Keff Ver B&W

[admin_exported]

Need some moral support and guidance...........

I had my list of ideals to go and test

AV receiver Onkyo TXSR605E

Speakers B&W MT20, MT30

DVD player Onkyo DV-SP504E, Sony RDRHXD970

Now what we are after is a Cinema system that will also give us good Hi-Fi sound as we have many more music disc than DVD's, our TV can only handle 1080i and is not going to be changed

We both agreed that the amp was the one for us. I only realised after the test that the Sony player was upscaling to 1080p on a Sony flatscreen hence the better picture, and so had dismissed the Onkyo for poor image quality. I now know that what it showed would be what we will be seeing, so how good is that player any one know?

My biggest problem lay with the speaker selection, as is normal the walls of the demo room were bouncing with the volume when I asked for it to be turned down.

Living in a semi theres no way it was ever going to be that loud!!

Now I was unable to hear the PV1 sub from B&W at all, I really liked the M1 speakers and they would fit in with my 13' x 12' room just fine. they could not show me a smaller sub from B&W but did have a set of Kef 3005's on offer.

Same film and yes the sub was working now, all be it to my ears more on-off than gradual but at least some action from it. The main speakers however were dull compaired to the B&W, with Music they were no better than my current offerings and did little to make me jump up and down......

So having placed an order for the amp and the Kef I just cant help thinking I done the wrong thing....those Speakers are just not doing it for me..the sub ok but not the rest.

With a budget of £600 ish for speakers I need help, seriously....

Do I just get the M1 B&W and look for another sub cos the PV1 is way out of my league?

Or have the Kef and live with it?

Or does someone have a new solution for me??

Thanks for reading.......

 

[Clare Newsome]

Ah, the joys of demos!

We gave the Onkyo four stars (it's reviewed in our current, Awards issue) - it's not a bad player, but you can buy better. Obviously the Sony is a five-star Award winner as a DVD recorder - and is a damn fine player, too - but do you specifically want that functionality?

If not, you'd be better of spending your @£300 on the Marantz DV6001 - an excellent-sounding DVD player for the money with movies and music - or Cambridge Audio's sonically excellent 540D V2 (£250), which sparkles with music. The Award-winning Denon DVD-1940 (also £250) shouldn't be overlooked, either - though its picture impresses more than its sonic credentials (the Marantz or Cambridge players would be better for music).

Re speakers. Again, the KEF KHT3005's didn't set us alight, either - with music or movies - but they're a world different in their new, special-edition form. Try and hear the KHT3005SE if you can.

Otherwise we'd put the B&W MT20 package above the standard KEFs - the AS2 sub is no match for the PV1, but it's a good, solid performer. Also worth considering is last year's Award-winning Monitor Audio Radius package, which again is better than the standard KEFs.

However - and this is a big point - style speakers aren't ideal with music. More traditional-looking packages - like the Tannoy Mercury F1 5.1 (£800) - will offer far better performance for the money.

 

[Anonymous]

What do you think of Monitor Audio together with an Arcam DVD player (DV137).

 

[Anonymous]

Clare thanks for your comments, and I do take on-board what you say.

As for the player, I dont need the extra functionality, however you never find a cross over test between a player and recorder.

As you say it is a 5 start winner, but how does the quality of its playing compare with a dedicated machine of a similar price?

Speakers,....Speakers.... what a minefield.... I think I will cancel the order and try again......

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="Whatspeakers"]
As for the player, I dont need the extra functionality, however you never find a cross over test between a player and recorder.

As you say it is a 5 start winner, but how does the quality of its playing compare with a dedicated machine of a similar price?

[/quote]

We did actually put one of the Sony's predecessors into a home cinema systems test up against DVD players of the same price, and it did surprisingly well....

However, I'd bet on any of those three dedicated DVD players outperforming the recorder, especially as all-round music/movie players.