Up to £1k for speakers

[admin_exported]

Good morning all,

I'm looking to buy a new pair of loudspeakers for my system which is as follows:

Marantz CD6002 CD Player,
Rotel RB1552 120W x2 Power Amp,
Yamaha DVDS2700 DVD/SACD player,
Yamaha DSPAX757SE AV amp which is used purely as a pre amplifier and to switch video signals.

It is an unusual setup, as I don't have the space to have a room dedicated to HiFi and a room dedicated to home cinema, so I have merged the two. Therefore I am looking for this pair of speakers to be talented with both music and movies, with a slight bias toward music reproduction.

My room size is 4m x 3m. The equipment will be positioned against the 3m wall with the listener opposite. I listen to mainly rock music, the occasional dance track and I like explosive action movies. So I am looking for speakers with a large scale sound and good bass weight. I listen at moderate volume levels.

I am ideally looking to spend £800, but my upper limit is £1000 if I don't find the less expensive options acceptable.

Products that I am currently considering are:

Mordaunt Short Mezzo 8
Dynaudio DM 2/7
Dynaudio DM 2/8
PMC TB2S+
Jamo C809
Monitor Audio Silver RX6
ProAc Studio 110

Which of these would you recommend? Is there something not on this list I should hear?

So far I have only auditioned the Mezzo 8s, which I thought were brilliant, but the demo room was very large and WHF recommended a minimum room size of 4m x 4m. I would like to know the opinion of anyone has experienced these speakers or similar ones in a smaller room.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to any suggestions.

Regards, Lewis.

 

[millerman]

Lewis

I cant comment on the list of speakers you have mentioned, however, I was in a similar position to you. and opted to go for a good quality hifi speakers rather than a surround sound.

The speakers I have are Schonberg, Vienna Acoustic. I bought mine new for a £1k and have heard less impressive speakers for 3K.

Initially I had a minor complaint of being bass light however since I upgraded my amp from a Nad to MF I have a very well balanced somewhat magical sound.

And when I do connect them to the telly they have the ability to throw sound round the room.

good luck

 

[Ragworm]

Lewis,

I've got a very similar set-up to you; similar sized listening room and feeding the pre-outs of my Yamaha RX-V657 into my Naim stereo amp to drive the front pair of speakers which are the PMC TB2+. The TB2+s have plenty of bass weight and are fairly relaxed about positioning. Like you, my priority is music reproduction. They are a very even handed speaker and don't impose their own character on the music. Flaws? The bass can get just a little unruly at times but that will depend on the partnering equipment. At the top end, their imaging isn't what I'd call class leading. With movies, this translates into dialogue that isn't as clear as others.

I've also auditioned the ProAc Studio 110s that you mentioned. Tighter bass than the PMCs but, in my opinion, worse stereo imaging. However, if I were you I would still audition both.

Alan.

 

[Anonymous]

The ATC SCM11s are fantastic for around 850 (I LOVE mine), but I've not heard them with a system/brands such as yours.

 

[Anonymous]

Ragworm:Lewis,

I've got a very similar set-up to you; similar sized listening room and feeding the pre-outs of my Yamaha RX-V657 into my Naim stereo amp to drive the front pair of speakers which are the PMC TB2+. The TB2+s have plenty of bass weight and are fairly relaxed about positioning. Like you, my priority is music reproduction. They are a very even handed speaker and don't impose their own character on the music. Flaws? The bass can get just a little unruly at times but that will depend on the partnering equipment. At the top end, their imaging isn't what I'd call class leading. With movies, this translates into dialogue that isn't as clear as others.

I've also auditioned the ProAc Studio 110s that you mentioned. Tighter bass than the PMCs but, in my opinion, worse stereo imaging. However, if I were you I would still audition both.

Alan.

Dear Alan,

Thanks for your helpful reply, where did you go to hear your PMCs?

Regards, Lewis

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the other speaker recommendations. I've read WHFs 5* review on the ATCs and the Vienna speakers are definitely lookers! I will take these two into account.

 

[Ragworm]

Lewis P:

Dear Alan,

Thanks for your helpful reply, where did you go to hear your PMCs?

Regards, Lewis

My local dealer, Audiofile in Cambridge. In fact, I bought their demo pair when the TB2is came out. If you check out PMC's web site (http://www.pmc-speakers.com/distribution/do_distribution_branch_type.php?mode=do&id=uk&type=consumer) you will find a list of dealers.

 

[caddyhound]

While you are visiting them try and find some exdem GB1i's.They should be perfect with your taste in music.

Make sure though to get a matching PMC centre channel if you are using one so the tonality is the same.Rears don't matter if you are only playing movies through them ,not multichannel music.

 

[Anonymous]

These might be too big for your room, but try to audition the B&W 683. They have very clear mids, and are front-ported (less issues with having their backs near a wall). They're also a bit on the bassy side, which may compensate for the Rotel's lean nature. The extra lows may actually help with movies in case you won't be using a dedicated sub. The Mezzo 8 is also an excellent option for this application (front ported with solid lows).

 

[the record spot]

Must admit, I wouldn't be lashing out anything like £1k in a pair of speakers for the current set-up, (CDP and DVD aren't in the same league IMO and great speakers won't make them sound like £1k sources).

However, Superfi currently have Epos M22i floorstanders down from £1100-odd to £650, brand new (i.e. not ex-dem).

Then, I'd use the remainder to get a better source if you intend to keep with CD and check out the likes of Yamaha's CD-S1000 or a discounted Marantz SA8003 CDP. Expensive speakers deserve a better source IMO.

I think allocating the whole £1k to the speakers (assuming this is the only upgrade planned, a different story if planning to upgrade the rest) is a mistake. Unless you're planning to stream hi-res music files from your laptop or the like that is?