Second hand or new floorstander recommendations?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys okay it seems like I slightly understated the dimensions of my room.

The dimensions of my room are width 3.7m * 3m depth

I really like the BR2's and as far as bookshelves are concerned, they do have bass, but they don't enough bass, it's snappy and tight but bass weight they are definitely missing

I am not looking at the sub woofer route as I am definitely set on floorstanders

The other gripe is that they are not as open and airy as they might be in the mid range, I am comparing them to my former AE Evo which were excellent for vocal openness

My budget is 350.00 or less, the speakers will be situated 10 inches from the side walls and 12 inches from the back walls

I know I am not going to get the best of what floorstanders can offer with this budget in mind but I am just looking for a significant improvement on the BR2's.

Cheers guys

 

[Drummerdave]

Keep an eye on these. The starting bid is £300 but they're great speakers, not too fussy about positioning.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AVI-Duo-speakers-in-excellent-condition_W0QQitemZ280320696875QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers?hash=item280320696875&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers mate but these are essentially bookshelf speakers, albeit tall speakers. I am looking for genuine floorstanders i.e. 2 bass drivers.

 

[cheyworth]

Make an offer on this!

or watch this

 

[Johnno2]

If you like the AE sound you could try the Neo3 floorstanders which can be had for less than £200 brand new of ebay direct from manufacter. Not heard them myself but the evo3 is not short on Bass and has airy vocals as well, I would imagine they sound similar.

 

[Drummerdave]

hi fi newbie:

Cheers mate but these are essentially bookshelf speakers, albeit tall speakers. I am looking for genuine floorstanders i.e. 2 bass drivers.

You must have huge shelves! The Duos are most definitely floorstanders, granted they aren't the largest of towers at 770mm but make no mistake they are dynamic speakers with excellent bass. They totally slayed the MA RS6s that they replaced in my system.

 

[d_a_n1979]

As above; the AE Neo 3's would be a great buy and you'd have £££ to spare as well.

There is a decent set of B&W 603 S2/S3's for sale on eBay as well as the B&W 602.5 S3's. Both would be good and offer you good bass depth.

I also agree with the M/A BR5's; good speakers for their cost but IMO i'd be aiming for the Neo 3's for overall clarity as well as good bass depth and crisp treble.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers Dan, do you think they (Neos) better the Tannoy F4's? as they are only a foot away from the back walls want to avoid boom but i am sure you have factored that in

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Neo 3's, very good speakers, highly rated, deep and punchy bass, great tweeters, good alrounders, consider them as they are a great bargain

 

[the record spot]

Mission 733i - excellent floorstander from around ten years ago - get a good pair and you'll get bass aplenty tied to a very musical speaker. I've a pair of these upstairs which I replaced with my current floorstanders and can vouch for their low-end wallop. Superb used buy as most people overlook them.

New - Q Acoustics 1050i - circa £330 (pre-price rise) - speaker of the year in another hi-fi mag, a ton of speaker for the money and the money's been spent on the sound quality aspect over the finish (the vinyl wood effect is a bit MFI, but the black finish is pretty cool). Big sound, one of the few sub-£500 candidates worth jumping up and down for.

They'd be my shortlist recommendations.

 

[d_a_n1979]

hi fi newbie:

Cheers Dan, do you think they (Neos) better the Tannoy F4's? as they are only a foot away from the back walls want to avoid boom but i am sure you have factored that in

Yes; definately.

Overall soundstage is better with punchier and more well timed bass and a smooth midrange and crisp/clear treble.

For the price you can get them off eBay i'd say they're the best to be got out there currently; and theyre brand spanking new

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the contributions I was a bit put off by the Aegis Neo 3 at first because it's not front ported? but as you don't think that's a problem, I will give them some serious thought as well as the Q Acoustics and Mission's, admittedly the AE interest me more because of how good vocally my previous pair sounded, however, these aren't lacking in dynamism and attack i assume?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes they are rear ported though they're not as bothered about placement as some. As mentioned they are great all rounders with a deep tight bass and a good tweeter. They don't hold back but work equally well at low volumes and aren't picky about pairing.

 

[AEJim]

(to Hi-fi Newbie - I forgot to click "quote"!)ÿ

ÿ

Nope, more dynamic and attacking than the Evo's in-fact - due to the Neodymium magnets.

Good speakers, showed them last year at Bristol and had many comments from the Naim fans that our speakers sounded better than the ones in their room! I'm presuming at a small fraction of the price too!

The Neo's main issue is the admittedly unadventurous styling, we put all the money into the mechanics rather than the cosmetics and they suffered visually because of that - keep the grilles on and they're slim n' elegant though... ÿ

 

[the record spot]

I think you'd be surprised with the Missions (make sure they're in good nick though, they're ten years old at least in most cases, but good to mint examples go for as little as £60 on Ebay) which have a very dynamic sound. Hi-Fi World said of the 733 "Captivating floorstanders that bring music to life - what good hi-fi should do" - the 733i took this and built on it. This replaced the metal dome tweeter with the softer variety (good tech term there!) that tamed the treble. As I say, I thought they were superb at £330 and I've had a pair for 12 years now.

The Q 1050i are very big, very dynamic, but not brash - for £330 they punch above their weight well, should last an upgrade or two as well. Not the last word in the floorstanding speaker art, but very capable. Think WHF handed over a good 4 star review for these a while back.

 

[Anonymous]

AEJim:
ÿwe put all the money into the mechanics rather than the cosmetics

Raison d'etre.ÿ

ÿ(Though I'd recommend you make the plugs on the grills a little tougher. Some of mine snapped off meaning I couldn't use the grills. I fixed them using a drill and some metal pins before I sold them on).

 

[AEJim]

Octopo:AEJim:
ÿwe put all the money into the mechanics rather than the cosmetics

Raison d'etre.ÿ

ÿ(Though I'd recommend you make the plugs on the grills a little tougher. Some of mine snapped off meaning I couldn't use the grills. I fixed them using a drill and some metal pins before I sold them on).

ÿ

Very true, the Neo's for some reason did have that particular problem - we've solved it now by going all magnetic on the new ranges!ÿ

 

[d_a_n1979]

I very nearly bought a pair for the dining room but someone offered me some mint condition AE109's for free instead so couldnt turn that offer down.

May still stump up the £££ for some Neo 3's as i do very much like their sound and with bode well in the dining room as one of theyre finishes is exactly the same colour as the wesh dresser!

HiFi Nwewbie - Id deffo be going for the Neo 3's. For their cost; IMO, they cant be beaten currently unless you get some more £££ and then go for a set of M/A RS6's!

 

[Johnno2]

I must say those brand new neo3 's look like a stonking bargain for £185 on ebay ,if they sound as good as evo3 you cannot go wrong for that sort of money,notice they dont reach as low in the bass as the evo's although it may be tighter. 40hz as oppossed to 36hz for the evo3,the treble on the neos goes to 40khz which is impresive,although you cant hear that in itself it may add to the airyness .The MAbr2 goes to 30khz .

 

[Anonymous]

Alrighty I am sold on the idea of them , side issue I know but the other problem i had with the AE Evo Ones was the poor damping factor i.e. when the bass went low on any given song it sounded out of control and reverberated far more than it really should have done, lost any kind of snappiness. I hope it's not just me who found this

However I am being sold on the general concensus of these speakers, thanks a lot to all that have contributed.

 

[Anonymous]

AS with most speakers, the level of bass can depend on the acoustics/size/shape of the room they are in. My Neo 3's bass sounds more punchy, less boomy if I toe them in abit.

The rear firing port is not too much an issue, would not worry about it, so long as you place them abit away from the rear walls it'll be fine

 

[Drummerdave]

d_a_n1979:I very nearly bought a pair for the dining room but someone offered me some mint condition AE109's for free instead so couldnt turn that offer down.

May still stump up the £££ for some Neo 3's as i do very much like their sound and with bode well in the dining room as one of theyre finishes is exactly the same colour as the wesh dresser!

HiFi Nwewbie - Id deffo be going for the Neo 3's. For their cost; IMO, they cant be beaten currently unless you get some more £££ and then go for a set of M/A RS6's!

OR....bag the AVI Duos which are much better than the RS6s....