Floor Standing vs bookshelf

[dangerouspartridge]

I have around £1500 to spend on speakers.
Would I be more wise to buy bookshelf than floor standing? Is £1500 too cheap a price for decent floor standing?
I have Roksan K2 BT and matching power amp.
And on side note, why do What HiFi love B&W speakers so much. Are they really that good?

 

[CnoEvil]

The answer may depend on your room size / taste.....so what size of room are they going to be used in.

 

[dangerouspartridge]

My room is approx 4x8 metres. I have carpet flooring (if that makes a difference).

 

[CnoEvil]

In a room that size, I would be looking at Floorstanders.....my favorite would be the Kef R500, but haven't heard them with Roksan.

Remember, it doesn't matter what anyone else prefers (be it forum member or WHF), so you need to dem for yourself any suggestions you may get.

 

[Vladimir]

With all that Roksan power on tap, a pair of B&Ws will really dance. I'd go for 683 new or CM floorstanders second hand.

I have B&W CM1 + Roksan Kandy K2 BT and very pleased with the combo. But for your room size floorstanders would be best.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

I recently demonstrated a K2 with various speakers. Kef was a nice match as were Monitor Audio. The customer went for a pair of Neat Motive SX2 in the end however as they were smaller in stature (partner friendly) and he liked the slightly smoother presentation.

Try and book a listen for yourself and take some music you know well. You'll soon know the type of sound you're looking for.

 

[robinkiddy]

Floorstanders yes. Tho' if they are pointing across the room and not down then maybe-maybe not.

PS - your room shrank from 5m to 4m from your last post

 

[Frank Harvey]

If you're firing across the 4m length of the room, then I'd say a standmount isn't out of the question. You could look at the Monitor Audio GX100, Sonus Faber Venere 2.0, or the KEF R300. This should leave you enough for pair of decent stands.

If floorstanders really are needed (definitely if you're firing down the longer length), then look at the KEF R500, Sonus Faber Toy, or Monitor Audio Silver 8.

What will be the distance from you to the speaker? This will be more important than the size of the room.

 

[dangerouspartridge]

Well, i went to listen to some speakers at the weekend, both floorstanders and standmount. After considering all my options I have opted for the B&W 683 S2 - in my mind, and my ears, they sounded by far the best: well balanced with very punchy bass. I also auditioned the Monitor Audio Silver 8 and I was very dissapointed - 'flappy' bass (don't know the correct term) and ear piercing treble!

My wife is very happy with the choice, which considering she isn't in to music pleased me greatly. She said the speakers sounded 'full-bodied' compared to my current Kef - that comment made my day!

I have yet to order these speakers but will be doing so this weekend. Any recommendations on speaker cable? I obviously want to bi-wire them.

Whilst demo-ing he also showed me the Sonos wireless streamer which I was very impressed with. The sound quality wasn't bad at all.

I don't know if I'm allowed to mention the shop I went to, but all I can say is they were helpful, knowledgable and not at all pushy - more than willing to go the extra mile. The shop starts with seven and Iive in Sheffield.

 

[Ande3200]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

 

[Al ears]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

And this thread is two years old.........

 

[hg]

Well, i went to listen to some speakers at the weekend, both floorstanders and standmount. After considering all my options I have opted for the B&W 683 S2 - in my mind, and my ears, they sounded by far the best: well balanced with very punchy bass. I also auditioned the Monitor Audio Silver 8 and I was very dissapointed - 'flappy' bass (don't know the correct term) and ear piercing treble!

Interesting. The MAs measure well in terms of frequency response whereas the B&W don't due to the choice of a large midrange crossed at a high frequency forcing pretty serious peaks and valleys to be added to compensate for on/off axis behaviour. I do not understand why B&W choose to do this (anyone?) but don't doubt they have good reasons. I have seen comments to the effect that MA don't use adequate crossovers to control the resonances of their metal drivers and the distortion measurements in Soundstage suggest this may be the case. An illustration of the need for more complete set of speakers measurements?

I have yet to order these speakers but will be doing so this weekend. Any recommendations on speaker cable? I obviously want to bi-wire them.

Why do you want to obviously bi-wire them? It would be obvious to many that it would be money far better spent on other things. Personally I would get the shop to include standard speakers cables off the reel in the back of the shop when negotiating the price since this is going to be effectively the cheapest source.

 

[hg]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

And this thread is two years old.........

Bottoms.

 

[BigH]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

Why do you keep bumping old posts about B&W 683 s2?

Huge power where do they get that from?

 

[Al ears]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

Why do you keep bumping old posts about B&W 683 s2?

Huge power where do they get that from?

An amplifier?? ;-)

 

[BigH]

That b&w 683 s2 is incredible speakers with details and huge power

Why do you keep bumping old posts about B&W 683 s2?

Huge power where do they get that from?

An amplifier?? ;-)

Precisely.

 

[Ande3200]

I am using a nad c375bee amp but going to switch to a Musical fidelity or rotel when i can afford it and they have a lot of power i have use 683 s2 for a year they sound really good with deep bass response. They don't even struggle at very high volumes as long they got an amp that can handle them