Help with speakers for a Sony STRDA1200ES

[admin_exported]

I am hoping for some advice.

On the back of the great reviews of the Sony receiver I bought one as part of an upgrade to my cheap first system.

Last weekend I had a demonstration of KEF 3005.1 and the Monitor Audio Radius 90AV12. Both were harsh in the extreme, with Star Wars Episode IV, and both my wife and I left with painful ears and wondering what to replace our £120 Yamaha speakers with now!!

Next week were trying the Focal JM-Lab Sib XL fronts and Sib for surround but can anyone recommend any other speakers to try. I don't know what the magazine used to give the amp such a great rating but any help would be appreciated!

 

[Simon Lucas]

Hi surreygraham.

When we First Test-ed the Sony, we used a B&W MT-20 package as a price-comparable speaker set-up as well as our reference system. See if you can hear the Sony with the B&Ws. Or if you can bear a more humdrum-looking package, the Tannoy Mercury F1 is a great set-up, and Tannoy has recently trimmed £20 off the price - £799 looks much more attractive than £819, don't you think?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi SurreyGraham. I've just bought the same receiver and I initially auditioned it (and another SONY model) with Kef speakers that sounded very nice but muddled in the mid range and lacked bass. Just by chance we then hooked up a pair of Mission M34i speakers that completely blew me away! £300 for the pair. Be warned though, they are a significant presence and quite heavy but the soundstage is fantastic to my ears. Worth a listen if you can find a dealer that stocks them. Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help.

Today I thought I would have a play with the receiver and connected it to my Dynaudio Contour 3.0s at the front (fantastic floor standers) and some old B&W DM10's as the rears. I started my tests with some music to get an idea of the sound.

This was OK, if a little lacking in depth and mid range which is suprising given the Dynaudio's. I added my Yamaha Sub which filled in the gaps and the sound was still lively but nothing like as bad as before and really quite good. I tried this with Star Wars IV which is still harsh but just tolerable - so not a good audition DVD!

I then tried Gladiator which was much better and sounded good with excellent surround effects.

My conclusion is that the amplifier is quite bright and (as expected really) is no match for my Meridian hi-fi system - but there is a bit of a price difference and the Sony has been designed for surround.

I didn't do this test this with a center channel but that didn't seem to matter too much.

I now have a challenge. Convince my wife to rearrange the lounge and accomodate the DM10's and buy a Dynaudio center, or continue my search for a 'wife friendly' surround speaker system. Off to test the Focal JM's tomorrow.........