Listening test tomorrow

[hybridauth_Facebook_574926750]

So I'm still mid-cogitate on the upgrade of speakers & amp in my system (for reference the current combo is Denon AVR 2113 & Q-Acoustics 1050i)

Tomorrow I'll be combining the following

Floorstanders: Kef R500/700, Focal Aria 926 & Minas Anor IIIs 2.5R (Polish manufacturer spec here: http://studio16hz.eu/produkty/minas-anor)

Amps: NAIT 5si, ROKSNA Kandy K3 & Rega Elex-R

I'll report back tomorrow after my big spend, but in the meanitme I'd love to hear if anyone has any experience of any of these for better or for worse.

 

[Esra]

Don´t know the Minas,would ad Yamaha AS2100 and NAD C390DD to the list if possible.

 

[lindsayt]

Rik, something you may want to bear in mind is that you are under no obligation whatosever to buy anything tomorrow.

You should only buy if you are 100% sure that the goods and the prices are right for you.

There is so much more to the world of speakers and amps than the products you mentioned.

£2500 is a lot of money to spend on an amplifier and a pair of speakers.

 

[bigfish786]

I would be bringing the Focals and the Rega home. *wink*

i think I could become accustomed to how they look and sound

 

[CnoEvil]

My money would go on Rega/Kef.

 

[stevebrock]

Rega Elex R nicest amp there IMO, especially if you have a turntable

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_574926750]

Thanks all for your input, I took 3 very different LPs in there with me, the Ziggy remaster, Florence + the Machine and Welcome to the Jungle (treasured since its release, hence more than a little crackly); so that's a remaster from original analogue source, a "modern" Lp and an original 80 pressing.

After almost 2 hours of listening, switching, playing and replaying, here's what rang my bell and what I'll be bringin home with me on Thursday:

Speakers: I found the Kefs way too bright and far too sterile, no matter what amp they were paired with or which source LP I was listening to, so they were first out. The Minas Arnor were more difficult to eliminate, if you have a chance to listen to these you will not be disappointed, so if they can even be found ouside of Poland I highly recomend them. That said, I ended up hooked on the Focal Aria 926, the sound was beautifully deep and warm with wonderful resonance but still allowed me to pick out details with well separated treble and had enough of the low-end mid to pick out basslines, strings and horns that are all too often buried.

Amplifier: The Roksan was the first to be eliminated in this section, it was a very good amp, but just sounded too "precise" I felt like the emotion had been sucked out of the presentation. The Naim and Rega gave much better performances but still I wasn't getting the wow I so desperately wanted to find so after some casting around we plugged in something I had never even researched... The Sugden A21 aL Series II

BOOM

Lights out! Blown away! THIS was the sound I was searching for, quite literally for all my life. Sold.

Once I get this little lot home, I have a system to grow old with, not only that, I have one to pass on.

All this for £2800

Thanks for joining me in this, now to get them home and warmed up!

 

[CnoEvil]

My money would go on Rega/Kef.

Shows what I know!

Great choice of amp, which would work very nicely with Focal......congratulations.

 

[bigfish786]

Now get them home, set up, and post some pics, and a review.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Fascinating it's a strange old hobby. The good thing is you had a clear winner and you found somthing that suited you. I really look forward to you getting it all home and giving us your impressions.

 

[SteveR750]

Good to hear you've found something that you like the sound of, which is what is really most important.

 

[pkerai]

There is the little thing of breaking in. Particularly with KEF being so clinical, but since its not possible to factor this in, very good.

Not that the combo you have is going to get any worse though.

What (if any), cables and stands are you using. Furthermore was the shape/size of the listening room the same as the room your going to be using it in.

Wonder how the Focal combo you bought compares to Focals more expensive active range? That would be of great interest. Save the money for the amp and invest it in more expensive, possibly larger focal active's.

 

[pyrrhon]

You chose well! Your focal have powerfull sound, you ll need to seek the correct position, its key. Im almost jealous Enjoy !

 

[Happy_Listener]

I am not familiar with the Minas Anor speakers. However, I am familiar with the KEF's and the Focals and there is no way that I would ever pair up either Naim or Rega amps with them. I could see the Roksan possibly woking with KEF's and maybe the even the Focals, but not the other two amps. I will be suprised if you say otherwise after tomorrow's audition. What other brands does this store carry?

 

[yani]

I have tried my Rega Elex R with Focal 906's stand mounts. The sound was very smooth with great tight bass and plenty of detail. My problem with the speakers was scale. They did not, in my opinion, 'fill' the room with sound. They seemed not to move air. Lovely sound though which I really did enjoy.

Happy-Listener doubts the combo of Rega and Kef. I do hope I find him wrong as I have a pair of R300 due at the end of the month for home demo. I am hoping for the smooth top end of the Focals with the room filling sound I so desire. I also really enjoy a 3D sound stage something the R300's get mentioned for.

Slightly concerned the op found the KEF's to be bright. This would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Slightly concerned the op found the KEF's to be bright. This would be a deal breaker for me.

I've never found them bright, but as iQ says, it's a funny old hobby. we're all different, which is why it is good to hear these things for yourself before jumping in. Use forums (and mags for that matter) as a guide, not a bible.

 

[SteveR750]

Age has an effect also don't forget. My hearing frequency range is not what it was when was younger, so what might have sounded bright back then possibly wouldn't today.

 

[yani]

If you mean being 'old' helps then I qualify !!

I think this is why a home demo is so important. I found quite a big difference in how the Focal's sounded from hearing at the dealers to getting them home. They came across as much fuller and warmer when in my own set up.

I am sort of hoping the KEF's will also be the same. David (Frank Harvey) has mentioned before that he thought Rega and Kef a good match. I would like to think his varied experience on all sorts of equipement gives him a good understanding of how these pair together.

Anyway time will tell as I await patiently the arrival of the R300's

 

[davedotco]

Age has an effect also don't forget. My hearing frequency range is not what it was when was younger, so what might have sounded bright back then possibly wouldn't today.

I do not feel that bright speakers are a problem, a flat frequency response has never mattered that much in a speaker, what people do find difficult are speakers that are harsh.

This is caused by many things, but in modern two way designs this all centers around the crossover. Run the bass driver a little too high and the breakup modes become more audible so the speaker sounds bright and harsh, thats right, speakers sounding bright due to poor bass drivers, neat eh.

Of course tweeter can be run to low, even overdriven and sound harsh, but the thing that confuses many people is the fact that a speaker may sound bright and harsh on one amplifier and not on another. Sure, it could be a harsh amplifier but these days that is going to be pretty rare, most likely it is the amplifier reacting poorly to the impedance variations around the crossover point, increasing distortion that is most audible at higher frequencies. Another amplifier that does not exhibit those tendencies may simply be more stable into awkward loads.

The other point to make is that your ears, and to a lesser extent your room are a constant, your brain adjusts for them so really they are not so important as some people think.

 

[SteveR750]

Hmm, I guess I have always considered "bright" and "harsh" to be broadly the same characteristic, but you're right there is a distinction to be made between an elevated HF response and distortion (though you could argue that a non flat FR is a form of distortion).

 

[CnoEvil]

Slightly concerned the op found the KEF's to be bright. This would be a deal breaker for me.

FWIW. I also hate "bright"......and I have yet to hear the R Series sound that way, but I have always heard them with a decent source/amp.

 

[SteveR750]

Slightly concerned the op found the KEF's to be bright. This would be a deal breaker for me.

FWIW. I also hate "bright"......and I have yet to hear the R Series sound that way, but I have always heard them with a decent source/amp.

Cno, I guess that those finding the KEFs bright, really mean harsh, as they are merely exposing HF distortion from the amp - similar "problem" with ATC speakers: if the amp is not in control it can sound horrible.

EDIT - OT I know, but if you are ever "mainland" bound, I'm not far from you (Haverfordwest) let me know, and you'd be more than welcome to pop in for a coffee (or something more interesting!) chat and listen.

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno, I guess that those finding the KEFs bright, really mean harsh, as they are merely exposing HF distortion from the amp

Yup, IMO. bright and harsh are different......a system can be bright (I prefer the word "forward") without being harsh; but a harsh sounding system usually comes across as bright.

 

[yani]

Stevie R750 mentions the Kefs sounding bright or harsh if the amp is not in control. This is true of many speakers but I would have thought the Roksan and Elex R to be amps which could easily control such a speaker as the kef R 300's. The original op mentions these amps when testing out the speakers. Hence my concern with him stating them 'bright'.

 

[SteveR750]

Stevie R750 mentions the Kefs sounding bright or harsh if the amp is not in control. This is true of many speakers but I would have thought the Roksan and Elex R to be amps which could easily control such a speaker as the kef R 300's. The original op mentions these amps when testing out the speakers. Hence my concern with him stating them 'bright'.

Can't vouch for the Rega, never heard it, but I had a K2 for a couple of years. If paired with the KEFs and it's "bright" that's because the mixing engineer made it so, or the listening room needs sorting out.