Floor standers Vs BookShelves Dilemma

[admin_exported]

Hello all,

I was 100% convinced to buy floorstanders against bookshelves for my new living room . I chose floorstanders over bookshelves because of a better bass extension. I auditioned the following speakers with a rotel power amp, playing Hotel California/Eagles live:

B&W CM9 : Sounded nothing special, too expensive for what they are (For me the mids sounded a little bit nasal)

Proac Studios 140 : Excellent bass, but it lost some detail in the mids&hi`s

Spendor A5: Sounded muddy (salesman said they were not broke in yet)

Art moderne 4 : surprisningly detailed, bass was thight but doesnt go very low.

was considering the PMC FB1i as the salesman said that they were very detailed with bass like the proacs.

On returning home I heard the same song in the new living room on my old B&W Dm602`s bookshelves (attached picture 1) and was surprised by the amount of bass these speakers produced. I`ve had these sperakers for almost 10 years, and I could believe how different they sound in a different room. As you can see in the picture both speakers were placed against a solid wall and adjacent to them there is a plaster/Gypsum board fire place.

The other option would be like in picture 2. Choosing floorstander speakers and moving them more towards the sofa. Asthetically I prefer the unit to be from wall to wall as in picture 1 (maybe making the TV unit with a marble/granite countertop and having two bookshelves on spikes). After all I might not need 2 floorstanders, and the living room would look neater!

With a budget of around 2K on hi-fi speakers I would buy something like the B&W 805S. What do you guys recommand, to go for floorstanders or bookshelves. What speakers do you recommand. I`m looking for detailed speakers.

Thanks!

download links:

picture 1 http://www.easy-share.com/1907483752/1.JPG

picture 2 http://www.easy-share.com/1907483754/2.JPG

 

[JoelSim]

If you want detail and bass try Kudos C2 floorstanders

 

[Anonymous]

Don't consider floorstanders under 1000 quid.

I auditioned B&W 683, MA GS20 and B&W CM7 against WB square ones and they all had more bass but so much less detail than square ones. Most people reckon even at the high end standmounts are better unless you've got a BIG room.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

daspaceman:

Hello all,

I was 100% convinced to buy floorstanders against bookshelves for my new living room . I chose floorstanders over bookshelves because of a better bass extension. I auditioned the following speakers with a rotel power amp, playing Hotel California/Eagles live:

B&W CM9 : Sounded nothing special, too expensive for what they are (For me the mids sounded a little bit nasal)

Proac Studios 140 : Excellent bass, but it lost some detail in the mids&hi`s

Spendor A5: Sounded muddy (salesman said they were not broke in yet)

Art moderne 4 : surprisningly detailed, bass was thight but doesnt go very low.

was considering the PMC FB1i as the salesman said that they were very detailed with bass like the proacs.

On returning home I heard the same song in the new living room on my old B&W Dm602`s bookshelves (attached picture 1) and was surprised by the amount of bass these speakers produced. I`ve had these sperakers for almost 10 years, and I could believe how different they sound in a different room. As you can see in the picture both speakers were placed against a solid wall and adjacent to them there is a plaster/Gypsum board fire place.

The other option would be like in picture 2. Choosing floorstander speakers and moving them more towards the sofa. Asthetically I prefer the unit to be from wall to wall as in picture 1 (maybe making the TV unit with a marble/granite countertop and having two bookshelves on spikes). After all I might not need 2 floorstanders, and the living room would look neater!

With a budget of around 2K on hi-fi speakers I would buy something like the B&W 805S. What do you guys recommand, to go for floorstanders or bookshelves. What speakers do you recommand. I`m looking for detailed speakers.

Thanks!

download links:

picture 1 http://www.easy-share.com/1907483752/1.JPG

picture 2 http://www.easy-share.com/1907483754/2.JPG

Hi Kevin

If you can accomodate them than floorstanders are still an ideal option.

At the £2k price level you should also consider ATC's SCM40 speakers. They are extremely neutral and are not too fussy about room positioning either.

http://whathifi.com/Review/ATC-SCM40/

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

More help please

 

[the record spot]

Quite a bit below your budget, but these two are rated very highly at their price: Audiosmile Kensai and Quadral Pico. Both around the £700 mark, so a hefty lop off your budget, but maybe worth shortlisting (and if you can find them!).

 

[True Blue]

Try Rega RS5's or RS7's well below your budget worth an audition

 

[vinod_david]

Wait for MA RX6. All your worries will be answered.

 

[chebby]

At a smidge over £2K - I would suggest neither floorstander nor true stand-mount but instead go for the Harbeth Super HL5 (sometimes called SLH5)

Best on short stands.

If you get on with them you probably won't need another speaker for the next 20 years or so.

 

[Anonymous]

Tannoy Dual concentric....Definition DC8 (rrp 2495) 8 inch driver, ply cabinet standmounts. The floorstander versions are out of budget. (over 3K)

DC 6T Revolution Signature. (rrp 1200) 6 inch driver, mdf cabinet floorstanders.

Incredibly detailed and a good bass extension.

 

[jaxwired]

daspaceman:

B&W CM9 : Sounded nothing special, too expensive for what they are (For me the mids sounded a little bit nasal)

Proac Studios 140 : Excellent bass, but it lost some detail in the mids&hi`s

Spendor A5: Sounded muddy (salesman said they were not broke in yet)

On returning home I heard the same song in the new living room on my old B&W Dm602`s bookshelves (attached picture 1) and was surprised by the amount of bass these speakers produced.

My thoughts are:

1. Your analysis of the CM9, Proac 140, and Spendor A5 all seem quite counter to overwhelming popular opinion. All 3 of these are excellent speakers and are superior in every way to B&W DM602 bookshelf speakers. Spendors muddy? That's the one thing I would never say about them. They are about the least muddy speakers I've ever heard.

2. Your audition may have been flawed by poor electronics or poor cable or poor room acoustics. Something's wrong.

3. You are probably so used to the DM602s sound that anything different sounds "off" to you. Any of these floorstanders would likely make you much happier after you lived with them for a few weeks. I think you would then become aware of how much better they are than the DM602s.

4. You should also audition some Dynaudios. They have substantial bass without giving up the detail.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks all for your help,

JAXWIRED: I never said that the DM602`s are better than the other speakers, in fact I think that they dont even compare to the ones I auditioned. I said, that they sounded much better (good bass extention) because they were positioned in a differnet room and very close to gypsum walls, and overall i might also consider bookshelves instead of floorstanders as they are cheaper, and in the location that they are going to be put in (close to a gypsum wall) there is no need for large speakers.

The spendors sounded muddy because they were just taken in out of the box, the dealer said.

Sorry for my English, it`s not perfect as you see, hehehe

 

[Anonymous]

What do you think of the Usher Be-718. anyone uses it? what power amp goes well with it?

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I have small speakers in a largish lounge and find that with the room acoustics the bass is nice and controlled. Floorstanders just wouldn't sound nice due to boominess. I've never got on with floorstanders because they always seem to need a lot more care and attention over set up to avoid bass nasties. A sub allows you more positioning options but you need to find a decent one for stereo, perhaps a B&W PV1.

By using a very good amp with a pair of stand mounters you can get surprisingly good quality and quantity of bass. B&W 685s on the end of a Primare I30 sounded like floorstanders to me! As Chebby suggested, why not consider some larger stand mounters, e.g. Proac Response D2.

 

[Anonymous]

am new to hifi and on a tight budget but will give my 2 cents worth

you have a high budget, and have you considered buying good secondhand classic speakers? ... like the Yamahas or Rogers LS3/5A or similar? ... you can get really good vintage speakers for a few hundred pounds which will rival any modern speakers that cost lots more

 

[IJ]

I have been using the Usher Be-718 for quite a few months now and can thoroughly recommend them. The bass is really impressive for the size and they never get harsh. I use mine with some 15 year old Exposure pre and power amp, not sure of the rating, but maybe between 40 and 60 watts per channel. I read several reports which suggest that the Be-718 like plenty of power as the sensitivity is towards the low side.

I have quite a large living room and these small speakers easily out class the old Mission 753's i had in the past and play as loud as i ever need. With such a performance i cant see the need for floorstanders in my room.

 

[Anonymous]

what do you all think of the cinenova grande 5 amp? would it be an overkill? I think it`s an amp to invest for the future.. but my wife cannot understand it.

Thanks