Dali Zensor 3 or B&W 686 bookshelves for Home Cinema?

[nugget2014]

Hi

I am looking to buy a pair of bookshelf speakers for my home cinema system i will be buying in the next few weeks and months (buying each piece i need slowly) i like bass and it'd be a big part on deciding what speakers i want. the dali 3's have 7" woofer which i would imagine be better than the B&W. i will be using my system for both movies and music. about 50/50 of each.

i will be using the denon avr-x1000 a/v reciever with the new sony BDPS5200 blu ray player.

TV undecided.

i have a budget of about £800 (for speakers a/v reciever and blu-ray player)

if you also know of any other decent speakers for about £300 then feel free to suggest them to me. still wondering if need a sub if i get some bass heavy speakers such as the dali's

 

[nugget2014]

bump

 

[ellisdj]

For home cinema systems a sub has its ownchannel so regardless of the speakers its very advisable to have a sub

 

[nugget2014]

For home cinema systems a sub has its ownchannel so regardless of the speakers its very advisable to have a sub

Think I'm getting either the bk Gemini II or the wharfedale diamond sw150. Just didn't know what pair of speakers work best with these subs

Then again I could save for a bit longer and get the bk xls200 I think it is for £310 or so. As I prefer forward firing design more

 

[jonathanRD]

Hi Nugget - please concentrate on getting speakers that sound best with the AVR you are getting (rather than worrying about which will sound best with the sub) - especially if you are 50/50. Get the music right first.

 

[nugget2014]

Hi Nugget - please concentrate on getting speakers that sound best with the AVR you are getting (rather than worrying about which will sound best with the sub) - especially if you are 50/50. Get the music right first.

just decided i dont think the b&w 686 speakers wont be the best choice for me, they look amazing and well built but the small bass driver and the supposed brightness of the treble puts me off, as well as supposedly you need a good pair of stands for b&w speakers to sound their fullest (the 685 more so)

dali zensor 3's might be my purchase, with the very big 7" woofer. i'm testing some monitor audio bronze BX2 however the cheaper speakers make me think straight away the dali's win from the start.

edit:just seen the monitor audio bronze BX2 goes down to 42hz and has a 6.5" woofer..am actually looking forward to testing this alongside the dali zensor 3's now!

 

[petehayman]

The What Hi-Fi? verdict on the Zensor 3s is now online here if you wanted to know what our team made of them!