Onkyo CR-515 - Which of these speakers...

[admin_exported]

Hi - I've recently decided to purchase a Onkyo CR-515, it is to be situated in my kitchen (although I'd like sound to fill out as much as poss into the open lounge/dining room too) and whilst it is against a wall I can spare some room behind it (couple of inches) if that makes much difference to speaker performance.

I should also mention whilst DAB performance is important, I will be listening to a lot of music through my iPod....

Can you please give opinions, experience of similar combinations or recommendations to the following list of speakers that would be best paired with this unit?:

Monitor Audio Bronze BR2
Mordaunt Short Avant 902i
Q Acoustics 1010i or 1020i
Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1

Many thanks, all replies appreciated

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="Nev_H"]Hi - I've recently decided to purchase a Onkyo CR-515, it is to be situated in my kitchen (although I'd like sound to fill out as much as poss into the open lounge/dining room too) and whilst it is against a wall I can spare some room behind it (couple of inches) if that makes much difference to speaker performance.

I should also mention whilst DAB performance is important, I will be listening to a lot of music through my iPod....

Can you please give opinions, experience of similar combinations or recommendations to the following list of speakers that would be best paired with this unit?:

Monitor Audio Bronze BR2
Mordaunt Short Avant 902i
Q Acoustics 1010i or 1020i
Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1

Many thanks, all replies appreciated

[/quote]

Do you mean the speakers will be sitting either side of it, from your comment about sparing space behind it?

 

[Anonymous]

Correct, speakers will be either side of it.

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="Nev_H"]Hi - I've recently decided to purchase a Onkyo CR-515, it is to be situated in my kitchen (although I'd like sound to fill out as much as poss into the open lounge/dining room too) and whilst it is against a wall I can spare some room behind it (couple of inches) if that makes much difference to speaker performance.

I should also mention whilst DAB performance is important, I will be listening to a lot of music through my iPod....

Can you please give opinions, experience of similar combinations or recommendations to the following list of speakers that would be best paired with this unit?:

Monitor Audio Bronze BR2
Mordaunt Short Avant 902i
Q Acoustics 1010i or 1020i
Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1

Many thanks, all replies appreciated

[/quote]

OK, in which case I think pretty much any of those speakers will work, as none will have the opportunity to sound at their best - they'll sound closed in and one-dimensional being so close together, and I suspect you'll wonder what the fuss was all about - I think you could therefore go with whatever looks aesthetically best to you. The Diamonds will probably look a bit big in relation to the Onkyo, because they're pretty chunky, the others you mention less so.

I think I'd be inclined to go for the Q Acoustics, because they're dinky and wouldn't dwarf it, or the little Tangent (Evo? is that right?). To get the best out of any speaker you choose though, I would recommend considering whether the speakers can go on wall mounts, so you can space them at least six feet apart , because you're heavily compromising what you'll get from any of them - given some room in this way, I can certainly recommend the Diamonds with a micro - my Denon is running a pair in the kitchen to very good effect.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply John, I'll look into wall mounting them. Will have to work on the other half first though before I start drilling holes in her kitchen!! Working on a bit of a compromise at the moment

 

[Anonymous]

l also have the Onkyo 515 & have run it with some 9.1's & Q Acoustic 1010's. Both are very willing partners, but as John has stated, look to space them out to get the best out of them.

 

[John Duncan]

It would be great with the Diamonds, undoubtedly, but that close together it would sound bad and also look very odd, they're substantial. Of course, on walls you then have the issue of getting the wires up there (I have resorted to white cable stuck with white-tak into the corners of the white walls.........)

 

[matengawhat]

I recently picked up a pair of Mordaunt Short Avant 902i and think they are really good little speakers - would def recommend. Small, easy to power and sound fantastic perfect for the Onkyo CR-515.