Moving to a bigger listening room...do i go for floorstanders or the sub option?

[kusum65]

Im about to move from a flea pit sized flat to a 4m x 6m rat pit sized flat (london studio flat) . This is all very exciting , it looks like one of those rooms you see in Sevenoaks adverts , you know the ones , varnished wooden floors ,bottle of wine on the coffee table ,gorgeous woman etc.

One possible problem however , my speakers are small monitor types (AVI neutrons) and i imagine are going to struggle to fill the space. Ive grown very attached to them and would prefer to keep them if i could so whats the general concensus on using subs in a stereo hi fi set up. Ive heard a few people say in the past that if you go that direction buy a Rel but im not sure why.

Ive also noticed that in the early noughties the Mag used to actively promote sub use with small stereo speakers but dont seem to do so these days.

 

[matengawhat]

buy a rel - lol - that's what i'd say - great subs, great sounding, go very deep but remain fast and easily integrated! But don't buy a cheap one!

also check out B&W and BK

Also a lot of ppl are going to say go for floor standers and all i would say is that ppl that put down subs have obviously only heard £150 boom box

 

[kusum65]

Thanks for that. I find the Rel catalogue pretty confusing but im thinking not to go any bigger than a 9" driver so something like a Strata. Beyond that my budget runs out.

 

[matengawhat]

don't know the rel strata are you looking second hand?

for that kind of money the bk might be best bet for value for money

 

[kusum65]

Actually , i think im a bit out of date when it comes to present models, i have to do my homework, but if i buy new it has to be £400ish. Any idea if you can hook the BK directly with the speaker outputs of the amp?

 

[matengawhat]

pretty sure you can and if you also have home cinema setup i believe you can connect to both simultaniously so the bass from our fronts and lfe channel are added together

the rel does and that how i use it!

 

[kusum65]

Thanks for that , just found the BK on the reviews section , looks like a bargain. By the way , what Rel are you using ?

Read an interview with the old guy who started the company once. Stereotypical eccentric brit inventor who gave a 4 page spiell all about sub frequencies! Sounded like a great character.

 

[matengawhat]

i think it's the last one he designed - Rel B2 its a beast

 

[John Duncan]

kusum65:
Im about to move from a flea pit sized flat to a 4m x 6m rat pit sized flat (london studio flat) . This is all very exciting , it looks like one of those rooms you see in Sevenoaks adverts , you know the ones , varnished wooden floors ,bottle of wine on the coffee table ,gorgeous woman etc.

One possible problem however , my speakers are small monitor types (AVI neutrons) and i imagine are going to struggle to fill the space. Ive grown very attached to them and would prefer to keep them if i could so whats the general concensus on using subs in a stereo hi fi set up. Ive heard a few people say in the past that if you go that direction buy a Rel but im not sure why.

Ive also noticed that in the early noughties the Mag used to actively promote sub use with small stereo speakers but dont seem to do so these days.

I have Neutrons, and personally, I'd just turn up the wick a notch.

 

[kusum65]

Holly christ , thats bigger than my washing machine. What a beaute!

 

[kusum65]

Only problem john is i find the uppermids get harsh when i turn it up to much. Thats on my technics TT and my Arcam 192 as a source.

 

[John Duncan]

What's the amp?

 

[kusum65]

I did have a much loved rotel 1062 but things were to lively with the neutrons and had to buy the smoother Kandy liii.

 

[ear]

smoother?

 

[kusum65]

Interesting reaction, most reviewers describe it as smoother but many forums seem to take your opinion.

I found my self in a hi fi shop the other day listening to joy division on vinyl wafting out of the demo room and ive never heard hi fi that smooth and ear friendly. It was through a michel gyro and tube pre amp but i do wonder if ive taken a wrong turn somewhere

 

[John Duncan]

Whereas I found the Kandy a bit harsh

Though admittedly this wasn't with Neutrons (can't remember what precisely, might have been totally inappropriate). But to go back to your original point, I don't think that 4x6 is that big a room, and I would probably rather have standmounts than floorstanders in it (though I'm on the record as preferring them per se anyway). No harm in trying a small sub, but I'm not sure in this case it solves your problem - you want to fill the room with sound, not just bass, and you might be better off finding a combo that does that without sounding 'harsh in the upper midrange'. That might mean a new amp, new speakers (be they standmounts or floors) or both.

Might be worth trying some PMCs, which might add that little bit of fullness whilst still having fantastic ability in the upper registers...

 

[kusum65]

What amp do you use with the neutrons john? Ashley advised me to go for the cambridge 840 but i was on a tight one and they had deals on the Kandys at the time

 

[John Duncan]

I have a Primare A20 Mk2. Bit more laid back than the Kandy, I think. Note that I also have the Neutron Vs, which have a bigger box and therefore might handle more welly with a bit more finesse than the IVs, which were very diddy.

I do think the 840's a very controlled, neutral amplifier (in a good way) - some will say too controlled - so he-who-must-not-be-named may have been on the right lines, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Firstly, I'd get into the new flat and see how your current setup sounds. The fact that you mention hard floors might mean that the whole lot sounds rubbish to you and you need to spend some money on rugs to damp down reflections before you start looking at any new gear.

 

[kusum65]

Oh dear , it sounds like Ashleys been banned. Shame. Any how as you say lets see how things turn out when i get there.

Thanks for the sound of .

 

[basshound]

kusum65:
Actually , i think im a bit out of date when it comes to present models, i have to do my homework, but if i buy new it has to be £400ish. Any idea if you can hook the BK directly with the speaker outputs of the amp?

Yes you definitely can.Comes with a Neutrik cable and full simple connection instructions.

 

[JoelSim]

I'd keep the Neutrons and see how they sound. If anything change the Kandy.

4x6m will easily be dealt with by the Neutrons.

However, if you want a bigger, bassier sound anyway then some floorstanders or a sub.

 

[kusum65]

Joel, do you think an arcam amp would be less fatigueing listen to my Kandy?

 

[matengawhat]

yes will be a lot warmer and smoother than the kandy but each to their own you may listen and find dull - i love my arcams find warm, musical and punchy in my setup

 

[kusum65]

When i bought my arcam 192 from sevenoaks they were doing a special deal with the A90 amp i think it was. The magazine only gave the amp 3 stars and so i avoided it . In retrospect it might have suited the cd player which as you probably know is not a warm and cuddly arcam.

 

[matengawhat]

i know what you mean - arcam seems to create slighlty mushy budget stuff warm non ofensive but fantastic sounding top end stuff that still slighty towards the warm but with the rest of the dynamics intact