Please help me to chose the right speakers

[Nikas]

Hi guys,

Greetings from Lithuania!

What is given:

- Room: 18 square meters (194 square feet), 2.5 meters (~8 feet) high, not overly crowded with furniture.
- Genres I mostly listen to: Smooth Jazz, Blues, Reggae, World Music, Country, Classic Rock. I do prefer acoustic instruments; I hardly listen to any electronics.
- Sound sources: CD player, vinyl, FLAC files on a network player.
- Amplifier: currently NAD 314, but one of these days I’m going to buy Yamaha A-S501 (85W per channel).
- Budget: I am ready to pay up to 2 (and maybe even up to 3) thousand € (2-3 thousand $), but there is absolutely no desire to overpay for what is unnecessary and thus the lower the price the better... but if it is REALLY necessary for a better sound I'm ready to pay more...

I want to choose good-sounding speakers. The main selection criteria for me: good sound and nice looking design. And also I need speakers that will allow me to enjoy high-quality sound even at low volume.

Initially I considered 3 options: KLH Model Five, Wharfedale Linton and Wharfedale EVO4.4. I have compared all of them by their sound at the local audio store and the winner for my ears was Wharfedale EVO4.4.

Now I'm considering the Wharfedale EVO4.4 and/or Focal Vestia No2 (I'm more inclined to Focal).

I have doubts: won't these speakers be too large for my 18 squares meters (194 square feet) room? What do you think? If they are OK for such a room, what would you recommend: Wharfedale or Focal? Or maybe Wharfedale EVO4.3 (they are smaller) instead of Wharfedale EVO4.4? Or perhaps something else?

 

[Witterings]

I had the Focal Aria 926's which were incredible speakers for detail and hearing each instrument but after a while I suffered fatigue listening to them which I think was largely caused by the metal tweater so in the end I moved them on.

I ended up with ProAc D20's which are over your budget but you may find a pair of Ex demo or 2nd hand within your budget.

 

[Revolutions]

The first question: can you go & listen to the Focals?

If not, what other speakers can you listen to?

Seeing as you’re in €, I’d recommend seeing if you can check out the Elac Vela range: BS404 or FS407. German made & beautiful for detail. With the new .2 model launched, the previous
range might be found within your budget.

 

[Nikas]

I had the Focal Aria 926's which were incredible speakers for detail and hearing each instrument but after a while I suffered fatigue listening to them which I think was largely caused by the metal tweater so in the end I moved them on.

I ended up with ProAc D20's which are over your budget but you may find a pair of Ex demo or 2nd hand within your budget.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, fatigue is a common problem. When I was listening to Focal Vestia No2 I liked their sound: it was bright and sappy but I also thought that it may be tiresome if listen to these speakers for a comparatively long time. I don't know whether it is because of the metal tweater: as far as I know many speakers have metal tweaters... I think I should check Focal Vestia No2 one more time with my new Yamaha A-S501 which should arrive on Thursday.

ProAc D20: paying €4,500 for a pair of speakers is unfortunately too much for me and at the moment I don't want to buy equipment from 2nd hands.

 

[Rodolfo]

I love the air motion tweeters on my Martin Logans, so I'm biased and recommend not losing that Wharfedale experience.

 

[Witterings]

Yes, fatigue is a common problem. When I was listening to Focal Vestia No2 I liked their sound: it was bright and sappy but I also thought that it may be tiresome if listen to these speakers for a comparatively long time. I don't know whether it is because of the metal tweater:

I was in your neighbouring country a couple of weeks ago ... Latvia, absolutely loved it!

I tried Monitor Audio Silver 300's before the Aria's and in a different room I had B&W 606 S2's .... all of which had metal tweeters and couldn't get on with any of them.
They all had some good features but it's the brightness that's wears you down, especially over a 40 minute plus listening session which also means you don't necessarily notice it in a short demo at a shop but when it's too late and you've bought them.

Not sure what other brands you have available over there but Dynaudio and Acoustic Energy are also known to be fairly neutral / not bright and PMC Prodigy 5's seem to be getting some very positive reviews at the moment but not heard them myself.

 

[My2Cents]

Personally, I wouldn't pair a 500 euro amp with 2 - 3 thousand euro speakers.
A higher end amp. with good budget speakers is a better way to go. Budget amps are 'budget' and have 'cut back' quality power supplies/power management boards which really shows up as harsh sound when paired with higher end speakers.
Perhaps a Cambridge Audio CXA81 MKII with some Q Acoustic 3050i's 's would suit your listening taste.
Unfortunately, to get a massive toroidal transformer in a Yamaha amp. you need to spend 4 grand on the R-N2000a or 3 grand on the A-S1200. The CXA81 has masses of power and headroom which delivers effortless clean power into good budget speakers... which will help them deliver their best.

Ever wondered why Cambridge Audio's own speakers are pretty cheap? The raw drivers in a pair of 3 grand speakers are probably 10 bucks each (cost to the manufacturer).

I paired a CXA61 with QA 3050i's and they sounded very good. Unfortunately the CXA61 didn't have all the features that I desired so I now use a R-N800a, It's a great amp and very versatile but doesn't have the power that the CXA had. I am planning to upgrade to the R-N2000a when I get the urge to blow some money on hi fi. Currently I'd rather spend my money on guitar gear (a 3 thousand dollar guitar amplifier is far more fun).

 

[Stuart83]

Hi guys,

Greetings from Lithuania!

What is given:

- Room: 18 square meters (194 square feet), 2.5 meters (~8 feet) high, not overly crowded with furniture.
- Genres I mostly listen to: Smooth Jazz, Blues, Reggae, World Music, Country, Classic Rock. I do prefer acoustic instruments; I hardly listen to any electronics.
- Sound sources: CD player, vinyl, FLAC files on a network player.
- Amplifier: currently NAD 314, but one of these days I’m going to buy Yamaha A-S501 (85W per channel).
- Budget: I am ready to pay up to 2 (and maybe even up to 3) thousand € (2-3 thousand $), but there is absolutely no desire to overpay for what is unnecessary and thus the lower the price the better... but if it is REALLY necessary for a better sound I'm ready to pay more...

I want to choose good-sounding speakers. The main selection criteria for me: good sound and nice looking design. And also I need speakers that will allow me to enjoy high-quality sound even at low volume.

Initially I considered 3 options: KLH Model Five, Wharfedale Linton and Wharfedale EVO4.4. I have compared all of them by their sound at the local audio store and the winner for my ears was Wharfedale EVO4.4.

Now I'm considering the Wharfedale EVO4.4 and/or Focal Vestia No2 (I'm more inclined to Focal).

I have doubts: won't these speakers be too large for my 18 squares meters (194 square feet) room? What do you think? If they are OK for such a room, what would you recommend: Wharfedale or Focal? Or maybe Wharfedale EVO4.3 (they are smaller) instead of Wharfedale EVO4.4? Or perhaps something else?

It just goes to show how different we all are.

Recently I demoed through all sorts to find a new pair of speakers including the wharfdales which I liked the least so offering suggestions isn't going to be ideal given my preferences are obviously alot different to yours.

Speakers are a very personal thing and probably the most impactful on what you hear second to the amp then anciliries etc which can further tweak things.

I found the fyne audio f501 and the f502's which I came home with way ahead of the various others I tried over a few days in the 1-2000 pound range but maybe it's something you might want to try.

I will second what "my2cents" says about the QA 3050I they are a very good speaker with various accolades that punch way above their weight.

I'm actually listening to them now within second hifi which reminds me how good they are.

 

[Nikas]

The first question: can you go & listen to the Focals?

If not, what other speakers can you listen to?

Seeing as you’re in €, I’d recommend seeing if you can check out the Elac Vela range: BS404 or FS407. German made & beautiful for detail. With the new .2 model launched, the previous
range might be found within your budget.

Yes, I can go and listen to Focals. Actually, I already did it once.

Elac Vela speakers are over my budget.

 

[gasolin]

Unfortunately, to get a massive toroidal transformer in a Yamaha amp. you need to spend 4 grand on the R-N2000a or 3 grand on the A-S1200.

It's €2144 £1844 $ 2341