High Quality...

[alchemist 1]

Looking at small high quality stand speakers,

Budget between £800 to £1500 (Maybe a bit more)

Currently using a pair of AVI Nuneutrons which are very articulate.

Hoping to find something of similiar size or slightly larger dimensions with a improved sound quality.

Must have speaker covers........Suggestions please.

Proac come to mind.

 

[chebby]

Russell K Red 50 (or 100).

 

[Vladimir]

Only AVI beats AVI.
Only Leema beats Leema.

 

[SemiChronic]

I'm Bored of the Leema, and I haven't even heard it. .

 

[m0n5t3r]

PMC 21's?

 

[insider9]

What are your room dimensions, how are the speakers positioned I relation to walls and your listening position?

 

[lpv]

what amp you have?

 

[alchemist 1]

what amp you have?

Yamaha AS2000

Room dim. 3M X 4M.........Speakers about 200mm from rear wall.

 

[insider9]

what amp you have?

Yamaha AS2000

Room dim. 3M X 4M.........Speakers about 200mm from rear wall.

EB Acoustics EB2

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Dali opticon range works well with Yamaha

 

[CnoEvil]

ATC SCM 11

Kef LS50

AE Ref 1

PMC Twenty 21

GamuT Phi 3

 

[drummerman]

The Russel K's seem to garner quite a reputation. Satisfied owners it seems.

Nice drivers too.

There is also a new Tablette.

Proac = Neutral

They require a reasonable amount of watts but most ultra small speakers do.

 

[nopiano]

Some good suggestions already. I'd add the ribbon tweetered Quad Z-1 to the short-list, as they are beautifully finished and have decent grilles. The KEF LS50 doesn't qualify as it only comes naked! Maybe the R300s at £1,000.

For a bargain, the Q acoustics Concept 20 is amazing value, and for glamour, the Sonus faber Venere 2.0, with its own stands.

 

[CnoEvil]

The KEF LS50 doesn't qualify as it only comes naked! Maybe the R300s at £1,000.

For a bargain, the Q acoustics Concept 20 is amazing value, and for glamour, the Sonus faber Venere 2.0, with its own stands.

Oops, didn't see the Grille stipulation...pity. *blush*

I was very impressed with the Concept 20....but the LS50s were considerably better.

 

[stereoman]

Leema Acoustics "Xone" model.

 

[friendly_ghost]

Focal Aria 906

 

[alchemist 1]

The Russel K's seem to garner quite a reputation. Satisfied owners it seems.

Nice drivers too.

There is also a new Tablette.

Proac = Neutral

They require a reasonable amount of watts but most ultra small speakers do.

K red's how and where to demo......?

Proac new Tablette....?? More info. please.......

 

[Al ears]

The Russel K's seem to garner quite a reputation. Satisfied owners it seems.

Nice drivers too.

There is also a new Tablette.

Proac = Neutral

They require a reasonable amount of watts but most ultra small speakers do.

K red's how and where to demo......?

Proac new Tablette....?? More info. please.......

Limited dealers mean the K speakers are hard to audition which sort of puts them out of contention unless you buy on faith alone. Contact MCRU and see if you can get a try and return deal or speak to manufacturers themselves.

 

[alchemist 1]

ATC SCM 11

Kef LS50

AE Ref 1

PMC Twenty 21

GamuT Phi 3

Had the ATC 11'S (Previous to present model) Great speaker but lacked bass for me.

Also the Kef LS50's Superb sound stage, but lack of speaker cover caused problem.

The AE REF 1'S look stunning.

PMC and Gamut, don't know too much about either.

For the money the Q Accoustic's Concept 20'S may be worth investigating.....

 

[nopiano]

ATC SCM 11

Kef LS50

AE Ref 1

PMC Twenty 21

GamuT Phi 3

Had the ATC 11'S (Previous to present model) Great speaker but lacked bass for me.

Also the Kef LS50's Superb sound stage, but lack of speaker cover caused problem.

The AE REF 1'S look stunning.

PMC and Gamut, don't know too much about either.

For the money the Q Accoustic's Concept 20'S may be worth investigating.....

.....but as Cno said, the KEF is better. And the ATC should be better still with careful placement to optimise the bass, and they have grilles that actually protect!

 

[grimharry]

if you don't mind me asking but where abouts are you?

 

[steve_1979]

Looking at small high quality stand speakers,

Budget between £800 to £1500 (Maybe a bit more)

Currently using a pair of AVI Nuneutrons which are very articulate.

Hoping to find something of similiar size or slightly larger dimensions with a improved sound quality.

Must have speaker covers........Suggestions please.

The similarly sized AVI DM5s are the direct replacement of the old Neutron series of speakers. They keep the AVI Neutron 'family sound' signature which you're already accoustomed to but they're clearer, more detailed, image better and are smoother and easier to listen to than before.

I've owned both Neutrons and DM5s and can confirm that the DM5 are a big step up in sound quality in every respect.

 

[drummerman]

  Looking at small high quality stand speakers, 

  Budget between £800 to £1500 (Maybe a bit more)

 Currently using a pair of AVI Nuneutrons which are very articulate.

  Hoping to find something of similiar size or slightly larger dimensions with a improved sound quality.

 Must have speaker covers........Suggestions please.

The similarly sized AVI DM5s are the direct replacement of the old Neutron series of speakers. They keep the AVI Neutron 'family sound' signature which you're already accoustomed to but they're clearer, more detailed, image better and are smoother and easier to listen to than before.

I've owned both Neutrons and DM5s and can confirm that the DM5 are a big step up in sound quality in every respect.

I like what I read about the 5's.

However, is it correct that they switch off after a period of non use and if the listener is using very low listening levels (as I do frequently) it still switches off?

What is the sound signature Steve (sans sub)?

 

[drummerman]

I like what I read about the 5's.

However, is it correct that they switch off after a period of non use and if the listener is using very low listening levels (as I do frequently) it still switches off?

Yes they do have an automatic power off function so that when there's no signal (or a very low signal) they go into a standby mode which only consumes about half a watt of power. The volume level at which this occurs at really is whisper quiet though and is bordering on the the quietest possible volume you could listen to music at in a silent room anyway. It's really not an issue for nomal hifi use.

The sensor is based on the peak volume levels in music so it could never ever happen with average or high dynamic range music. Heavily compressed music doesn't have any large peaks though so will need to be played a bit louder to keep the peaks them above the minimum volume level. That said I've never had a problem with mine after several hundered hours of use including plenty of low level listening with a wide range of music.

My only concern would be that they do need a fair bit of volume to 'wake' them up from the stand by mode which might be an issue if you want to use them for surround sound duties. If there are no surround effects for over 10 minutes the rears will go to sleep and then might not 'wake up' quickly enough when needed. On the HDD forum I know of at least on user who had this specific issue with theirs in a 5.1 setup. But there are other DM5 users there who have a 5.1 or 6.1 setup who have never had a problem.

 

What is the sound signature Steve (sans sub)?

Nautral. Smooth. Detailed. Clear. Easy to listen to.

A similar overall sound signature to older AVI speakers generally. Just clearer and smoother. They're a lot more clear than the Neutrons, a bit more clear than the ADM9s but not at clear as the DM10s.

Being a compact speaker with a 5.25" mid/woofer the bass is never going to be able to flap your wobbly bits but as is the case with many other 5.25" speakers there's plenty of bass down to about 60 or 70Hz. They never feel lacking in either bass output or volume ability and have no problem filling a large room with sound. Before upgrading to the DM10s I used a pair of DM5s as my main hifi speakers for several months (both with and without a subwoofer) and would happily do so again.

Thanks for the detailed reply.

 

[steve_1979]

I like what I read about the 5's.
However, is it correct that they switch off after a period of non use and if the listener is using very low listening levels (as I do frequently) it still switches off?

Yes they do have an automatic power off function so that when there's no signal (or a very low signal) they go into a standby mode which only consumes about half a watt of power. The volume level at which this occurs at really is whisper quiet though and is bordering on the the quietest possible volume you could listen to music at in a silent room anyway. It's really not an issue for nomal hifi use.

The sensor is based on the peak volume levels in music so it could never ever happen with average or high dynamic range music. Heavily compressed music doesn't have any large peaks though so will need to be played a bit louder to keep the peaks above the minimum volume level. That said I've never had a problem with mine after several hundered hours of use including plenty of low level listening with a wide range of music.

My only concern would be that they do need a fair bit of volume to 'wake' them up from the standby mode which might be an issue if you want to use them for surround sound duties. If there are no surround effects for over 10 minutes the rears will go to sleep and then might not 'wake up' quickly enough when needed. On the HDD forum I know of at least on user who had this specific issue with theirs in a 5.1 setup. But there are other DM5 users there who have a 5.1 or 6.1 setup who have never had a problem.

What is the sound signature Steve (sans sub)?

Nautral. Smooth. Clear. Detailed. Easy to listen to.

A similar overall sound signature to older AVI speakers generally. Just clearer and smoother. They're a lot more clear than the Neutrons, a bit more clear than the ADM9s but not quite at clear as the DM10s.

Being a compact speaker with a 5.25" mid/woofer the bass is never going to be able to flap yer wobbly bits but as is the case with many other 5.25" speakers there's plenty of bass down to about 60 or 70Hz. They never feel lacking in either bass output or volume ability and have no problem filling a large room with sound.

Before upgrading to DM10s I used a pair of DM5s as my main hifi speakers for several months (both with and without a subwoofer) and would happily do so again. In fact I still use a single DM5 for background music when cooking and even in mono it sounds great just plonked on top of the fridge in an echoey kitchen.