Speakers to go with Yamaha RXV 673

[admin_exported]

Hi All

Consider myself quite a newbie in the AV entertainment world and looking for some advice. I have just moved in into my first home and want to set up a speaker system. I currently have a SKY+ HD box and PS3 hooked up to a Panasonic 42v10B tv. I have done a little research on the forums and on the web and have come to some conclusions. Hoping you all can reinforce or point me in a different direction as to what i am looking at.

I am looking for a 5.1 system including amp and speakers. I have pretty much chosen on the amp. Picking the Yamaha RXV 673 for its connectivity (airplay), and its build quality. Also it being What hifi amp of the year pretty much cements it.

The quandry i am having is with the speakers.

I have nailed it down to these for options:

RXV673, z2 stands, cable bundle and Q 2020i - £1030.00

RXV673, z2 stands, cable bundle and Q 2050i - £1185.00

RXV673, z2 stands, cable bundle and Dali Zensor 1 - £1305.00

RXV673, z2 stands, cable bundle and Dali Zensor 5 - £1400.00

Any thoughts on Monitor Audio BX range?

The room it is all going to go in, is 4.5 x 3M. So i am not sure whether the Q floorstanders will be too much in that room?

One other point is that the Q 2050i won best budget floorstander over the 4 star Dali Zensor 5's with the Q 2020i winning best budget Bookshelf. Surely the 2050i package should be better than the Dali Zensor 5 package? Surprisingly the Dali 5 Zensor pacakge came out on top over the Q Acoustics 2050i. What tips the Dali Zensor 5 above the 2050i pacakge?

This does seem to be an unspoken topic on the forums but would standard cable do the job or would i need to upgrade?

The room being quite small the speakers will be quite tight into the walls.

Happy to recieve any info and hope the questions arent all too much.

Thanks in advance

Steveo

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Can't quite understand your speaker package deals, as you say you want a 5.1 setup, but there's no mention of sub or centre.

Anyway, my own personal opinion is that you don't need floorstanders in that size of room.

My living room is around the same size, and my set up is more than enough for the room.

See below for my set up

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Big Bernard.

Thanks for your reply and your advice. I didn't make myself clear on the breakdown of the packages. These packages do include a sub and a centre speaker to complete the 5.1 system.

Your speaker system is exactly what I was looking for in the begining, then the green eyed monster thought bigger was better. Just trying to work out whether I will get value for my money in purchasing the Dali's.

cheers

Steveo

 

[f1only]

I am very happy with my Dali system, they work very well with the Yamaha Amp i own.

I would try & get an audition/demo of the Zensor 1 range they should go very well together with your amp in your size room. I would give some of the others you mention a go with your amp too if possible to see if you prefer the sound, it can all be a matter of taste.

Regards ...

 

[Ben K.]

Very happy with my Yamaha/MA combo. I would advise giving it a listen as its a very natural partnership.

I respect what hifi reviews and usually agree with them mostly on the stuff I've heard, however don't take them as the final word. My equipment is mostly 4 star reviews with my amp 3 and blu ray 5. To me it all sounds perfect so try your best to have a listen to your choices and see which partnership you would give the 5 star award to!

At the end of the day it's your money and you will hopefully be listening to it for years to come.

 

[ear]

Is that price for a pair of speakers only? I'd go for the zensor 5 anyway.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Hi Big Bernard.

Thanks for your reply and your advice. I didn't make myself clear on the breakdown of the packages. These packages do include a sub and a centre speaker to complete the 5.1 system.

Your speaker system is exactly what I was looking for in the begining, then the green eyed monster thought bigger was better. Just trying to work out whether I will get value for my money in purchasing the Dali's.

cheers

Steveo

I originally had (more or less) the Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 system, but wanted to upgrade. I considered the Dali Zensor 1s very seriously, but decided on the 2020is as I was keeping the Q Acoustics sub and centre speaker.

I've never had floor standers, so I can't judge them against bookshelf speakers, but I am very happy with my speaker set up.

If I was starting anew like yourself (without my current knowledge), I'd probably go for the Zensor 1s, but the 2020is are a good looking, great sounding compact speaker, so either I'm sure will make you a happy man.

PS. Have a look at this http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hot-deals/yamaha-rxv673-%C2%A3400-with-wi-fi-adaptor for a possibly great deal on the Yamaha amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi F1

Thanks for your advice. I am glad you are happy with your Dali System. As i understand it the Zensors have the same drivers as you Ikon's. So it should be a good partnership.

I completely agree with respecting and trusting HIfi, but as you said they are only guide and you have to make up your own mind for your own set of circumstances.

The matter of testing in the shop is that the shop will have completely different to your home environment.

Having saild all that, i ve just ordered the Dali 5.1 system with the Yamaha 673, will be here by friday. Will let you know how i get on.

Thanks All

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Ear

Have gone for the Dali 5 5.1 package and Yammy 673.

It cost £1400 comprising of.

Dali Zensor 5's & 1's, Vokal Centre and Subwoofer.

Yamaha RXV 673

Z2 Soundstyle stands

Cable bundle

Free Next day delivery

Not bad

Cheers

Steveo

 

[barkinmad]

I had a similar issue myself many years ago when buying my first yamaha amp, i read various magazines and forums for feedback but still was unsure. I then rang Creative Audio in Shrewsbury for their advice, they were fantastic, asking me all about what i was trying to achieve, what set up and the layout, they then suggected to buy Kefs, well i took their advice, bought the system and i had a fantastic system, they were spot on. They knew which speakers would suit the dynamics of which amps. I was so impressed, last week i contacted them again for advise before buying the new Yamaha RXV673, i was looking at buying a whole new speaker set up to go with the amp, they informed me that my 6 year old Kefs were still as good as and if not better then alot of the systems out there, so they saved me time and money and provided piece of mind, they did not at any point try to get me to make a sale for more speakers, they had my interests top of their list.

Anyway, what i'm suggesting is give them a call, they know what they are talking about and very helpful.

Allan

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All

Just to give you an update. I did get the Yamaha 673 and the Dali Zensor 5 5.1 system. Got a really good deal on it at Exceptional AV. Have to say i was impressed, but not blown away by it. Maybe its something to do witht he way i am setting it up.

I ran through the YPAO setup and it was showing an error that my subwoofer was volume was too low <10. The crossover was set to 80mhz in the receiver settings, up to max on the actual subwoofer and the Dali speakers were all set to small.

Also there doesnt seem to be much coming from the rear speakers.

Any ideas?

Regards

Steve

P.s. how do u post pictures on here. Would like to post a pic of positional setup just to see if you guys could improve on it.

 

[f1only]

Hi boochie.

When setting up the system on YPAO before you start set the subwoofers volume about half way, the phase on 0 & the crossover on maximum then run the setup. After you have run the setup change the Subwoofer to 80Hz as a starting point, if it has read your front & centre speakers to large change them to small. If you find you are not getting enough volume out of the Subwoofer you should be able increase the volume on it via the amp in 0.5db steps ( possibly easier ) in the manual speaker settings, or alternatively on the back of the Subwoofer. I would recommend getting a cheap SPL ( Sound Pressure Level ) meter from somewhere like Maplins, or borrow one if you can to set it all up properly, it does make all the difference, but you would need to do this after the YPAO setup. To manually do it go to the on screen menu then Setup-speaker-manual setup-Test Tone ON using the Test Tone generator assuming the 673 has a similar menu system to mine.

The rear or surround speakers are mainly used for effects so do not tend to be quite so loud. Most of this is subjective & down to personal taste. You can turn each individual speaker up or down on the Yamaha setup speaker menu.

Regards....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All

Just to give you an update. I did get the Yamaha 673 and the Dali Zensor 5 5.1 system. Got a really good deal on it at Exceptional AV. Have to say i was impressed, but not blown away by it. Maybe its something to do witht he way i am setting it up.

I ran through the YPAO setup and it was showing an error that my subwoofer was volume was too low <10. The crossover was set to 80mhz in the receiver settings, up to max on the actual subwoofer and the Dali speakers were all set to small.

Also there doesnt seem to be much coming from the rear speakers.

Any ideas?

Regards

Steve

P.s. how do u post pictures on here. Would like to post a pic of positional setup just to see if you guys could improve on it.

I have just got my 673 and can give you some things to try after having played around a bit. I had similar issues where it sounded all a bit flat and lacked any bass.

Do as previously stated concerning the subwoofer setup (I'm not that knowledgable about that part).

After running YPAO go into manual setup and edit the parametric setting where you can change the YPAO mode. Try the different options (I settled on either flat of natural I think. The default 'front' mode seems to kill the bass.

If you change any speaker to large setting then the amp will send all the frequencies to the speaker. If you set small then I believe it limits to just the higher frequencies. Try setting all speakers to large if you want more power everywhere.

You can individually raise the output of each speaker using the level setting. Try boosting your surround speakers here.

Play around with the crossover settings here in the amp settings as I believe it is the cut-off point at which it sends the sound to the front speakers and woofer? i.e. setting high will force more sound to the front (including woofer) and limit the rest of the speakers to the higher frequencies.

Concerning the rest of the DSP and tone stuff, I've not got good enough speakers at this stage. I have to wait until the funds become available.