Speakers to match Rotel RA-04

[admin_exported]

I've decided on an Rotel RA-04 amp to replace my current mess of a system for my PC and now I'm trying to decide on some speakers around the £100 mark (maybe a bit more if there's a significant advantage to it). I'm mainly looking for untainted sound, i.e. reference/monitor style.

Any advice?

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

What a cool amp the RA-04 truly is, especially as you can plug a portable player straight into the front panel! i am running mine into Rega R3's, which will be a bit above your budget. They are floorstanders, and cost around the 500 mark, I suspect, but they give a wonderul sound - losing little, adding nothing, plenty of bass, and a nice clean treble. Why don't you have a look at the baby of the range, the 1's? Otherwise, there are lots of great speakers around these days nearer your price point - like Wharfdales, for instance. Good luck, and congratulations, you have a wonderful strong melodious amplifier there!

 

[gregory]

b&w's work well with rotel you could perhaps search the net for some 601 s3's at a knockdown price as a lot of dealers will look to get rid of old stock lines.£100.00 mark might be a limiting factor,you do have a good amp there so if you can up your budget a bit it opens up field.q acoustics 1010 are quite nice and the new tangent evo in a range of colours look interesting.they have had some good write up's.tannoy,wharfedale and the usual suspects can all be found on the net for for the £100.00 mark or less.good luck and let us know how you get on.gregory.

 

[Anonymous]

Hrm, well I could up my budget to £200 if it's likely to be a significant improvement.

The main thing I am looking for with the speakers is transparency, i.e. as little tainting or alteration to the sound as possible. I looked at the 601's and saw quite a few on eBay. The fact they are very old puts me off a little though. The Brass BRs looked nice but the reviews picked up on it altering the sound somewhat so that put me off them.

Other thoughts?

 

[gregory]

i think you mean the bronze.the fact that the b&w's are an older design should not put you off,they really are terrific speakers and should not alter the sound with the amp you are using.all speakers have a sound it's just getting the balance right with the other kit.if you can you really should demo speakers with your kit,take the amp with you if you can and try not to be fooled into thinking more expensive speaker cable will make a big difference,use your existing cable and take it from there.good luck,gregory.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not really interested in which "sounds nicer to me" but more which is going to be the more accurate and transparent.

It seems to be down to two candidates now. The B&W 601 Series 3's and the Bronze BR2s. Which of those two would you say would be more up to the task? Also it seems you can only get the B&W's from somewhere like eBay so that's a bit messy...

 

[Cypher]

Accurate and transparent ? IMO buy the MA BR2. I have them myself and they are awesome for the money. I recently had the new B&W 685 at home and they were dissapointing. They are transparent (but still not as much as the BR2) but accurate ? Not in my opinion. They sounded a bit 'messy' and not accurate at all.

IMO B&W is still trying to make speakers which will sound good with all types of music, even bad recordings. They are not very honest to say the least. Maybe that's why they are so popular. Not my kind of speaker at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok right, next step is finding the best place to buy the Rotel RA-04 and Bronze BR2s from. Any recommendations? I'm having trouble finding the Rotel at all to be honest.

 

[gregory]

superfi have the range of rotel amps as i believe sevenoakes and they stock ma speakers which of course makes it easier to demo.good luck.gregory.

 

[Anonymous]

SuperFi price is "In store only" and I currently have no-way of getting there (none are near even if I did), I need somewhere to order online. SevernOaks just seems to be an online catalog too, no way to actually purchase it.

Does anyone know anywhere online I can actually buy these two?

 

[gregory]

where are you based.

 

[Anonymous]

Worcester. As I said though, no car, so I have no way of just picking anything up. I'm not particularly interested in demo'ing either as as I said, I'm looking for transparency, not a particular "nice tone" to the sound.

 

[gregory]

i am sure superfi will send out if you ask nicely after all they cant turn down good money.are you near coventry,i know worcester is a big county but superfi have a branch there and if i'm not mistaken i'm sure there is a good hi-fi dealer in worcester,not sure of their range.hopr this helps.good luck,gregory.

 

[Anonymous]

Worcester, not Worcestershire. A long distance from Coventry. There is a small Hi-Fi dealer here but it has a -tiny- range and is more into TVs.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok this is stupid. I've been searching for a whole day now, maybe more and cannot find a -single- place that sells the Rotel RA-04 online... there has to be -somewhere-!

 

[gregory]

rotel will not sell online, only through authorised dealers.i did not know this so you will either have to visit your nearest dealer or consider another make.if your heart is set on rotel then a little trip out is your only option and should be a fun day out.good luck,gregory.

 

[Anonymous]

As I pointed out, it wasn't the trip that was the problem. I only own a motorbike which means it wouldn't be physically possible.

Anyway, I rang my local Hi-Fi store and spoke to them and they can order the items in for me so hopefully it's solved that issue. I didn't ask the price though as I forgot, so lets hope they are the same price as everywhere else :/

They are and ordered 🙂

Last question then, what speaker cabling do you recommend for this pair?

 

[gregory]

from your earlier posts i gathered it was a problem,must check my crystal ball next time i offer help.right,here go's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aghh yes your local dealer can help with your choice of cables.

 

[Anonymous]

I had checked before, but since I'd last seen them they'd moved premises and got in a considerably larger stock. 😉