What is the best speakers my needs, dali,kef,rega,or wharfedale

[Al ears]

what pair ?

The Acoustic Zen Adagio.

 

[matthewpianist]

@gasolin I'm not really sure what you're hoping to achieve here, and it seems you're a little like I have been at times - repeatedly cycling through kit around the same price, and never quite settling. I think you need to consider what is likely to match your amplifier well as much as anything else, and as good as the WiiM amps are for their price, as streaming amplifiers, some of the speakers mentioned require better in order to perform at their best. I'm not familiar with your current speakers, but is there a case for considering a different amp to address whatever shortcoming you are seeking to address in your system? Or are you simply happy to change for the sake of change?

 

[gasolin]

Suggestion up to 2000 euros ? (not to deep under 30cm)

 

[matthewpianist]

Suggestion up to 2000 euros ? (not to deep under 30cm)

Amplifier?

 

[gasolin]

wiim amp pro

 

[Al ears]

Suggestion up to 2000 euros ? (not to deep under 30cm)

Acoustic Energy AE1 40th Anniversary???

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

AlChris audio TX1…edited due to my ignorance…..
TX1 have high sensitivity and pretty flat impedance which will work well with the amps somewhat limited current output..

 

[Al ears]

AlChris audio TX1 or 5

The TX1 perhaps, aren't the 5's outside his depth requirements (under 30cm) and budget??
They are anyway, and that's before shipping costs and possibly import duties....

 

[twinkletoes]

If you’re looking for a wild card, a pair of Sonos Play:5s is worth considering—they score extremely well in Audio Science tests and reach down to about 30 Hz. but will depend on how wedded you are to all you legacy gear, they will take a CD player record player but both. well you could use a switch to solve that problem.

Sonos Five Smart Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests, and detailed measurements of the SONOS Five streaming wired/wireless smart multi-room speaker. It was kindly drop shipped by a member and costs US $549. The Five is solidly built and feels rather substantial in hand. Packaging is always is apple-like...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Another great choice would be the KEF R3s or the KEF LS50 Meta—there really isn’t a bad speaker in this price range. You could also look at Revel, JBL, Mission, PMC, or Harbeth—many excellent options second-hand.

Just keep in mind your amp becomes more important with some of these speakers, as a few aren’t easy to drive at this price point.

If it were me with 2 k to spend, I’d go for AE1 Actives paired with a Bluesound Node (Icon or standard) and sign up for a DirectLive room correction account. That combo gets you a genuinely finished, end-game system—plug in, dial it in, and enjoy. No more chasing gear.

 

[Al ears]

If you’re looking for a wild card, a pair of Sonos Play:5s is worth considering—they score extremely well in Audio Science tests and reach down to about 30 Hz.

Sonos Five Smart Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests, and detailed measurements of the SONOS Five streaming wired/wireless smart multi-room speaker. It was kindly drop shipped by a member and costs US $549. The Five is solidly built and feels rather substantial in hand. Packaging is always is apple-like...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Another great choice would be the KEF R3s or the KEF LS50 Meta—there really isn’t a bad speaker in this price range. You could also look at Revel, JBL, Mission, PMC, or Harbeth—many excellent options second-hand.

Just keep in mind your amp becomes more important with some of these speakers, as a few aren’t easy to drive.

If it were me with 2 k to spend, I’d go for AE1 Actives paired with a Bluesound Node (Icon or standard) and sign up for a DirectLive room correction account. That combo gets you a genuinely finished, end-game system—plug in, dial it in, and enjoy. No more chasing gear.

He's got an amplifier so why active speakers??? Keep up!
🙂

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

You're just going to go round and round in circles overthinking things if your thought process is driven by reviews. If you're unable to demo them then the worst thing you can do is scrutinise everything to the nth degree, or you'll just find and overblow negatives, and you'll never commit to one of them.

Neat petites outgunning your LS50s?

 

[RTHerringbone]

Neat petites outgunning your LS50s?

Haven't arrived yet; should be here by Thursday.
EDIT: Just checked and the order is still "Awaiting fulfilment" - Doug Brady didn't have them in stock and have to get them shipped direct from Neat.

 

[twinkletoes]

He's got an amplifier so why active speakers??? Keep up!
🙂

The guy doesn’t know what he wants, so why not nudge him toward perhaps the best system his money can buy? He wants bass? I delivered—compact, punchy, small-form-factor bass. The trade-off: minimal legacy connectivity.

He wants to drop 2K on speakers paired with a Wimp Pro? Fine, I handed him perhaps the best speakers under 2K. Compromise? You’ll need a dac/streamer with preamp control—that’s where the Node comes in and it have proper room correction! not that sudo rubbish of the wiim.

If you noticed I gave no advice on matching speakers with his amp I gave him brand in the price range.

So, here’s my thinking—laid out.

What’s yours?

40th's with a Wimp Pro? Is there any real synergy there? Will it drive the speakers, or leave him wanting more? How’s the bass response dont think they have much? Any port noise? Have you heard them? what are they like in near-field setup?

keep up!

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

Doubt WiiM amp has much current out does it? Any figures available?

 

[Revolutions]

Doubt WiiM amp has much current out does it? Any figures available?

According to this review, WiiM use some tech to get around current flow & speaker load.

He also says the Marantz Stereo 70s sounds a lot better…

The future of entry-level amplifiers: WiiM AMP Ultra review | Darko.Audio

Software first, hardware second.

darko.audio

 

[Al ears]

The guy doesn’t know what he wants, so why not nudge him toward perhaps the best system his money can buy? He wants bass? I delivered—compact, punchy, small-form-factor bass. The trade-off: minimal legacy connectivity.

He wants to drop 2K on speakers paired with a Wimp Pro? Fine, I handed him perhaps the best speakers under 2K. Compromise? You’ll need a dac/streamer with preamp control—that’s where the Node comes in and it have proper room correction! not that sudo rubbish of the wiim.

If you noticed I gave no advice on matching speakers with his amp I gave him brand in the price range.

So, here’s my thinking—laid out.

What’s yours?

40th's with a Wimp Pro? Is there any real synergy there? Will it drive the speakers, or leave him wanting more? How’s the bass response dont think they have much? Any port noise? Have you heard them? what are they like in near-field setup?

keep up!

I read he already has the Wiim amp Pro, so perhaps he does know what he wants.....
Also his question asked about passive speakers, not what you think about where he should be spending his money.
No doubt he will consider other options, possibly.

 

[gasolin]

1205 euros for a pair of Dynaudio evoke 10

Most places sell it for 1535 euros

 

[gasolin]

According to this review, WiiM use some tech to get around current flow & speaker load.

He also says the Marantz Stereo 70s sounds a lot better…

The future of entry-level amplifiers: WiiM AMP Ultra review | Darko.Audio

Software first, hardware second.

darko.audio

Not 100% the same amp

Don't know if he uses room fit, roomcorrection

 

[Fandango Andy]

reviews, good performance vs price

Rega kyte (from a review) : Many small, inexpensive speakers sacrifice overall sound quality for a single aspect of reproduction. The Kyte is such an overall high achiever, with a level of balance usually reserved for much more expensive speakers. Even after hours of constant listening, this is a speaker you will never tire of.

Much like that rare automobile that has a perfect balance of braking, acceleration and handling, these speakers offer everything a music lover will appreciate. Excellent bass response, smooth yet defined treble and a very refined midrange. Nothing sounds forced, nothing sounds lacking. The Kytes completely deliver Rega’s promise of making reasonably priced hifi gear that sounds great. There is a level of graininess and cloudiness that nearly every budget speaker has, that is completely absent with the Kyte, even powered by a vintage receiver. This level of refinement makes them sound much more expensive then their price dictates.

wharfedale diamond 12 got a great review from asr, the new version looks like the old version so i think improvements is subtle but important, very good price even for the big 12.2i under £300

Monitor audio bronze 100 6g had such mediocre review , i would never consider one but the ma bronze 50 7g got much better review, meaning it's a much better speaker with a lively sound fare from safe (borring), not to make any notice of it self sound

Kef q1 meta also get good reviews and is single source point, once had the kef ls50 meta, other than a little sharpness they where good (i now know they have alot of distortion in the bass and not recommended for loud music)

Dali kupid small (good options for placements) bass is really good, i had the old spektor 1's that was for sale at a good price bf some years ago, a review say smooth, well-controlled treble that avoids fatigue in nearfield listening,good rhythmic drive and dynamics about the kupids

They are 4 ohm speakers so i have over 2x100 watt in 4 ohm and that is enough despite there low sensitivity (spektor 1 can play loud if you have enough power)

I don't hate there looks and they come in 5 different colours,low price

Cons to me Soundstage scale is modest but not a big deal, mabye beter with burn in or roomfit (room correction) since it might do somthing to the bbc dip the spektor 1's had and mabye also kupid and theye for enhancing the soundstage scale a little

Dali sonik is expensive compared to kuli and no one other than dali knows how they sound released 2 th of february

Dynaudio emit 10 is not to me (m30) a bright speaker and the price i could get it for is the lowest i could find it for in Denmark, i would save more than a pair of quality stands (desk) or high tier speaker cable, reviews say they are Wenig pegelfest = Not very stable at high pressure levels

One review say no cons another review say with busy music somewhat messy anothter review say Medium volume is best and Congestion at high volume – Yes, but not so much at medium volume

I responded to one of your comments earlier and quoted an article I had just read. I hadn't connected that to you and this thread. Since you mention the Dali Kupid I went back to it:

https://darko.audio/2026/01/old-school-vs-future-fi-arcam-a5-or-wiim-amp-ultra/

its worth a read. I have no experience with the Kupid's or any 4Ω speakers for that matter, but have known class D amps struggle to bring the best out of 6Ω that have shone when driven by 50ish Watts from a class A/B amp.

 

[gasolin]

I don't need one speaker and not active

I love my wiim amp pro with room correction,bass management, adjustments for gain from each input,streaming options, it has more power than i need, 60 watt in 8 ohm, 120watt in 4 ohm, hifi feet (under the stock feet), better power cable, quality speaker cable,power distributor,mains block (supra)

Wouldn't know what to upgrade to with room correction, eversolo play is not better than a wiim amp ultra

One mentioned bass, if i don't use room correction the bass lacks alot (i have a sub i don't use atm), like i use a sub and turn it off, roomfit does a good job of making shure my speakers perform as good as they can

Unless i can get a new wiim amp ultra for half price im not gonna upgrade my amp and a wiim amp ultra don't offer much in sonic improvements over the amp pro (more power and higher tier dac)

The mentioned 2000 euros is up to 2000 euros, you often (can't think of the word to describe it)... me for for going for budget parts, like under 1000 euros and wanted to see what you would recommend that i might not have thought about. Have looked at kef r3 meta,kef q concerto meta ,dynaudio evoke 10 i just need something under 30 cm deep

Even when i asked about speakers up to 2000 euros i never included,so the ae 40th anniversary edition as an option, the surround on the ae 40th anniversary edition looks like foam (instead of rubber of some other material) that won't last long

 

[RTHerringbone]

I think your approach is all over the place and is confusing people. The speakers and budgets you mention vary from £250 to £1,750; it's a wild range, but then it seems you threw the €2,000 budget in just as some sort of test? What is the actual budget? There's no point asking for suggestions at €2,000 if you only intend to spend far less.

It's clear you like the functionality of the WiiM and that's fine. But people can't really help you narrow down your search if you can't set basic parameters like budget to a sensible range. Personally I wouldn't spend multiples of the cost of the WiiM on speakers, but it's not me doing the buying.

 

[gasolin]

I responded to one of your comments earlier and quoted an article I had just read. I hadn't connected that to you and this thread. Since you mention the Dali Kupid I went back to it:

https://darko.audio/2026/01/old-school-vs-future-fi-arcam-a5-or-wiim-amp-ultra/

its worth a read. I have no experience with the Kupid's or any 4Ω speakers for that matter, but have known class D amps struggle to bring the best out of 6Ω that have shone when driven by 50ish Watts from a class A/B amp.

Dali Kupid is made for budget amps like my wiim amp pro and nad c316bee (all versions), nad D3020, fosi audio amps (ultra compact pc system) or a eversolo play,wiim amp ultra, i have no doubt my amp can handle dali kupid but with some speakers they scale higher,better with a better amp than budget amps, like a Cambridge audio Evo 150 than a wiim amp ultra, eversolo play

One on wh wrote the marantz PM6007 is the best amp for the money (or best low budget amp), i disagree, its the wiim amp pro, i don't think i would buy speakers that good that i need tyo upgrade my amp, to me it's the best and most versatile amp for under 400 euros with streaming and room correction

 

[gasolin]

In the start i never mentioned 2000 euro speakers or £1750 if that is easier for you

ATM there are so many interesting speakers for not alot of money, dali kupid,the new wharfedale diamond 12 i, dali sonik next month,Dali menuet

what hifi's best speakers overall Acoustic Energy AE300, Monitor audio Bronze 50 g7, Wharfedale Super Denton where the 3 later models beeing the most expensive speakers

More expensive models dynaudio evoke 10,

kef q concerto and r3 meta might be to deep

One palce surprised me again and again when asking about model im interested in, the have undercut the price of all other stores in denmark + i have my current speakers, mabye 600 euros and my sub or i will keep my sub (atm i don't use it to use my main speaker without a sub for a longer time to hear how it sound and if i can live without a sub).

According to whathifi best overall speaker is Acoustic Energy AE300.2 for around 800 euros or £695 = to upgrade (if it is that) to the best overall 800 euros is all i would need (no stores close to that have a pair)

 

[Fandango Andy]

Dali Kupid is made for budget amps like my wiim amp pro and nad c316bee (all versions), nad D3020, fosi audio amps (ultra compact pc system) or a eversolo play,wiim amp ultra, i have no doubt my amp can handle dali kupid but with some speakers they scale higher,better with a better amp than budget amps, like a Cambridge audio Evo 150 than a wiim amp ultra, eversolo play

One on wh wrote the marantz PM6007 is the best amp for the money (or best low budget amp), i disagree, its the wiim amp pro, i don't think i would buy speakers that good that i need tyo upgrade my amp, to me it's the best and most versatile amp for under 400 euros with streaming and room correction

As mentioned I have no experience of 4Ω speakers including the Dali. I was referencing the article from a reviewer who tends to make sense in what he says. Also as mentioned it rings true based on some experience with 6Ω speakers.

I am struggling to see what you are trying to achieve changing speakers. I am also not familiar with the System audio signature 5 that you have. A lot of the speakers you are looking at appear to be a downgrade from what you have.

Finally regarding the WiiM, I'm not nocking it, its a good amp. As mentioned in the other thread by a different member, there is no one true best amp in class it is what suits your needs best. You are are advocating for the WiiM because of its features and power. I would go for the Marantz for sound quality and reliability. If someone wants an one box solution go for the WiiM, if you want to add multiple components including a record player go for the Marantz. If you are struggling with your room go with the WiiM for the correction. If you don't need the correction doing use it.

 

[gasolin]

Not gonna change my amp and for shure not to one without room correction