new speakers?

[bay24]

Would any of the these give me a significant step up from my AVI Neutron 5s?

Spendor S3E
MA RS6
Proac response 1sC
Proac studio 125
Neat motive 2/3
AVi duo or pro9
Leema Xero
PMC DB1i

I like my speakers but I am not as keen on there presentation with rock/heavier guitar music. My partner feels at times they lack bass and the soundstage is not that wide (sorry if these descriptions are not great) but the soundstage for me is fine and I am not that much of a fan of lots of bass but I understand what she means. I was thinking of selling off my system at one point to get some ADM 9.1 but I do not think they would be to my partners taste although she does listen to a fair bit of classical music. we listen to lots of different music from indie, electronica, rock, acoustic and I have recently got into a bit of jazz.
The above list is quite long and being able to afford some of them would depend on buying second hand or ex dem (budget would probably be £600 ish),are there any others I should think about? any help in cutting this list down would be great. I think what I want is the clear detailed sound of the AVIs but a bit more bottom end. oh and we do not not anything too big.

Many thanks!

 

[the record spot]

The Leema's picked up a great review or two a year or so back. Not so easy to find I think, but good call on shortlisting them.

 

[Anonymous]

A bit confused given you said you don't want anything too big and yet still list the RS6's as a possibility. Anyways I think given your budget to, that the RS6's would be perfect, they have lots of bass weight, occupy a wide soundstage and are just perfect for your needs. It sounds like you both want more than anything is excitement and energy in the music along with depth, the RS6's it is.

 

[bay24]

Yeah they did get some realy good reviews, not so sure about the bass they could dig up though as they have quite small drivers. have you had any experience with any of the other speakers on the list?

 

[Anonymous]

The RS6 would be a fair step backwards in terms of tonal balance and midrange. They would add more colour which would be a detriment to classical but maybe a benefit to rock. The AVI Neutrons are superb little stand mounters and you should be very wary of floorstanders under £1k if you want to maintain the standard of presentation.

If you like the general presentation of the AVIs then you could look to something like the Proac 1SC but you're talking about a speaker with a RRP of four times as much. They just get better and better with improvements in source and amp so unless you have some fairly serious electronics it might not be worth the push. If you can get some for £600 then definately check them out because they're stunning.

The Spendors would give you more of the great midrange, an improved treble and would probably manage a touch more bass definition, not much more though. It's difficult to know whether these would scratch your itch but I suspect not.

The PMC DB1i is quite bassy for such a small unit and has a very detailed sound. They're not as natural as the S3e and probably reflect the AVI tonal balance more. These would probably be worth an audition. I could believe that these are up your street.

Another option is to buy a decent sub. I'm no expert on subs and I'm not sure what the best one would be for music for the price. Probably an MA or REL T series. Subs can be tuned to the room, to taste and can be turned on and off! You could up the gain for rock and drop it for classical. Even if you don't change it after set up you'll get a lot more rhythm, drive and weight if selected and configured carefully.

What kit are you using? EDIT - just read your signature.

 

[bay24]

hi fi newbie:A bit confused given you said you don't want anything too big and yet still list the RS6's as a possibility. Anyways I think given your budget to, that the RS6's would be perfect, they have lots of bass weight, occupy a wide soundstage and are just perfect for your needs. It sounds like you both want more than anything is excitement and energy in the music along with depth, the RS6's it is.

I thought they were quite small for floorstanding speakers... I would prefer stand mounted but wanted to keep my options open. I think it is the energy which is missing and sounds like they tick lots of the boxes.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh if it's energy you are after, along with deep bass and just a generally exciting listen, the RS6's are excellent. They don't reproduce the same preciseness as some of the mentioned speakers, that is true. However for the money (and now even less) you get a brilliant speaker which sounds excellent with everything, particularly rock and dance.

It has been widely commended across many publications both domestic and international and is a hugely popular speaker. I am guessing you can probably pick it up for around 500.00 or less now also.

 

[bay24]

igglebert:The RS6 would be a fair step backwards in terms of tonal balance and midrange. They would add more colour which would be a detriment to classical but maybe a benefit to rock. The AVI Neutrons are superb little stand mounters and you should be very wary of floorstanders under £1k if you want to maintain the standard of presentation.

If you like the general presentation of the AVIs then you could look to something like the Proac 1SC but you're talking about a speaker with a RRP of four times as much. They just get better and better with improvements in source and amp so unless you have some fairly serious electronics it might not be worth the push. If you can get some for £600 then definately check them out because they're stunning.

The Spendors would give you more of the great midrange, an improved treble and would probably manage a touch more bass definition, not much more though. It's difficult to know whether these would scratch your itch but I suspect not.

The PMC DB1i is quite bassy for such a small unit and has a very detailed sound. They're not as natural as the S3e and probably reflect the AVI tonal balance more. These would probably be worth an audition. I could believe that these are up your street.

Another option is to buy a decent sub. I'm no expert on subs and I'm not sure what the best one would be for music for the price. Probably an MA or REL T series. Subs can be tuned to the room, to taste and can be turned on and off! You could up the gain for rock and drop it for classical. Even if you don't change it after set up you'll get a lot more rhythm, drive and weight if selected and configured carefully.

What kit are you using? EDIT - just read your signature.
Many thanks for the pointers igglebert. I thought that the db1i s could be a good alternative although I may struggle to get a pair on my budget. Just a quck question about the proacs; I have seen some on fleabay with buy it bows at £699 so I thought they may be in budget, are they an older model?

 

[plastic penguin]

bay24:Would any of the these give me a significant step up from my AVI Neutron 5s? Spendor S3E MA RS6 Proac response 1sC Proac studio 125 Neat motive 2/3 AVi duo or pro9 Leema Xero PMC DB1i I like my speakers but I am not as keen on there presentation with rock/heavier guitar music. My partner feels at times they lack bass and the soundstage is not that wide (sorry if these descriptions are not great) but the soundstage for me is fine and I am not that much of a fan of lots of bass but I understand what she means. I was thinking of selling off my system at one point to get some ADM 9.1 but I do not think they would be to my partners taste although she does listen to a fair bit of classical music. we listen to lots of different music from indie, electronica, rock, acoustic and I have recently got into a bit of jazz. The above list is quite long and being able to afford some of them would depend on buying second hand or ex dem (budget would probably be £600 ish),are there any others I should think about? any help in cutting this list down would be great. I think what I want is the clear detailed sound of the AVIs but a bit more bottom end. oh and we do not not anything too big. Many thanks!

Depends on your music priorities are? The DB1i's, from personal experience, are brilliant, but how the soundstaging and bass compares to the AVI's, I can't say for sure.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I just found those 1SCs. They're not an older model as the model only came in one version. Now, the 1SC is a serious pair of standmounters and if matched well could be the last speakers you ever buy. They image holographically, punch well and have a very open, spacious and airy treble.

On that final point. Proacs in my experience, and definately the 1SC, have a fairly well lit treble. The tweeters are very revealing and detailed giving the "Proac spaciousness" but they will also reveal flaws too; they really benefit from good kit. They will grow and grow with your hifi to the extent that you could be putting very expensive amps and sources on them without losing out. Could they be bright? Maybe. I tried them on a Rotel RA03 when I was searching for my current pair of speakers and thought that they touched on brightness with some recordings. The Roksan Kandy CDP won't have helped, and the Rotel wasn't the smoothest operator in the treble.

I rarely recommend that people buy any hifi kit without auditioning but if you're willing to take a chance and sell on if not happy then give them a go. Offer £600 and see what happens. If you find that the AVIs get too bright for you then definately don't go for them but if not, you'll probably be fine.

 

[Messiah]

I would advise auditioning some ADM 9.1s. But then I would

 

[Frank Harvey]

I've said before, the ProAc Response 1SC's are one of my favourite speakers - but then, I have many

But they, and the D15's, have both been improved upon by the newer Response D1 and D18.

 

[bay24]

Messiah:I would advise auditioning some ADM 9.1s. But then I would

I have had a listen but it was a last minute thing so I did not have any of my own music with me. They were amazing with some music but did make others sound quite bad, I think this was down to production on the albums but I was left feeling that they may make me hear things on a proportion of my cd collection that I may not want to hear. Saying that with clasical and acoustic recordings they were amazing. Not sure if my partner would like them and I doubt I could drag her out for a demo.

 

[bay24]

igglebert:Yeah, I just found those 1SCs. They're not an older model as the model only came in one version. Now, the 1SC is a serious pair of standmounters and if matched well could be the last speakers you ever buy. They image holographically, punch well and have a very open, spacious and airy treble.

On that final point. Proacs in my experience, and definately the 1SC, have a fairly well lit treble. The tweeters are very revealing and detailed giving the "Proac spaciousness" but they will also reveal flaws too; they really benefit from good kit. They will grow and grow with your hifi to the extent that you could be putting very expensive amps and sources on them without losing out. Could they be bright? Maybe. I tried them on a Rotel RA03 when I was searching for my current pair of speakers and thought that they touched on brightness with some recordings. The Roksan Kandy CDP won't have helped, and the Rotel wasn't the smoothest operator in the treble.

I rarely recommend that people buy any hifi kit without auditioning but if you're willing to take a chance and sell on if not happy then give them a go. Offer £600 and see what happens. If you find that the AVIs get too bright for you then definately don't go for them but if not, you'll probably be fine.

I am quite tempted by them, and if I go second hand and didn't like them as you say I could sell them on relatively easily. do you think they would be overkill with my system (CA 740)? I have a feeling I may want to upgrade in the future but it will not be for a while.
Has anyone heard both the pmc db1i and the avi neutron 5? Would I be getting much more for the extra money?

 

[Anonymous]

From the positive feedback about the Rega RS3's. you want to try and demo these to.

 

[bay24]

igglebert:Yeah, I just found those 1SCs. They're not an older model as the model only came in one version. Now, the 1SC is a serious pair of standmounters and if matched well could be the last speakers you ever buy. They image holographically, punch well and have a very open, spacious and airy treble.

On that final point. Proacs in my experience, and definately the 1SC, have a fairly well lit treble. The tweeters are very revealing and detailed giving the "Proac spaciousness" but they will also reveal flaws too; they really benefit from good kit. They will grow and grow with your hifi to the extent that you could be putting very expensive amps and sources on them without losing out. Could they be bright? Maybe. I tried them on a Rotel RA03 when I was searching for my current pair of speakers and thought that they touched on brightness with some recordings. The Roksan Kandy CDP won't have helped, and the Rotel wasn't the smoothest operator in the treble.

I rarely recommend that people buy any hifi kit without auditioning but if you're willing to take a chance and sell on if not happy then give them a go. Offer £600 and see what happens. If you find that the AVIs get too bright for you then definately don't go for them but if not, you'll probably be fine.
I am thinking about trying to go for the response1sc would they be overkill for my system (ca 740)?

 

[Anonymous]

Well they worked pretty well on the £450 Rotel RA03 so I would guess not. I can't comment on the tonal balance though.

 

[crusaderlord]

You may find this thread interesting where is did a demo of a number of the speakers on your list to buy my own standmount.

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123242.aspx

My favourites were the Neat Motive and PMC if that helps but the Proac 1SC would be excellent at a price around £600-£700 although one of the ones on ebay does look quite well used and has a few knocks

 

[bay24]

crusaderlord:You may find this thread interesting where is did a demo of a number of the speakers on your list to buy my own standmount.

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123242.aspx

My favourites were the Neat Motive and PMC if that helps but the Proac 1SC would be excellent at a price around £600-£700 although one of the ones on ebay does look quite well used and has a few knocks
I think the pmcs would suit my taste well, thanks for pointing out the the thread. One of the pairs of 1sc are quite bashed, could mean some haggleing on price tho, we shal see.

 

[Anonymous]

All the above recommendations should of course be qualified by a personal demo.

Speakers must be the most personal of choices and very largely affected by the ear of the beholder - never buy blind! You might be lucky but theres's plenty of forums where you can see people going on expensive speaker journeys that could have been prevented by trusting their own judgement.

Good luck