standmounts for about 1500 pounds

[Craig M.]

hi all, i'm after some new speakers to replace my dyn's. reason being, since i changed my amp the bass is too prominent for my liking/room. i've got some dyn contour s1.4 on home dem at the moment and while they are clearly a lot better then my 110's, they are pretty big and need to be too far out into the room. i think the bass is a bit too much/forceful as well.

at the moment i am thinking i need to demo spendor sa1, wilson benesch square one, proac d2, and b+w 805s. are there any others i should be looking at? it would help if they where available through the mount snow group of hifi shops.

my focus's and the contours do bass from around 45hz, the sa1 and square ones from about 65hz, is this going to be really noticeable? i'm not really keen on adding a sub to fill out the bottom end, i'm not sure where i would put one and a bit concerned it would draw attention to itself. i listen mainly to 60's/70's rock/pop and accoustic stuff with a bit of chemical bros/leftfield and indie type stuff as well.

 

[shooter]

You say you've changed the amp, what was it before.

 

[Craig M.]

kandy L.lll. the i3rs is darker/warmer in tone. the kandy cdp i had brightened it up and it sounded quite good as a combo, but i wasn't entirely happy with the treble and fancied a dabble with the dark side (mac + dac). i'm probably going back to a cdp, either caspian or cyrus cd8se i reckon.

 

[shooter]

You may as well hang on untill then. Adding a cdp may change it for you, unless you want to change the dynudios, they are good!!

 

[Frank Harvey]

It's totally understandable that you're having bass problems with the Dynaudios. They do produce a lot of bass, and as you've found, need plenty of space to work properly, even the little 110's. Because of the amount of bass they produce, speakers like the SA1's are likely to leave you wanting, as bass depth isn't their forte. The Square One's will have a better bass response due to a bigger cabinet and driver, but I tend to find them a little too light for my liking, and lack the magic that the Square Two's have.

From speakers I've heard recently, take a look at the ATC SCM11's or 19's. Their in room bass response is much smoother because of their sealed cabinet, and their overall balance is far more even than the Dynaudios. They'll have quantity and depth, but shouldn't present the problems you're getting with the Dynaudios, and I've not yet found anything they can't reproduce well. Good stands are recommended as they're quite hefty. I think a sub in a room that has bass problems is only going to add to them.

You also shouldn't have many problems with the Proacs, as they're front ported, as are the Dali Mentor 2's. The KEF XQ20's are a nicely balanced speaker too, which don't try and produce more bass than they can handle. These are also front ported, and have been quite popular in demo's I've hosted this year.

Do take a look at the Proac D1 and D2 though as they are great speakers, and the older Response 1SC (which the D1 replaces) has always been a favourite of mine. Obviously a demo of some of these speakers is highly recommended, and once you find a favourite, try and get a home demo.

Regards

David

 

[Craig M.]

i'll borrow a cdp or two when i demo the speeks, my local shop might not be that great when it comes to haggling a discount but they are great when it comes to letting me home demo stuff. i'm definitely changing the dyn's though - the contours are quite a big upgrade on my focus's, so i imagine some of the speakers i mentioned in my first post will be as well.

 

[Anonymous]

If I had that amount to spend on standmounts in a small/medium room without booming base I'd get some Ls3/5as. I haven't heard any other speaker in this price range though.

 

[Craig M.]

cheers David, i was thinking about the square two's but was put off a bit at mention of them being easy to knock over. i've got a bloody big dog! if i can find somewhere near by, the atc's will definitely be on my list to dem. do you know how much space the proacs need behind them?

edit: my room is about 8m x 4m, and i listen across the width. setting it up down the length of the room isn't possible due to slight L shape and bay window.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'd say a tad more than the ATC's as they're ported, but in your size room I wouldn't have thought it'd be a problem as it's a fair size room!

 

[Anonymous]

The Spendor SA1 are superb, but as pointed out the bass experience will be very different to what you've become accustomed to. Worth a shot if you value speed, resolution and naturalness (their bass is excellent though).

I heard the Proac D2s recently and loved them. Very refined, detailed, airy and had excellent low bass. If only I had the space for them I might have ordered a pair! Not small speakers if you're used to Focus 110s though! If I were in your shoes I'd be heading straight to the new Proac D1s, the replacement to the 1SC. They're ported but I suspect will sound breath-taking.

When I got the SA1s I listened to the 1SCs for a brief period. I preferred the overall balance and smoothness of the Spendors but the 1SC was a bit more airy in comparison. Such a balance might work well with the darker sounding amp you have now.

I've never heard any ATCs and would have loved to when getting the SA1s. Worth a shot!

Keep us posted.

 

[SHAXOS]

I can vouch for the Bowers 805S my favourite of the sub 1600 standmounts (think theres been a price hike though)! Awesome speaker!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Craig

At £1.5k (and beyond) ATC's SCM19 without a doubt. They are stunning. ATC give an extremely good taste with their 7 and 11 models but it is with the 19's that the company really starts to flex it's muscles. The 19's feature their Super Linear Magnet Technology. You can read more about this below. The mid/bass drive unit is massive work of art and itself weighs 9kg!

I have been selling ATC and the 19's in particular (many of them

) for a few years now with many systems and i still get the feeling that those drive units are just ticking over and taking things in their stride!

I am trying to finish this post but keep on getting distracted (Quantum Of Solace is on) by what i am hearing from the ATC speakers (19's, C3MK2 centre, 7's, C2 sub) dotted around the shop. In this instance the ATC's are simply allowing Yamaha's DSP-Z11 to breathe with the almost studio like presentation on offer that's almost impossible to ingore.

Whether it's a music or movie soundtrack the ATC's will (i believe) help unlock the performance of your existing compnents and their performance potential will happily accomodate any future changes. Their neutral performance also makes room postioning far less critical. Soundstyle's XS122 speaker stands work well with the 19's.

http://www.atc.gb.net/downloads/CompanyProfile.pdf (page 10 for SLMT)

http://www.atc.gb.net/scm19.htm

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Craig M.]

thanks for all the replies, plenty of food for thought! i'll let you know how i get on.