MA RS6s or B&W 684s

[Lost Angeles]

In the next few weeks I need to demo & buy some new speakers either MA RS6s or B&W 684s to be used for 60% HiFi and 40% surround which is why I’,ve posted this on here HIFI first.

My room is 26x11x9 feet high (s*d decimal) heavily furnished and I listen to rock music no heavier than Deep Purple and through Oasis – Dire Straits to Blackmore’s Nights etc.

I will upgrade my existing CDP and amp next March and will have about £1600 to spend then. If I was buying a CDP now I would probably buy a heavily discounted Arcam CD192.

There have been quite a few threads on here with RS6s there was one the other day saying how well Arcam equipment suits them but there seems to be little about B&W 684s and I was wondering what I could put them with. What CDP & amps should I demo them both with, should I be looking at Roksan Kandy or Cyrus CD6s + 8vs2 or what. I’m slightly concerned if I go 684s what they’ll go with.

It may appear that I’m buying in reverse order but I’m buying what we ain’t got first (surround) and then its easier to justify new CDP and Amp.

I will post a question about the rears etc on Home Cinema next week

Thanks for any help.

 

[Anonymous]

i asked a simular question recently regarding the b&w 684, from what i can remember people said cyrus was a good match for b&w.

I think the general concensus is that b&w, nad and arcam are warm and that cambridge audio, monitor audio and cyrus are on the bright side.

If you want to avoid an overly bright or warm system dont match to many warm or bright components together.

For example monitor audio and cyrus together is not considered a great partnership.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Thanks for that

Where does Roksan fit ?

 

[Anonymous]

not quite sure, i think it is either neutral or slighty bright. Not completely sure through?

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO it all depends on what amp youre going to be looking to partner your speakers and CDP with.

From my experience Cyrus and M/A speakers dont go at all. The speakers are too forward in the treble and Cyrus is fairly bright so they dont offer good synergy.

B&W and Cyrus go together better but again i dont feel that theyd be good for your music tastes (IMO only - As ive said, everyones hearing is different).

For me (when i demo'd speakers a while back to match my Arcam Alpha 9 set-up) the B&W 684 speakers were superb. I listen toa ll sorts from modern electronic music to System of a Down to Iron Maiden etc...

The 684's bass was sublime, midrange was smooth and detailed and the treble was spot on.

BUT...

I then listend to the M/A RS6's. To me these were a competely different kettle of fish. They sounded superb and offered really good deep, well controlled bass with ultra smooth midrange and the treble was sweet and crisp.

For the 1st time (for me) i had found speakers that i absolutely loved and that bettered B&W's!

The Roksan Kandy LIII and matching CDP are very VERY good BUT they suit the B&W speakers much better than they do the M/A speakers. This may have been down the CDP though and for me, i like an amp that has balance and tone controls.

The Roksan Kandy LIII amp does however match very well with the Arcam CD192 and believe me, the Roksan Kandy amp packs a punch. It has some serious welly

My Arcam set-up is warm but for my music tastes its great.

The demo you have planned is very imporant. If you can demo both sets of speakers with the Arcam CD192 and if possible the Arcam FMJ A32 integrated amp (and if possible try and demo the QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire speaker cable and the Chord Carnival Silver speaker cable. Just to give you that comparison).

 

[Lost Angeles]

Thanks for that, I'll digest what you've said and perhaps reply tomorrow.

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to both and finally I chose none of them...

Well I chose the RS8 because I thougth I needed an extra dose of deeper bass. I listened to 683 as well and liked a lot

 

[Lost Angeles]

This started as a 685s or MA BR5s upgrade and i've already gone uo to RS6s and 684s and not going any higher.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I would probably say audition the arcam/MA combo against the roksan/B&W combo.

Having heard both speakers (and owning the RS6s), I would say that if you listen at lower levels, the MAs would probably suit better, as I find the B&Ws only come alive at higher volumes. If not, then it is a straight two-horse race.

Before Drummerman gets in, try and audition the Rega R3 and R5 as well. A different presentation to the RS6s, but damn good all the same.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

d_a_n1979:IMO it all depends on what amp youre going to be looking to partner your speakers and CDP with.

From my experience Cyrus and M/A speakers dont go at all. The speakers are too forward in the treble and Cyrus is fairly bright so they dont offer good synergy.

B&W and Cyrus go together better but again i dont feel that theyd be good for your music tastes (IMO only - As ive said, everyones hearing is different).

For me (when i demo'd speakers a while back to match my Arcam Alpha 9 set-up) the B&W 684 speakers were superb. I listen toa ll sorts from modern electronic music to System of a Down to Iron Maiden etc...

The 684's bass was sublime, midrange was smooth and detailed and the treble was spot on.

BUT...

I then listend to the M/A RS6's. To me these were a competely different kettle of fish. They sounded superb and offered really good deep, well controlled bass with ultra smooth midrange and the treble was sweet and crisp.

For the 1st time (for me) i had found speakers that i absolutely loved and that bettered B&W's!

The Roksan Kandy LIII and matching CDP are very VERY good BUT they suit the B&W speakers much better than they do the M/A speakers. This may have been down the CDP though and for me, i like an amp that has balance and tone controls.

The Roksan Kandy LIII amp does however match very well with the Arcam CD192 and believe me, the Roksan Kandy amp packs a punch. It has some serious welly

My Arcam set-up is warm but for my music tastes its great.

The demo you have planned is very imporant. If you can demo both sets of speakers with the Arcam CD192 and if possible the Arcam FMJ A32 integrated amp (and if possible try and demo the QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire speaker cable and the Chord Carnival Silver speaker cable. Just to give you that comparison).

First time I heard my RS6s they were being driven my a Rotel RA06 (I wasn't impressed with the Rotel on other equipment) and I was sold! I then paired them with a Creek Evo and the sound was delicious. I now have the Cambridge 840A and I will not be changing for some time. For me the RS6s offer very deep tight bass (I'm surprised that Smo needed the 8s for more bass but each to their own), accurate delivery of vocals and an overall great sound. I am now looking at getting a high end Arcam dvd player to use as cd spinner.

 

[Anonymous]

My speaker review from another forum a few weeks ago when I was looking for speakers in the Circa £600 price range: (Demo with Arcam A80, Arcam CD192.)

I did however visit my local sevenoaks dealer on Tuesday and gave their full range a demo using an Arcam A80 and CD 192 (Nearest match to my A65+ and CD 82T so they tell me anyway) Results are as follows:

Kef IQ7 (£599) Beautiful with vocals, really sweet top end. Unfortunately no guts. Bass was really weak and mids were slightly lacking. Did not sound like a £600 pair of speakers to my ears. Beautifully made and pleasing to the eye however.

B&W 684's (£699) Big colouful sound, cracking bass and drive. Similar to my existing system, but a little more beefed up in the bass department with a tad more refinment in the upper frequences. However, these sounded a little muddy in the midrange and details were not as I had hoped. Vocals not a patch on the Kef's, very forced unnatural sound. Also, these speakers are bloody ugly. They look like childrens coffins. Good sound, not perfect, but extremely ugly.

Quad 22L (£699) Beautiful piece of furniture, gorgeous infact. I am sure the wife would approve! Nice sound, but a little laid back. Nice detail and reasonable bass for a small bass driver. These speakers got better the more you cranked up the volume. If you thrashed them, they sounded wounderful, but they did seem quite hard to drive and were a bit anonynmous at low volume. If my room was smaller and my amp a little more powerful, then these might have been tempting.

Monitor Audio RS6 (£699) Initial impressions were that these were a little forward, maybe a little bright, but the more I listened, the more I liked them. Great detail, great timing, nice tight bass. They sounded great across a range of music, from acoustic rock to dance, to metal. The thing I really liked most was the detail resolution. I was hearing things that I haven't heard in my music before. Visually, these look a great pair of speakers too. Exceptionally well made, beautiful finish, particularly in cherry wood. These I think could be the speakers for me. I was also offered quite a nice reduction off the price. The dealer agreed to let me have them for £550! Great!!

Monitor Audio RS8 (£899) I gave these a try out of curiosity, to see if that extra driver added anything. Actually, they didnt sound as good as the RS6's. It was if they were trying too hard. The bass was somewhat boomy and I felt that the cohesion between trebble, mids and bass was lost. This to be fair might have been down to the size of the demo room being too small to accomodate the speakers properly, but I was a somewhat disappointed with these.

Hope this helps?

 

[Lost Angeles]

Before Drummerman gets in, try and audition the Rega R3 and R5 as well. A different presentation to the RS6s, but damn good all the same.

Ive gone for B&W 684s or RS6s as they will be front speakers on a surround package.

I don't think Rega do surround.

The demo you have planned is very imporant. If you can demo both sets of speakers with the Arcam CD192 and if possible the Arcam FMJ A32 integrated amp (and if possible try and demo the QED Silver Anniversary bi-wire speaker cable and the Chord Carnival Silver speaker cable. Just to give you that comparison

The dealer near me stocks Arcam so I can I should be able to do a fair demo with both the 684s and RS6s, my current speakers Gale 301s (22yrs old) were classed as Revealing Open and Articulate when I bought them so the RS6s will probably be nearer to the sound I'm used too although a big improvement.

Whatever I buy I will have to use with my Audiolab 8000A for the next 9 months and does anyone see any problems with the 8000A and 684s or RS6s

 

[JoelSim]

Try some Dali Ikon 6 - great with Arcam.

Although these are £900, but ex demo for £650-£700 ish.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Try some Dali Ikon 6 - great with Arcam. Although these are £900, but ex demo for £650-£700 ish

I had thought of these but they are too big, surround package is too expensive and if I buy ex demo fronts then i've got to sort centre and rears out. I want to demo and buy in one go. Thanks for the idea