KEP3005SE or B&W MT30 and which amp to pair with them

[admin_exported]

Hi, I am a new comer here and this topic could already been posted but I couldn't find it. My question is that IF both speakers fit your budget, which one would you pick? And which amp should be paired with it eg. Onkyo 606 or Yamaha RXV 1800. I like the sound with authority but yet all details are not sacrificed.

Thanks in advance.

CJ

 

[Big Chris]

As an owner of the MT30, I can state you will not find fault with it. Also, the 1575 pound RRP is quite flexible, and others here have even got the price down to 1150.

The 606 has just been knocked off the top spot by Denon's 1909 receiver, but it is 50 quid dearer, and the 606 still retained its 5 stars.

 

[Anonymous]

I second Chris on the MT30s, I heard them recently and couldn't fault the sound.

Having said that I also heard the KEF3005SE and if you don't want to go above £1000 you won't go wrong there either.

As for the final price to pay RRP is always flexible. So far I've only made one call to try and source the MT30s and already I've had the price dropped from the RRP to £1400.

Happy hunting.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The MT30's are now quite old, about 5 years now, and many of the competition have moved forward and improved things. The biggest let down of the MT30 package is the sub, which for it's retail price is an under achiever. As stated in another thread here, for the same price you can add another KEF sub for a more even in room response and improved control and power handling. There's also the possibility of putting together a Quad system based on the 9L2 loudspeakers for that price too......

 

[Clare Newsome]

Totally disagree, i'm afraid - the PV1 subwoofer is what makes the MT30 still an Award winner after two years: the MT20 package (same M1 satelllites but cheaper sub) is easily beaten by the KEF 3005SEs, which remain the best @£1000 option.

There isn't a style speaker package to date that hasn't been improved by adding the PV1 - we know, because we try it out every time.

Yes, that money could buy a bigger, better speaker package - Tannoy's Mercury F1 Custom, for instance, crushes the KEFs for less money, especially if you add music into the equation - but not everyone has the room/tolerance for traditional size/design speakers. Which is why we divide the two categories up here online, in our Buyer's Guide, and in our Awards.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Clare,

So would changing the M1 satellites to KEF 3001SE's but keep the PV1 sub improve the sound? Only reason I'm asking is I have the MT30 package with the satellites wall mounted and the wall brackets are terrible, they make the speakers sound like there rattling at high volume. Or can you reccomend any other style satellites?

Thanks.

 

[professorhat]

Well, if they are rattling, then nothing is going to make them sound good. Why are they rattling? I understand they are wall mounted, but that's not an excuse for rattling if they are mounted properly. In my opinion, you need to sort this out rather than change the speaker as any speaker that's rattling will sound bad.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your insight. Do you think the Onkyo is a good fit for either the KEF or B&W?

Regarding the amp, has anyone tried the Yamaha RXV1800?

 

[Anonymous]

I bought the PV1 recently paired with an Onkyo 605 and I am impressed with it the more I use it. Initially I was a bit sceptical but after getting the settings and positioning sorted I've not looked back.

I only use it for movies and the bass is great although it probably does not go as low as other subs in the same price range. It replaced a B&W ASW300 which used to be less enjoyable as it would get very loud and hence I used to set the volume quite low.

 

[Anonymous]

Professorhat

The rattling is due to the design of the wall mount. The speaker is held in the wall mount with a single small grub screw which does not provide a very secure fixing. When using the wall mount the speaker leans forward much further than when using the stands meaning that all of the speakers weight is trying to pull is out of the mount. No matter how well the grub screw is tightened there is still movement between the wall mount and the speaker. This movement creates vibrations when the system is on at high volumes. I have had this set up now for over 2 years tried various things to stop the rattle with no joy.

The rattle does not happen all of the time, only at certain frequencies so I have been able to live with it, but now it's time for a change. It's quite disappointing really as the speakers are excellent when used with the desk stands. I will be keeping the PV1 though as it is an excellent sub.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

brew:
Professorhat

The rattling is due to the design of the wall mount. The speaker is held in the wall mount with a single small grub screw which does not provide a very secure fixing. When using the wall mount the speaker leans forward much further than when using the stands meaning that all of the speakers weight is trying to pull is out of the mount. No matter how well the grub screw is tightened there is still movement between the wall mount and the speaker. This movement creates vibrations when the system is on at high volumes. I have had this set up now for over 2 years tried various things to stop the rattle with no joy.

The rattle does not happen all of the time, only at certain frequencies so I have been able to live with it, but now it's time for a change. It's quite disappointing really as the speakers are excellent when used with the desk stands. I will be keeping the PV1 though as it is an excellent sub.

My brother-in-law has the same speakers and he has his wall mounted with no problems. Are you sure you have fitted them properly? If so, get in touch with B&W because if you have faulty brackets, they will sort it out.

 

[Anonymous]

Professorhat

You can't mount them wrong its a very simple fixing. You may be correct about them being faulty but I doubt it as it has happened to all 5 speakers. A bit of good news though I have contacted B&W's service department as you suggested and explained the problem to them. They are sending me a replacement set of speaker elbows and wall mounts free of charge. Now thats excellent service. Hope that solves the problem, will save me some money.

 

[professorhat]

Well, it was Gerrardasnails who advised you to do it, but I'm glad it's (hopefully) worked out for you!

 

[professorhat]

FctCJ:Do you think the Onkyo is a good fit for either the KEF or B&W?
Back to the OP - yes, Onkyo will work fine with either for movies. Haven't heard the Yamaha to comment.

 

[Anonymous]

just bought pioneer 5090 kuro and mt 30s but also cant decide on which amp ! . rather tempted by onko 875 though ,but pioneers new sc lx 71 amp will be out soon (much better looking i think)

 

[PJPro]

Why is it that no-one (except me it seems) ever considers the Arcam Muso/Logo package? I compared them to the MT30 and Kef and it came out the clear winner. Seems everyone just takes a gander at the "best buys" and simply tosses up between mid range (KEFs) and higher end (MT30s).

 

[Frank Harvey]

It is a very good package, I think it's just a case of no-one really thinks Arcam when it comes to speakers. Nice build and weight to them, and yet another speaker package that has a better sub than the B&W for a much cheaper price..

 

[professorhat]

You really don't like the PV1 do you?! Interesting, I'm going to be demoing at some point as looking to upgrade. What's wrong with it in your opinion?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well Frank Harvey Hi-fi isn't a B&W stockist, for starters

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Clare Newsome:Well Frank Harvey Hi-fi isn't a B&W stockist, for starters

You took the words out of my mouth Clare!!

 

[kinda]

Hello.

I wouldn't, (and didn't!), buy either of these, and I'm not that demanding.

I agree with some other posts on here that there are other packages better than the B&Ws and KEFs, and really hope people look at the other options on offer.

I auditioned various style packages, and found the 3005SE low on detail, and poor with music, mainly due to the sub. The B&Ws were better with music due to the improved sub, and had a nice sound, but I found high frequency missing against the KEFs, (same amp, direct comparison), noticeably, especially in some music tracks. (Store just said "you won't find speakers good with all music"). Overall with films, I didn't notice any real improvement with the B&Ws either.

The KEF5005 was good, and had good detail, but again the sub let it down, especially with music. Tried the 3005SEs and 5005SEs with the PV1, and there was an improvement.

However, the (full) Tannoy Arena beat all of these, packages and combinations with both film and music. Better detail, great with films, (only speakers I thought really were home cinema and not just surround sound), and much better with music, particularly the tight bass, which was better than the B&W in my opinion. The only package that had no weaknesses for me, and that was worth the asking price.

Even in What Hi-Fi reviews, (5 star), this package ran the B&W MT-30 very close, but only the Arena Lite seems to get a review these days, which is more an MT-20 equivalent.

Full Arena now available for £1050 with stands, no haggling needed. And comes with the TS300 sub from the Arena highline 300, (not really any performance improvement, but looks better IMO).

Didn't review loads of amplifiers, as I got offered a Marantz SR6001 for similar price to an Onkyo 606. It knocked spots of an Onkyo 605, especially for music. Much fuller sound, with more detail.

Hope this helps. At least have a listen to the Arena and Marantz stuff.

 

[professorhat]

Clare Newsome:Well Frank Harvey Hi-fi isn't a B&W stockist, for starters

Ah, I see! Probably not the best place for me to go for an audition then!

 

[Frank Harvey]

There are some people for which the PV1 is perfect (everything has it's place in the market), especially if space is a premium. I suspect that many who have compared the PV1 to other similarly sized (and especially similarly priced) subs have chosen the performance route. All I'm saying is that the PV1 at £950 has a lot to live up to, and many other subs do the job they're designed to do far better at the price point.

And yes, I have heard the PV1 many times as I have worked for 3 dealers who stocked them. Most people chose a sub from B&W's 700 series for the same price or something from the M&K range.

 

[Anonymous]

kinda:

Hello.

I wouldn't, (and didn't!), buy either of these, and I'm not that demanding.

I agree with some other posts on here that there are other packages better than the B&Ws and KEFs, and really hope people look at the other options on offer.

I auditioned various style packages, and found the 3005SE low on detail, and poor with music, mainly due to the sub. The B&Ws were better with music due to the improved sub, and had a nice sound, but I found high frequency missing against the KEFs, (same amp, direct comparison), noticeably, especially in some music tracks. (Store just said "you won't find speakers good with all music"). Overall with films, I didn't notice any real improvement with the B&Ws either.

The KEF5005 was good, and had good detail, but again the sub let it down, especially with music. Tried the 3005SEs and 5005SEs with the PV1, and there was an improvement.

However, the (full) Tannoy Arena beat all of these, packages and combinations with both film and music. Better detail, great with films, (only speakers I thought really were home cinema and not just surround sound), and much better with music, particularly the tight bass, which was better than the B&W in my opinion. The only package that had no weaknesses for me, and that was worth the asking price.

Even in What Hi-Fi reviews, (5 star), this package ran the B&W MT-30 very close, but only the Arena Lite seems to get a review these days, which is more an MT-20 equivalent.

Full Arena now available for £1050 with stands, no haggling needed. And comes with the TS300 sub from the Arena highline 300, (not really any performance improvement, but looks better IMO).

Didn't review loads of amplifiers, as I got offered a Marantz SR6001 for similar price to an Onkyo 606. It knocked spots of an Onkyo 605, especially for music. Much fuller sound, with more detail.

Hope this helps. At least have a listen to the Arena and Marantz stuff.

Thank you very much for your input! I've recently purchased the Arena package (will arrive next week I hope) and I'm currently looking at possible AV-receivers that vcan bring 'em to life with movies AND music!

The contestans are the Onkyo 606, Denon AVR-2808 & the Harman Kardon AVR-255.

HK seems to be the odd one here, since it doesn't really gets mentioned at all! Ironically it's not mentioned in the mag in tests or reviews often...just wondering

Greetings from The Netherlands,

Wilco

 

[Big Chris]

professorhat:Clare Newsome:Well Frank Harvey Hi-fi isn't a B&W stockist, for starters

Ah, I see! Probably not the best place for me to go for an audition then!

If you live near N.W Kent, you can come demo mine.