Epos or B&W?

[admin_exported]

I hope to buy a Pioneer cd player and amp.(PD-D6-J and A-A6) though was a little worried about What Hi-Fi`s comments about careful matching of speakers. I quite fancy either the Epos M12.2`s or the new B&W 685`s. Anyone know which would sound best? I also plan to later add a Pro-ject 2 Xperience X-Pack turntable. The connects will probably be Chord Company Crimson and QED Silver Anniversay XT speaker cables. Hope someone can help.

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

I think you should go for the B&Ws. They're more refined than the M12.2s while still being entertaining. The Eposes remain excellent speakers for the money, but wouldn't make a good match with the Pioneers. I'd also go for Chord Carnival Silver (£5.50/m) speaker cable over the QED Silver Anni XT in the context of that system: it has a fuller, weightier sound.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm intrigued by the Pioneers- people keep pointing out the lineage of this new amp to the A400 which rather worries me as the A400 was grossly overated in its time. Still, I shouldn't judge the child by the sins of the father. If there is the characteristic brightness to these new Pioneers you probably need to pay some attention to matching them. The B&W's would probably go someway to a neutral performance (it would look very contemporary as well) but depending on your preferences the Epos shouldn't be overlooked. My younger brother has a pair and although they are a very strange colour and have a slightly odd impedance characteristic, they are very talanted little speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with ketan entirely,and Leonard about the Pioneer 400,Pioneer isn't my cup of tea so be careful on matching,avoid MA at all costs.

 

[Anonymous]

I have purchased the same amp/cd player combo so I'll gladly pass on my experience. By the way I think they are excellent; far better than I expected at the price. I auditioned the set up with Epos M5s, B&W 685 and Dynaudio Audience 42's. I put the EPOS last only because the sound was slightly too bright and thin with these speakers (or at least to my hearing). In the end of the day it was a choice between the B&W and the Dynaudio pair; I went for the Dynaudio's as I felt they offered a great overall sound (toned down the top end with great middle range for vocals and impressive bass for the size) and the compact size fitted with my requirements.

 

[gregory]

silly what's wrong with ma, they are not always good but some models over the years have stood out.just curious as to why you don't like them.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Greg,

I just find them way too metallic and bright,unnatural,in your face,throw everything at you.I think they are voiced to impress in a quick A-B demo,but put them up against a more natural sounding pair of speakers,the natural sounding pair wont initially grab your attention,but listen carefully and the sounds are more real,more natural.

If I was into pop music,electronic music,etc,the Monitor Audios would suit someone to the tea,as is the case for many,but for me they leave me a bit cold,it's not just them,I find alot of todays hifi voiced towards over detail,at the expense of naturalness,it's naturalness I like,along with correct bass.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Ketan. Many thanks for responding to my question. I have made a note in particular of the speaker cable you`ve recommended. One thing I didn`t mention previously was that with a little more time on my hands at the moment I am hoping to re-discover my vinyl collection (quite a lot of this is rock music) and I`m not sure if there is anything in my proposed set-up which I would need to take into consideration before making the plunge?Regards, Stuart.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys it`s me again! I`m new to this and didn`t realise I was replying to all at the same time! So starting again, many thanks to you all for your responses. I`ve been out of the scene for a number of years and have been existing on an 18 year old system of JVC separates.I`ve no idea if these were highly regarded or not at the time. I bought these because they weren`t an all in one midi system, suited my budget at the time and also looked good! I know, shameful! Well, over the last six months or so I`ve been reading What Hi-Fi and I`m now itching to get a new set-up. The components I`ve mentioned are all, as you`re probably aware well thought of by aforementioned magazine. However, I understand that`s imporant to match well which is why I`ve been asking for advice. I have also made a note of the other speakers you`ve recommended. Many thanks again. Regards, Stuart.

 

[Anonymous]

I am intrigued by this discussion on speakers that are natural-sounding or some that may have a certain bias.

Monitor Audio speakers were mentioned, with differing opinions in the posts. It is interesting to note that in the monthly Best Buys pages in What HiFi?, Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 and BR5 are now the recommended speakers for the budget and midrange categories (What HiFi? Oct 2007 issue).

I would like to ask the more experienced, what are some speakers that have the reputation for being natural-sounding? I listen mostly to classical music.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="mjwsat"]

I have purchased the same amp/cd player combo so I'll gladly pass on my experience. By the way I think they are excellent; far better than I expected at the price. I auditioned the set up with Epos M5s, B&W 685 and Dynaudio Audience 42's. I put the EPOS last only because the sound was slightly too bright and thin with these speakers (or at least to my hearing). In the end of the day it was a choice between the B&W and the Dynaudio pair; I went for the Dynaudio's as I felt they offered a great overall sound (toned down the top end with great middle range for vocals and impressive bass for the size) and the compact size fitted with my requirements.
[/quote]Hi MJWSAT. Wanted to ask you how you are getting on with your Pioneer combo? What`s surprised me is the seemingly lack of volume?! My old amplifier (JVC) was 60watts per channel and so I understand is the Pioneer. However, with the JVC I would never need to turn the volume up past 3 yet the with the equivalent volume on my new Pioneer I can hardly hear anything. It seems to be you need to start off with the volume half way up the scale (-50) before getting any real power from the system? Is this normal? Hope you can advise. With best wishes, Stuart.