Speaker advice please.

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Vladimir

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I never heard those Talismans, but judging by the photos they are due for a foam surrounds replacement. If you go for the Ruarks, have this in mind.
 

sparks68

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From what I read they are Rubber surrounds, is that a problem?

I like the Missions.I remember coveting a pair a mate had many moons ago now, powered by a Nad Amp .I can't remember the models on either though.It was actually his set up that got me to buy seperates all those years ago.
 

Vladimir

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sparks68 said:
From what I read they are Rubber surrounds, is that a problem?

I like the Missions.I remember coveting a pair a mate had many moons ago now, powered by a Nad Amp .I can't remember the models on either though.It was actually his set up that got me to buy seperates all those years ago.

If it's rubber, that's good, it will last longer and you don't have to worry about replacing the surrounds immediatly after you buy the speakers.

I'd go for the Missions as well. They are 92dB sensitive and 8 ohms, so your Marantz should have no issues driving them. If you don't like them you can resell without a loss.
 

sparks68

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I thought it was you that recommended rubber surrounds before (Just checked it was) .See I am learning.

I saw the91-92 rating , changes depending on the page I look at , quite a bit more sensitive than the 88 Ruarks . I kinda like the odd styling of the Ruarks .Missions look good also , a bit in your face in the red department ,but hey ho not the end of the world .

I just spoke to the guy with the missions,I will go and listen tom eve. How does the price sound ,he has a reserve of £150 on them ,are they worth the BIN price do you think?
 

Vladimir

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That is a good price IMO. They seem in very good condition.

Checkout these Ruarks. I wouldn't mind owning those.

ruark%20crusader%203.jpg
 

sparks68

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I went and listened to both the Ruark's and Missions last night and really am none the wiser .Ruark's were running through an 1975-6 HUGE 150w Rotel amp and spaced bout 7 ft apart ,Missions through a Yamaha DSP 3020 av and spaced about 12 ft apart .I was seated about 7 ft back to listen . I thought the Missions lacked bass , but can't decide whether that was the placement of the speakers and the fact they were running through an AV amp. Definitely in almost perfect condition pretty much new looking two very small marks on em is all . It's really thrown me ,my eyes say given the size and the fact there are two fairly large bass drivers in em the Missions should stomp out the base ,my ears said different .

I don't like this game . lol
 
D

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Yep, can be a pain in the bum sometimes and of course whatever you choose they will sound different once you've got them back home. Did they sound better than the BX2's?
 

Vladimir

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sparks68 said:
I went and listened to both the Ruark's and Missions last night and really am none the wiser .Ruark's were running through an 1975-6 HUGE 150w Rotel amp and spaced bout 7 ft apart ,Missions through a Yamaha DSP 3020 av and spaced about 12 ft apart .I was seated about 7 ft back to listen . I thought the Missions lacked bass , but can't decide whether that was the placement of the speakers and the fact they were running through an AV amp. Definitely in almost perfect condition pretty much new looking two very small marks on em is all . It's really thrown me ,my eyes say given the size and the fact there are two fairly large bass drivers in em the Missions should stomp out the base ,my ears said different .

I don't like this game . lol

If you don't like them, simply move on. The tricky bit is you don't know if they will sound great in your room with your amp. You may buy other speakers that you loved and in your home to sound horrid. Choosing speakers takes TIME if you want them to last. No rush.

How about the Ruarks?
 

sparks68

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Doug , I don't think it's fair to compair them to the BX2's . Given the physical size difference if nothing else. But if I were to , I would say they both were much more open than them and also better treble ,certainly on sound alone I would choose either one that I heard over them. But as you rightly say and I was very concious of ,both sets were not set up optimaly ,were not running through my equipment nor in my house.

Vladimir .

The Ruark's ,well first off I was pretty shocked by the size of them or lack of ,much smaller than I imagined from the pictures,still larger than mine but as I say much more compact than expected.. Condition is very good, rubber surrounds all good, a few marks on cabinets (nothing major and VERY good for the age) Material covers need re glueing down the sides,foam inserts in ports are missing ,not the end of the world .

The right chanel of the guys amp was playing up to start with and took some messing with to get it going properly. They did sound nice .Better than mine (as did the Missions) . More body to the sound ,smooth and fuller than the Missions but they did need more volume to ge them going.The missions gave their sound in full at quieter volume . The Ruark's were my preferrred of the two but I'm not sure how much of that may have been equipment differences and positioning .The Missions were way too far apart 12-14 ft .The cable was running through the skirting board with only a foot of free cable so I could'nt bring them in further than they were. The guy's set up was all interlinked.Huge 65" tv connected to av amp,cd player and computer and I've no idea how that effected the sound .
 
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I think it is fair to compare them against both the BX2's and your Pioneers as at least that way you are moving forward. Many on here would say at any matched price point standmounts are generally better than floorstanders at that price point. Your Pioneers were your benchmark and now the Ruarks or Missions have usurped them. I really do not envy you in your search, I have been more fortunate, (or stupid), than you as I still have access to all my speakers and I used to occasionally swap them over just to confirm I have made the definitive choice with my tiny PMC's - always a resounding yes and as such I will eventually move the surplus speakers on.

Take your time, you currently have a system that you are very happy with, enjoy the music, and enjoy the search, it will pay dividends in the end.
 

sparks68

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Doug , I was not aware stand mounts were or are considered better than floorstanders .My assumption was the extra cabinete size improved the bass sound . I really don't know much do I .

Going back to the BX2's , they don't sound terrible at all ,but lack bass and high treble compared to my Pioneer's. Neither the Ruarks or Missions had the high treble brightness of those either .Maybe they are particularly bright in that respect and having been hearing it for 25yrs I'm just expecting it .Others may say it's too much .I can't find any spec on the speakers to see and compare the top frequency , they are far too old and run of the mill I think for anyone to be talking about them.

What are PMC's?
 
D

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Don't belittle yourself Sparks, you know what you are doing and where you want to be, which is much further down the road to where I found myself about 2.5 years ago when venturing back into hifi after a 20 year absence
regular_smile.gif
.

I'm not saying that standmounts are better than floorstanders, because they are not - depends on personal preference. At a given price point say £300 for standmounts and say £450ish for floorstanders then my bet would be on the standmounts to excel, as the extra cash is for the cabinet, not the electronics within. Yes, floorstanders will always go lower because of the cabinet size, it's all about horses for courses, but flabby bass compared to tight bass - personally I'd take tight bass every time. What I am saying is don't close your eyes to standmounts, floorstanders are lovely furniture, (my BX5's looked the dogs), but if they're not right then that's all they will be - furniture.

The MA range of speakers do seem to split opinion as they can sound overly bright when coupled with the wrong kit, some say this is down to their metal tweeter. Personally I liked MA with my Marantz kit, that was until I discovered PMC!

PMC speakers may be a little outside what you are looking to spend and apparently they require a good power source, amp. I've got the bottom of the range, (DB1 Gold), and they were £800 new last year, which is about tops for what I was prepared to spend on speakers. They are tiny in comparison to any other speaker I have owned - get a piece of A4 paper and fold the long side in by 2" - that's the size of the front face! But when it comes to SQ they punch way above the RX2's which are about 2.5 times larger.

My journey has been stupidly expensive, if by offering advice or encouragement here I can save people from a similar fate then that makes me happy. But there are many other members on here who are far more experienced than I am. Your own ears are always the best judge of what you want. Other members have given some ideas on speakers, it's a minefield mate, but chosen carefully the right speakers will never cease to amaze you.
 

sparks68

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DougK said:
chosen carefully the right speakers will never cease to amaze you.

I definitely did not when hearing either speakers last night nor with the BX"'s think "WOW" I have to get these .Both had merit and were I think better than my own, but deff no "Wow" factor . I guess thats why I am sitting here talking about it rather than listening to new speakers .
 
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Vladimir said:

I know you can't really go by WHF reviews say but when they reviewed the PM6004 these speakers were a suggested floorstander pairing. These were £800 when tested back in 2011! If you can find a Tannoy dealer in your locale then give them a whirl along with the standmount DC6's, plus anything else that takes your ear, (Kef's or Dali's maybe), and then see if you can source them second hand.
 
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