Warm involving speakers

[olderhifiuser]

My system is Arcam based - 8SE CD, 8 amp, 8 power amp.

Having had Castle Pembroke speakers for a long time, followed by some Rogers LS4a when the Castles broke, I am looking for some replacements without spending a lot of money,

I bought unseen/ unheard (I know !!) some JBL 270 floorstanders on the basis of technology moves on... how bad can they be. Where the Castles gave me a warm embrace and said come and listen to some lovely music, the JBLs shouted at me from the other side of the room, or just became a horrible muddle on complex music like 70's soul, where there is a lot going on.

Visited a few shops, and they all said the same thing about inexpensive speakers (£500 to £600), i.e. "you won't like them"

So, are there any speakers out there (Spendor and PMC are out of my budget range) that will recreate that warm embracing sound?

Money is tight, and I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to set up a home theatre system, I just want to listen to my music - vocals, soul, r & b, musicals, some jazz.

Ron

 

[CJSF]

My system is Arcam based - 8SE CD, 8 amp, 8 power amp.

Having had Castle Pembroke speakers for a long time, followed by some Rogers LS4a when the Castles broke, I am looking for some replacements without spending a lot of money,

I bought unseen/ unheard (I know !!) some JBL 270 floorstanders on the basis of technology moves on... how bad can they be. Where the Castles gave me a warm embrace and said come and listen to some lovely music, the JBLs shouted at me from the other side of the room, or just became a horrible muddle on complex music like 70's soul, where there is a lot going on.

Visited a few shops, and they all said the same thing about inexpensive speakers (£500 to £600), i.e. "you won't like them"

So, are there any speakers out there (Spendor and PMC are out of my budget range) that will recreate that warm embracing sound?

Money is tight, and I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to set up a home theatre system, I just want to listen to my music - vocals, soul, r & b, musicals, some jazz.

Ron

I sympathise Ron, try a read through my thread:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/in-retrospect

. . . sorry for the toys nearly out of the pram section, makes the thread a bit tedious at that point, but in general I think I want to move on in a similar way to yourself and one has a similare listening criteria? Matthewpianos sugestion is an interesting one #78, may fit your bill? I cant find a price for Audio Note, but the indications are that they are not fancy prices?

CJSF

 

[plastic penguin]

My system is Arcam based - 8SE CD, 8 amp, 8 power amp.

Having had Castle Pembroke speakers for a long time, followed by some Rogers LS4a when the Castles broke, I am looking for some replacements without spending a lot of money,

I bought unseen/ unheard (I know !!) some JBL 270 floorstanders on the basis of technology moves on... how bad can they be. Where the Castles gave me a warm embrace and said come and listen to some lovely music, the JBLs shouted at me from the other side of the room, or just became a horrible muddle on complex music like 70's soul, where there is a lot going on.

Visited a few shops, and they all said the same thing about inexpensive speakers (£500 to £600), i.e. "you won't like them"

So, are there any speakers out there (Spendor and PMC are out of my budget range) that will recreate that warm embracing sound?

Money is tight, and I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to set up a home theatre system, I just want to listen to my music - vocals, soul, r & b, musicals, some jazz.

Ron

From personal experience the old PMC 'i' series have a nice, smooth midrange with a crisp top end. However, even s/hand GB1is are usually around £800-£900 mark on auction sites. or you could have large standmounters. Just seen this pair.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PMC-TB2-TB2-Plus-Cherry-Passive-Speakers-Monitors-Studio-HiFi-/111410327366?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item19f092af46

You could look at Dynaudio and Spendor which are pretty smooth, but IME they aren't a good match with Arcam amps.

 

[matthewpiano]

Audio Note may indeed suit you and your system. The AX-2s are somewhere in the region of £800, but last thing I knew that particular model was temporarily out of production due to cabinet supply issues. However, Audio Counsel had bought up the remaining stock of that model so if you aren't too far away it might be worth looking into these. Good dealer too. There are plenty of other AN speaker models, but all a bit more money.

If you are trying to keep to a tighter budget you may well like the Dali Zensor 3s or Zensor 5s - the first being larger standmounters and the second being compact floorstanders. They have a generally more forgiving nature than most modern speakers.

Then, in between the two, there are the Dynaudio DM series speakers. I have, and love, the DM2/6 (the smallest) which are currently £399, but there are also the DM2/7 (larger standmounts) and some floorstanders too. The DM range is now exclusive to Richer Sounds but has been in production for several years. They are distinguished by particularly exceptional treble performance (not a hint of hardness, harshness or grain) and very good coherence across the frequency range. It says a lot that I will only consider upgrading these when I can afford a pair of Audio Note AX2s.

Finally, possibly worth hearing a pair of Rega RS1 or RS3. Again, very good value for money.

In general, stick to speakers with soft dome tweeters rather than metal ones. Also, I don't think B&W or KEF would particularly suit you as both can get a bit harder in the treble than the options I suggest. More affordable B&Ws have a slightly detached quality to the treble too.

 

[James7]

I really think your answer could be to get back to Castle. The Knight series would, I think, perfectly suit your requirements and I see Superfi are currently selling off pairs of Knight 3s for £199, a third of the RRP.

EDIT Checking their stock it seems the £199 Kinght 3s have been snapped up, and quite right too at that price. Still, I still think this may be the way to go.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'd keep an eye out for a used set of Spendor S5e.

 

[peterpan]

Kef R500 too hard treble?

 

[olderhifiuser]

Some interesting replies there - what a wonderful bunch of people hi-fi people are

I am looking at some second hand castle severn 2 speakers to keep me going while I go listen to some of the ideas over the next few months. Been without speakers for 2 days only and I am missing music while I work already

Ron

 

[CnoEvil]

Some possible suggestions:

Kef R100

Sonus Faber Toy

Rega RS1 / RS3

 

[matthewpiano]

Kef R500 too hard treble?

I was thinking more of the Q series than the R.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

I also would recommend something with a soft dome tweeter.. Keep an eye out for pre owned Spendor, Harbeth or possibly Neat. I know Neats aren’t strictly a soft dome speaker but they still are in the 'warm and involving' category Imo.

 

[jaxwired]

Dynaudio DMs or Monitor Audio silvers.

 

[nirvy111]

'Warm involving speakers'

Q acoustics(cough)concept 40's(cough)

 

[Tibor]

Dynaudio DM series, Dali Zensor and Lektor series, Wharfedale EVO series and Wharfedale Denton, Boston Acoustics A series, Quad 11L classic, Monitor Audio new Silver series

 

[Blackdawn]

The Boston Acoustics A360 might be worth a listen. The A26 speakers are very good but smaller.

 

[paulsue38]

I would consider the Spendor A3 lovely detailed presentation and never harsh. You mention Spendor might be out of your price range but I only paid about 450 for mine ex dem from a dealer. Alternativley those discounted New Castles do look like a great buy.

Paul

 

[Singslinger]

I would strongly recommend Wharfedale Dentons, which are perhaps the warmest speakers I have ever heard. Lovely finish too.

 

[James7]

Lots of good recommendations here. In addition to the Castles I mentioned Wharfdale Dentons are a good shout, the Q Acoustics Concept 40 too. Some of the others here I am unfamiliar with but I am sure worth auditioning. Reading this month's Hi-Fi Choice, there is a review of Epos's new K2 that suggests this could be exactly what you are looking for.

 

[hifikrazy]

The Epos K2 were very well reviewed recently, described as very musical, smooth and easy, but highly enjoyable.

 

[VOE]

Personally I think you're asking the wrong question. You want "warm" and maybe consider that speakers alone can magically solve this. In my experience the Arcam 8SE CD player is a long way from warm and involving. The Alpha 9 was substantially better but for my money I'd keep the speakers and feed the whole system with another better warmer and more involving CDP. The later CD192 has a good reputation and superseded the CD93. I own a 93 and couldn't wait to unplug my 8SE as soon as I heard the major improvement in dynamics, detail , warmth etc. Many years ago I demo'd the 192 and thought it was very good but couldn't honestly appreciate the probably subtle improvement over the 93. Given that a 192 s/hand is only £200 I wouldn't hesitate in replacing the Alpha 8SE as soon as I could. The speakers can't magically create what isn't there to start with.

IMHO this forum is worryingly obsessed with speakers as the only "fix it" method. They are not by any means. The 8SE is so far behind the better budget CDP's of today, it is a false economy to spend on speakers whilst you still have it. The amps are ok though!

 

[JamesMellor]

They look a little battered but :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castle-Pembroke-Hi-fi-Home-Stereo-Speakers-Spkrs-Floor-Standing-Tower-75W-Watts/380961038208?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D8660569811626220364%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D20140122125356%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D181477254365&rt=nc

 

[olderhifiuser]

I have now bought some secondhand Castle Avon speakers as a temporary solution while I listen to some others over the coming months

I was without speakers for a few weeks - Pembrokes blew the tweeters a few years back, dropped one of the Rogers while putting in loft.

My Arcam 8SE CD has also given up the ghost, will not read the CD, just makes a horrible clicking noise

So replacing the CD is the next most immediate job.

The suggestion of an Arcam 192 is one I am looking at on Ebay, keeping track of what is for sale. Also looking at Arcam 82 or 92/3 to see what's around and what sort of prices before I jump

Meanwhile squeezebox and records will suffice, along with a CD recorder pressed into play as a CD player - not the best by any means, but it will do until I find something better.

Thanks for all the suggestions - much food for thought.

 

[olderhifiuser]

I did see these, the seller has some interesting feedback

 

[VOE]

I wouldn't buy an 82 - if you think about it the DiVa range replaced the earlier Alpha range with the 72/73 correspondingly to the Alpha 7, the 82/83 with the Alpha 8, the 92/93/T with the earlier Alpha 9 etc. IOW, the 82 /83 are only similar in the range to your now defunct 8SE. There were some sound improvements but most of the real change was in the more modern styling and the integration of the audio-visual players ie DVD.

To jump up well clear of the 8SE, you need to go for at least a 93 or better still, the 192 (93 replacement). Or maybe, if budget will stretch, an FMJ CD 36/37?