I feel an upgrade coming on...

[basshound]

I think my system could take a speaker upgrade,I`m leaning heavily towards Spendor A5`s but any other suggestions to add to my shortlist would be very welcome.I`m looking at floorstanders only,budget £1500,good bass performance. Listening room is 5m X 6m,music tastes quite wide from jazz to reggae and funk,Zappa and a fair bit of 70`s-80`s prog rock. I find my present speakers,Dali Ikon 6`s can be a little bright at times although this has smoothed a bit with the Beresford Dac and change of amp to Roksan K2.
I`m really looking to go up a level of quality with the speakers,do you think this can be achieved with this budget or would it be more of a sideways move?

 

[MattSPL]

You could get a new pair of these http://www.atc.gb.net/scm40.htm for £1999, or a used pair for around £1400

 

[Anonymous]

You could find some used or ex-demo Spendor A6s at that price. I heard them with the K2 amp and thought it worked very well. The bass was very controlled but it was clear a more powerful amp could drive a fair bit more from them. The treble and midrange was really, really good with an exceptionally clear and stable image.

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm on a bit of a Spendor kick at the moment. I heard this week the A5's for the first time. Wicked.

 

[Anonymous]

PP, you want to hear the A6s! The sound is slightly less dark, presumably down to the larger tweeter. I have to say, with the right amp they're really rather good! I don't think I could fit them in really

 

[plastic penguin]

igglebert:PP, you want to hear the A6s! The sound is slightly less dark, presumably down to the larger tweeter. I have to say, with the right amp they're really rather good! I don't think I could fit them in really

Remember, Iggle, this was my first proper experience of Spendor. And, I believe, the A5's, for me, are more room friendly. We have an oversized rabbit hutch.....

 

[basshound]

igglebert:I have to say, with the right amp they're really rather good!

Do you think the K2 wouldn`t have enough grunt for the A6`s?

 

[Anonymous]

Well I thought the pairing sounded rather nice! I was very surprised. I also heard them with the Arcam A38 and it was very clear that the extra current available made the bass a lot heavier. It's funny, in a small to medium room the K2 would be great and in a larger room you just need to add current. I'm still to hear the A5s so can't comment. They share the same tweeter as the SA1s which is slightly darker than the one on the A6s.

The A5s are less sensitive than the A6s (86dB instead of 88dB) and drop to 5ohms impedance compared to 6ohms. From those figures alone you could conclude that the A5s will be a tricker pair of speakers to drive. If they share the type of impedance characteristics of the SA1s then their current demands should be fairly benign with no nasty dips of impedance for the amp to deal with. This should make them easier for your K2 than you might first think. As I said, the A6s and K2 sounded good to me.

 

[Craig M.]

MattSPL:You could get a new pair of these http://www.atc.gb.net/scm40.htm for £1999, or a used pair for around £1400

i think these would be my choice too, given the room size.

 

[batonwielder]

The Spendor A5's work beautifully with the Roksan Kandy K2 for a very relaxed and laid back sound. You might want to listen to them together before purchase.

Although the Dali Ikon 6's are indeed forward and punchy speakers, they are not an unreasonable match with the Roksan. It might just be exacerbated by the cabling which is definitely on the bright side.

 

[Bodfish]

basshound - do consider the A6's, they work well in surprisingly smaller spaces than you might think...and I also happen to know that a certain well looked after pair are about to be re-listed on eBay tomorrorw morning...

If you are anywhere near Oxford area, you are more than welcome to pop in for a listen.

 

[Anonymous]

You don't know how tempted I've been Bodfish!

 

[Anonymous]

Audio Emotion have a used pair of ATC SCM40s for £1395 at the moment. Theyll go quick at that price I'd imagine.

 

[Bodfish]

Well igglebert, offer of a listen warmly extended if you are unsure about space constraints!

 

[Anonymous]

That's very good of you Bodfish, thank you. I'm going to hold fast and say no for now as I have some milestone things to do in life this year

 

[Bodfish]

You mean millstones right?

Fair enough though, some things are more important than hifi!

 

[basshound]

Bodfish:
basshound - do consider the A6's, they work well in surprisingly smaller spaces than you might think...and I also happen to know that a certain well looked after pair are about to be re-listed on eBay tomorrorw morning...

If you are anywhere near Oxford area, you are more than welcome to pop in for a listen.

And will you end the auction early for a ridiculously low off e-bay offer? 🙂

For the mods,only joking,no trading going on!