What speakers? Elac B6, Dali Zensor 3, Monitor Audio MR2...

[sarged]

Greetings,

I have just bought TX-NR545 receiver and I'm looking for my first set of speakers.

Ideally I want to have a non-sub 2.0 setup because it's cheaper and also easier to set up.

But since I don't plan having sub any soon I want the speakers to have some very good bass out of the box.

I've listened to some bookshelves with 5 inch LF driver and they all lack bass, so I decided to go for 6.5 inchers.

8 inchers would be even better but unfortunately they are beyond my budget.

The type of music I will listen most is Metal, but also modern music. I'm not an audiophile, lol

Therefore, realistic bass guitar and drum lines will probably have the highest priority for me.

In my place (philippines) there aren't many options for 6.5 speakers, so I picked only 5 available models:

- Elac Debut B6 - 19.300 php

- Dali Zensor 3 - around 17.000 php

- Monitor Audio MR2 - 12.000 php

- Bowers and Wilkins 685 S2 - 29.000 php

- Paradigm mini - 24.000 php

The funny thing is, they are all located in different shops so I won't be able to do an unbiased audition.

If you have the experience with any of those speakers, kidnly advise which ones will perform better for the money?

I will highly appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. Out of those, I think your best bet would be the B&W 685 s2, but you should audition for yourself anyway. Dynaudio Emit range and Q Acoustics should be on that list as well (the 3050, if floorstanders are an option).

 

[Al ears]

Greetings,

I have just bought TX-NR545 receiver and I'm looking for my first set of speakers.

Ideally I want to have a non-sub 2.0 setup because it's cheaper and also easier to set up.

But since I don't plan having sub any soon I want the speakers to have some very good bass out of the box.

I've listened to some bookshelves with 5 inch LF driver and they all lack bass, so I decided to go for 6.5 inchers.

8 inchers would be even better but unfortunately they are beyond my budget.

The type of music I will listen most is Metal, but also modern music. I'm not an audiophile, lol

Therefore, realistic bass guitar and drum lines will probably have the highest priority for me.

In my place (philippines) there aren't many options for 6.5 speakers, so I picked only 5 available models:

- Elac Debut B6 - 19.300 php

- Dali Zensor 3 - around 17.000 php

- Monitor Audio MR2 - 12.000 php

- Bowers and Wilkins 685 S2 - 29.000 php

- Paradigm mini - 24.000 php

The funny thing is, they are all located in different shops so I won't be able to do an unbiased audition.

If you have the experience with any of those speakers, kidnly advise which ones will perform better for the money?

I will highly appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers

You can do an unbiased audition, just go and listen to all of them. ;-) You will not however manage to do a comparison which I guess is what you meant.

Nobody can tell you what's going to suit you in your particular listening room so you are going to have to listen yourself.

Me, I would look at the Elac Debut B6's.

How big is your room?

 

[BigH]

I would have thought the B&W 685 S2 would have been the best for your taste. The room is important, you say the 5 inch lacked bass, is that in a small room or large one. Also room acoustics are important, I imagine you don't have carpets or thick curtains, probably tiled floor? Home demos are out.

 

[sarged]

My room is a bit small, around ~23 square meters and I don't have much space, so I'll have them placed on the desktop, 1 meter apart and very close to the wall. The room is untreated, just bare walls...

I'm considering both B6 and 685. I would love to save money if possible, but if nothing else works, I'll go for 685.

From what I've read, B6 seems to extend deeper. And the difference is that they are rear-ported. Andrew jones recommends to have them placed 2 feet away from the wall and all I have is a few inches. I know this is supposed to increase the bass, which is what I want, but I'm doubtful about the quality. They say it will sound muddy.

 

[BigH]

My room is a bit small, around ~23 square meters and I don't have much space, so I'll have them placed on the desktop, 1 meter apart and very close to the wall. The room is untreated, just bare walls...

I'm considering both B6 and 685. I would love to save money if possible, but if nothing else works, I'll go for 685.

From what I've read, B6 seems to extend deeper. And the difference is that they are rear-ported. Andrew jones recommends to have them placed 2 feet away from the wall and all I have is a few inches. I know this is supposed to increase the bass, which is what I want, but I'm doubtful about the quality. They say it will sound muddy.

Bit big for a desktop. You will need some isolation as well. Bass will be going into desk.

 

[sarged]

The room is important, you say the 5 inch lacked bass, is that in a small room or large one.

I tested the 5 inchers in larger rooms of the shops. Maybe they were twice as large?

Particular models were Dali Zensor 1 and KEF LS50, which I cannot afford anyway. Zensor 1 was really diddly. LS50 had a good quality bass but it lacked the extention, so I just couldn't quite feel it.. and I wish it could extend a bit lower

 

[sarged]

Bit big for a desktop. You will need some isolation as well. Bass will be going into desk.

Probably. but I have a big desk Also I believe this can be fixed if I put some thicker books under the cabinets.

 

[BigH]

Bit big for a desktop. You will need some isolation as well. Bass will be going into desk.

Probably. but I have a big desk Also I believe this can be fixed if I put some thicker books under the cabinets.

Books may help but you want to buy isolation pads they are about £20 but not sure you have in the Philippines. Here are some: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008PCBGVW/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00266HBSU&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=VTFKR92D9PES4XNTNNDB

 

[gasolin]

Don't forget Triangle elara LN-01, Wharfedale diamond 220 and q acoustics 3020 or concept 2

 

[BigH]

Don't forget Triangle elara LN-01, Wharfedale diamond 220 and q acoustics 3020 or concept 2

Can you get them in the Philippines?

 

[gasolin]

Don't forget Triangle elara LN-01, Wharfedale diamond 220 and q acoustics 3020 or concept 2

Can you get them in the Philippines?

not shure, but they are also good speakers you should consider, hard to find any cons about those speakers they sound good and are not that expensive, if you want bass buy a subwoofer or bigger speaker but that's about it

Forgot about the Wharfedale diamond 225 if you want a bigger bass only a litte more expesnive the the 220 but with more bass (although i don't know how big the diffrence is between the 220 and 225)

 

[rainsoothe]

Hm... Using speakers on desktop and close to wall is a bit problematic. Like some previous posts have stated, your bass will suffer, even if you use some form of isolation. On the bright side, you seem to be wanting bass, so any speakers that you found were lacking in bass, will recieve an increase of perceieved bass (even if it is, in reality, just distortion that will muddy the waters).

In this case, you should look at speakers that were designed for near-wall usage - like Dali Zensor 3 (or 1), Wharfedale Diamond 220 or, if you can budget for them, Neat Iota (which should be ideal for your requirements). Also, if you can find a pair of second hand Guru Juniors, they should really be considered.

If you reciever has pre-outs for the front channels, then scratch any of the above suggestions, and get a pair of Adam A5X or Yamaha HS7 (with a big nod towards Adam).

 

[BigH]

Hm... Using speakers on desktop and close to wall is a bit problematic. Like some previous posts have stated, your bass will suffer, even if you use some form of isolation. On the bright side, you seem to be wanting bass, so any speakers that you found were lacking in bass, will recieve an increase of perceieved bass (even if it is, in reality, just distortion that will muddy the waters).

In this case, you should look at speakers that were designed for near-wall usage - like Dali Zensor 3 (or 1), Wharfedale Diamond 220 or, if you can budget for them, Neat Iota (which should be ideal for your requirements). Also, if you can find a pair of second hand Guru Juniors, they should really be considered.

If you reciever has pre-outs for the front channels, then scratch any of the above suggestions, and get a pair of Adam A5X or Yamaha HS7 (with a big nod towards Adam).

I doubt you can get Neats in Philippines, even if you can think well over budget. Yes Adams a good suggestion, I was going to advise actives but did not because of location. Worth it if you can get them. The used market is probably not good there.

 

[matthewpiano]

Dali Zensor 1 is an excellent suggestion. Work well close to walls, and a very balanced little speaker. The 3s are also superb, but they need more space and will certainly boom if placed too close to walls and on a desk. If you want more quality bass, rather than just more bass boom and overhang, this isn't an ideal solution.

 

[Blackdawn]

Dali Lektor 2 no question! Although I doubt you will find a pair new.

Maybe a speaker with a vent instead of rear port would help. Like the Tannoy XT6, Acoustic Energy 301, Wharfedale Diamond 225, Epos K1

 

[ErwinC]

Monitor Audio Bronze 2: fantastic speakers for the money imo !

 

[sarged]

Wharfedale Diamond 225

Didn't know those speakers existed! It seems they have ideal port for near wall placement. And I can get them for a reasonable price.

But I'm unsure of one thing. Their specs it says peak SPL is only 96 dB.

Does that mean I can't play them loud?

I think a speakers of this size should be around 100-110 dB but if it's only 96 dB it's a joke really. *pardon*

 

[manix]

It refers to how easy it is to drive the speaker. Do a search on google on speaker sensitivity.

BTW why didn't you but a 2 channel amp instead of the home cinema unit?

Anyway with that amp I would just go with satelite speakers and a sub. This sounds like the kind of 'sound' you are after.

 

[sarged]

It refers to how easy it is to drive the speaker. Do a search on google on speaker sensitivity.

BTW why didn't you but a 2 channel amp instead of the home cinema unit?

Anyway with that amp I would just go with satelite speakers and a sub. This sounds like the kind of 'sound' you are after.

Sensitivity is different. the speaker has 87 dB sensitivity. but also 96 dB peak SPL.

Regarding the amp, well yeah it's a bit wierd but I didn't have many 2 channel amps options.
Because most of them are either expensive or too low on wattage.

Maybe I'll add sub in the future, but I cannot afford it this time...

 

[manix]

Oh sorry SPL, I see. Saying that would the speaker even be nice to listen to at thet level is another story so it could be in practical terms less than that.

As far as the amp goes I would guess they have been rather generous on the receiver on how they calculated the figure. Often on the cheaper models they may be calculated with just one or two channels at a set frequency like 1khz and high distortion levels like 1-3%

So in practice you can guess if it's a bit of a wild story by the power consumption in AB type amps. If it really could drive 120w RMS into 8ohm on 7 channels you would be probably well over 1000w max power comsumption. My 5 channel rotel power amp max power consumption is 800w for example, that is 5 channels not 7 like your receiver and it puts out 120w a channel - it is stated in true hifi terms though with low distortion and all channels driven into 8ohm 20hz-20khz

It's quite possible then the two channel amps you may have disregared may have had very similar outputs in the real world when talking about low distortion levels driving 2 channels. Generally speaking 2 channel integrated amps usually give the figure at 8 ohms both channels driven with low distortion with 20hz-20khz.

 

[sarged]

According to specs my amp has 85 W / channel of dynamic power and 65 W / channel for all channels. It's actually 9 channels because it has "Zone 2". Probably ******** as well, but judging by the size of transformer it should be stronk.

 

[manix]

According to specs my amp has 85 W / channel of dynamic power and 65 W / channel for all channels. It's actually 9 channels because it has "Zone 2". Probably ******** as well, but judging by the size of transformer it should be stronk.

The problem is this without a RMS output stated at 8 ohms and low distortion at least as low as 0.1% you still can't compare. Dynamic power is usually considerably more than RMS stated at 8ohms.

 

[xyriut]

Rainsoothe said it best. Check out the Dyn Emit range. The Elacs are, well, marketing tools, as is Andrew Jones. Go up in the Elac range and you actually have some quality, but the Debut and Unifi leave a lot to be desired, even in their price range.

 

[gasolin]

Greetings,

I have just bought TX-NR545 receiver and I'm looking for my first set of speakers.

Ideally I want to have a non-sub 2.0 setup because it's cheaper and also easier to set up.

But since I don't plan having sub any soon I want the speakers to have some very good bass out of the box.

I've listened to some bookshelves with 5 inch LF driver and they all lack bass, so I decided to go for 6.5 inchers.

8 inchers would be even better but unfortunately they are beyond my budget.

The type of music I will listen most is Metal, but also modern music. I'm not an audiophile, lol

Therefore, realistic bass guitar and drum lines will probably have the highest priority for me.

In my place (philippines) there aren't many options for 6.5 speakers, so I picked only 5 available models:

- Elac Debut B6 - 19.300 php

- Dali Zensor 3 - around 17.000 php

- Monitor Audio MR2 - 12.000 php

- Bowers and Wilkins 685 S2 - 29.000 php

- Paradigm mini - 24.000 php

The funny thing is, they are all located in different shops so I won't be able to do an unbiased audition.

If you have the experience with any of those speakers, kidnly advise which ones will perform better for the money?

I will highly appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers

Why Monitor audio MR2 when you clearly can afford monitor audio Bronze 2 ?