Hello hifi ninjas!

I recently purchased an arcam a19 amp and arcam airdac. I now need to buy speakers and have settled on the following options

Monitor audio bronze 2
Q acoustics concept 20
Dali zensor 3

All similar price, similar reviews and ratings but i am not able to audition all of them. Only the ma and perhaps the q acoustics. I listen to a lot of different types of music but mostly rock, metal & techno. In your opinion which speakers would be best suited? I am worried about bass capabilities of the q acoustics, the drivers seem small?

I don't think I can describe the sound I'm looking for, but powerful and energetic are words that come to mind :)

Thanks

D
 

TomSawyer

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I think you've got a strong shortlist so you won't get a bad result whichever way you go. The proper advice is to listen and decide yourself but as you've said you can't do that with the Dalis. I don't think that's necessarily the end of the world because to my ear the Concept 20s are the pick of that particular bunch. Try them and the MAs and see what you think. On driver and box size logic, the MAs should be the deeper sounding speaker - see what you think.

p.s. BigH you sent to have a double post gremlin in your 'puter/mobile thing.
 

BigH

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Dieter W said:
I heard the arcam with q acoustics 2020 and loved it. I also got a really good deal on the amp. You not a fan of the arcam?

I used to be an Arcam fan, only heard the A19 with B&M CM1s which did not sound good to me. Its just most people with a £700 amp would be looking at speakers more in that price range rather than budget ones. But if you love the 2020s then no reason not to buy them.
 

BigH

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Dieter W said:
I heard the arcam with q acoustics 2020 and loved it. I also got a really good deal on the amp. You not a fan of the arcam?

I used to be an Arcam fan, only heard the A19 with B&M CM1s which did not sound good to me. Its just most people with a £700 amp would be looking at speakers more in that price range rather than budget ones. But if you love the 2020s then no reason not to buy them.
 

thewinelake.

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How about Dynaudio Emit M20?

Those MA Bronze seem a bit low-end to me*, but speakers are so personal!

If you splashed out on the amp so need to save money on speakers, another option is to go secondhand. There are some seemingly good deals on less fashionable stuff like ProAc.

*Having said that, I do recall that MA & Arcam are considered a good match in general.
 

TomSawyer

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BigH said:
TomSawyer said:
p.s. BigH you sent to have a double post gremlin in your 'puter/mobile thing.

Yes, but it's only on this forum, never happens anywhere else, so what's the answer? It's on a pc.

Equally, I SEEM to have a spell correction gremlin in mine! If you're on a PC you could try another browser I guess. This forum seems particularly temperamental to browser choice.
 

steve_1979

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Dieter W said:
I heard the arcam with q acoustics 2020 and loved it.

Obviously being able to audition each of the speakers yourself would be best but as that's not possible then the safest bet would be to stick with what you know you like and buy some Q Acoustics speakers such as the Concept 20 or 3020.
 

thewinelake.

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I suspect that the requirement for availability South Africa makes things tricky!

Are you able to audition anything?

My auditioning of various Monitor audio speakers (floorstanders in my case) suggested that silver was a definite step up.

Maybe you could list the brands that are available to you? That might include a bunch of German stuff and perhaps less of the slightly more esoteric UK and UK-orientated brands. I suppose B&W seem quite widely available. I would suggest to try B&W 685s2, CM1s2 and LS50 - they all have their own character.
 

Nathan

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I go with thewinelake. I tried the Bronze first then tried the silvers. The silver 2 are much better. If have the room for floor slanders go for the Silver 6 - they are even better. I ended up getting the 6's and then getting the silver 2 speakers as surrounds. Both thought seriously rock as stereo speakers and will go well with the A19
 

BigH

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thewinelake. said:
B&W 685s2, CM1s2 and LS50 - they all have their own character.

LS50 are Kefs not B&W. I would avoid B&W to be honest.

WhatHiFi review liked the LS50s with the Arcam A19, have not heard myself, think you need to hear them before buying.
 

thewinelake.

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Ha! Silver 6's were nearly my downfall. I started off with a budget of £500 (looking at Q-Acoustics 3050) and then went through a journey of discovery, finding that tastes are so subjective that reviews (and opinions of others here!) are of little use. For me, no floor-standers in my price range were as satisfying to me as stand-mounters - the one that made me realise that was the wonderful MA silver 6, compared to them as a benchmark, all the other (cheaper) floorstanders had fundamental flaws. I think my preferred speakers at the £500 mark were B&W 685s2, but in the end I went second hand. Mind you, I've still to decide between floor standers and standmounters, but I have a shortlist in the garage (both ProAc), just waiting for the room to be ready.
 

davedotco

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Dieter W said:
Funds always seem to get in the way of happiness ;)

A lot will depend on where and how you intend to place the speakers within your room, room size is important too.

You should not expect the A19/3020 conbination to fill a large room, particularly if they are less than optimally placed. The Concept 20 is a good speaker but needs careful setup, preferably on it's dedicated stand, but like all the Q Acoustics range the presentation is not the most lively.

Monitor Audio models, on the other hand, tend to be more 'lively', presentation that tends to divide listeners. Some like them a lot, others find the presentation to be a bit 'over the top', rather lacking in subtlety, but that said they do get the music out into the room.

I understand the limitations of different markets, availability and pricing changes things a lot, a product that is good value at one price in one market might be 'overpriced' in another and, of course, vice versa.

Get to hear as much as you can and do take the positioning and setup seriously, there is no point, for example, spending the extra on Concept 20s over 2020i/3020 models if they are going to end up placed on furniture.
 
Hello Dieter W

Firstly, thank for considering Q Acoustics loudspeakers.

Secondly, the Concept 20 model is a perfect match with the Arcam A19 amplifier. Arcam have kindly lent us an A19 and an A49 and we use them all the time to show off our speakers at shows and to visitors to our offices.

Lastly, Davedotco is usually a very reliable source of excellent advice (especially about active speakers), but on this occassion we must disagree. The Concept 20 doesn't require any more careful set-up than any other speaker. Quite the reverse in fact, because the amazingly low resonance 'Gelcore Construction' cabinet means it’s less effected by sitting on furniture etc. than other speakers - because it emits far less resonance/vibrations into the shelf/furniture.

Of course, if you do spend some time setting it up optimally, it can deliver spectacular results – but that’s because it’s a great speaker. :)

Regards
 
Steve Reichert PR Manager ArmourHome said:
Hello Dieter W

Firstly, thank for considering Q Acoustics loudspeakers.

0cm;line-height:24.5pt">Secondly, the Concept 20 model is a perfect match with the Arcam A19 amplifier. Arcam have kindly lent us an A19 and an A49 and we use them all the time to show off our speakers at shows and to visitors to our offices.

Lastly, Davedotco is usually a very reliable source of excellent advice (especially about active speakers), but on this occassion we must disagree. The Concept 20 doesn't require any more careful set-up than any other speaker. Quite the reverse in fact, because the amazingly low resonance 'Gelcore Construction' cabinet means it’s less effected by sitting on furniture etc. than other speakers - because it emits far less resonance/vibrations into the shelf/furniture.

Of course, if you do spend some time setting it up optimally, it can deliver spectacular results – but that’s because it’s a great speaker. :)

Regards

Are you in any way associated with Q Acoustics? I think the world should know. ;-)

Perhaps you should note the fact in your signature as blatant advertising is somewhat frowned upon on most forums, as all we see above your logo is Steve Reichert ....
 

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