Speaker/System Upgrade £500 region

[admin_exported]

Hi,

After listening to my housemates headphones it made me realise how poor the detail and mid-range was on my current Acoustic Solutions floorstanding speakers. I have a Cambridge Audio A500 (65W) amp, I have tested this amp on other speakers and love the sound it produces. However, I may upgrade to a newer Cambridge amp sometime in 2009. The bass and lower frequences do sound and feel good on my current speakers though!

Essentially I primarily listen to rock/metal, Radiohead, a bit of dance music and some KT Tunstall. So I like the raw rock sound mixed with reverberations (I need to feel my music as well as hear it), bass and a clear treble sound. I am a traditionalist in that the bigger the cone, the better the sound. Yes, I agree smaller cones can sound amazing but I feel that the bass sounds too flat and artificial on smaller speakers. So I wouldn't look to get a bass cone smaller than 6" - currently I have 8" bass cones. My budget on speakers is between £400-600 but ideally around £500.

So I am looking to upgrade my floorstanders in the next 1-2 months to something that gives me better detail, better sound reproduction and them to sound awesome! Does anyone have any suggestions? I was recommended a pair of Kef Q7's.

Many thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Ive seen the Dynaudio Audience 62 going for £550 brand new on Moorgate Acoustics website. A massive improvement over what you have, but not sure if it will show your electronics up a bit. Great price for a speaker that'll last quite a hefty upgrade though...

 

[drummerman]

The dynaudio suggested sounds like a very good deal. Also consider Rega R3's. The combined drivers equal a larger cone. As in the previous posting both speakers really benefit from good amplification. I dont think much of kef's Q series.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Drummerman, I see that you're not impressed with Kef's Q range. Can you give any info. as to why? I also see that you are very impressed with the Rega 3's. Are these speakers that you'd reccomend for a system that is going to bus used about 50/50 for music and cinema? The Rega 3's would be used as the front's with maybe the Rega 1's as the surrounds.

 

[Anonymous]

The Rega R3s are not the first speakers I would advise for home cinema purposes! What I would advise are the B&Ws 684s (you'll love the bass once you get used to the fact it's not on all the time, but is much deeper), or the Monitor Audio RS6s which you can get for £450ish if you ask Sevenoaks very nicely. They are both superb speakers and I'm sure Drummerman can advise something with more bass than the R3s and higher SPLs with the same superb sound quality!

Have fun!

 

[gpi]

DM 2/10 Or the DM 2/8 (8" driver). I've no idea how much they cost though.

I had a CA A500 for a while and although it's a decent budget amp I wouldn't say it's ideally suited to your type of music. It lacks drive IMO and is quite bland and mellow. Also, don't judge amps on their output as it's the quality rather than the quantity of watts that matters. Something like a Rotel RA-03 will have less output on paper but will have much more weight and punch than the Cambridge.

 

[drummerman]

Agree but then I dont think he mentioned HT in his original post. Rega's are wasted there. Any boom'n fizz speaker will do. Example ... B&W 6 series ....