speaker choice £700- £900

[gbhsi1]

Hi, I have had the neats for about a year now and I fancy a change. The change would be standmounts. I am looking for a speaker that can offer me bags of details in the upper frequencies, but obviously I do not want to lose out too much on the bass. I know that the latter will be limiting as it is a standmount. I am willing to possibly go up to the £1000 mark if need be & buy second hand if I can get more for my money. Timing is crucial aswell. What can you people recommend? I have had a look at PMC DB1's & Opera Mezza's- both of which really interest me. Just for background on my musical tastes I have composed a list below of what I like to listen to: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Alan Parsons Project Metallica Supertramp the who Laura Carling Florence and the machine Coldplay Led Zeppellin Tiesto Paul Oakenfold U2 Miles Davis Arctic Monkeys These are just a few of course, but they give you an idea of what I like (I listen to both formats...but still prefer vinyl...!) Regards, Me

 

[Anonymous]

ATC SCM11 are meant to be good. Can you stretch to some Proac D1? If not, perhaps some used Proac 1SC on heavy stands. Very nice speakers.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

gbhsi1:Hi,

I have had the neats for about a year now and I fancy a change. The change would be standmounts. I am looking for a speaker that can offer me bags of details in the upper frequencies, but obviously I do not want to lose out too much on the bass. I know that the latter will be limiting as it is a standmount. I am willing to possibly go up to the £1000 mark if need be & buy second hand if I can get more for my money. Timing is crucial aswell. What can you people recommend? I have had a look at PMC DB1's & Opera Mezza's- both of which really interest me. Just for background on my musical tastes I have composed a list below of what I like to listen to:

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Alan Parsons Project
Metallica
Supertramp
the who
Laura Carling
Florence and the machine
Coldplay
Led Zeppellin
Tiesto
Paul Oakenfold
U2
Miles Davis
Arctic Monkeys

These are just a few of course, but they give you an idea of what I like (I listen to both formats...but still prefer vinyl...!)

Regards,
Me

Hi gbhsi1

I believe ATC's SCM11 speakers (with their superb neutrality) should be ideal.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

The DB1S will be fantastic with the Roksan, but I'm unsure how much of a gain you'll get compared to the Neats. Alternatively, the PMC TB2s are meant to be crackers and can be picked up for about £600-£700.

 

[RCduck7]

I would advice to try to demo Hyperion bookshelfs, like these http://www.hyperionsound.com/hws-586.htm

Thet were a huge step above my Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's and they are comfortable with every genre music. They also don't need a very powefull amp to sound good. Since i listened to lots of speakers in the past (Dynaudio and Spendor was a favorite before Hyperion) and heard the Hyperions 938 floorstanders i got hooked on their sound. The bookshelfs are step lower then those but when i compared them to my dad's Kef Q9's, his old Technics speakers and my friend his Castle speakers the Hyperions sounded the most natural for any recording to me. I found they produce the accurate sound from the ATC's but with a magic touch to the sound that is difficult to describe.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hmmm

M/A GS10's
B&W CM5's (need good, solid stands)

 

[Craig M.]

hmmm, you could pick up some 2nd hand scm19s for that.

 

[Anonymous]

For your music tastes PMC TB2i's will be fantastic, but they have gone up in price since I tested them, the black studio TB2's are cheaper and I would expect they sound the same, but have not tried. Same with DB1i's and DB1S's, but with less scale, weight openness etc, I found the top end is very similar throughout the PMC DB1,GB1,TB2,FB1.

Just my personal taste, but after my own testing I preferred the PMC sound for guitar/drum/vocals over Spendor S and SA, Classic very close but more compressed, ATC SM's too dry & not as open, Tannoy DC's lacked detail, B&W CM's good weight but a bit muddy. For much less money, the nearest to the PMC sound were the Monitor Audio RX series, but less detailed.

Alternatively, try active speakers?

I just bought the Dynaudio MC 15 at around £800, which I tested yesterday against the AVI ADM9.1 £1100. The AVI's were more detailed and a smoother really lovely listen, the top end was very impressive, very open midrange, but struggled with more gutsy music. The Dynaudio's were drier with almost as much detail, but the sound was more fun, they seemed faster and with a bit of tweaking of the HF MF LF switches on the back they were just right ....and much smaller than the AVI's ...and cheaper. Neither have the bottom end weight of my PMC's.

Good Luck!

 

[MattSPL]

I used to have a pair of PMC DB1i's.

Great at high frequencies and very good at mids sounding like a much bigger speaker.
But get let down in the bass department, where they sound as small as they look. At the new higher retail price, they are way over priced when compared to other speakers.

I upgraded to ATC scm19's and they blew the PMC's out the water.
I know the ATC's are bigger and more expensive, but the performance increase over the PMC's is 10 times greater than the price difference.

As mentioned above, you could have some new ATC scm11's or used scm19's for under £1000.

 

[the record spot]

You might be lucky and get some used Audiosmile Kensais for the upper end of your budget, or if you can find them, the Quadral Pico. Both are smaller standmounts, but enjoyed excellent reviews. No speaker selection in that price range should ignore the brilliant looking Acoustic Energy AE22 Actives IMO, so I'll throw those in as well.

 

[Anonymous]

If your willing to go to £1000 then i would think the Spendor SA1 should do nicely.

 

[d_a_n1979]

The Spendor's just dont have the bass depth IMO

They are lovely speakers but they're not punchy enough I feel for what the OP requires.

IMO the M/A GS10's are well worth demoing as are the B&W CM5's as mentioned above. On decent stands these speakers really sing

I think the Roksan Kandy K2 TR-5's should be looked at as well as the ProAc Studio 110 (heard these last week with the NAD C165/C275 pre/power combo and the Yamaha AS2000 amps and WOW)!

Can the budget be stretched at all though? Reason I ask is that the Dynaudio Focus 110's really stand out

 

[Anonymous]

Dan, i think igglebert might dissagree with you about the spendors

 

[d_a_n1979]

He may do but I have avery similar music taste to the OP and having demo'd the Spendors a few times they just dont kick it as well as some of the other speakers mentioned

They are superb speakers but not suited to all music types etc...

The OP will demo I'm sure so he'll be the eventual judge!

 

[Anonymous]

ex-dem Harbeth HLP3ESR if you're super-lucky...

 

[jaxwired]

Based on the classic rock you favor and your need for lots of detail, I have the perfect answer.....it....is......Neat Motive 2.

Seriously, the Neats really are right in that sweet spot and they work great with classic rock since it's all older recordings and works well with a forward sounding speaker.

I really like ATCs SCM 11s, but I think it might be a little too lightweight in the bass department compared to what you are use to.

If you really want to change, I'd consider the MA RX1 or RX2. They are very detailed and still deliver the goods on the low end. As mentioned by others, the B&W CM5 is another excellent choice that I also think would work great with classic rock.

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

Based purely on my recent 2nd hand purchase at around the price you're looking at I cannot recommend enough the ATC SCM-19s. I can't ever imagine needing to upgrade my speakers ever again now and can't imagine any speakers giving a more true or realistic sound for any price.

I know that there are so many speakers out there to choose from and everyone favours different types of sound. (Warmth, bass extension etc....) But I have owned both the ATC SCM-11 and ATC SCM-19s. I was very impressed with the 11s and wasn't going to upgrade from those until I found a pair of 19s at a price I couldn't refuse. Wow! After just a few hours of listening to them I realised there and then that everything was out there in front of me. Nothing added and nothing taken away. All the frequencies were there, everything was tight, honest and in my eyes perfect!

And I'm sure that both Craig M and Rick can back me up on this!!!

 

[gbhsi1]

DaveyBoy1980:
Based purely on my recent 2nd hand purchase at around the price you're looking at I cannot recommend enough the ATC SCM-19s. I can't ever imagine needing to upgrade my speakers ever again now and can't imagine any speakers giving a more true or realistic sound for any price.

I know that there are so many speakers out there to choose from and everyone favours different types of sound. (Warmth, bass extension etc....) But I have owned both the ATC SCM-11 and ATC SCM-19s. I was very impressed with the 11s and wasn't going to upgrade from those until I found a pair of 19s at a price I couldn't refuse. Wow! After just a few hours of listening to them I realised there and then that everything was out there in front of me. Nothing added and nothing taken away. All the frequencies were there, everything was tight, honest and in my eyes perfect!

And I'm sure that both Craig M and Rick can back me up on this!!!
Dont get me wrong, I love the neats but sometimes find that it is a little bright when pushed...maybe the neat motive 2 se would be ideal...hmmmm, I might give that a go as it has several tweeters upgrades

 

[Anonymous]

Echoing Rick from Musicraft and a few others, try some ATC11s or 19s. You will not be disappointed, but then it's a matter of personal taste.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

DaveyBoy1980:
Based purely on my recent 2nd hand purchase at around the price you're looking at I cannot recommend enough the ATC SCM-19s. I can't ever imagine needing to upgrade my speakers ever again now and can't imagine any speakers giving a more true or realistic sound for any price.

I know that there are so many speakers out there to choose from and everyone favours different types of sound. (Warmth, bass extension etc....) But I have owned both the ATC SCM-11 and ATC SCM-19s. I was very impressed with the 11s and wasn't going to upgrade from those until I found a pair of 19s at a price I couldn't refuse. Wow! After just a few hours of listening to them I realised there and then that everything was out there in front of me. Nothing added and nothing taken away. All the frequencies were there, everything was tight, honest and in my eyes perfect!

And I'm sure that both Craig M and Rick can back me up on this!!!

Hi David

Yes, i can back you up on this. As i have said before with the SCM7's and SCM11's ATC give an exceedingly good taste of what they are capable of however its with the SCM19's (incorporating the their SLMT in the massively built mid/bass drive unit) that ATC really start to flex their muscles.

The engineering difference between the CLD mid bass drive unit on the SCM11's and the state of the art SLMT mid bass drive unit is plain see and simple to hear. Hence why i sell more SCM19's than SCM11's. The lower it distorts the more transparent and natural it sounds.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[crusaderlord]

i have tried a number of the above mentioned standmounts in demos and find the Neat Motive 3 the best of them above at this price - with the Spendor SA1 and PMC DB1i a close 2nd.

I would think that if you want a standmount now over the floorstander then the Neat 3 would be the choice - that said i havent heard the ATC to compare to.

In all honesty nothing you have mentioned is really an upgrade at all, if you like most of the Neat Motive 2 but want a tad improved treble then i would save a bit more and get the SE or even the Neat Petite SX standmount which is highly regarded

 

[Frank Harvey]

Good post crusaderlord

 

[Anonymous]

crusaderlord:In all honesty nothing you have mentioned is really an upgrade at all, if you like most of the Neat Motive 2 but want a tad improved treble then i would save a bit more and get the SE or even the Neat Petite SX standmount which is highly regardedYes, my feeling too.

 

[gbhsi1]

crusaderlord:i have tried a number of the above mentioned standmounts in demos and find the Neat Motive 3 the best of them above at this price - with the Spendor SA1 and PMC DB1i a close 2nd.

I would think that if you want a standmount now over the floorstander then the Neat 3 would be the choice - that said i havent heard the ATC to compare to.

In all honesty nothing you have mentioned is really an upgrade at all, if you like most of the Neat Motive 2 but want a tad improved treble then i would save a bit more and get the SE or even the Neat Petite SX standmount which is highly regarded I agree actually. I'm going to save some extra cash to get the motive 2 se. As I said before, they are lovely speakers and when I get the se- the slight tweeter issue I have will be much better- hence I will have my perfect speaker thanks for the posts all!!