Replacing floor standing speakers

[dallypro]

Hi All

First up, apologies for yet another post with regards to speaker advice for the average Joe. I got into Hifi in my late teens......and was so happy with my first setup I never looked at upgrading it or learning any more!

Unfortunately it's the old case of 20 years later I have a family and the floor standing speakers have to be mothballed to make way for a toy box.

Basically I am looking for a sensible budget set of speakers I can mount on a wall to replace my Eltax Liberty 5+. I am well aware nothing wall mounted will be as good, but needs must. The budget is ideally around £100-150, but that could be stretched a little if certain people don't find out. I'm happy to go second hand.

My amp is a marantz pm8200 which I'm hoping is still up to the job (certainly does what I need it to with the current speakers)

So far I have seen the following options in budget either new or second hand. Was just hoping for some input as I am well out of date on knowledge!

Mission lx2
Wharfdale diamond 9.1
Q acoustic q3020i
Dali Spektor 2

Thanks in advance

 

[nopiano]

My first suggestion would be to get the dimensions for each, and check the space you have. You may be surprised how deep (front to back) some modern designs are.

I know for sure that QA make dedicated wall brackets. Others may too, and this is a good guide to the suitability of such a placement. Unfortunately, I’ve heard none of them in that location, so can’t guess how they’ll sound.

Q Acoustics 3000WB

Q Acoustics

www.qacoustics.co.uk

 

[Al ears]

Out of those the Wharfedales.
if you are mounting on a wall you don't need anything that is rear -ported

 

[dallypro]

Thanks for the replies

Appreciate the pointing out of the bespoke mounts, that's worth knowing. Wall space isn't too much of an issue. Have been 'permitted' (in my own lounge) to put them where I want on the wall, so realistically they can go about 2ft out of the corners with about 8ft of separation. Height is still being negotiated.

I had suggested that I would need some mounts with fairly long arms to get them away from the wall, but this was unsurprisingly rejected 😂

Also a great point about the ports. Hadn't noticed that. Probably puts them in pole position given the limitations on offer. Thanks!

 

[Florestander]

If bookshelf mounting is a compromise, you are 'happy' with, you could try the Dali's. I bought some of these for my daughter and she is more than happy with them. although the caveat is that it is her first (and budget), set up. her room size is about 4.5 x 4m.

 

[WayneKerr]

if you are mounting on a wall you don't need anything that is rear -ported

Definitely this. Monitor Audio Bronze 2 series are front ported. My speakers are wall mounted and I've had fantastic results with sealed box speakers but probably out of your price range.

 

[dallypro]

Hi all

Your feedback has been much appreciated. I've had a bit of a development with regards to placement. I am now being permitted to put them on top of some units rather than wall mounting. (IKEA kallax things that will be used for storage).

This means I will have much better spacing from walls/obstacles. The new speakers will pretty much sit exactly where my current floor standing set is.....I will even have just about the correct height.

Does this impact on anyone's suggestions?

 

[plastic penguin]

Personall I would look at infinite baffle speakers, such as a used pair of ATC SCM 07. They should also match the Marantz amp well. More expensive but certainly worth the investment IMHO.

 

[nopiano]

Hi all

Your feedback has been much appreciated. I've had a bit of a development with regards to placement. I am now being permitted to put them on top of some units rather than wall mounting. (IKEA kallax things that will be used for storage).

This means I will have much better spacing from walls/obstacles. The new speakers will pretty much sit exactly where my current floor standing set is.....I will even have just about the correct height.

Does this impact on anyone's suggestions?

That might be ok, or might be worse than wall fixing, because the ’wooden’ panels of your Kallax will resonate with louder music. Rap them with your knuckles once they have contents, and see where the quietest spots are. That’s where the speakers need to go!

Then consider that you might need some isolating feet, or at least some rubber sheet/sorbothane to get the best results.

Any of your choices should be ok, but without listening first it’s all a bit of a gamble.

 

[Witterings]

Mission lx2
Wharfdale diamond 9.1
Q acoustic q3020i
Dali Spektor 2

Thanks in advance

I have the Wharfedale 9.1's as my desktop speakers and love ... if you're really budget limited and want new these are a brilliant option, they're quite warm and great bass for their size.

In another room I back to backed Dali Spektor 2's and Elac B5.2's ... it was absolutely marginal which I kept.
The Dali's were slightly livelier and you could possibly argue more musical, the Elac's ... just so accurate, possibly more like a studio monitor than a speaker but I kept hearing bit's in tracks I'd never heard before. The bass isn't overpowering but just so punchy and accurate for a speaker this size, I have a sub in that setup as well but could easily switch it off.

I honestly couldn't decide between the 2 until playing a couple of female vocal tracks and the Dali's could get just that little bit shrill / have a sharp edge to them so went with the Elac's and they're amazing ... they sound a lot bigger and fuller than they are in not too big a space.

Hope that's of some use.

 

[Witterings]

I just noticed one thing about your post I missed before, depending on the size of the room, if it's large'ish and you're used to floorstanders in there, bookshelf speakers may get totally lost.

I'm looking at upgrading my floorstanders in the lounge which is a reasomable size lounge / diner and because I love the sound of my Elac's in a smaller room bought them into the lounge to compare and in comparison they were totally lost.

Reminded me of years ago, went to do a gig in a field with about 400 watts of power between us and the sound jsut disappeared, went and bought a 2000 watt PA after that.

Anyway ... just be aware of size of room you're placing them in

 

[dallypro]

All of this information has been great. Thanks again all. Like I said, I'm lazy. I bought my system 20 years ago, loved it and never went any further.

It's been good fun reading, learning and getting a shortlist together. Kid in a candy shop (just without the necessary budget!)

Size of room is a consideration. It's probably the number one thing I'm worried about when I step from standing to shelf......that whatever I get just sounds weaker than weak. We are fairly open plan (basically 3 rooms knocked into one) it's about 12m x 4m. The speakers are positioned on the 4m wall, and I create a sweet spot that I move a chair and a beer table into when I get the opportunity to enjoy some music without kids running around!

Just going back to sticking them on top of the kallax units, I see where your coming from. I'm hoping some rubber feet and using them for kids books will do the trick. Weigh them down to help stop vibrations.

 

[twinkletoes]

All of this information has been great. Thanks again all. Like I said, I'm lazy. I bought my system 20 years ago, loved it and never went any further.

It's been good fun reading, learning and getting a shortlist together. Kid in a candy shop (just without the necessary budget!)

Size of room is a consideration. It's probably the number one thing I'm worried about when I step from standing to shelf......that whatever I get just sounds weaker than weak. We are fairly open plan (basically 3 rooms knocked into one) it's about 12m x 4m. The speakers are positioned on the 4m wall, and I create a sweet spot that I move a chair and a beer table into when I get the opportunity to enjoy some music without kids running around!

Just going back to sticking them on top of the kallax units, I see where your coming from. I'm hoping some rubber feet and using them for kids books will do the trick. Weigh them down to help stop vibrations.

if I where you I’d take a serious look at a sonos product . Basically exactly what you need

 

[dallypro]

Cheers for the input. Funnily enough I've been to have a play with a sonos setup today at a mates house. Impressed, but it just wasn't the same. Certainly wouldn't rule one out in the future, but right now with the limitations I have, a pair of sensible speakers, an amp, tuner, cd player and miniblink are the direction I want to go in.

 

[Timbola]

Your situation is very similar to my own. I packed up my PMC Twenty5 24 a few weeks ago as our one year old has found his feet and the speakers were prime targets for sticky, pokey fingers!

Thinking it would do the trick as a fairly child-proof easy solution for casual listening to music with half decent sound quality I bought a Sonos 5 2nd hand on eBay. Unfortunately after a very short period I found exactly as you mentioned, it is nowhere close to being a replacement for a Hifi system (think I knew that really before I even bought it).

So a couple of weeks ago I picked up some ex-demo ATC SCM7, coincidentally also mentioned by another poster earlier, which are the smallest in the ATC range and now sitting on top of my TV unit on isolation feet being driven by my Roksan Caspian Pre/Power amps. These are cracking little speakers! I’d been interested in checking out ATC after having various PMC’s for years and glad I did.

Obviously these are the new toys so still in honeymoon stage, but I think they are giving me the Hifi hit I need whilst being much easier to keep out the reach of little one. It would be no huge hardship to put them away after use each time if really needed. Size wise my living room is 5.5m x 5.5m so a reasonable space but not as large as yours. Certainly whilst in the listening position these small boxes are just fine. Yes, not the same scale of sound as large floorstanders but in some ways that is also quite enjoyable as they are in no way overpowering the room. I also have a pair of Q Acoustic bookshelf speakers that are normally in the spare room but I brought them downstairs before the ATC’s arrived - these were also a great improvement on the Sonos (granted being driven by amps costing many multiples of the speakers). So long story short, I think you’ll be surprised how well even small / mid size ‘proper’ Hifi speakers can still sound and give you that fix on those evenings the other half and little one have gone out

 

[matthewpianist]

You could pick up a pair of older non-ported speakers fairly cheaply if you know what to look for. Models including the Mordaunt-Short MS15, MS100, and KEF C10 are sealed box designs that will work well (though not at their very best) wall-mounted. They're also still nice sounding speakers, though you obviously won't get the bass weight of your Eltax floor standers.

If you really do want something more recent, the Diamond 9.1s are a very solid buy with good sound, and they would complement you PM8200 very well. I have also heard Q Acoustic 3010i in a wall-mounted setting and they work surprisingly well. There's loads of them around at good prices.

Finally, the Dali Lektor 1 or 2 are excellent for what they are. I had a pair of Lektor 2s in sub-optimal conditions placed inside an Ikea Kallax unit, and they still proved to be musically engaging.

 

[dallypro]

Cheers for the additional feedback

You've both mentioned some options that I've never heard of! Will do some homework.

I've been busy watching and seeing what's happening in the second hand market (and maybe waiting for black Friday!).

I got chance to listen to a friend of a friend's monitor audio BX2 off his marantz amp, which there is a small possibility might be available to me at an agreeable price. The q acoustics concept 20 and 3020i are also on my daily search.

Diamond 9.1 seem to be very available and inside budget, I would just like to hear a pair first. Might buy second hand and see how they go. If they don't work for me then there clearly wouldn't be an issue shifting them on again!

 

[dallypro]

Hi All

I always hate it when a post is never finished off so just reporting back. I have ended up with a pair of Monitor Audio BX2's. My expectations were to be left a bit wanting and perhaps would need to supplement with a sub.

Well......i worry too much. They have absolutely out performed all of my expectations when paired with my amp. I still have some playing to do in terms of positioning and isolation, but I am delighted with them.

Most importantly, they have passed inspection by the boss and will be allowed to stay.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed. I accept that they were not actually listed as an option, but without your input I may of ended up miles away from where I am now.

Cheers!!

 

[Al ears]

Hi All

I always hate it when a post is never finished off so just reporting back. I have ended up with a pair of Monitor Audio BX2's. My expectations were to be left a bit wanting and perhaps would need to supplement with a sub.

Well......i worry too much. They have absolutely out performed all of my expectations when paired with my amp. I still have some playing to do in terms of positioning and isolation, but I am delighted with them.

Most importantly, they have passed inspection by the boss and will be allowed to stay.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed. I accept that they were not actually listed as an option, but without your input I may of ended up miles away from where I am now.

Cheers!!

Excellent news.

 

[matthewpianist]

Great news, and I agree, it's lovely to hear the outcome. MA and Marantz make a very strong combination and, having owned a pair, I think the BX2s are fabulous speakers - I actually enjoyed them more than the Silver 100s I had, which were very boomy in the bass despite care in placement. The MS 904i are capable budget floor standers, but the BX2s offer higher quality all-round IMO.

Enjoy the new combination!