Hi all,
Been looking to replace my old Q Acoustics 1010s with something a bit better, so been listening to a few speakers. Here's what I thought, if anyone's interested.
Monitor Audio BX series - flabby bass, bright treble, not for long listening. TBH probably the weakest of the lot. Amplifier was Cambridge Audio I think. Really disappointing.
Tannoy Mercury - better than the bx, but still not really brilliant, though not as fatiguing. Can't remember what amplifier, but didn't think they were that much of an upgrade
Proac - thought these were pretty good. Plenty of bass, not too bright, decent balance, if that's the term. Amplifier was Naim, which I ended up buying I thought was so good.
Then the Evans boy looked like he was going to win the TDF, so nipped over to Paris to watch the lad complete the greates victory in Australian sporting history. Downside was I forgot my inflatable Kangaroo mascot, and you can't buy them in Paris, leastways, not that I could see.
Nipped into a couple of HiFi shops on the Sat - weird opening hours in France, but - the shops open at 11 then shut at 4, and they take a 2 hour lunch! Haven't they heard of the work ethic? Least they speak English
Anyway
Totem Arro - a bit too strident for me, and bass a bit thin
Some French speaker - much better than the Arro, warm, full bass, detailed but not excessive treble. Apparently hand made somewhere in Paris. Shame I forgot the name, they're good, and cheaper than the Arro
Harbeth (the little ones) - best speaker of the bunch so far. I could of listened to them for ages, really musical. You can hang them on the wall, too.
Magnepan MG12QR - big white panels, too big to take back on Eurostar specially since we'd stocked up on french wine and could hardly lift the backpacks. Absolutely can't use the word stunning, best speakers by a mile. Never heard anything that puts the musicians in the room with you, and, with the jansen CD, you could hear the bow hitting the string. Never knew Mark Kbopfler's voice had so much depth and subtletty, 8 stars on the What Hi Fi scale.
So that's it, really. The Magnepans were selling at £1400, and at that price nothing comes close.
Sorry for the typing, got a bit of a headache this morning, we hit the champagne a bit yesterday.
Been looking to replace my old Q Acoustics 1010s with something a bit better, so been listening to a few speakers. Here's what I thought, if anyone's interested.
Monitor Audio BX series - flabby bass, bright treble, not for long listening. TBH probably the weakest of the lot. Amplifier was Cambridge Audio I think. Really disappointing.
Tannoy Mercury - better than the bx, but still not really brilliant, though not as fatiguing. Can't remember what amplifier, but didn't think they were that much of an upgrade
Proac - thought these were pretty good. Plenty of bass, not too bright, decent balance, if that's the term. Amplifier was Naim, which I ended up buying I thought was so good.
Then the Evans boy looked like he was going to win the TDF, so nipped over to Paris to watch the lad complete the greates victory in Australian sporting history. Downside was I forgot my inflatable Kangaroo mascot, and you can't buy them in Paris, leastways, not that I could see.
Nipped into a couple of HiFi shops on the Sat - weird opening hours in France, but - the shops open at 11 then shut at 4, and they take a 2 hour lunch! Haven't they heard of the work ethic? Least they speak English
Anyway
Totem Arro - a bit too strident for me, and bass a bit thin
Some French speaker - much better than the Arro, warm, full bass, detailed but not excessive treble. Apparently hand made somewhere in Paris. Shame I forgot the name, they're good, and cheaper than the Arro
Harbeth (the little ones) - best speaker of the bunch so far. I could of listened to them for ages, really musical. You can hang them on the wall, too.
Magnepan MG12QR - big white panels, too big to take back on Eurostar specially since we'd stocked up on french wine and could hardly lift the backpacks. Absolutely can't use the word stunning, best speakers by a mile. Never heard anything that puts the musicians in the room with you, and, with the jansen CD, you could hear the bow hitting the string. Never knew Mark Kbopfler's voice had so much depth and subtletty, 8 stars on the What Hi Fi scale.
So that's it, really. The Magnepans were selling at £1400, and at that price nothing comes close.
Sorry for the typing, got a bit of a headache this morning, we hit the champagne a bit yesterday.
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