Goodbye subwoofer...hello floorstanders (budget £700)

[kingnothing83]

I am moving to a smaller place and have sold my large wharfedale SW250 subwoofer to make some room! I have also sold my mission m33 rears. This means I am left with:

Denon 2808 amplifier

Tannoy mercury F1 custom left, right, and Mercury FC custom centre

I would like to move the f1 custom's to the rear and buy a new front left and right (and centre if needed). I generally listen to rock, but some classical and everything in-between, but also need my system to be great for home theatre. Could you recommend some front floorstanders that will replace the need to buy a sub, i really dont have room for this. My new living room isnt tiny, approx 14ft x 14ft perhaps, but I have a lot of stuff to go in it so no room for a sub.

I am considering something like B&W 684 or even tannoy revolution signature DC6T (seen these £700 ex demo) but could anyone make a good recommendation of these and some others? I'll whittle it down to 2 or 3 and audition. Ideally i would like to keep my centre speaker for now, so presumably the tannoy revolution signature would be best compatible with this? But if nothing you suggest works with it i will replace it in a few months

Appreciate the help!

Simon

 

[ear]

you are going the wrong way.turn around!

 

[kingnothing83]

Its the only way I can go sadly! Unless you can recommend me 2 speakers and a very small sub that sound look just as good!

 

[John Duncan]

Because the drivers are different on the new revolutions, you might be better off finding either a pair of F4s (the F1's floorstanding sister) or some second hand examples of the older Revolutions, the R2 and R3. The R2 is slim and gorgeous and sounds lovely and ought to be had for a pittance if you can find them.

 

[kingnothing83]

Great - i like the idea of the r2/r3's! Will they be a good match for my new tannoy mercury fc custom centre?

How does the sound compare between something like the r2's to the new tannoys, and how would they sound up against the b&w 694's ignoring the issue about my centre for now and just thinking about music?

thanks again!

 

[davejberry]

if you want to make the best of home cinema, you need a sub. most surround soundtracks carry a LFE component (low frequency effects) which is what the sub is for. in my opinion, it doesn't sound as good if you steer these effects through the front speakers, floorstanders or not.

ditch a piece of furniture or, wall mount the speakers to make room.

 

[The_Lhc]

There are small subs available, the REL T3 is quite dinky, just as an example and has high-level and LFE inputs (seperately adjustable) so you can underpin your stereo music listening as well, if required.

 

[John Duncan]

He hasn't got room for a sub. Some people don't. I don't, otherwise I'd get some ADM9.1s.

To answer the question about R2s, I think they use the same drivers/tweeter as the FC (or very similar anyway), whereas the new ones are very different and there's the danger of them having a very different voicing from your existing centre. same for the B&Ws, which OTTIOMH have a metal-dome tweeter and could sound v different from the soft dome of your existing tannoy.

 

[The_Lhc]

JohnDuncan:He hasn't got room for a sub. Some people don't.

He did ask for a recommendation of a small sub JD...

 

[kingnothing83]

cheers for all the suggestions

sadly i'm probably dreaming if i think i can have room for a sub, even a small one - at least in this new place...

i think i'll look out for some tannoy's although a quick look online has revealed absolutely nothing! I have no idea where i'll find any! Keep checking ebay/gumtree/another site for starters I guess

 

[The_Lhc]

If memory serves the T3 is 12" square, so about the size of a stack of LPs lying on the floor.

It's small enough that I'm thinking I can probably get away with one, which is not something I've ever considered before.

 

[Anonymous]

kingnothing83:

I am moving to a smaller place and have sold my large wharfedale SW250 subwoofer to make some room! I have also sold my mission m33 rears. This means I am left with:

Denon 2808 amplifier

Tannoy mercury F1 custom left, right, and Mercury FC custom centre

I would like to move the f1 custom's to the rear and buy a new front left and right (and centre if needed). I generally listen to rock, but some classical and everything in-between, but also need my system to be great for home theatre. Could you recommend some front floorstanders that will replace the need to buy a sub, i really dont have room for this. My new living room isnt tiny, approx 14ft x 14ft perhaps, but I have a lot of stuff to go in it so no room for a sub.

I am considering something like B&W 684 or even tannoy revolution signature DC6T (seen these £700 ex demo) but could anyone make a good recommendation of these and some others? I'll whittle it down to 2 or 3 and audition. Ideally i would like to keep my centre speaker for now, so presumably the tannoy revolution signature would be best compatible with this? But if nothing you suggest works with it i will replace it in a few months

Appreciate the help!

Simon

For Home cinema you do need a sub

If you are looking for a small sub for a small room consider the B&W PV1 , looks stunning in black

I still consider it overpriced but the engineering is fantastic , worth a demo

 

[Anonymous]

If you try to sqeeze a sub into your room it might end sounding slow and boomy due close proximity to furniture or corners. If you get some floorstanders which can be bi-wired then you can use the surround back part of the amp to bi-amp them. What you loose in low frequency depth you will probably gain in speed, improved stereo separation and musicality. You may also not have enough room for the floorstanders to 'breathe' though. That's a trade off only you can decide on.

 

[John Duncan]

the_lhc:
JohnDuncan:He hasn't got room for a sub. Some people don't.

He did ask for a recommendation of a small sub JD...

A very small sub, if we're being pedantic

 

[Andrew Everard]

For which the Sunfire HRS-8 would do very nicely: it's just 25x25x25cm, and only a tad over budget at around £750 or so...

 

[kingnothing83]

A little out of my budget! But it is extremely shiny...

 

[The_Lhc]

The T3 is scarcely any bigger and to my eyes is better looking and is MUCH cheaper.

 

[Andrew Everard]

kingnothing83:A little out of my budget! But it is extremely shiny...

But only a little over your budget, and you could look around for an ex-demo or used one. I was kinda suggesting keeping your existing speakers and adding this, rather than going the floorstanders route - it's a scary little powerhouse and capable of delivering prodigious bass from a tiny enclosure.

 

[kingnothing83]

you people are definitely a bad influence!

ok, if i really try to arrange the room (and the girlfriend) in the most efficient manor then a sub might be a possibility.

I'd already stated my budget was £700, but i did have in mind some nice new floorstanders. I was willing to put up with the centre being incompatible for a few months before upgrading this.

But is the general forum consensus that I'd be best getting something like the tannoy r2/r3's (if i can find them) to be compatible with my centre, and getting a very small sub as well? Presumably this would only cost £500 or so.

If i do go with the sub route through, that opens the doors to standmounted speakers too!

I think I need a lie down...

 

[kingnothing83]

Andrew Everard:
kingnothing83:A little out of my budget! But it is extremely shiny...

But only a little over your budget, and you could look around for an ex-demo or used one. I was kinda suggesting keeping your existing speakers and adding this, rather than going the floorstanders route - it's a scary little powerhouse and capable of delivering prodigious bass from a tiny enclosure.

And to Andrew's suggestion, I think I would struggle to justify spending all my budget on a sub, it does sound amazing, but I think my front 3 speakers are too poor to warrant that calibre of sub. If i was to buy 2 new fronts, keep my centre then i also have the advantage of using my tannoy f1 customs as rears so i think buying 2 standmount/floorstanders and a sub is where I am being steered towards

 

[The_Lhc]

kingnothing83:I think I need a lie down...

And that's job done...

 

[kingnothing83]

the_lhc:
kingnothing83:I think I need a lie down...

And that's job done...

hah - no i think the job has just started! OK, if i did go for this REL T3 then could someone suggest a good standmount speaker or floorstanding L+R speaker that would work with my tannoy fc custom centre? Would I have to stick with tannoy?

 

[The_Lhc]

kingnothing83:the_lhc:kingnothing83:I think I need a lie down...
And that's job done...

hah - no i think the job has just started! OK, if i did go for this REL T3 then could someone suggest a good standmount speaker or floorstanding L+R speaker that would work with my tannoy fc custom centre? Would I have to stick with tannoy?

For the sake of tonal balance it's always recommended to have the front 3 speakers from the same range.

 

[kingnothing83]

OK great thanks for that. So all i need now is 2 speakers, left+right, both tannoy. Budget now around £400 but less is good! any suggestions?

 

[007L2Thrill]

The talking of the tannoy r3 made me think of my mate, as he as a pair of them in is spare room doing nothing for around 2 years now, I told him to stick them on ebay, but they are still there, and they do sound very different to the new Tannoy speakers, as they have soft domes as you know, and the new tannoy,s have titanium tweeter's and can sound a little hard compared to the r3, IMPO.