Question Speaker upgrade?

Wilts Hobbit

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Hi all, 1st post on here, please excuse immediate request for help. I was just after your thoughts and or recommendations if possible? Current set up is Rega elex r and audiolab 8000a, flip between the two. Rega planar 3, meridian 200 transport with a denafrips areis ii dac and mission 753 speakers, I have owned the merdian, missions and audiolab from new but was just wondering has speaker design moved on enough to really notice a significant upgrade on the missions? Budget limited to about 700 pounds was thinking of the bw 606 s2 anniversary. Room size is 17ft by 14ft. Hope I have posted this in the correct place? Many thanks
 

SteveH72

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Hello. Not sure why you switch between the two. The Elex-R is superior to the 8000A in every way, but that’s your decision. The B & W 606 S2 are, in my opinion, superb standmounts and would be a dream with the Elex-R. I’ve heard the combination and it’s superb. Plenty of other options available but buy this with confidence.
 

Wilts Hobbit

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Hi. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Sorry for the late reply been away for the weekend. I have owned the 8000a from new so it's used sporadically mainly for nostalgia now. Think I might have to visit my local Audio T and arrange a test drive for the 606's. Will be able to compare them to the 753's side by side to see if what improvement they make and if its enough for me justify the additional outlay. Thanks again much appreciated.
 
Hi. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Sorry for the late reply been away for the weekend. I have owned the 8000a from new so it's used sporadically mainly for nostalgia now. Think I might have to visit my local Audio T and arrange a test drive for the 606's. Will be able to compare them to the 753's side by side to see if what improvement they make and if its enough for me justify the additional outlay. Thanks again much appreciated.
Welcome to the forum.
It would be interesting to hear what you think. To me speakers are the one item that haven't improved in leaps and bounds.
Why the move from floorstanders to standmounts, those Missions cost the same as your budget when first released.?
For this reason alone I don't think you are likely to see an improvement in the B&W's, if you can stick with floorstanders like Dali Oberon 5 because you'll need to budget for decent stands if you are determined to get standmounts
Personally I don't think you will find much of an improvement over your current Missions for your budget.
 
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Sliced Bread

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Ooh that’s a tough one. The Mission 753’s were and I imagine still are excellent speakers. I had a pair of Mission 782’s which were released after the 753’s and while excellent were not considered quite as good as the 753’s and I still miss them,

I’d definitely demo speakers before you buy as the missions had a lovely balanced character that’s hard to find.

In terms of replacements the new b&w 7 series gets good reviews, though I found them a touch upfront when I demo’d them in an admittedly over damped room. Kef R series, but I would say the treble is not as natural as the older missions (I am of course going from memory). There are countless other speakers to try but that’s my limited experience with the latest range of speakers. Whatever you do though, please demo. I’m sure modern speakers will have advantages over the 753’s, but def worth checking you prefer the sound.

Maybe I’m wearing rose tinted glasses though :)
 
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Sliced Bread

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Welcome to the forum.
It would be interesting to hear what you think. To me speakers are the one item that haven't improved in leaps and bounds.
Why the move from floorstanders to standmounts, those Missions cost the same as your budget when first released.?
For this reason alone I don't think you are likely to see an improvement in the B&W's, if you can stick with floorstanders like Dali Oberon 5 because you'll need to budget for decent stands if you are determined to get standmounts
Personally I don't think you will find much of an improvement over your current Missions for your budget.
Yes, this 👆
 
Despite the cheap drivers Mission used for the 753s, they ended up being quite a demanding loudspeaker. I‘ll always remember a system I installed into a guy’s house using 753s, driven by an Audiolab 8000c pre-amp and 8000p power amplifier - listening to piano based music, it sounded stunning, and really sounded like the synergy was bang on. If you like the 753s, or end up keeping them, throw some meatier amplification at them.

For £700, you won’t get a speaker with a cabinet built like the 753s unless you look second hand, and then youll probably still end up with a speaker that needs better amplification. Nothing against what you’ve got of course, as they’re great amplifiers in their own right.
 
I too feel that while you will definitely get a different presentation from a new B&W I’d personally need a careful audition to decide if I wanted to make a change.
I dusted off my old Mission 760i a few weeks ago, and they were still great fun - and they were far less accomplished than yours. Don’t regret getting rid!
 
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Wilts Hobbit

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Sep 24, 2021
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Welcome to the forum.
It would be interesting to hear what you think. To me speakers are the one item that haven't improved in leaps and bounds.
Why the move from floorstanders to standmounts, those Missions cost the same as your budget when first released.?
For this reason alone I don't think you are likely to see an improvement in the B&W's, if you can stick with floorstanders like Dali Oberon 5 because you'll need to budget for decent stands if you are determined to get standmounts
Personally I don't think you will find much of an improvement over your current Missions for your budget.
Hi thanks for the reply and in part that was exactly what I was wondering ref will there really be any appreciable improvement over the 753's, really good shout ref the Dali, if I do go down the test drive route I will have test these as well as there is no pressing reason to switch to stand mounters. Thanks again
 

Wilts Hobbit

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Sep 24, 2021
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Ooh that’s a tough one. The Mission 753’s were and I imagine still are excellent speakers. I had a pair of Mission 782’s which were released after the 753’s and while excellent were not considered quite as good as the 753’s and I still miss them,

I’d definitely demo speakers before you buy as the missions had a lovely balanced character that’s hard to find.

In terms of replacements the new b&w 7 series gets good reviews, though I found them a touch upfront when I demo’d them in an admittedly over damped room. Kef R series, but I would say the treble is not as natural as the older missions (I am of course going from memory). There are countless other speakers to try but that’s my limited experience with the latest range of speakers. Whatever you do though, please demo. I’m sure modern speakers will have advantages over the 753’s, but def worth checking you prefer the sound.

Maybe I’m wearing rose tinted glasses though :)
Morning thanks for taking the time to reply no rose tinted glasses in my view your memory serves you very well to me they have a really smooth natural tonal balance 🙂 I seem to be talking myself out of this more and more. Thanks again
 
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Wilts Hobbit

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Sep 24, 2021
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Despite the cheap drivers Mission used for the 753s, they ended up being quite a demanding loudspeaker. I‘ll always remember a system I installed into a guy’s house using 753s, driven by an Audiolab 8000c pre-amp and 8000p power amplifier - listening to piano based music, it sounded stunning, and really sounded like the synergy was bang on. If you like the 753s, or end up keeping them, throw some meatier amplification at them.

For £700, you won’t get a speaker with a cabinet built like the 753s unless you look second hand, and then youll probably still end up with a speaker that needs better amplification. Nothing against what you’ve got of course, as they’re great amplifiers in their own right.
Thsnk
Despite the cheap drivers Mission used for the 753s, they ended up being quite a demanding loudspeaker. I‘ll always remember a system I installed into a guy’s house using 753s, driven by an Audiolab 8000c pre-amp and 8000p power amplifier - listening to piano based music, it sounded stunning, and really sounded like the synergy was bang on. If you like the 753s, or end up keeping them, throw some meatier amplification at them.

For £700, you won’t get a speaker with a cabinet built like the 753s unless you look second hand, and then youll probably still end up with a speaker that needs better amplification. Nothing against what you’ve got of course, as they’re great amplifiers in their own right.
Morning I can imagine how good the pre power combination must of sounded, always wished I could of afforded something like that over my 8000a back in the day. Many thanks
 

Wilts Hobbit

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Sep 24, 2021
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Hi all quick update just to let know I decided to stick with the 753's.... And tbh they still make me smile every time. Thank you all who took the time to reply. Very much appreciated.
 

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