Onkyo 905 / Speakers?

[admin_exported]

I've recently bought an Onkyo TX-NR905 and am looking at a set of 5.1 speakers that will be compatible. Dali Ikon 6 5.1 is top of my wish liist but are too expensive. I would be looking at approx £1000. Any ideas / advice?

 

[Gozaradio]

When I was looking at receivers last year, one combination that particularly tempted me was the Onk 905 and the 685 Theatre.

If you haven't got room for the boxy rear speakers, you could opt for the B&W M1 speakers which are much smaller, if memory serves, this is the very set up owned by professorhat, so he would be better placed to offer an opinion (but I think he's happy).

One thing I would say about the 685 theatre though is when you audition it, consider forking out for the ASW610 sub instead of the 608. Not doing it down (it does a surprisingly good job for the size), but I found it a little boomy for my taste and preferred the 610. It all depends on the size of your room and your own ears though!

 

[professorhat]

Indeed I do have the 685 setup with M1 rears and am very happy with it (and haven't got the ASW610 sub yet - it's coming next week I hope!). The whole setup (without the sub as I used my old one for a while) cost £1,098 - pretty much RRP (but I got all the cabling thrown in for free) so you might be able to get a better deal now, though it's a very popular package.

Admittedly, the 905 does really deserve a better speaker package (got the amp after I bought the speakers, mostly because I wanted 2 HDMI outs), but it sounds fantastic all the same and I know I can now upgrade the 685 fronts to 684s at some stage and still do the system justice.