Having recently bought the Rega Elicit and Saturn, Im now thinking of upgrading my speakers. I presently own the Quad 21Ls. My room is about 13ft x 16ft, and I listen to mostly country, pop, instrumental and softer rock. Any recommendations for a floorstanding speaker that would make a nice rhythmic and musical combination with my rega gear would be greatly appreciated. At present Im thinking about the totem Hawks, but Im open to other floorstanding models.
The reason why I'm thinking of upgrading is that maybe I can find some other speakers that are more engaging than the Quad 21L. What I need is something thats easy on the ears and which I can listen to for hours. Something that gets ones feet tapping and wanting to get up and dance to the rhythm.
The speakers do not need to be absolutely neutral. A coloured sound is fine by me. I never play very loud. I dislike very shrill sounding speakers as well as dry sounding ones. However I like speakers that go deep in the bass.
I've got a pair of Quad 12L2 which I find very easy to listen to. They never get shrill. I don't find them particularly unengaging, but I think they probably aren't the best in that regard either. They've got some weaknesses, but I think they are a pretty good all-around speaker, with their main strength being a seamless integration of drivers.
I've never heard Rega speakers, but they are supposed to be very engaging, and seeing how you have Rega electronics they are probably worth a listen.
Personally, I like PMC. The model I've heard (TB2i) is relatively neutral, though just about every speaker will color the sound in some way. The treble in the new i series is very easy to listen to. The sound is nice and open, with a very resolving and full midrange, the bass is deep and tuneful, and it's one of the more engaging speakers that I've heard. The full midrange, fantastic resolution, and quality of bass is why I'd ultimately like these compared to Quad. Quad can produce surprisingly deep bass, but it's a little drier than the PMC's.
Whatever you do I would try to take is slow and compare whatever you are thinking about to the 21L's (preferably in your own system). You may find that you actually do prefer the Quads. Sometimes we can get caught up in making a change and realize afterwards it wasn't the right move.
Jan: I actually bought the Rega gear used from a private person and I havent heard any of the Rega speakers yet. However, I read quite a lot of comments on various forums and concluded that these may not be special.
I actually live in Oslo in Norway. The kind of speakers available here are Dynaudio, B&W, Dali, Monitor Audio, Vienna Acoustics, Proac, Sonus Faber, Tannoy, PSB, and a lot more. There is also a lot of choice on the used market. I could also think about importing from Sweden or Denmark.
Dan: Thanks for your suggestion regarding PMC. The GB1i looks quite interesting especially if the treble is easy to listen to and the bass goes as deep as they claim (29Hz !!). I find the looks simple and elegant.....just as per my taste. Another plus is that I could place them pretty close to the rear wall.
Anand, Summer over yet? Its been about 3 weeks already!
Don't buy by 'specification'. Depending on how important this is, and the timeframe, you may even have to travel somewhere for a listen. Aren't Denmark, the UK and Sweden close enough for weekend trips? Nice summer weather and the ferry boats are in full swing.
What speakers was the former owner of the Rega gear using? What did he like or NOT like about the matchup? Did you hear the setup BeFore it was broken down?
Hi Leo, Its still good summer weather here in Oslo.:-) Nice and sunny one day, and overcast and rainy the next !
Yes I wont be tricked into buying by specification alone. However I think its quite important that i try a few speakers at home in my room and with my own gear to see whats clicks. I dont mind paying the shipping cost for a few good speaker candidates.
At present some of the speakers that I have on my shortlist are the Totem Hawks, PMC GB1i and maybe Dynaudio Focus 220.
I thought id add some more info regarding my gear. I presently have 3 integrated amps. The new Rega Elicit is the one i bought a few days back. In addition I have the original Rega Elicit (a lovely amp IMHO which was also Rega's first ever amp I think), and a Primaluna Prologue 2 tube integrated amp. I also have a pair of the mighty Quad ESL989 speakers, but sadly none of my amps can drive them well enough. Thus ive decided to see the Quad ESL989s and use the money to buy some new speakers. The new Elicit would be my primary amp for now.
Everyone makes a suggestion, so I might as well toss my hat in the ring. Try some Magnepan MMG panels. To get the bass you desire, you'll need a good....repeat, Good sub. Presentation is very good and here in the states they are 600$ with a 60 day return policy, internet ONLY. If you can find somewhere to audition Magnepans, I'd hope you'd be pleased.
I had the focus 220 in my room for 2 weeks trial. Hey your inkling might be different, but I found them dead. Try a plinth...dead. placement...dead. A classe amp...dead.
Just heard a couple of speakers from Audio Physic at a dealer today. One model called Scorpio and the other called Virgo. Both were quite enjoyable to listen to. Both sounded similar (a kind of family sound maybe) but I preferred the Scorpio as i perceived a lower bass response. It was quite remarkable to hear lots of new subtle details in the songs that I had heard many times before. I say audio physic does live up to their motto "No loss of fine detail" ! Next step will be to do a home demo sometime soon.
I also realised that Audio Physic has some good practical advice regarding speaker placement on their website. I followed some of their tips and my Quad 21Ls are also sounding more enjoyable now.
Im also quite keen to audition the PMC FB1is as ive read a lot of good things about them too.
I don't think Rega makes an upper end speaker anymore. I'm pretty sure the R9 was discontinued. The Elicit is a bit too good for the RS5 IMO.
Audio Physic makes fantastic speakers. I own Yara Evolution Bookshelves and agree that there's no loss of fine detail. The Scorpio and Virgo are better and should pair up very well with the Elicit.
PMCs are equally good IMO. Other popular speakers with Rega are Neat and Harbeth. Naim speakers should pair up well, and maybe Linn speakers. Depends on the room and price range.
Another option thats possible is Spendor although ive never heard any of their speakers. Does anyone have experience with these partnered with Rega gear? Budgetwise I think the S5e, S6e, S8e as well as the A5, A6 and A9 are worth considering. I know of a dealer nearby who can let me have a pair of the new A series for a home audition.
Spendor makes good speakers that should pair up well too. Forgot about those.
With the speakers that have been mentioned, it's really a matter of preference rather than which is better. I think they're all more or less equally good. Pleasing to the individual's ear is another matter.
Audition what you can and make a decision based on what works best for your ears.
For my ears the Harbeth speakers are really special and I know where there is a nice set of 5's for a good price, new. Although I like the Spendors I think that the Harbeths are at an even higher level of midrange accuracy and lifelike detail. They are very special with voices and acoustic instruments while still being excellent at reproducing contemporary pop music with it's more (over) produced sound.
Feeling a bit frustrated because Id really like to try the Rega RS5 & RS7 but I cant find any dealers anywhere closeby that have them on demo. Cant believe that this could happen in Oslo (Capital of Norway !).
I was in touch with a reputed Rega dealer in the UK and they said the RS5 was a better match for the Elicit than the RS7.
Art / Stu Pitt: If you guys have listened to the RS5, how does it compare to the R5? Is there a significant improvement?
It would have been interesting to hear the Harbeths, but again its hard to find a dealer. In addition, i think these would work out very expensive and I would really prefer to have floorstanders instead of standmounts.
Midrange and bass are very similar to the R5's with a bit more extension and resolution and actually it may just be better resolution which feels like better extension. The highs are what have really changed. The high frequency driver is far better integrated with the whole sound and is much smoother, with better extension. Very fun speaker!