What speakers? With an MF X-150 and very tricky positioning!

[Dazed and Confused]

Hi,

I have currently got some Tannoy Mercury F1s on some SoundStyle stands, which I used to attach directly to a Sonos. I have now got an Musical Fidelity X-150 amp, and am loving it, but feel the speakers are limiting the sound slightly.

The trouble is, I'm in a bit of a difficult stituation. The speakers are going to be about 2 meters apart (either side of a TV), about 8-10 feet from the listening position. Because of the shape of the walls, the left one is about 15cm from the back wall, with an open space to the left, and a CRT TV to the right. The right one is in a corner, with the TV to its left, a wall to its right, and about 45cm to the back wall. All this is at the far end of an open plan flat - i.e. the speakers fire across the 'living room' end of the room. The room itself is about 25 feet 'wide', and has 12 foot ceilings! i.e. a massive volume of air!

I am trying to find the holy grail of speakers, that can:

Cope with my crazy space.

Sound good at low and medium volumes.

Fill the space.

Not annoy the neighbours.

Thanks to another post, I tried the AVI Neutron IVs, and they were great (thanks JohnDuncan), and seemed to like being up against a wall - but it's hard to simulate my flat in the very different shop listening room, and I couldn't try them with my amp. Would they cope with the space, and still not be lost in the volume of the room?

I guess floorstanders give a bigger sound, but I'm worried floorstanders are more likely to transfer my bass into the floor, and I don't want to annoy the neighbours downstairs! (Is this true?) And could they cope with the position?

My dream speakers are B&W XT4s, just because of the way they look. I am SO shallow.

I listen to every type of music you could imagine - often low bitrate stuff streamed off Napster. I don't need thumping bass, but I do like speakers to have some authority. I don't really know how to explain it, but I like my music to 'grip' you, not sound too cold.

Wow, that's a long post! If you've read it all, well done!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

What about wall mounting the speakers above the TV? I just dropped into Sevenoaks, and the guy recommended two KEF3005s mounted above the TV and a sub. How do they sound for music?

Should I be looking at wall mounting above the TV at all? I'm also not sure on the whole satellite/sub thing. He also showed me that I could wall mount the B&W 686.

 

[Anonymous]

I would buy some floorstanders If I were you - £300 wise go for Wharfedale EVO2 30s / £600 wise go for B&W 684 / £1000 go for B&W 683 (I think these will give you the "grip" you are after. Infact if you wish to wall-mount, see if you can do the same on some B&W 685s...they will fill a room better than the 686s.

 

[Anonymous]

Or Monitor Audio RS6/RS8 will give alot of authority!

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Dazed and Confused"] I don't need thumping bass, but I do like speakers to have some authority. I don't really know how to explain it, but I like my music to 'grip' you, not sound too cold.[/quote]

Rega R3/5. Simple. Front ported with an additional side firing bass unit. Gives you freedom/options with regards to placing. Great drive units, tight bass and amazing open mids. Looks good too and sounds better than any of these 'super miniatures'.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="drummerman"]
[quote user="Dazed and Confused"] I don't need thumping bass, but I do like speakers to have some authority. I don't really know how to explain it, but I like my music to 'grip' you, not sound too cold.[/quote]

Rega R3/5. Simple.
[/quote]
Superb speakers. Perhaps a little polite for a person that aspires to B&W but you did say that was for aesthetics. The R5s will provide a very detailed bass that is about quality not quantity. Very good.

 

[Anonymous]

Meant to say, forget the sub. For films it's fun but anything else and they're boomy and just don't time well! That's in my experience anyway...

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Ooh, I've never heard of Rega speakers. Are they the record player guys?

Had a quick Google and they seem to have good reviews, especially the R3s. WHF hasn't reviewed them it seems.

Why do the speakers fire sideways? Would I point them inwards towards the TV, or out into the wall?

And the R3's are quite short, so I could actually mount a TV above them in the future. They're reasonable too.

What do you mean by 'polite'?

Would they be superior to a wall-hung 686, as that's a more modern speaker, and is getting good reviews?

Thanks everyone!

 

[gregory]

have to agree with the above, r3's are wonderful speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm running at the mo Dynaudio Focus 110's on a MF x-80 and for me after trying many different speakers at home these worked best for me. Try before you buy as many as possible cause what works for 1 may not work for another!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Dazed and Confused"]

What do you mean by 'polite'?

Would they be superior to a wall-hung 686, as that's a more modern speaker, and is getting good reviews?

Thanks everyone!
[/quote]
By polite I mean that they are very well behaved and a little restrained. But having said that, look what I've got! The R3/5 are on my list for replacing my MAs as they hugely rewarding.

Forget the 686s in my opinion, different league altogether...

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Thanks for your help everyone - I'll definitely try and audition the Regas. Anywhere I can do that in Bristol?

My only concern is the right speaker will be 'sandwiched' between the wall and the CRT TV and stand. It'll only have a couple of inches space each side, max. Will that be alright?

I had another layout idea. I'm hopefully getting a plasma soon, so I could get a wide AV stand, with a TV stand on the top, and put some bookeshelf speakers at either end. Would this work? A lot of them seem to be designed to have center speakers on them, so I guess they'd have no problem coping with stereo speakers.

e.g. http://www.alphasondesigns.com/products.asp?ProductID=42&CatID=13&varID=

I could put the speakers on short spikes to help isolation. This way the speakers wouldn't be so jammed in, and would both have about 40cm clearance from the back wall.

What do people think - standmounts an a shelf with more space, or Regas squeezed in?

I really appreciate all the advice.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Although people have recommended the Rega speakers, personally, with the way that you have your system set-up already, i dont think they'd do a very good job

I think you'd be better off with a good pair of standmount speakers on decent stands which are mass-loaded.

With the limited space that you have i feel the Rega floorstanders would be too much. As would the B&W and Monitor Audio floorstanders. The bass would be too boomy and over bearing i feel.

It all depends on your budget as well but maybe take a look at the B&W 685's or if youre fine with 2nd hand, take a look at the erarlier range of B&W standmount speakers, the B&W 602 S2's or the S3's. You could even consider the Monitor Audio BR2's or the RS1's, with the latter though they dont have the bass weight i think youre after, but still worth an audition.

Over all i think youre better at looking at standmounts and make sure you can audition them with your MF amp.