Floorstanding speakers up to £1500 for Roksan K3

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radiorog

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I will be checking out pmc twenty 5 series with my amp in a few weeks. Also will be checking it with ATC svm19 and revel concerta M2 16. So will let you know the results.

I don't know much about floorstanding speakers so I haven't recommended any here. But I would make sure you listen to some £1500 standmount speakers as well and see how you think they sound. That money will buy you a very good pair of speakers and you might be very surprised how big they sound, and often have better clarity than floor standers at the same price.

What about quad floorstanding at that price, or q acoustics?

I'd try and have a look at the most expensive dynaudio speakers you can afford and have a listen as I find they work fantastically together.
 

radiorog

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https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F391264950600

I realise a bit over budget, but ...... I'm actually tempted by these....
 

emcc_3

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That would be great. Really would be good to find out how the PMCs sound with the K3.

Concerns I have with standmounts is that it is a really large room and have two young kids (1 yr old and 4 yr old) who may knock over.

Will add dynaudio to the list.
 

drummerman

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I had a K2 on home trial. Unfortunately I didnt get on with too much but I can imagine many would.

Does the K3 sound similar?

If so I would recommend a speaker on the drier side of neutral, one with good inherent damping of bass/mid drivers and a 'fast' sound.

I could imagine certain PMC's as well as Spendors fitting the bill. They would also be good enough for a future amp upgrade.

My 2 cts
 

drummerman

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Cool. I could also imagine ATC responding nicely to the power whilst at the same time excerting a little control.

All assumptions on my behalf and based on my (limited) experience with the K2.

You may feel different. Good luck with your search.
 

emcc_3

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Definitely taken with the idea of PMCs. Have also seen farnthorpes are doing twenty 24 at £2095 as well as twenty 23 at £1595. Might have to make a trip to Hull at some stage, though it is a long drive :)
 

insider9

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emcc_3 said:
Definitely taken with the idea of PMCs. Have also seen farnthorpes are doing twenty 24 at £2095 as well as twenty 23 at £1595. Might have to make a trip to Hull at some stage, though it is a long drive :)
Stop by for a coffee on a way. You'll be driving past my house :)
 

radiorog

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drummerman said:
Does the K3 sound similar?

It does sound similar, in voicing, if that's the right word. But it's is that touch more powerful, and has more powerful, tuneful and deeper bass. It also has a touch more clarity which makes it a great amp in the £1000 range.
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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If buying the 20-24 you will need much better amplification. Fanthorpes will say the same thing. I’d say you’d probably be wasting your money on that if not planning to change the k3 at some stage.
 

radiorog

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QuestForThe13thNote said:
If buying the 20-24 you will need much better amplification. Fanthorpes will say the same thing. I’d say you’d probably be wasting your money on that if not planning to change the k3 at some stage. 
Not heard them so can't comment without a pinch of salt, but I agree that the PMC speakers can handle much better amplification. However, I bet they would improve the sound from much cheaper speakers. When I auditioned the ATC scm19 it was with a sub £1000 amplifier, and the sound they produced was superb, and bettered the Kef ls50w. It was clear the speakers could handle amps in the tens of thousands of pounds, but they Def improved the entire sound of a moderately priced system. And then maybe in the future, even 5 years time, you'd have decent enough speakers to warrant an amp upgrade if you wanted. If you had no intention of upgrading the amp in the future, then maybe the speakers are overkill and something in the sub £2000 price point would be better. However, I'm having a demo soon and will know a lot more on this subject.
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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I think I’d agree with you radiorog too as always depends on the combos but there comes a point I think where it won’t be practical. What that point is, is down to a listen. I think with the 20-24s and producing a really big sound with those cabinets and transmission line, if you want to get equal sound from the amp, you’d pair it with more powerful amps. So what you are paying for the bigger speakers in that bigger fuller sound is negated. I got to over three times the pmcs price in amplification and they were still giving more, but speakers did just suit the room, but on a basic £1000 stereo power amp I had, they were comparatively very much lacking. The 20-24s were about £3500-4K remember too. I suspect you could get those kefs to sound as good as the atcs with the under £1k amp, if instead of spending the £2k on speakers , you spent it on amps.
 

emcc_3

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Based on radiorogs early recommendation for dynaudio, anyone had any experience of the excite x34?

They look like they might fit the bill but concerned at 86db they may be difficult to drive, cable lengths are 8-10 meters.

Not planning on replacing the k3 for a very long time as I really enjoy it's rich and detailed sound.
 

davedotco

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I do not generally get involved in decommending specific models when I have no real idea of the setup or the requirements of the owner. It is far to easy to push your own favourites which might not be at all suitable.

In general terms I think you are over egging this, buying £1500 speakers, or even more expensive speakers 'on a deal' is to my mind too much. Many floor standing speakers at these sort of prices can be a bit unruly, they can be hard for the amp to control and difficult to position correctly without them taking over your whole room.

Personally I would look for models under £1k that avoid the rather 'commercial' sound of the usual mass market models, I have recently heard the Concept 40 sounding very good on the end of a very compedent system, they are currently available at £800, something of a bargain I think.

Similarly I think the Epos K2 at £999 offers a degree of refinement unusual at this price, I have not heard these in a while but I recall being very impressed.

Both these models are good enough for your system without putting excessive demands on your amplifier, overall possibly a better balanced system than one with 'better' speakers that show up limitations of system or setup.
 
radiorog said:
When I auditioned the ATC scm19 it was with a sub £1000 amplifier, and the sound they produced was superb, It was clear the speakers could handle amps in the tens of thousands of pounds,

Hi radiorog

Really don’t even need to spend that much as we’ve recently used curved SCM19 passive monitors powered with ATI’s new AT542NC power amplifier @ £2799. Proper. A sublime match *smile*

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 
i don't have direct knowledge of the aria, i have focal chorus 826v, which are so good,i almost immediately wished i'd gone for the arias.

i am for the moment running a leema amp, which some find slightly lean, or dry, but tbh, i love it.

focal could be a good match, they are well worth testing.
 

radiorog

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MUSICRAFT said:
radiorog said:
When I auditioned the ATC scm19 it was with a sub £1000 amplifier, and the sound they produced was superb, It was clear the speakers could handle amps in the tens of thousands of pounds, 

Hi radiorog

Really don’t even need to spend that much as we’ve recently used curved SCM19 passive monitors powered with ATI’s new AT542NC power amplifier @ £2799. Proper. A sublime match *smile*

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
Is that one of your legendary deals for the two (speakers and amp)? If so....deal :)
 

emcc_3

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Took me awhile to get round to acting on everyone's advice.

Tomorrow I will be having two demos.

Richer sounds
Dali opticon 6
Tannoy xt8f
Focal aria 926

Audio T
KEF r500
KEF r700
Neat sx1
Neat iota alpha
 

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