New speakers for £1000 (give or take £200)

[atkins4725]

ok guys, after months of pondering over the thought of getting a dedicated hifi amp I've decided to go for a CA azur 840a V2. Reasons being, it's not gunna look out of place with the CA 650bd I'm currently using as a source and I'm quite fond of the clean cut (clinical) sound CA kit produces.

My question being, I'm gunna put a side £1000 (give or take £200) for two new front speakers and need a lil help with suggestions. I listen to all types of music so an all round speaker would be ideal. The speakers will also be used for home cinema setup in the future.

I've yet to listen to anythin but I'm loving the look of the B&W 683 and can't stop looking at the new Kef q series range.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[rigors]

i have the 683's and they're fantastic.

the only other speakers i would personally consider with a similar budget would be the Monitor Audio Silver RX6

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Monitor-Audio-Silver-RX6/

just my opinion of course...

 

[atkins4725]

Thanks for the reply, I'll take a look.

 

[Anonymous]

the cambridge will sound wonderful through the B&W's. I sold a customer a similar pack today and listening to a few of my own cd's through it caused me to try and justify purchasing the combo myself.. "maybe ill have space one day for a second stereo" i thought.

 

[atkins4725]

Thanks for the reply Peter, I take it ur refering to 683's???

I've just noticed the cm8's in the black gloss finish whilst browsing and what a stunning looking speaker.

 

[survivor]

Hi Atkins,

If I had £1,000 to spend on a pair of speakers right now I`d be considering the ATC SCM11`s.Mind you I would probably need to change my amplifier for something a little more powerful to drive them.

Good luck.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It depends if you're after stand mounts or floorstanders. For stand mounts, there's the new ProAc Studio 115's, and if you're amp is man enough, the ATC SCM11's. For floorstanders, the Monitor Audio RX6 or RX8 (personal preference) are a good place to start, but the newcomers from KEF are going to be an extremely strong contender.

 

[Anonymous]

The new Proac 115 are £1050! That seems quite expensive.

 

[Frank Harvey]

They've got the energetic and lively sound of their bigger brothers though - the Studio 140.2 floorstanders

 

[chebby]

FrankHarveyHiFi:...if you're amp is man enough, the ATC SCM11's.

The OP said he will be using a Cambridge Audio 840A V2. (120 watts per channel in to 8 ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms.)

Sounds "man enough" (yech!) to me.

 

[atkins4725]

I'd prefer to buy floorstanding speakers but I think I need to have a listen to some stand mount speakers before buying!

Has anybody heard B&W's CM8's in action??? These have gotten my attention, they just look stunning in a black gloss finish, just hope they sound as good as they look!!

Thanks for the reply's ppl, i've not dismissed any of the options.

 

[Singslinger]

atkins4725:
I'd prefer to buy floorstanding speakers but I think I need to have a listen to some stand mount speakers before buying!

Has anybody heard B&W's CM8's in action??? These have gotten my attention, they just look stunning in a black gloss finish, just hope they sound as good as they look!!

Thanks for the reply's ppl, i've not dismissed any of the options.

Sorry I haven't heard the B&Ws but if it's standmounts you're after, I can say I've heard two that might fit your bill (and budget) - the Dynaudio Focus 140 and Elac BS 243. The latter comes in black lacquer, which sounds like it may appeal to you while the Dynaudio's cabinet work is also superb (I listened to a rosewood pair).

Of the two, I thought the Dynaudio has more bass and depth while the Elac has the better midrange, is livelier and is more detailed.

Good luck!

 

[Frank Harvey]

chebby:
FrankHarveyHiFi:...if you're amp is man enough, the ATC SCM11's.

The OP said he will be using a Cambridge Audio 840A V2. (120 watts per channel in to 8 ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms.)

Sounds "man enough" (yech!) to me.

I'm not familiar with the amp myself. I also know of another similarly powered amp which isn't up to the job - hence the word 'if'

 

[rigors]

atkins4725:
Has anybody heard B&W's CM8's in action??? These have gotten my attention, they just look stunning in a black gloss finish, just hope they sound as good as they look!!

i auditioned the CM7's at the same time as the 683 and 685.

maybe it just comes down to proper amplification - for the audition i stuck with approx £1000 amps. but my opinion was that the 683's gave a much fuller sound than the CM7's.

go have a listen somewhere and see what you think.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Went to the Manchester Show recently.......

The KEF Q series should defo be on your audition list.......they sounded superb! In fact, the £1000 pair (Q700) sounded the best out of the three we heard.

Also heard Castle speakers....if you rafter punchy sound, it might be an idea to find some to audition too....

 

[chebby]

FrankHarveyHiFi:I'm not familiar with the amp myself. I also know of another similarly powered amp which isn't up to the job - hence the word 'if'

HiFi Choice magazine were impressed with the CA 840A V2 playing through their "resident ATC speakers" (model unspecified) and made a point of mentioning particularly good resolution in the lowest octaves of bass and "pretty decent" levels of bass attack. They also commented that the amp "takes wing" when playing loud and went on to give it 5 stars and a Gold award.

WHF originally gave it 5 stars (Feb 2007 WHF review of the V2 pdf file) too (and certainly made no mention of any lack in power). It has dropped a WHF star in the intervening 3 - 4 years, but that hasn't made the power go away.