Monitor Audio bronze 2 speakers

ne5

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Wouldike some advice please. I find these speakers too harsh and screechy even for me. I hate boomy bass and im tryig to tweak them with an equaliser but cant find a happy medium. Ive came to the conclusion now that i need diffetent speakers and i see KEF Q 300 are reduced and i have listened to these when i got the MAs
 

insider9

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To avoid confusion I'd edit the other thread. Since no one else yet replied.

What is it that you want advice on? Speaker selection? You're going to need to provide a lot more info if you want any meaningful help.

Things to consider before are:

- how does your listening room look like? Carpets and soft furnishing or a lot of wood, metal, glass or stone?

- what have you partnered them with (amp+source)?

- what made you buy them in a first place? and have you demo'ed? if so with what amp+source?

- have you tried toe-in? using grilles?

- are they properly run in?

If you still feel that you've done most things give us the info above and I'm sure there are lots of people here who can relate and help you decide.

Then there are other things to consider if you want to go with new speakers:

- dimensions of your room (not just square footage)

- how close to walls (back/side) they're going to be positioned and on what wall

- will they go on stands

- budget

- musical taste
 

kukulec

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I heard the Bronze 2, however they were on solid stands. With the proper setup they are not harsh and boomy. So, it could be a wrong match of amplifier, or a not well arranged room. The Q300 however should be better.
 

ne5

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I also had some focal speakers but changed them for the MAs. I dont want to.go round in circles constantly changing or upgrading basically i just want to like the sound and then i would stick.with it and you cant keep buying speakers online and sending them back or via the local richer sounds in town.
 

muljao

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I'm new to the Monitor audio bronze 2 but everything you describe is the opposite of my experience with them so far. Of course this could be down to partnering gear or just preference.

Just quick question, are they biwired and if not are the lugs that connect the two like connections securely in place?
 

ne5

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They are on stands. The room is a standard sized living room with carpets etc. The speakers are in an alcove window with the grilles off. My amp is a 20 year old rotel. I listened to the kef speakers but they were 200 quid more until now they are reduced. I liked them with rock.music and now i.think the MAs are too thin am wondering how the kefs would be instead. I listen to rock and pop music, mostly. I am using a squeezebox to link my pc to the amp and have stopped using CDs. I am using the bungs in the ports they are not too close to the window and wall.but do sound better with the bungs in.
 

ne5

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No they are not biwired and the connections i think you ask about are screwed in properly although i will check when i am home
 

ne5

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Dont get me wrong....if anything i like a nice tone and good top end while hating too much bass or boomy bass . But screechy and thiness is a different thing altogether. I absolutely loved how the kefs played Wishing Well in my dem at richer sounds but am not so sure they might be too heavy for pop type music. This was all a year ago so the MAs are run in now. They are now the same price as the MAs but the price isnt the main factor here if i think they are right for me i will get them or anything else including 2nd hand.
 

muljao

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ne5 said:
No they are not biwired and the connections i think you ask about are screwed in properly although i will check when i am home
There should be 4 bits of metal, one on each pair of connections on each speakers that join reds to reds and blacks to blacks. If any are loose or missing you will get bad sound
 

ne5

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I will.havea look when i am home.

I will consider changing my amp and also 2nd hand alternative speakers but as i have stands i would prefer bookshelf speakers.
 

Romulus

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I may be wrong but it sounds to me that the speakers may require a burn in time or you have serious room effect issues. Changing the amp I feel would not be the answer. I have MA BX1 in the kitchen and basically sounded ok (at least) from the start although I do have bungs in as the bass can sound a little too enthusiastic, but the sound is defnitely not thin and screetchy.
 

drummerman

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I hope you have connected everything up properly as previously suggested. If you haven't, after a year of owning them ... there is no hope for you.

At those low prices, everything will be a compromise of sorts (as is at elevated prices, just more so).

You will get half decent drivers in a cheap box with a cheap Xover or you get a half decent box with cheap drivers and a cheap Xover.

The crossover is where you always have to compromise. It's out of sight and there is not much USP manufacturers can assign to it ie. no showroom or glossy mag credentials. Unfortunately it's as important as everything else.

Your amplifier probably also doesn't help.

Having said all that, MA bronze's usually seem to be at the better end of budget and are reviewed well. You also get a decent looking box, far from guaranteed at this price.
 

jonathanRD

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ne5 said:
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/rotel/ra-930.shtml this is my amp

I suspect that when you originally demoed the Bronze speakers in store, they were being driven by another amplifier - not your own. Do you remember what amp was used? Maybe a more powerful amplifier will give you a 'fuller' sound rather than the 'thin' sound you have now.

Go back and demo the Kefs against the Bronze 2's and check what amplifier is being used. See what you like the sound of the most, and then report back.

You have a 20 yr old amplifier. so if you can get an idea of what you like the sound of, one possibility is to look at 2nd hand amps, there are plenty much younger models (than yours), with higher specs, probably for less than £100. But first get a better idea what amp/speakers combo you like.

Your room and the position of the speakers maybe an issue too, can you explain in a bit more detail the exact dimensions of your room (length x width) and the layout of the window alcove and how close the speakers are to the side and back walls/window.
 

Gazzip

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I am not sure why there is such a focus on the amplifier being the weak link in cases such as this. In my experience a more powerful amplifier will only increase dynamics and driver control by providing more current on tap. It will not have much/any impact on the sound signature of a loudspeaker beyond that. There is another thread on the forum discussing how an amp change will increase the bass output of loudspeakers, but it simply won't do that. More snap perhaps, but not more/deeper bass.
 

ne5

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The amp they used in richer sounds was a cambridge. I dont know which model but i looked it up at the time and it retailed at 500-600 quid. I listened to the MAs, KEFq300 and a tannoy one which was totally lifeless and dull. I already had focal speakers that i have now sold and bought an equaliser to tweak the sou d with.
 

gasolin

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Gazzip said:
There is another thread on the forum discussing how an amp change will increase the bass output of loudspeakers, but it simply won't do that. More snap perhaps, but not more/deeper bass.

No theres a discussion about if a better amp will increase the bass output of a loudspeaker
 

Gazzip

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gasolin said:
Gazzip said:
There is another thread on the forum discussing how an amp change will increase the bass output of loudspeakers, but it simply won't do that. More snap perhaps, but not more/deeper bass.

No theres a discussion about if a better amp will increase the bass autput of a loudspeaker

That's exactly what I just said... *biggrin*
 

jonathanRD

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ne5 said:
The amp they used in richer sounds was a cambridge. I dont know which model but i looked it up at the time and it retailed at 500-600 quid. I listened to the MAs, KEFq300 and a tannoy one which was totally lifeless and dull. I already had focal speakers that i have now sold and bought an equaliser to tweak the sou d with.

Assuming you liked the MA's when you originally demoed them against the KEF's, I would go back to RS and have another demo, explaining that you are interested in the KEF's and ask to compare them against the MA's. Also take your own amp and see if you can re-create that screechy and thin sound you have now. Try to figure out yourself by a preocess of elimination what the cause or solution is.
 

Leeps

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You're just learning some of the basics of hifi the hard way.

There are a lot of variables with hifi. Starting with the interactions of your speakers and room, the synergy of amp and speakers and finally your own personal taste. You need to get all these right to be happy with the sound, and notice I didn't mention money here. If you get the above compatibilities wrong, you can spend thousands and still make the same mistakes. Many of us on this forum have already made these mistakes, have learned from them wnd have some helpful experience to share, so before you faff about with biwiring with your brother (which won't make a scrap of difference to the sound balance), have a read of some of the comments others have made on this thread and listen to them. Some helpful suggestions have been made.

You can reduce the likelihood of these mistakes by demonstrating as many amp and speaker combos as possible. I'd always begin by choosing the right speakers for your room (because if you get that wrong, nothing will correct it, so don't expect 4ft high rear-ported 3-driver floorstanders to sound great in a 10' x 12' room, for example), then choose the right amp for the speakers, considering your own taste in each of these decisions of course.

If you talk with your dealer, give them a fighting chance by explaining the details of your room size, speaker positioning (how close to the walls will they be?), your musical taste (take CD's or a USB stick of music you like and know well), your likes and dislikes with sound and if possible, by listening to as many combos as you can, find out what you like. Then arrange to take the components home, but ideally on a home demo, or at the very least, if you're not happy with the results, a pre-arranged agreement that you can swap it for something else.

If you put bright/forward sounding speakers on a bright/forward amp in a reflective room, don't expect miracles. Of course it'll sound brash and shouty. So if the result sounds wrong to you, then one or more of the parts of the chain will be wrong.

There are components that carry house sounds, so if you don't like bright, punchy detailed sound, but prefer warmer, full bodied sound, there are certain brands to veer towards and some to avoid.

If you don't want to go through all that, just get some Dynaudio Xeo 2's (active speakers with their own amplifier and DSP room correction) and have done with it. Of course, I can't guarantee you'd like them.
 

seemorebtts

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ne5 said:
My brother is staying with me this weekend. We are going to.look at biwiring.

Basically i am getting to the stage where i wonder if i actually like hifi which is ludicrous as ive always loved my large music collection. I had an old aiwa sf5050 music centre for years which was great and most people who heard it were amazed with how good it sounded. I then paired it with some jbl speakers. Great. I then replaced the aiwa with the rotel.amp 20 years ago and also great. For space and age of speaker reasons ive decided to change my speakers and get smaller ones on stands. So for all these years ive been happy. I was happy with a quality at the time fairly expensive all in one system and then an amp and big speakers. I dont think im over fussy i just want to like it. Throwing money like this at it should give you a sound you like especially using an equaliser to tweak it all with. I am more comfortable listening to a CD in the car or mp3 music through my creative speakers for the computer. Is it that i just prefer midi system type power or something ? Im pissed off to be honest now. How can you spend nearly 300 quid on speakers to go with a good amp good interconnects and speaker cable and not be able to tweak the tone and vocals so you like them.
well you're a lucky man.dont get me wrong i like music in the car and on head phones but i love my stereo it really gets me into the music more the you can possibly imagine.i like hearing the production in the music and the detail gets me closer like being there.the trouble is when i make an upgrade it gets better and that's when things start to get expensive and the audiofile in you comes out.
 

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