speakers for old gear

[admin_exported]

Hello, many years ago I was a keen follower of hi-fi fashion, one system was a radford amp/pre driving spendor BC3s, lovely. However time, family, divorce and several house moves has reduced me to the following: Rotel RB970BX power amp, Tresham DR2 control unit, Rotel RCD-965BX cd feeding Gale Monitor Golds. The latter were a temporary thing that has gone on too long. Accepting that listening is the best option, but bearing in mind that I will not be able to replicate my home experience in the few local dealers we have left (where is Jeffries Hi-Fi when you need it?) advice please. I need decent speakers but what sort of price/performance would match my other gear? Would Diamonds be appropriate, would 685s or IQ5SEs be overkill?

My room is c3m x 5m, my taste eclectic, anything emotional from Tchaikovsky to Van Der Graff through Cohen. Yes, I know that dates me! I should add that the room has a wooden floor and the house is semi-detached, my neighbours have a new baby. Moving house is not an option.

 

[chebby]

Philhayes:(where is Jeffries Hi-Fi when you need it?)

Still there in the form of Audio-T in Portsmouth, Eastbourne, and Brighton.

My branch still has the same manager and the same excellent service as when it used to be Jeffries. (Same phone number too apart from the new area code.)

 

[matthewpiano]

For good all-round musicality and a good match to your Rotel gear I'd be looking at the B&W 685s. Very talented speakers and now the early clamour over them has died down they should be much easier to get hold of.

Book an audition with Audio T - a very good company to deal with.

 

[Anonymous]

Eastbourne has gone, I spent many an hour in there. Anyway thanks for the quick replies.

 

[Dougal1331]

I would actually plump for the IQ5s. Their tight bass and good focus should help liven up the smooth sound of the CD player, while not causing too many problems with the wooden floors. 685s, for their size, are quite bassy -IMO- and could cause a bit of bloom...

That said, you could also purchase a nice thick rug, which would hopefully negate any low-frequency histrionics...

 

[Dougal1331]

You could also look out for Mission 751s or even 752s second-hand. They work well with Rotel kit, and have a good tight, punchy character.

 

[matthewpiano]

Dougal1331:You could also look out for Mission 751s or even 752s second-hand. They work well with Rotel kit, and have a good tight, punchy character.

Another vote for 751s here. They are incredibly good speakers and, at about £100 for a good pair, represent an amazing bargain. I've had mine a couple of weeks now and I'm in love with them because they sound excellent whether I'm playing large scale orchestral works, chamber music, rock, folk, pop, or jazz and they are as good at low volumes as they are at high ones. Absolutely superb.

 

[the record spot]

Another vote for the 751 and 752 here; I've long advocate this particular range of speakers and it's good to hear Matt's enjoying his 751s. Expect a big sound from a small box, but full of detail yet effortlessly musical. Nice, but not overwhelming bass. The 752 is an elegant floorstander, but can be bass light with the wrong gear. Match them carefully and you'll do alright. Avoid, in that case, lean sounding equipment to partner them as a result.

The 751s retailed at £300, whilst the 752s were £550 or so - expect to pay around £100 for a good pair off Ebay on both counts, dealers will be around £125 for the 751 and anything up to £200 for the 752 (a little higher for the Freedom versions in both cases; note, many users like both versions and some claim the originals are the better of the two. I've only ever had the pre-Freedom version, so can't comment on the later models, however, the originals are very good).

If you want a controlled bass, given your neighbours, and if you can find them, the KEF Q35.2 are another good option. UniQ drivers, highly rated at the time, nice set of speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

you see i had some mission 751s matched with a marantz cd player and nad amp which were nice but never found them particularly wonderful just couldnt afford better at the time

they came after some kef reference speakers and honestly werent in the same ballpark which is why im a bit dubious about the missions though it could be the kefs were too hard an act to follow

theyre also the only speakers ive sold thus missing out on long damp winters of decay in the shed

each to his or her own of course and im not being negative about what were by no means bad speakers just saying how i found them

 

[Anonymous]

I have an old pair of AR2's ... am just guessing, but think that these would match your components perfectly ... they run rings around the new wharfedales, but expect to pay approx £200 for a good pair

small bookshelf speakers with an 10 inch bass driver ... there's just something special about them ... not many for sale, and if you do find a pair, check them out properly, as they will most prob need refoaming ...

these are becoming very 'collectable', especially in the USA

 

[the record spot]

one off:
you see i had some mission 751s matched with a marantz cd player and nad amp which were nice but never found them particularly wonderful just couldnt afford better at the time

they came after some kef reference speakers and honestly werent in the same ballpark which is why im a bit dubious about the missions though it could be the kefs were too hard an act to follow

theyre also the only speakers ive sold thus missing out on long damp winters of decay in the shed

each to his or her own of course and im not being negative about what were by no means bad speakers just saying how i found them

No problem mate, it's just the KEF Reference speakers cost several times the price of the 751s - like for like, I'd expect the KEFs to outperform them. Two good sets of speakers right enough though.