Ready to take the leap and get some floorstanding speakers although what to look for when demoing?

[nugget2014]

i've been looking on whathifi a while now about speakers and advice for what i should get thats bought me here today with my pretty decent home cinema system. although now i seek more for movies from my zensor 3s and looking to get floorstanders

i have a number of speakers shortlisted price, look and specs wise from richersounds and superfi but do not know what to listen for during demos

when it comes to listening to music for me i'm certainly no audiophile i am a noob in sense and i just think "the bass is good, the vocals are clear" thats about it. what specific things should i be listening for that i would use to decide if the speakers would be for me? although when i listen to music i want to enjoy it not take the time to pick out pros and cons of the track or speaker as i guess audiophiles would.. i just want to notice good quality sound

so that brings a few questions to the table such as:

what does -3db and -6db mean? for example i seen someone say the speakers are tuned to 50hz (example) but at -6db the response might go down to 42hz or something along the lines. is this to do with volume on the amp, bass eq on the amp or room gain? and how does room gain work?

secondly, what is "transparent midrange" sounds technical. but i like to know what to look out for when demoing soon for my speakers

someone commented on a post saying you should close your eyes and if the music sounds its being performed live in front of you the speakers are for you, well for me that wont be easy as ive been to about 10 concerts now and i each time i enjoy it like nothing can compare and i have never had an experience like that at home with music on cd or any format (maybe its just my cheap zensor 3s)

guess the safest option for me is to decide what sounds the most fun speaker to my ears and purchase based on that (will try get home demo too for a couple speakers in the knockout stages)

 

[jjbomber]

guess the safest option for me is to decide what sounds the most fun speaker to my ears and purchase based on that (will try get home demo too for a couple speakers in the knockout stages)

That's it in a nutshell. The one that makes you tap your feet the most is the winner. Make sure you test the speakers with your system, rather than a shop system.

Think of it as if you were buying a new car. You would safely ignore the technical info and just choose the one you enjoy driving the most.. It is the same with hi-fi. You just choose what is best for YOU.

 

[BigH]

There are many things to consider, home demo is the best idea though. comment about closing your eyes is more about realistic sound rather than being at a concert, does piano sound like a piano etc. Budget Floorstanders can have problems as more money is spent on cabinets and larger cabinets can cause problems. Remember about 50% of the money is going to dealer and tax man, so that does not leave much money left to make the speakers, if they are £300.

Transparent midrange means clear to me. Make sure the sound is integrated, it all comes together, I find some speakers the bass seems separate maybe slow. Big problem with FS is bass, can you move a foot or 2 from walls?

Some rooms are better with standmounts. What size room do u have?

 

[davedotco]

Nugget.

Decibels (dB) are the expression of a ratio, they have no absolute value.

In terms of speaker output +3dB is twice the measured output (sound pressure level), -3dB is half the measured level. So a speaker that is -3dB at 42hz is producing half the output that it would be compared to the reference level, often not stated, but effectively the output in the midband.

Such figures are a reasonable indication of the limits of the lowest and highest frequncies that are produced by the speaker, there will be output outside these limits but it will be of low level and not contributing much to overall experience.

Room gain is quite complex, but in essence it is the tendency for a room to reinforce lower frequencies due to reflections.

There is much more to it than that but speakers will sound bassier in a room rather than, say, in the open air. Similarly the smaller the room the more the bass will be increased. Note, this may not be a good thing, the bass can end up being overblown, room resonances can be exited and the overall effect can be boomy.

For this reason, most floorstanders sound best clear of walls and with some space around them. Perversly, the smaller the room, the more space the speakers need...!

 

[nugget2014]

My room is about 14x12ft and leads into the hallway and other rooms. Door always open so don't know if that affects the sound as not all staying in the listening room and yeah should be able to give my speakers 1-1.5 ft of distance.

 

[BigH]

My room is about 14x12ft and leads into the hallway and other rooms. Door always open so don't know if that affects the sound as not all staying in the listening room and yeah should be able to give my speakers 1-1.5 ft of distance.

Quite small and the open door will not have much effect. Speakers out 1 foot is quite a bit, thats from the back of speakers to the wall, even that maybe not be enough for some and avoid corners.

 

[nugget2014]

heres my living room. currently speakers are about a foot from the wall although the left is in corner..

 

[nugget2014]

my plan when i get a sub is to place it next to the right speaker near the door unless thats a bad idea then maybe in front of the left speaker about a foot and a half infront of speaker.

what size of speaker you think for my room size? i was looking at many types but b&w 683 s2 and dali zensor 7 both was a top pick for me along with possibly MA silver range. but now i think the b&w is out of my price range as its nearly double price of zensor 5

 

[nugget2014]

today i demo'd the b&w 684s2, dali zensor 5 and monitor audio silver 6

first of all 3 speakers sounded good, better than my zensor 3's but the b&w sounded good in the vokals and highs i think from what i heard but the bass was not the greatest.

next thursday going to demo the b&w 683 s2, monitor audio 8 and maybe something else. they dont have the 7s in to demo was looking forward to them. if no speakers wow me then i'll stick with my zensor 3s and get a sub. saves lot of money anyway

 

[peterpan]

today i demo'd the b&w 684s2, dali zensor 5 and monitor audio silver 6

first of all 3 speakers sounded good, better than my zensor 3's but the b&w sounded good in the vokals and highs i think from what i heard but the bass was not the greatest.

next thursday going to demo the b&w 683 s2, monitor audio 8 and maybe something else. they dont have the 7s in to demo was looking forward to them. if no speakers wow me then i'll stick with my zensor 3s and get a sub. saves lot of money anyway

What did you find of the MA Silver 6 compared with the B&W?

 

[hifikrazy]

heres my living room. currently speakers are about a foot from the wall although the left is in corner..

Gosh, your living room spanned across 2 whole pages and your TV is portrait instead of landscape dimensioned! *shok*

 

[BigH]

heres my living room. currently speakers are about a foot from the wall although the left is in corner..

Picture has come out very shretched another new forum problem? Anyway from what I can see speakers are too close toether? How far apart are they? FS in corners not generally a good idea.

 

[nugget2014]

today i demo'd the b&w 684s2, dali zensor 5 and monitor audio silver 6

first of all 3 speakers sounded good, better than my zensor 3's but the b&w sounded good in the vokals and highs i think from what i heard but the bass was not the greatest.

next thursday going to demo the b&w 683 s2, monitor audio 8 and maybe something else. they dont have the 7s in to demo was looking forward to them. if no speakers wow me then i'll stick with my zensor 3s and get a sub. saves lot of money anyway

What did you find of the MA Silver 6 compared with the B&W?

well i may be a fool because i didnt play the same song over 2 speakers so cant really test difference of each speaker but the monitor audio felt as if the sound stage was better, bass was also better and maybe more detail although i am not good at telling the differences of speakers really. i did prefer the MA though!

 

[nugget2014]

the man who setup everything and assisted me said the dali's are more laid back type of speaker while the MA are more in your face or something and they are more open (possibly meaning sound stage?)

 

[nugget2014]

oh yeah the picture is horrible! lol the speakers are about 4-4.5 ft apart

 

[emperor's new clothes]

Hi Nugget,

Just auditioned the 683s, Ma 6&8(better) and a few others. Bought the Dali Ikon 6-2 & Vokal 2. Well worth a listen IMHO.

 

[nugget2014]

actually i was looking at the ikon 6 mk2s at richer sounds website..look good! but are bit expensive i guess i was surprised how much more you can hear actually spending time just sitting and focusing on the music (maybe it was the speakers itself though)

 

[nugget2014]

another demo booked

testing out the dali zensor 7, MA bronze bx6 and the dali ikon 6 mk2 at richer sounds next monday.

zensor 5s were OK but not great compared to the silver 6's although nearly half the price i guess why they arent as good..maybe the 7s will impress me more along with the ikons

 

[BigH]

oh yeah the picture is horrible! lol the speakers are about 4-4.5 ft apart

4 feet is not really enough, how far away are you sitting? Maybe thats why they are not very clear and lack soundstage? Not sure if possible to get them 6 feet apart.

 

[emperor's new clothes]

An advantage of the Ikons vs Zensor is the option of bi-amping. Adds grip at the bottom end. Need 100 hours of running in to give their best. RS can get the walnut and white finnishes although not advertised. Happy listening.

 

[nugget2014]

its not possible to get my speakers any more far apart, i am in a smallish living room and the right speaker is in the door area so have to walk near it every time enter/exit and putting it another 1ft closer would mean nearly bumping into it..it will have to do

also i never mentioned that my speakers were not clear dont know what a good soundstage sounds like really either

 

[BigH]

its not possible to get my speakers any more far apart, i am in a smallish living room and the right speaker is in the door area so have to walk near it every time enter/exit and putting it another 1ft closer would mean nearly bumping into it..it will have to do

also i never mentioned that my speakers were not clear dont know what a good soundstage sounds like really either

Well I would be very careful in your set up. Why do you want Floorstanders?

Soundstage is the width and depth of the sound, with your speakers I suspect its rather narrow and maybe lacking depth almost mono. Just imagine the musicians are on a stage, close your eyes, are they separate with plenty of space around them?

 

[nugget2014]

i wanted floorstanders because of the increased bass, lower frequency for movies and generally the look of them also for sound stage even though i probably wont hear the difference if even the silver 6's dont impress me that much then i dont think many speakers will including cheaper ones! if the next lot dont wow me then i'll just forget them for now and get a sub. maybe buy some in a few years

 

[BigH]

i wanted floorstanders because of the increased bass, lower frequency for movies and generally the look of them also for sound stage even though i probably wont hear the difference if even the silver 6's dont impress me that much then i dont think many speakers will including cheaper ones! if the next lot dont wow me then i'll just forget them for now and get a sub. maybe buy some in a few years

i think for movies a sub will be a better bet

 

[davedotco]

Just as a general point, but many of the poorest systems that I have heard in peoples homes are the result of shoehorning over large floorstanding speakers into a room that is too small for them.