Floorstanders for under £800, recommendations needed!

[Alexei23]

Firstly, Hello everyone I am new to this forum (not the site or magazine). I decided to introduce myself here as this is the section I will be posting in!

I am looking for a good pair of floorstanders for under £800. However they HAVE to be capable of low, loud, deep, punchy bass! I also want them to have a bright and lively mid and top end. Did I mention agile? Your recommendations will be gratefully received.

Some currently under consideration are - Q2050i, Zenor 7's, DC6T, MX5's.

PS They don't necessarily have to be floorstanders, so long they have big bass, a big sound and can handle 100 watts rms.

 

[Alexei23]

I plan on upgrading my amp in a few months too so thats not important, but right now I need some new speakers! It will be connected to my PC with an asus xonar essence st sound card. I was given my current amp and decide to build a new system. I haven't had a proper system for a few years now (sold my old one before going back to uni) and am looking to get back into it.

 

[kev g]

There are a pair of used B&W CM8`s on a well know auction site at the moment £799 + £30 p+p.

If you are going to get a new amp soon these would partner well with Roksan.

Of course its always best to audition before buying, but its just a thought.

 

[stevebrock]

My Rega RS3 give me all the bass I will ever need, they have a sweet treble lovely mid range and are not fussy with positioning. Powered by my Elicit R they sound ace - just love my system at the minute, so transparent, open & musical!

 

[Alexei23]

Kev G I'd love a pair of those, but they're gone!

 

[kev g]

I `ve just checked the bay & they are still there, currently 21 watchers. Don`t know if I am allowed to post a link on here. Described as

B&W CM8 LOUDSPEAKERS ROSENUT

 

[kev g]

I would advise hearing a demo of the B&W/Roksan combination before buying. Everyone has different ears, different opinions.

I wouidn`t want you to waste your money.

 

[plastic penguin]

These are slightly over budget but should fit into most systems with ease.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi there and welcome.

You didn't say what the rest of your system was, but here are a few suggestions that may fit the bill:

- Focal 714 V (£669)
- Taga Platinum F60 (£799)
- Usher V602 (£799)
- Triangle Color (a little over budget £899)

 

[gurjitsidhu]

I have the Q Acoustics 2050i powered by an AV amp and it sounds fantastic. Also had them powers by an As500 for a while and it was also great.

In my Hifi room I have the as500 powering bowers and wilkins 684 which sounds great. However the b and w don't sound double the price of the 2050i.

My recommendation? The 2050i speakers are a bargain. They hit hard and are very exciting speakers. The b and w have a more refined bass and a better high frequency due to the aluminium tweeter vs the silk one in 2050i.

I would say get the 2050i and spend more money on the amp, CD player and dac

 

[the record spot]

Big bass, or good accurate bass? Your options are many! You do need to hear some though and it depends on room size, partnering equipment, etc. Probably best to find out what is available locally and check your options then.

 

[Johnno2]

If you can still find a pair and have the room, the AE Aelite 3 will deliver the descriptions you give.

if you want to save a whole load of dosh just give the very inexpensive Tannoy V4 a chance, they may surprise you how they come close to many of the more expensive options, and a certain cases betters them

 

[davedotco]

OK. All of the above options are absolutely fine and if you are looking for the conventional solution they have the bases covered.

On the other hand, if you are prepared to look outside the norm, these will give you the peformance you want.

Powerful speakers with a bass punch and depth that few speakers of any kind can match at anywhere near the price. Currently available for £700 pr if you hunt around. Dive them directly off your Essence soundcard, speaker and amp ubgrade in one fell swoop.

 

[Cynic-al]

Hi Alexei,

What sort of music are we talking about here?

The B&W CM8's don't really do deep bass, R&B,drum n bass etc sound very tight and punchy with this sort thing but deep loud bass? forget it.

Davedotco's suggestin looks a good bet.

 

[the record spot]

Actives? See also KRK VXT 6, or Yamaha's HS80M. Both do a fine line in bass, but two very different speakers, depends on your needs. Visit your local pro-audio store to demo a few.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Monitor Audio RX6's or RX8's

B&W 684's or CM7/'s/8's

2nd hand Neat Motive 2's (these would get my vote EVERY TIME)!

Had these with my Arcam Alpha 10/10P and NAD C165/C2755BEE set-ups playing everything from Hed Kandi to Fischerspooner & Layo & Bushwacka to System of a Down, Mount Kimbi and they blewa ll the other speakers away!

Small yet phenominanly powerful with staggeringly deep bass for their size and they look fantastic to boot!!!

 

[stevebrock]

+1 for Neat Motive 2 as well

 

[steve_1979]

Hello and welcome to the forum Alexei23.

I agree with the suggestions for active speakers. I find they often have better dynamic range and clarity than equivalently priced passive hifi speakers and amp combinations. If you can visit a pro-audio shop and have a listen to some active speakers to see if they suit you tastes/needs.

There are loads to choose from around the £700 price bracket and any at that price with an 8" bass driver will be able to give you all the bass you could want.

 

[davedotco]

Generally speaking, when it comes to inexpensive active speakers, I have tried a lot (friends in the trade).

If you want serious bass the Mackie HR monitors outperform anything under £1.2k.

The HR 624-2 are currently available about £700 if you look round. For normal size, untreated rooms they are enough, 'only' a 6 inch bass driver but the whole of the back panal is one big ABR, the bass is immense. Virtually zero bling though, if that is what you want look elsewhere.

It is not just me that thinks this, check out.....

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep07/articles/mackie_hr824mk2.htm

The Essence ST is a good card, it will drive the Mackies well untill you can afford a serious outboard dac/preamp.

 

[the record spot]

Big claim there that you're hard pressed to back up Dave, Genelec, AVI, and probably a few more have actives around the £1200 mark. Genelec would be my pick but the Mackie's are decent speakers.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

That's ddc, big claims not always though through. The Neat Motives with a decent amp will blow away any of the actives mentioned so far - excepting can't comment on the AVI, which I've not heard.

Unfortunately, apart from their forward balance, active speakers generally require some form of preamp, so aren't as flexible as their passive cousins. They're not automatically better in sound quality either, which most forget.. Personally I think the one box, unitiXXX solution is the way of the future, actives are a bit of a dead end.

 

[alienmango]

If you're willing to look a little bigger....... these would be my choices for deep punchy bass:

Obviously you need a lot of space for these: :dance:

Celestion A3 - recently on ebay buy it now around 800 I think (bid started at 500, not sure how high it went)

Cerwin vega xls 215/cls215.... before you dismiss them (assuming you don't care about looks) read some reviews from audiophile places

This is a more "modern" floorstander (small woofers ) :bounce:

Dali Ikon 6 Mk2 I would audition too, I listened to deadmau5 through it and was very impressed.

This may well start a huge war, which I don't intend it (DISCLAIMER: OP please listen before you buy)...... but I'm not a fan of active monitor speakers for loud/deep bass at this price level and I will explain why...

At university a LOT of students have active speakers the most popular iteration being krk rokits (I know they are cheap btw) but some people also had some by adam audio etc. Anyway when they are pushed a bit eg in a party they don't hold up very well because there is only so much a single 6/8 inch bass driver can output bass from a small enclosure, so if you want deep punchy bass they will do it at low-moderate levels. For comparison I had a pair of cheap wharfedale valdus 500's which are universally considered to be generally awful (you only have to look at the think chipboard construction to be convinced), but they sound much cleaner at higher volumes than active monitor speakers, delivered far punchier bass etc.

The one exception I've heard in your price bracket is this:

http://www.krksys.com/krk-studio-monitor-speakers/rokit/rokit-rp10-3.html

It's designed more for playback to clients rather than analytical listening so it has a bit of a "hifi" ear-pleasing response, you may like it, you may not (admittadly I only listened to pop dance music through it - only option in the shop)

good luck

 

[Overdose]

Big claim there that you're hard pressed to back up Dave, Genelec, AVI, and probably a few more have actives around the £1200 mark. Genelec would be my pick but the Mackie's are decent speakers.

In all honesty, ddc is probably quite correct. The 624s produce prodigious bass, certainly they appear to have more than the BM5As and the ADM9Ts that I have also heard.

 

[steve_1979]

Big claim there that you're hard pressed to back up Dave, Genelec, AVI, and probably a few more have actives around the £1200 mark. Genelec would be my pick but the Mackie's are decent speakers.

In all honesty, ddc is probably quite correct. The 624s produce prodigious bass, certainly they appear to have more than the BM5As and the ADM9Ts that I have also heard.

TBH if I wanted big bass for under the £800 mark I wouldn't look at either Genelec, AVI or Dynaudio. All great speakers with good clarity but without a sub they all only have an average amount of deep bass unless partnered with a sub.

For deep bass under £800 I'd be looking at the Mackie speakers mentioned above or something with a large 8" woofer.

 

[davedotco]

Big claim there that you're hard pressed to back up Dave, Genelec, AVI, and probably a few more have actives around the £1200 mark. Genelec would be my pick but the Mackie's are decent speakers.

In all honesty, ddc is probably quite correct. The 624s produce prodigious bass, certainly they appear to have more than the BM5As and the ADM9Ts that I have also heard.

TBH if I wanted big bass for under the £800 mark I wouldn't look at either Genelec, AVI or Dynaudio. All great speakers with good clarity but without a sub they all only have an average amount of deep bass unless partnered with a sub.

For deep bass under £800 I'd be looking at the Mackie speakers mentioned above or something with a large 8" woofer.

Exactly the point steve, I made no claim that the Mackies are the best all round monitor in their price range but the anti-active activists rarely read the posts and just steam in anyway.

Th OPs request was for sub £800 speakers that will really deliver power and punch on all kinds of heavy music. he expressed a preference for floorstanders which I really can't help with but did not rule out standmounts hence the recomendations.

Unless you have a very big or very well damped (treated) room the 824-2 actually have too much bass, hence the plug for the 624-2.