT]She doesn't seem to keen on floorstanders at all so back to bookshelfs it is

 

[Anonymous]

Well I havn't heard the Vardus speakers, but Wharfedale have never made a bad product so I'm sure you can't go wrong with them!

However, the Tannoys I have heard and I loved them! They were excellent speakers for £380, let alone £160! I have no reason why they are discounted so heavily because they are excellent speakers and by far the best at that price.

If I were you, I would certainly have the F4 Customs at the top of my list and they will also be great for home-cinema as they are very easy to drive and have plenty of depth and slam to the bass!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated. richersounds actually have the F4 Customs at £149.99, infact I believe they were even £120 recently, shame I missed that price as would have been bargain of the century!

Hmm, so looks like two good options so far, either the KEF IQ1's mounted on my Nexus 6 stands, or the floorstanding F4 Customs and put the stands away. Tough choice! Wonder which would compliment the Arcam AVR280 better.

 

[Anonymous]

Tetlee:
Thanks for the insight, much appreciated. richersounds actually have the F4 Customs at £149.99, infact I believe they were even £120 recently, shame I missed that price as would have been bargain of the century!

Hmm, so looks like two good options so far, either the KEF IQ1's mounted on my Nexus 6 stands, or the floorstanding F4 Customs and put the stands away. Tough choice! Wonder which would compliment the Arcam AVR280 better.

That's a good deal at Richersounds, snap it up!

As for which are better suited to the Arcam, it's a tough choice. What sort of music do you listen to mainly? In my opinion, the KEFs are just that little bit too small for a home-cinema system, but they are easier to position...hmm...how big is the room they are going to be used in and how close to the wall will the speakers be?

 

[Anonymous]

Hughes123:As for which are better suited to the Arcam, it's a tough choice. What sort of music do you listen to mainly? In my opinion, the KEFs are just that little bit too small for a home-cinema system, but they are easier to position...hmm...how big is the room they are going to be used in and how close to the wall will the speakers be?

Couple of tricky questions there so will answer the easy one first re style of music(did actually put it in my first post but guess you missed that bit).

The main types of music I listen to are HipHop, Drum & Bass and
Electronica so would prefer speakers that have a decent(or at least reasonable as will be purchasing a sub further down the line) amount of bass
to them, as well as being fairly punchy and not muffled.

As for the size of room and positioning, well we're about to move back to my old flat in the UK(we're in Argentina at the moment but purchasing things online now ready for our return as we're going to be too busy for shopping when we get back), we are hoping to sell the flat and upgrade to a house but we have to see how things pan out when we return. In our old flat we're moving back into the speakers would likely be positioned close to the wall(of course could be moved away if needed). Guess the size of the lounge in the flat would be around 3 metres x 5 metres, with the tv and speakers likely poitioned at the long end(due to the radiator positioning). Hope that helps give you an idea.

 

[Anonymous]

Tetlee:
Hughes123:As for which are better suited to the Arcam, it's a tough choice. What sort of music do you listen to mainly? In my opinion, the KEFs are just that little bit too small for a home-cinema system, but they are easier to position...hmm...how big is the room they are going to be used in and how close to the wall will the speakers be?

Couple of tricky questions there so will answer the easy one first re style of music(did actually put it in my first post but guess you missed that bit).

The main types of music I listen to are HipHop, Drum & Bass and
Electronica so would prefer speakers that have a decent amount of bass
to them, as well as being fairly punchy and not muffled.

As for the size of room and positioning, well we're about to move back to my old flat in the UK(we're in Argentina at the moment but purchasing things online now ready for our return as we're going to be too busy for shopping when we get back), we are hoping to sell the flat and upgrade to a house but we have to see how things pan out when we return. In our old flat we're moving back into the speakers would likely be positioned close to the wall(of course could be moved away if needed). Guess the size of the lounge in the flat would be around 3 metres x 5 metres, with the tv and speakers likely poitioned at the long end(due to the radiator positioning). Hope that helps give you an idea.

*Smacks himself on his head for not reading the original post properly*

For your criteria, I would recommend the Tannoys. You like bass and you like fast music and you like drive and "get up and go" to your music (judging by the genres you listen to) so I would definitly say the F4 Customs excel in this regard. As for speaker positioning, I would also say they are more suited because that's a fairly large room they will be used in.

Put simply, get the Tannoys!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for the replies, you've been very helpful.

Your comments do make sense, as much as I really do love KEF IQ1's(have always liked KEF but have never owned them) I can see they might not be ideal unfortuantely(the missus will be gutted also as she LOVES the styling of them!). Where as the Tannoys might not look quite as sexy but it sounds like they will more importantly sound powerful and deep.

As for snapping the Tannoys up from richersounds, not possible for now at least as they're in store only at that price and we don't move back for another 6 weeks yet. SuperFi would still be an option as at £15 higher they obviously would deliver, could just wait but a bit nervous the price could increase in 6 weeks time, will have a bit of consideration on that.

 

[Anonymous]

Just bought IQ1s, and really like them. They have a refined, restrained bass, you can tell what the instrument is rather than the thud,thud you get from music in clubs etc.

If you want a punchy bass, they don't really have it when stand mounted. You can feel them move the floorboards/chair, but not enough to make the neighbours complain.They are not as efficient as my Monitor Audio B1s either, which oddly seemed too bassy, from a smaller speaker for my liking.

Looks wise, the IQ1s are great, and that's a great price you've found.

 

[Anonymous]

the tannoy f4 are available for £120 fro richersounds untill january 13th if you say that your saw their vip ad in what hifi magazine which had them listed as £119.99

 

[Anonymous]

philtaylorphoto:
Just bought IQ1s, and really like
them. They have a refined, restrained bass, you can tell what the
instrument is rather than the thud,thud you get from music in clubs etc.

If
you want a punchy bass, they don't really have it when stand mounted.
You can feel them move the floorboards/chair, but not enough to make
the neighbours complain.They are not as efficient as my Monitor Audio
B1s either, which oddly seemed too bassy, from a smaller speaker for my
liking.

Looks wise, the IQ1s are great, and that's a great price you've found.

Thanks for sharing your personal opinion on the IQ1's, always handy. Do you listen to any dance music yourself, and if so are you satisfied with the more refined/restrained bass for this genre of music? Also have you experimented much with the positioning of the speakers, as from what I can gather this can make a very large difference to the bass performance of the KEF IQ1's?

flexo:the tannoy f4 are available for £120 fro richersounds untill january 13th if you say that your saw their vip ad in what hifi magazine which had them listed as £119.99

Arghhhh! Thanks alot for the info, didn't realise you could still get them at that crazy price, only problem is with being out of the country until Feb I have no way to pick them up from the shop(and can't think of anyone I could ask to collect them either), noooooooooooo!