Speakers to go with Rega Apollo / Roksan Kandy L amp

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Hi gurus,

Need some advice to shortlist speakers for auditioning. Based on reviews I will go with Rega Apollo source with Roksan Kandl L amp. I have a mid-size room 7m by 4m but since I live in a flat I prefer to listen at low volume ( maybe 2 or 3 in scale of 10 ) and occasionally louder. The reviewer said in the magazine that ATC SCM11 are the best suited but they sound best when played loud. So I am not sure if I should audition these. Appreciate if you can help me select some decent speakers that plays good at low volume and are suited to above source-amp combination.

Thanks a lot.

Cheers,

Neeraj from Germany

 

[Anonymous]

:- Anyone ?

Thanks,

Neeraj

 

[JoelSim]

My new ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signatures are pretty damn decent at low volumes. Mind you my floorstanding Dali's are too.

 

[Anonymous]

Cool thanks Joel for your reply. I am not so sure if Proac is readila available but I have seen Dali at my local hifi shop. Is that Dali Ikon 6 you are referring to ?

Neeraj

 

[Anonymous]

Yes I agree, I've got the 3-way Dali Ikon 7s (Ikon 8 is overkill for my room) which are also impressive at low levels (92 db sensitivity helps I guess). The combination of wood/paper drivers and hybrid tweeters first attracted me to these beauties 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Dali IKON suits the bill perfectly.
Depending on how much of low end slam you need, you may consider IKON 7 (most preferred for that room size) or 6 or 8.
What is your room layout?

 

[John Duncan]

PMC DB1i (I own the plus but haven't heard the 'i' upgrade). I'm with Joel on the Proacs. AVI Neutron IV.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Having just been listening to the DB1is which are in for test in Gramophone, I'd go for them every time.

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Having just been listening to the DB1is which are in for test in Gramophone, I'd go for them every time.
[/quote]Oooo. (Drums fingers on chin).

"Of course I haven't got new speakers darling"

 

[Thaiman]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Having just been listening to the DB1is which are in for test in Gramophone, I'd go for them every time.

[/quote]

so must be a big improvement over the old DB1 then? Don't get me wrong I thought they were a fine pair of speakers but the tiny cabinet just can not produce enough clean bass to keep me happy.

 

[drummerman]

As most of the time (but not always) I disagree with Andrew, Mr Duncan & Co.

Reason being, the little PMC is a great speaker if you dont have room or really must have a miniature for aesthetic reasons but it has inherent problems all tiny speakers have. A lack of free dynamics and the resulting compression when listening to music that demands those properties and lets face it, most music does. Its not a question of how loud but what it can do with a given signal. Add in the cost of a good pair of stands which you need with the DB1 and what you have is not cheap.

I'd advise you to listen to Rega's R3. Its cheaper and a good looking slim floorstander so you dont have the cost of stands. It is front ported and has additional side-facing mid/bass drivers. This will give you some freedom when placing the speakers and you can tune the bass much better than with a compromised transmission line such as in the DB1's (it really is just to small to use such a principle). I've heard both the Rega and the PMC (not the plus version) and there is absolutely no comparison.

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="drummerman"]
As most of the time (but not always) I disagree with Andrew, Mr Duncan & Co.

Reason being, the little PMC is a great speaker if you dont have room or really must have a miniature for aesthetic reasons but it has inherent problems all tiny speakers have. A lack of free dynamics and compression when listening to music that demands those properties and lets face it, most music does. Its not a question of how loud but what it can do with a given signal. Add in the cost of a good pair of stands which you need with the DB1 and what you have is not cheap.

I'd advise you to listen to Rega's R3. Its cheaper and a good looking slim floorstander so you dont have the cost of stands. It is front ported and has additional side-facing mid/bass drivers. This will give you some freedom when placing the speakers and you can tune the bass much better than with a compromised transmission line such as in the DB1's (it really is just to small to use such a principle). I've heard both the Rega and the PMC (not the plus version) and there is absolutely no comparison.
[/quote]

And in the past, drummerman, I'd have been with you on this - I got some Tannoy Revolution R2's back in the day on the basis that floorstanders were the way to go. But having since heard Proacs, AVIs and PMCs (I have the 'plus') that in theory shouldn't be able to deliver, I've changed my mind.

Of course, they're all dearer than the Regas, and the OP might favour them anyway. And note that my listening room is very, um, compact - my setup's almost "nearfield/studio" - so in another situation I might have a different view.

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="JohnDuncan"]And note that my listening room is very, um, compact - my setup's almost "nearfield/studio" - so in another situation I might have a different view.[/quote]

My point exactly Mr Duncan. 7x4m is not near field.

 

[John Duncan]

[quote user="drummerman"]
[quote user="JohnDuncan"]And note that my listening room is very, um, compact - my setup's almost "nearfield/studio" - so in another situation I might have a different view.[/quote]

My point exactly Mr Duncan. 7x4m is not near field.
[/quote]

I say 'might'. In fact, some small monitors might have distinct advantages when you have to give it some welly, but they'd have to be bl--dy good ones.

 

[Anonymous]

I heard the DB1i's last weekend. Think they're possibly a little brighter than the DB1s...