Which speakers up to £150?

[admin_exported]

So I've just purchased a NAD C315BEE amp and waiting for the C515BEE cdp to arrive. The next piece in the little budget bundle of joy are the speakers. I've had a look at what they had at Superfi and what's online at Richer Sounds. It looks like it's going to be the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 having seen some very good reviews. Without being able to audition the others I've picked them mainly on looks:

Mordaunt Short Alumni 2

Mordaunt Short 902i

Mission M32i

Kef C1

Or floorstanders: Roth OLi 3

Q Acoustics 1030i

This is all being set up in a smallish room and mainly listening to rock/indie. Hopefully soon I'm hooking up a turntable but not for a while.

Cheers.

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO I'd go 2nd hand as you'll get more bang for your buck

The Monitor Audio BR2's would be my 1st port of call as would a good pair of B&W 601 S3's or if you're lucky enough; a pair of B&W 602 S2's or S3's.

If you have to go new then my money would be on the Q Acoustic 2010's or the 2020's

Dont forget to budget for good speaker stands if you're going for standmount speakers. The likes of the Atacama Nexus 6i's or the Soundstyle Z2's would be minimum

 

[The_Lhc]

You mentioned the Roth Oli 3, so why not the Oli 2? Nice little speaker, you might not get them for 50 quid any more like I did, but I think they're less than a ton.

 

[Anonymous]

I got the Diamond 9.1 they are very solid and great speakers and won more awards than I can count, and they are 99.00

 

[Cass]

I've got a NAD amp/MS902i speaker pairing - different model amp to yours but probably similar characteristics. I'd say they're a good match, but you'd need to watch out for speaker placement as it can get bass-heavy if the speakers are close to a rear wall. I ended up using the amp's tone controls to tame the bass a bit.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions Dan. I didn't mention 2nd hand as I had no idea about the market and what to aim for, but now I do. Is there anywhere else to look other than eBay?

Glad to hear that the MS902i match up nicely with a NAD amp. The speakers will be quite close to a wall, but I'm a fan of a little bass so that could suit me nicely. And the C315BEE has tone controls.

Nothing wrong with the Roth OLi2. I just liked the idea of upping to a floorstander as it was within my budget.

It sounds like it's between the Diamond 9.1 and the MS902i. Shame nobody can say anything about the Missions M32i...really like the look of them.

 

[Scissor_digits]

Monitor Audio are about to replace the BR2's so getting a brand new pair for your budget shouldn't be too big an ask. A certain hi-fi dealer in Coventry is already discounting them to £172.50

 

[Anonymous]

Any idea when that would be Scissor?

 

[Scissor_digits]

August apparently

http://whathifi.com/News/EXCLUSIVE-Monitor-Audio-updates-entry-level-Bronze-speakers/

 

[Anonymous]

Argh, I just can't decide!! Having read several reviews it appears that the Diamond 9.1 punch above their weight. And the same goes for the MA BR2's. Will their price be slashed to sell off stock or simply be discontinued?

I think it's between those two now due tho their reviews. I would love to get a nice pair of B&W 601 or 602 but they seem to go for over £150 on eBay. I'd prefer to spend that on something new that comes with a warranty.

Anymore ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

Go with the wharfedales or you could look for some second hand speakers from the above on flea bay.

The MA are quite big speakers and need alot of room behind them otherwise the base is very boomy.

 

[Scissor_digits]

Whereas I found my old BR2's would quite happily sit as close to the back wall as the cable and banana plugs would allow without any bass issues but I had a CA amp feeding them and not a NAD so I don't know if the NAD would introduce this problem

Go with the Wharfedales if space is an issue

 

[Anonymous]

had the 640 CA amp and cd player combo too, but it made the bass over powering in my room

 

[Anonymous]

Well the set up is going to be against a wall and in a small room. Unless I win the lottery I'm sure this system will remain in a small room for sometime. Perhaps it's best to keep things modest and stick with the Wharfedales. I'm currently ploughing through options for speaker cables and getting even more confused that I was when looking into speakers!!! Banana this and bi-wire that...too confusing.

Thanks for your input folks, it's proving invaluable.

 

[the record spot]

Secondhand? £150 budget? Mission 752s, probably near mint if you pay that. Superb floorstanders and utterly cane anything else at the price and will easily compete with anything up to around £1000. Had mine for two years now, bought them for £80 and they'll partner some top notch kit to boot.

New? Q Acoustics 1030i.

 

[Anonymous]

The OP has a small room as stated above, so floor standers would in my opinion be overkill and damage the kind of sound he is after....

 

[Anonymous]

In fairness to record spot I did suggest floorstanders in my OP and still love the idea of some nice imposing speakers. But that's from a aesthetic point of view and the more I get my head around hi fi I'm learning that it's always good to try and balance a system. I realise that the set up I'll have in the end is going to be a pretty "off the shelf" attempt at budget hi fi but considering my background in £100 Sony and JVC micro system it's going to be a huge improvement.

 

[Q Bass]

On the subject on the Mission M32is - I had a pair and loved the sound perfect for rock and dance with plenty of bass and great mids and trebles



I loved the way they sounded much bigger than they were - I'm thinking about getting another pair for the bedroom system



Cheers

 

[dave_k]

For a small room i'd definitely consider an all one solution. There are too many problems trying to squeeze a full size hifi into a small space that the sound will end up compromised. I am confident my set-up wasn't sounding at it's best in the small bedroom it was in initially and it's still not ideal in the living room now, so much so that I'm thinking of selling it and getting an all in one solution or a pair of headphones and a beresford caiman.

Don't get me wrong, i love my speakers/amp combo but just don't have the space to do them justice at the minute

 

[Anonymous]

Once again, thanks to all of you who have contributed on this thread. I'm still learning as I go but you're all stearing me in the right direction by the looks of it. I'm biting the bullet and ordering the Wharfedales. Not the most exciting or original choice but the reviews and value for money is looking too good to say no to. Cheers folks!

 

[8009514]

One or two mentions of MA BR2s in this thread. The MA BR1 is also a really nice little speaker and features in the Sevenoaks summer sale. Knocked down to £129 from £179.

Rich

 

[Blackdawn]

I think the 9.1's were the right way to go. No need for floorstanders in a small room and the Wharfdales should go really well with the NAD system. For less than £100 you can't go wrong. Have you got stands for the speakers? For cable the Van Damme studio is good and cheap. Hope you enjoy your new system!

 

[matthewpiano]

The Diamond 9.1s are terrific. Personally I prefer them to the 10.1s and they are extremely flexible about positioning. Very naturally voiced speakers, great at soundstaging and the midband is so communicative. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

The MS902i are also excellent but quite different in that they throw the music at you with loads of bass and very direct treble. As a get-up-and-dance speaker they are great fun but lack the sophistication and long-time listenability of the Wharfedales

 

[smuggs]

the br2's are not like the br1's /5's/6's as they love being close to a wall and hate free space

i made a mistake and bought the br5's.

 

[Anonymous]

I had a little flutter in my heart to see people still posting on this thread...I thought someone was going to tell me I'd made a mistake. I'm glad to hear people agreeing with my choice. It did feel like I was going down a tried and tested route with this system. But I guess NAD and Wharfedale have a good reputation for a reason and these components are no different.

I would like to get stands for them at some point. Next on my list is going to be a phono stage (most likely the Project Mk2) and some interconnects to hook up a Technics 1210 that a friend isn't using. I opted for basic speaker cables: IXOS bi-wire (can't remember the exact model number). Having done a bit of reading today the consensus seemed fairly split on whether high-end speaker cables were worth it, but the majority was in favour of biwiring...hence my decision. Looking forward to them arriving so much!!