Going. . . Going. . . Nearly gone!

[plastic penguin]

Hi chaps

I've decided to put my RS6's up for sale (reluctantly). Although I love the overall character I found they are so tricky to match perfectly with everything, except Arcam. The synergy is so good, clearly there are far more accomplished amps out there than the A65+, that even Roksan kandy doesn't gel quite as well with MA's like the Arcam.

So a blank canvas as such.

This is my first serious recce for classy standmounted monitors. My shortlist is as follows: PMC DB1, Spendor SE3E and Neat Motive 3.

I think the OH is chuffed, although she may be in for a shock when she discovers the reality of a new amp and speakers.

C'est la vie.

 

[Anonymous]

I miss the slam of my RS6s but Spendors are so much easier to listen to for longer periods of time!

Good luck with the choice! It should be fun auditioning.

 

[plastic penguin]

That's the problem - I'm concerned that i could spend a decent amount of money and few months down the line I might be disappointed. Anyway, I'm going to listen to one or two set-ups, preferably over a weekend, to see whether they come up to scratch.

 

[ear]

why not have 2 sets of speakers? the amount of money you guys spend....surely it woulnd't make much diferrence to keep an extra pair for that speccial occasion ..

 

[plastic penguin]

ear:why not have 2 sets of speakers? the amount of money you guys spend....surely it woulnd't make much diferrence to keep an extra pair for that speccial occasion ..

Nice thought, ear. Our place is already bulging with old equipment (I'm a king hoarder) that adding to the hi-fi count will only compound problems.

 

[ear]

the confusion for me with standmounts...real wall , near , far....stands...wich one...sand no sand?to much complication.but many options to "tune"the sound.i think im going for a philips mcd 909 only for the speakers.ribbon tweeter , standmounts.sound good to me . 4 ohm. gold speaker connects on the back lol im going crazy

 

[plastic penguin]

It's enough to drive you ga ga!

It will be interesting to hear what I've been missing all these years. . .or not?

I will probably miss the slam of the RS6's and the detail they drag from my Arcam dinosaur. I've just become bored with the combo's analytical sound.

Once I get some test monitors (probably next weekend now) I'll file a progress report on the forum.

 

[ear]

today i heard the rs6 with the pma-510ae and tme marantz pm5003.it was the only time the rs6 sounded sweet.having heard them before wich much more expensive amps they grated my ears..today sounded very good

 

[Anonymous]

A personal audition is the name of the game when it comes to speakers especially. The ratings merely help you narrow down the choices.

 

[ear]

I think the neats will have the same character of the rs6's.

 

[floyd droid]

plastic penguin:

Nice thought, ear. Our place is already bulging with old equipment (I'm a king hoarder) that adding to the hi-fi count will only compound problems.

So is mine but she wont leave !!

 

[crusaderlord]

i did a review of these a while back which may help a little

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123911.aspx

i personally really liked the Neat Motive and PMC's

 

[plastic penguin]

crusaderlord:i did a review of these a while back which may help a little http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123911.aspx i personally really liked the Neat Motive and PMC's

Sounds very interesting (as always) but ultimately, I'll have to wait and see how it pans out with my room acoustics.

 

[crusaderlord]

one other note to help

i got a massive improvement when i upgraded from soundstyle Z2 to Partington Super Dreadnaught so i would recommend these stands as a minimum for the speakers on your list

 

[Anonymous]

Obviously you need to audition and see what you like But the Spendor S3e are going for an excellent price at the moment, allowing the addition of some nice stands for a total spend of less than £1k. You could get some Chord Odyssey 2 as well

 

[Anonymous]

How long have you had the RS6's for PP?

Also it would interesting to know what your plans are for sources and amplifier as this could well have an influence on the choice (as you've found for yourself with the RS6's).

Speakers - probably the most 'emotional' and personal of hifi purchases - good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

I can't ever imagine wanting to move away from the bass and slam that my floorstanders have. Chainrock I think you mentioned liking disturbed but also mentioned that the Spendors struggle to fill the room with sound, I assume you have other musical tastes to but surely the characteristics of what you describe simply aren't conducive to heavy rock music. Rock music is one of those genres where the music should come alive as it's a natural trait, no amount of smooth detailed and refined midrange will compensate for that shortcoming. Perhaps to the OP you should be considering other floorstanders to? well both standmounts and floorstanders. By the way Chainrock not suggesting you made the wrong choice, was simply commenting on things from my perspective. Anyways, as long as you are happier with them than you were with the RS6's, well my opinion matters not one jot

 

[plastic penguin]

crimsondonkey:

How long have you had the RS6's for PP?

Also it would interesting to know what your plans are for sources and amplifier as this could well have an influence on the choice (as you've found for yourself with the RS6's).

Speakers - probably the most 'emotional' and personal of hifi purchases - good luck!

I've had them for just over two years. The Arcam is very good for the money - had now for 5 years. Previous to that had Alpha 7 (6 years), it's pretty much like-for-like with A65+. So effectively I've had the same amp for around 11 years (if you see what I mean).

As regards amp and source will determine what speakers 'float my boat.' If the Spendors take my fancy then I'll probably look at something like Naim Nait 5i + Cyrus CD6s. At this moment in time it's pure guess work.

Ideally, I would love to keep RS6's and just replace the amp. As previously mentioned, I've tried a number of the well known brands, Naim, Rotel, Roksan Kandy LIII, Primare to name but a few, and none have the sonic chemistry of the Arcam. Some would say, try the new FMJ. Although not heard them, they just don't appeal to me.

 

[drummerman]

This may be hard to stomach ... but there's life after MA's silvers. Should you however for some reason be unable to part with them for sentimental reasons, Arcams A38 did sound ok with them.

 

[Anonymous]

hi fi newbie:I can't ever imagine wanting to move away from the bass and slam that my floorstanders have. Chainrock I think you mentioned liking disturbed but also mentioned that the Spendors struggle to fill the room with sound, I assume you have other musical tastes to but surely the characteristics of what you describe simply aren't conducive to heavy rock music. Rock music is one of those genres where the music should come alive as it's a natural trait, no amount of smooth detailed and refined midrange will compensate for that shortcoming. Perhaps to the OP you should be considering other floorstanders to? well both standmounts and floorstanders. By the way Chainrock not suggesting you made the wrong choice, was simply commenting on things from my perspective. Anyways, as long as you are happier with them than you were with the RS6's, well my opinion matters not one jot

True Marantz Ki+RS6 combo sounded good with hard rock, but I am finding K2+Spendor combo quite potent too. Spens are a lot more laid back and don't provide the slam of the RS6s...but my music tastes are quite diverse and so the upgrade was worth it for me. The sound is a lot more mature too and pleasant to listen for longer time. I find myself listening to less hard rock and more to other music since the upgrade just because other stuff sounds so good now (and thin/compressed rock recordings are more noticable). As OP pointed out, RS6s need very careful partnering - for ex. my new K2 didn't sound good with RS6s when Marantz handled them quite well. In the end I am very happy with A5's - they are articulate, detailed, honest, very compact and not fussy about positioning.

 

[plastic penguin]

drummerman:This may be hard to stomach ... but there's life after MA's silvers. Should you however for some reason be unable to part with them for sentimental reasons, Arcams A38 did sound ok with them.

Rather stating the obvious there, DM. There are more important things in life than just music (I think). The A38 sounded ok, but I don't want an 'ok' sounding system - I want great sounding kit.

 

[drummerman]

plastic penguin:
drummerman:This may be hard to stomach ... but there's life after MA's silvers. Should you however for some reason be unable to part with them for sentimental reasons, Arcams A38 did sound ok with them.

Rather stating the obvious there, DM. There are more important things in life than just music (I think). The A38 sounded ok, but I don't want an 'ok' sounding system - I want great sounding kit.

I like being obvious and you're half way there to a great sounding system by selling the RS6 ...

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with you DM

 

[JoelSim]

Try some small ProAcs, very musical.

ÿ

 

[plastic penguin]

I'll listen to a couple of combinations before hanging my flag on an amp/speakers collaboration. I don't want to part with CD 73T so whatever combo I get my cdp must gel well with the rest. This will begin, with a fair wind, at the weekend.