Speaker upgrade £1500 - £2500 - Help!

[admin_exported]

Current system Primare CD31/ Primare I30 with Monitor Audio 703PMC's which I am looking to upgrade (blown driver with no replacements available!). Any advice would be welcome on speakers in the price range £1500- £2,500. Made the mistake of listening to some fantastic B & W 802D's but with a reality check probably looking more affordable but something that could cope with what is a fairly powerful amp eg PMC / ProAc 140. Would it be worth considering some older second hand/ ex dem speakers which may offer better value? - ideas welcome as the choice is a bit overwhelming . Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

always sonus faber totem or high range tannoys

 

[Anonymous]

You should definately consider a pair of ATC scm40s. Look out for an ex demo pair. Have a read of the review on this very site.Rick from Musicraft will give you a great deal of info about them. Im sure hell post on this thread very soon.Another member uses them with your amp and speakers and loves them. I cant remember their user name though.

 

[Anonymous]

This thread is worth a read.

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/296752.aspx

And this one

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/post/350461.aspx

The forum member 'Fowler' has the same amp and cdp as yourself. May well be worth starting a thread with his name in the title to ask his opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

A rather parochial vote for ATC SCM40's from me (see signature). I'd be flabbergasted if you can find anything with the sheer neutrality and transparency at this price point. The driver engineering and build quality is simply untouchable.

Don't believe me (or any one else) just go audition them for yourself.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Zep2009:

Current system Primare CD31/ Primare I30 with Monitor Audio 703PMC's which I am looking to upgrade (blown driver with no replacements available!). Any advice would be welcome on speakers in the price range £1500- £2,500. Made the mistake of listening to some fantastic B & W 802D's but with a reality check probably looking more affordable but something that could cope with what is a fairly powerful amp eg PMC / ProAc 140. Would it be worth considering some older second hand/ ex dem speakers which may offer better value? - ideas welcome as the choice is a bit overwhelming . Thanks

Hi Zep2009

As bobbyg81 and crimsondonkey have already suggested please also consider ATC's SCM40 speakers. Imo they are a terrific match for Primare electronics. The SCM40's performance potential is vast and they can also show some speakers costing much more a thing or two.

The SCM40's with their (amongst other qualities) neutral, natural, uncoloured and powerful presentation will allow the power and performance of the Primare components to shine through by enabling them to breathe. SCM Studio Control Monitor

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[koolkeith]

I've had 40's & the ATC P1/CA2 amps. for a couple of weeks. Replaced 11's & over £2k of Densen pre/power. As ever with recommendations it's difficult to know, without hearing your current system, how the ATC gear would compare but all I will say is that without fail everything I have played sounds significantly better. Mind you, it's £4,700 of kit.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

koolkeith:

I've had 40's & the ATC P1/CA2 amps. for a couple of weeks. Replaced 11's & over £2k of Densen pre/power. As ever with recommendations it's difficult to know, without hearing your current system, how the ATC gear would compare but all I will say is that without fail everything I have played sounds significantly better. Mind you, it's £4,700 of kit.

Hi koolkeith

Good post.

Have a Happy New Year.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

What music are you listening to and at what volume? How large is your room?

With normal listening volumes and a standard sized room the PMC FB1i would be first on my list of auditions. As has been mentioned though the only way to decide is to listen to speakers, ideally at home.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Zep2009: Current system Primare CD31/ Primare I30 with Monitor Audio 703PMC's which I am looking to upgrade (blown driver with no replacements available!). Any advice would be welcome on speakers in the price range £1500- £2,500. Made the mistake of listening to some fantastic B & W 802D's but with a reality check probably looking more affordable but something that could cope with what is a fairly powerful amp eg PMC / ProAc 140. Would it be worth considering some older second hand/ ex dem speakers which may offer better value? - ideas welcome as the choice is a bit overwhelming . Thanks

Hi Zep

Along with the ATC SCM40, which will be about as neutral as you'll get for your budget, try the ProAc Response D18, B&W CM9, Dynaudio Excite X36, KEF XQ40, Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 or GS60, PMC FB1i, and the Spendor A6. All of those are available for demo at our store. We also have a pair of 'b stock' (a few minor marks) Gloss Black KEF Reference 201/2's at just under £2k, which outperform most of the above depending on your criteria.

The KEF's, ATC's and the Spendor's will work well close to a wall, but the Dyn's, ProAc's, Monitor Audio's and PMC's generally need a bit of room to get the best from them.

Choosing speakers is a very personal thing, and there's no one single answer out there for everyone, otherwise all manufacturers would sound the same and we'd all be choosing speakers on their looks. A demo is a must to see if they suit your style of music, your system, your room, and of course, your personal preference.

As Nick has asked, a few more details may help a rough recommendation, like room size for instance, and whether your intended speakers are to be used against a wall or whether you're free to place them in open space if needed.

Regards
David

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Thanks for the comments so far - definite ATC bias so far so must be worth a listen - what speaker connects do fans of this speaker use - also biwire or not?- stats seem to suggets they are hard to drive; would the Primare I30 be up to it? - also no dealers in my part of the world NE England! . Room is 9m x 5m, music varies rock/jazz rock/acoustic - the reason I bought the Primare equipment was for its uncoloured approach which was why I was looking at Proac/ PMC - from what I have heard so far ATC seem neutral.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks David - very helpful reply there - unfortunately due to the input from my other half she insists the speakers need to go fairly close to the wall - I have my existing speakers around 0.5 m away from the wall and angled in slightly - suppose this eliminates rear ported speakers!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Zep2009:

Hi

Thanks for the comments so far - definite ATC bias so far so must be worth a listen - what speaker connects do fans of this speaker use - also biwire or not?- stats seem to suggets they are hard to drive; would the Primare I30 be up to it? - also no dealers in my part of the world NE England! . Room is 9m x 5m, music varies rock/jazz rock/acoustic - the reason I bought the Primare equipment was for its uncoloured approach which was why I was looking at Proac/ PMC - from what I have heard so far ATC seem neutral.

Thanks

Hi Zep2009

Single wire is the ideal option and the cable that i mostly use/sell is generic at around £3/m. With your components and the ATC's you don't really need to go further than this.

The Primare I30 is more than capable of driving the ATC's as it has sufficient current and i suspect also sufficient damping factor to back up it's power.

ATC's drive units are very constant thereby allowing an amplifier to deliver it's full power all the time (prior to clipping). The impedence of a speaker is far more important than the efficiency.

The ATC's are low distortion designs hence why they are neutral. Whilst they are a closed box design they are more importantly flat and honest making room positioning far easier (without the bass in particular getting itself in a twist).The lower it distorts the more natural it sounds.

Btw, and i hope this is ok with WHF for me to suggest the following - if you have no dealers near you than you are more than welcome to listen to the ATC's in my shop. I already have many ATC clients in the NE (many of whom have visited me).

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Craig M.]

yep, i visited rick from the north east

big thumbs up from me for atc as well. seriously good speakers and good value.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Zep, since you need to have your speakers close to the rear wall, it looks like you either have to go for sealed (the ATCs) or transmission line (the PMCs).

I'm still trying to come to terms with my set-up which just doesn't do it for me

 

[MUSICRAFT]

jtein:

Hi Zep, since you need to have your speakers close to the rear wall, it looks like you either have to go for sealed (the ATCs) or transmission line (the PMCs).

I'm still trying to come to terms with my set-up which just doesn't do it for me

Hi jtein

Why are you not satisfied with your system?

Have a Happy New Year.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

bobbyg81:You should definately consider a pair of ATC scm40s. Look out for an ex demo pair. Have a read of the review on this very site.Rick from Musicraft will give you a great deal of info about them. Im sure hell post on this thread very soon.Another member uses them with your amp and speakers and loves them. I cant remember their user name though.

hi bobbyg81

Thanks for your kind words and your support.

Have a Happy New Year.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Craig M.:

yep, i visited rick from the north east

big thumbs up from me for atc as well. seriously good speakers and good value.

Hi Craig M.

Thanks for your support.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MattSPL]

I used to have a pair of B&W N803's and replaced them with PMC IB1's.

The PMC's completly smashed the B&W's in every area except the midrange dynamics of the B&W were slightly better. Although midrange detail and resolution of the PMC's was better than the B&W's.

The B&W's were not good at low volumes and were not good at high volumes as the bass drivers were not upto the task. They only shined at med/high volume levels.

The PMC's were amazing at any volume due to the transmission line. And powered by a Krell FPB200 never showed any sign's of running out of breath. Real live sound levels were possible. The OB1 will provide much of the IB1's ability but not quite the same bass power and control.

If you can, find a used pair of IB1's if you have the space but you will need a very good amp to hear their best. I used a krell Kav300iL to good effect but the FPB200 really showed what they could do.