Worth upgrading to Monitor Audio Rs5 from Br5, for compressed mp3 sources, Mainly hard rock, metal music

[opium]

I got Br5 a week ago still have a week within which i can replace it for a Rs5.

i mainly listen to heavy rock metal stuff, compressed mp3s.

After over 50 hrs listen to the Br5 i am not very satisfied when compared to Br2 that i got before which i kept for 2 weeks.

i let the br2 go, as pro speaker stands are not available here. though i got one wooden custom build, but the result wasnt good enough speakers resonated even at medium volume. most of my music is heavy, drums sound specially went wayward with increase of volume. 

my amp is onkyo tx8255 analog 2 channel, which is quit warm and slightly laid back

i cant really makeout the character of br5. it is sounding more laid back than br2 and to my liking, at the same time it is little harsh not only on mp3s but also on Cds. dont know may be the smaller speakers, 5.5inch rather than 6.5inch on br2,  are not suiting heavy music.

i liked how my warm amp brought some life to compressed mp3s even when i used it with the speakers of my old sony music system. But with Br5 im not enjoying my music collection asmuch, although i liked the Br2 except for the lack of stand factor.when i listen to the same mp3s on my Grado SR125 through the amps headphone out they are more rhythmic, less soft, no less treble but not harsh

in such situation should i go for Rs5, would the 6inch speaker and also being higher end series be a better solution or they will rather bring  about more of the artifacts of compressed source..

Any advice is highly appreciated

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

i had a pair of br5s recently , for around 5 weeks , they were great imo , but they sounded much better after the 3rd week , more smoother , anyway as good as they were i traded them in for a pair of rx6s , which i now have had for a week , they are a better speaker ,different class really , bigger more open soundstage , more crisp and detailed , and bassier ..

im not familiar with the rs5s , never heard of them to be honest , but if you could stretch to a pair of rx6s , you wouldnt be dissapointed imo...

 

[opium]

my room is too small for a Rx6 or RS6, they are far of my budget too. i can only extend to rs5 which i am tempted to, but i am not sure whether they will be good for compressed sources, RS series being more revealing which i can conclude from many reviews, dont know how will it bring out more of the defects of mp3s or will it sound better musically like my grado sr125. also i wouldnt like RS to compel ÿme to upgrade my other components

anybody hooked up there compressed source players to any rs series speaker, any advice??

i wouldnt have a chance to demo any RS as the dealer only keeps BR series, but he can order RS if i buy, which he wont replace if dont like

 

[Anonymous]

great price here..

fwiw , my rx6s sound better with compressed music than the br5s did ..maybe the rs5s are more like the rx6s than the br5s in this regard ?

its unusual that somebody with experience of rs5s hasnt picked up this thread , im sure they will eventually ...

 

[d_a_n1979]

I'm not familiar with your amp but IMO the BR5's will do a better job over the RS5's as theyre twin driver speakers whereas the RS5 is only a singe driver and it's bass depth isnt as great.

Personally I'd look to sell the M/A BR5's on and add the rest of your budget to get some M/A RX2's and some decent stands!

These have replaced the old RS5's and they are superb with great bass depth and overall soundstage

 

[opium]

in my country speaker stands are just not available not even online, so i am not considering any bookshelf.

Also i plan to add a HSU stf1 sub in future, how about upgrading to RS5 in such situation, keeping in mind all i will play is mostly heavy rock/metal mp3s. i am just lookin for little more feel good factor out of the speakers not sure whether to upgrade or to stick with br5s..

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO keep the BR5's

You've only had them one week so they wont even be close to being run in

They'll need a good 150hours or more to sound at their best!

Have some patience and see how it goes from there

 

[Anonymous]

They will not sound at there best until after 100 hrs +.

But you should like the overall tone of the speakers after, say the 1st 20 hours.

 

[opium]

i got my speaker cables replaced with Chord Carnival SilverScreen, will soon replace the audio interconnects too with WireWorld Luna 6 or Atlas Equator MKII

sound is much cleaner now, bass much cleaner and the softness on the metal riffs are gone. but the sound stage is not there all of sound seem to come from the speakers, vocals somewhat from the middle but not the instruments, treble somewhat seem to pierce the mids which is not allowing the mids to sing through, the sound seem to be better when my ear is in level with the mids speaker. this is after 11 more hrs of listen since my last post,may be all the speakers are yet to burn and integrate well.

meanwhile i ÿspoke to the dealer, hes offering some discount on the rs5 which is making it pretty affordable for me, but wants the br to be returned within a day, will try to keep it for few more days before i decide, but i wont get to demo the rs5 and he wont take it back either even if i dont like..

here i have a query forÿ
d_a_n1979/trevor79 or anbody who knows to answer

just looking for a general comparison of rs5 with br5 with respect to soundstage and treble integration and on the bass part/brightness also..

thx

 

[the record spot]

Why not also consider the Q Acoustics 2050, which are £379 but apparently perform way above their price tag. Don't be put off by the low price, I hear these are very capable speakers for the money. The earlier 1050i may have better bass extension and these are now around for about £200. Suspect they'll surprise you and very much worth adding rather than just limiting your search to one brand.

Incidentally, they'll withstand an upgrade or two to much better amplification as well. Seriously recommended.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Swapping the M/A BR5's to the Q Acoustics is too much of a sideways step IMO

Better speaker cable, interconnects and patience (ie let the speakers run in) would be a much better option than looking to swap speakers after such a short period of time

 

[d_a_n1979]

opium:
here i have a query forÿ
d_a_n1979/trevor79 or anbody who knows to answer

just looking for a general comparison of rs5 with br5 with respect to soundstage and treble integration and on the bass part/brightness also..

thx

The M/A RS5's are good speakers but they dont have the same bass depth and punch that the M/A BR5's have. In saying that both soundstages are similar, the RS5's are basically the RS1 standmount speakers with a larger cabinet to allow for better bass.

For your taste in music IMO the BR5's are a better speaker but as I've said a few times; they need a solid 150hours running in time to sound at their best

 

[Andrew Everard]

Of course there is the point that better speakers will simply emphasise the limitations of the files you're playing, which is what I suspect you are experiencing now...

 

[Anonymous]

i think dan is right , as i said , my br5s sounded much better after 3 weeks or so , they sounded so good after 5 weeks , that i really struggled to justify upgrading them , but the deal on offer was too good to turn down .

 

[the record spot]

d_a_n1979:Swapping the M/A BR5's to the Q Acoustics is too much of a sideways step IMO

Better speaker cable, interconnects and patience (ie let the speakers run in) would be a much better option than looking to swap speakers after such a short period of time

I agree that one week with a new speaker is too soon. You're a tad off the pace with the sideways move theory and the 'add more bits of wire' theory surely falls at the same hurdle? Why change anything until the speaker has been run in properly?

 

[Anonymous]

The serious musical limitations at the moment are that your equipment is not run in.

No way can you make a proper evaluation on the sound until things have bedded down.

I remember being disapointed myself when I got my brand new AV system set up. It didn't sound anything like what I auditioned in the listening room.
But gradually over the weeks it went from a brittle, thinish sound to a tunefull, natural midrange with a well balanced bass line.

Only you know the sound you are after, just make sure you don't take a step backwards by being hasty.

 

[opium]

Hi,

after 1 week more, run in 7-9 hrs avg per day, the speakers have integrated to a cohesive ÿunit, some more runin seem to be required. but i somewhat seem to be able to make out what the overall sound gonna be.

i still have some concern here, ÿas i mostly listen at medium to low volume the sound seem to lack scale, seem to be coming from very small speakers, also little slow than my expectation. may be ill get used to the laid back nature of the speakers but the scale issue is a concern.

anybody has similar observation, can advice something.

Also anybody has any experience with RS6 in a small room. my room is about 10x11x10 feet but ill be able to place them away from back or side wall, is it advisable to look in for a Rs6 specially to gain some scale at low to medium volume listen in a small room..

thx

ÿ

 

[d_a_n1979]

No; if youre having issues there, there's no point in upgrading to the RS6's or the newer RX6's as youll still have the same issues

IMO if you listen at low/medium levels you'd be better off with a decent standmount speakers along the likes of the Arcaydis DM1's, B&W 685's, Monitor Audio RX1's or the RX2's or the EB Acoustic EB1's