How would you spend £2000?

[steve_1979]

The best system that I can think of that fits the budget would be a pair of (yep, you guessed it) AVI ADM9RS. I am now very familier with the slightly ealier model and it is a phenominal system, currently just £1250. Add an Airport Express and I am done.

It's hard to believe but the DM5's sound better (and have just as much bass) than the old ADM9T.

Many of the people who've heard both the DM5 and the new ADM9RS prefer the DM5's. A better stereo image, smoother treble and mid-range aparrently. But less bass and dynamic range.

 

[steve_1979]

I am not up to speed on the latest AVIs, I hear a pair of late model 9Ts on a fairly regular basis, and like them a lot. The all in one package is very tempting, and I would also want a gloss black finish, so neither DM5s or the proposed ADM10s will be acceptable.

I had a good play with the original Mini I and thought it very decent, at least comparable to the M-Dac but without the designer credentials. It has two pairs of outputs so easy to use with a sub, no bass management of course which I guess is what you are after.

I am constantly drawn back to the pro market, value for money is far better than in the hi-fi world and there are always deals to be had, particularly if you are not a studio and do not need the latest models. In the last few days I have seen the Dynaudio BM5as at around half price, Adam Artist 6 floorstanders at just over £600 and the super value Seiwin 5a at just £129.

If you want the best gloss black ADM9's the newest version of the ADM9RS with the upgraded Sinar Baja tweeter is the one to go for.

I did look at the twin outputs on the Matrix DAC but as you say I wanted easily adjustable bass management to vary the sub output depending on media (usually for computer games but occasionally with music too). Turning the sub crossover up from 80 to 100Hz and increasing the volume by 10dB is a brutal experience when playing 'first person shooter' games. Even though the main volume is at normal listening levels the bass kicks you in the chest and shakes the whole house with every gun shot and explosion!

Those Dynaudio BM5A and Adam Artist 6 speakers are seriously good value at those prices. Much better than the usual Marantz/Yamaha amp and Q Acoustics/Dali passive speaker combinations that get recommended by WHF.

 

[Overdose]

No love for Dynaudio broadcasting actives? (BMA series)

They are fine speakers, currently the BM5a Mk II are being run out in the UK for just £460 a pair, this is astonishing value, half the price of the latest Mk III.

However I kind of like the 'all in oneness" of the ADMs but that said, in the context of the thread a pair of the latest BM6a and a Matrix Mini I dac/preamp/headpone amp could be had for about £1500. Would do nicely if you have the space.

At the price quoted, the BM5as are exceptionally good VFM. The ADM9s are better speakers though.

Have not tried the BM6s with the extra power and low frequency response, but these would almost certainly be excellent too.

People overlooking the pro-audio market of this quality are really missing a trick IMO.

 

[Vladimir]

 

[steve_1979]

Shsssssh.......

Can't say that.. *shok*

*diablo*

 

[matt49]

Very interesting. Maggies and a high powered pro amp. Nice. I would love to hear some some time.

I listened to a few pairs of Grado's ranging from £250 to £1000. They had plenty of detail but the sound seemed a bit hyped and unnatural. Very exciting sounding and I can see why they are popular with some people but they were not what I was after. The build quality and comfort ranged from rubbish to mediocre and they were nowhere near as good as Sennheiser's or B&W's in these two areas.

You may be right about the Grados. I'm sure there are better 'phones for the price.

In the context of your notional £2K budget, I didn't really take the headphone bit very seriously.

I went through a headphone phase a couple of years ago. The best I heard were the Stax. Second came the Audeze and Hifiman planar magnetic 'phones. The new Oppos may also be good. But these electrostatic and planar magnetic 'phones are expensive and would eat up too much of the £2K.

 

[steve_1979]

You may be right about the Grados. I'm sure there are better 'phones for the price.

Horses for courses. Some people love 'em.

They aren't bad headphones by any means. Plenty of detail and clarity. They have a reputation for being good for rock music which I have to agree with. It's a personal thing but I found the Sennheiser HD700 to have just as much detail as the more expensive Grado's but were more smooth and natural sounding with it. When compared with the Grado's the HD700's can be a tad polite at times with rock music and are a bit bass lite without EQing.

One thing the HD700's do really well though is they sound good with everything and can be worn for hours without any audio or physical fatigue. Ironically they are particularly impressive with both classical and electronic dance music genres. They're my favourite of the three system that I own and are far better then any speakers that I've heard.

 

[Reijer]

I guess I remodel the living room so that my speakers are not standing against the wall to the neighbors but to an inner wall between the living room and the kitchen.

Maybe a better and bigger TV like a Loewe and an dedicated cd player (probably a TEAC).

Or just two of these:

http://www.quested.com/studio-monitoring-production/products-s8r.html

 

[letsavit2]

its not the affording the "big boys speakers" it's affording the house put them in....!

 

[letsavit2]

Below from richer sounds and spend the rest on drink, drugs and women.........

MARANTZPM6005, CD6005 & Monitor Audio BRONZE BX2

And waste all that money on electronic equipment?

,

ha ha, yes music is just as important to me as the above.

 

[davedotco]

You know my views and experience of such speakers but in a slightly more realistic world here are a couple of examples that won't, quite, break the bank.

Klipsch Heresy speakers have been around long enough for decent secondhand examples to be reasonably available and given their sensitivity and the power you have available, you could make a lot of noise.

The modern approach though are these.......

Mackie HR824 II, simply the most powerful speakers I have heard anywhere near there price, apart from the 8 inch bass driver, there is a massive oval passive radiator hidden behind the amplifiers on the rear panel. Given their price, a shade over £1k in the UK these will handel any house party, sound quality is pretty good too, not the most refined but not half bad either.

 

[mpapo]

I'd buy Neumann KH120A Active speakers (1000 GBP) and a Nad M51.

 

[lindsayt]

its not the affording the "big boys speakers" it's affording the house put them in....!

Finding a house to put them in is not necessarily as expensive as you think:

You just have to be flexible on location, age and current condition.

For example, £115,000 is enough to buy you somewhere with a 70 sq metre listening room in 11 acres of land.

 

[fr0g]

its not the affording the "big boys speakers" it's affording the house put them in....!

Finding a house to put them in is not necessarily as expensive as you think:

You just have to be flexible on location, age and current condition.

For example, £115,000 is enough to buy you somewhere with a 70 sq metre listening room in 11 acres of land.

Yet strangely, now I am sat doing some coding in a 2x4m cubby, I realise I prefer the intimacy of a good pair of actives less than half a metre from my head.

I have listened to lots of systems, been to concerts, one at the amazing Bridgewater hall in Manchester, and yet I prefer this small listening area.

Not to mention the idea of moving house in order to place speakers strikes me as rather obsessive.

 

[matt49]

One thing the HD700's do really well though is they sound good with everything and can be worn for hours without any audio or physical fatigue. Ironically they are particularly impressive with both classical and electronic dance music genres. They're my favourite of the three system that I own and are far better then any speakers that I've heard.

Steve, I'm surprised you prefer the Senns to your DM5s. I guess that's a personal preference some people have. I find headphones OK for some music, in particular stuff like electronic music which is obviously an artificial construct of the studio and mixing desk. But for classical music, which is recorded in such a way as to imitate the experience of the concert hall, no: headphones seem unnatural to me, no matter how good they are, and I'd always prefer a decent stereo speaker set-up.

 

[gasolin]

The Dynaudis BM5A MKII are also on sale with a discount here in denmark, not under 500£ a pair but still a good price, have considered them but i also want a soundcard like those from focusrite, since i havn't sold my other speakers,subwoofer amp it's unfortunately out of my leauge, lots of power, way more louder then a pair of genelec M030

 

[lindsayt]

its not the affording the "big boys speakers" it's affording the house put them in....!

Finding a house to put them in is not necessarily as expensive as you think:

You just have to be flexible on location, age and current condition.

For example, £115,000 is enough to buy you somewhere with a 70 sq metre listening room in 11 acres of land.

Yet strangely, now I am sat doing some coding in a 2x4m cubby, I realise I prefer the intimacy of a good pair of actives less than half a metre from my head.

I have listened to lots of systems, been to concerts, one at the amazing Bridgewater hall in Manchester, and yet I prefer this small listening area.

Not to mention the idea of moving house in order to place speakers strikes me as rather obsessive.

Like so many things in life and in hi-fi, it's all down to personal preference.

Some people prefer living in small homes. They'd feel agoraphobic in a large home.

Some people prefer large. They'd feel claustrophobic in a small home.

For my tastes, the larger the better. I'd be happy in a 2000 sq metre Templars fortress in an estate of over 20 hectares. The fact that that would be a great place for a huge hi-fi system is just an added bonus, on top of being self-sufficient energy wise, having room to play football and cricket with the children, living in a place of beauty, character and history, plus a place that could provide enough income to give up the 9 to 5 job.

Labelling someone that has the ambition to move to a house with a huge listening room as "obsessive" is narrow minded.

You only have one life. Might as well acheive as many of your ambitions as you can in the time available.

 

[fr0g]

its not the affording the "big boys speakers" it's affording the house put them in....!

Finding a house to put them in is not necessarily as expensive as you think:

You just have to be flexible on location, age and current condition.

For example, £115,000 is enough to buy you somewhere with a 70 sq metre listening room in 11 acres of land.

Yet strangely, now I am sat doing some coding in a 2x4m cubby, I realise I prefer the intimacy of a good pair of actives less than half a metre from my head.

I have listened to lots of systems, been to concerts, one at the amazing Bridgewater hall in Manchester, and yet I prefer this small listening area.

Not to mention the idea of moving house in order to place speakers strikes me as rather obsessive.

Like so many things in life and in hi-fi, it's all down to personal preference.

Some people prefer living in small homes. They'd feel agoraphobic in a large home.

Some people prefer large. They'd feel claustrophobic in a small home.

For my tastes, the larger the better. I'd be happy in a 2000 sq metre Templars fortress in an estate of over 20 hectares. The fact that that would be a great place for a huge hi-fi system is just an added bonus, on top of being self-sufficient energy wise, having room to play football and cricket with the children, living in a place of beauty, character and history, plus a place that could provide enough income to give up the 9 to 5 job.

Labelling someone that has the ambition to move to a house with a huge listening room as "obsessive" is narrow minded.

You only have one life. Might as well acheive as many of your ambitions as you can in the time available.

Apart from the "narrow minded" jibe, I agree with you... We all have our own preference.

I would hate to live in such a large place. Not that I would feel agoraphobic, but I would never want to have "staff". So cleaning would be a 'mare. I would love a huge room in the house, and I'd quite possibly have some huge speakers in there if I had the money, but I think most of my listening would not be done there. Instead I'd probably install a snooker table and a high end PA system...

And, I am sorry you think it's narrow minded, but moving house "in order" to accomadate a hi-fi system (and placing the Hi-fi further up the list of important life-choices than the house/flat and area themselves) is obsessive. That doesn't mean to say it's necessarily a bad thing if it's something someone desires and it's hurting no-one. But it is taking a hobby to rather an extreme and I imagine would be viewed by most as...obsessive.

 

[Electro]

I did not buy my current house solely to get a better listening room but it was very high on my list of requirements and I would have rejected the house if it did not have a suitable room *biggrin*

Now where is my medication ...... *wink*

 

[CnoEvil]

Linn Sneaky + LS50s....which sounds better than you might imagine.

This would keep me going until I slotted in a more suitable amp.

 

[steve_1979]

Yet strangely, now I am sat doing some coding in a 2x4m cubby, I realise I prefer the intimacy of a good pair of actives less than half a metre from my head.

I have listened to lots of systems, been to concerts, one at the amazing Bridgewater hall in Manchester, and yet I prefer this small listening area.

I prefer near field listening to big open rooms with the speakers positioned several meters away. I generally listen at a distance of about 1 - 1.5 meters away from them while sitting at the computer. It feels very intimate and you can still get a fantastically sharp and wide stereo image at this distance when using compact speakers.

For me an ideal situation purely for music would be sitting about 2 meters away (mid-field distance?) from a pair of compact floorstanding speakers (and a subwoofer) with them set about 2 meters apart in a comfortable medium sized room.

 

[steve_1979]

Finding a house to put them in is not necessarily as expensive as you think:

You just have to be flexible on location, age and current condition.

For example, £115,000 is enough to buy you somewhere with a 70 sq metre listening room in 11 acres of land.

In some parts of France you can buy a very nice 2/3 bedrooom detatched cottage in good condition with several acres of land for around £80,000

 

[JoelSim]

I'd buy one of these given that I already have a system I'm very happy with and some headphones I love

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u161/Razors_kiss/Bike%20Insurance%20Photos/F4789F90-6AE7-4E1A-AAAE-67C765CDEED4_zpsm7nkg4ay.jpg

 

[matthewpiano]

I'd go to my nearest Rega dealer and give them all my money. I just can't imagine anything more musical for the cash. The other brand I would consider is Exposure (as I own their 1010 amp too and find it superb). Speakers would either be Rega RS1s, Dynaudio DM2/6s or possibly either Tannoy DC6SE or Sonus Faber Toy bookshelves depending on the room.

 

[steve_1979]

I'd buy one of these given that I already have a system I'm very happy with and some headphones I love

Nice. *dirol*

Cyclocross?