Please Suggest some speakers around 500 pounds

 

New member
Username: Sukhoi30

New Zealand

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-06
Please Suggest some speakers for pure stereo

I feel that my speakers are the weakest link and was wanting to upgrade the same
also i believe that synergy is the holy grail of HIFI, has any one had any experience with
the Rotel 1062 and NAD 542 CD Plater i can spend upto 500 pounds also already have decent stands
if i decide for standmounters

Please suggest any speakers around 500 pounds

Current System

CD Player - NAD 542
Amp - Rotel 1062
Spkeakers - Diamond 9.1
Cables - QED Silver Anniversary Biwire
Interconnect - Van Den Hul the bay

Room Size - 12 ft X 14 ft

Problem - System not sounding right - Vocals and mid bass is excellent but miss dynamics and some detail.

I love 1062 and think its one of the best for money.
Nad 542 - i choose it over few CD Players and love the sound.
Diamond 9.1 - Nice Mid Bass but feel lack little bit of detail.



Quad 11 L , 12 L
Rega R3
Monitor Audio RS1 , RS6
Epos 12.2
Wharfedale Pacific Evo 30
Kef IQ 5
Tannoys
Dynaudios 42 & 52
have used B&W 602 S3 in the past - loved the dynamics but was a tad too bright for me.

listed to Santana, Pink Floyd, Sade, Dire Straits etc etc
 

Gold Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2939
Registered: Dec-04
saurbah, you liked the 602, but it was bright. The 9.1 lacks detail.
Your Nad player is good and should deliver a nice solid middle delivery. Quite neutral and happy.
Your integrated will be accurate and fast, but usually is not described as sharp at the top end, particularly the high's, where they roll off quite easily.
What volume and music are you playing?
Before the speaker experience you quoted, the B&W 602 would have been my 'guess' to try.
Try the 603's, or a nad amp?
 

New member
Username: Sukhoi30

New Zealand

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jun-06
Thanks Nuck,
i Mostly listen to Santana, Pink Floyd, Sade, Kenny G, Eagles,Dire Straits, Carpenters, Chris Rea, Def Leapard etc

I listen to music mostly late at nights so the volume would be low to medium surely not high and can sometimes listen
for 6 hrs in a row.

I am an active listener and music has all my attention most of the times.

i was initially running the 602 s3 on NAD 352,and still found it a tad bright but the bass was not as firm as id like so
upgraded to Rotel 1062 (awesome bass definition to my ears) and as i felt it was much better than Nad 352 in
every aspect(no offences to any NAD lovers) but slightly underlined the treble so switched to Diamond 9.1
(Sold 602s for silly money :-( ) but still not happy.

I know i could have experimented with cables but its too late now.

Wouldnt 603 s3 have very similar treble to 602 s3 ??

I do realise that 603 can sound aewsome especially if i added a 1050 power amp in the future.

getting Slightly tempted for Quads 12 ls, i guess would be more detailed, any comments ??

anyone has any experience with kef iq5s or the dynaudio 52 with rotel 1062 ??
 

Silver Member
Username: Timn8ter

Seattle, WA USA

Post Number: 949
Registered: Dec-03
A local sculptor made a pair of 3-way Scan Speak based speakers out of columns of granite mounted on cast iron stands. I think they were about 500 pounds.
 

Silver Member
Username: Praetorian

Canada

Post Number: 223
Registered: Dec-05
nyuck nyuck nyuck
 

New member
Username: Sukhoi30

New Zealand

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jun-06
:-)

Any Coustructive feedback appreciated ???
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 1446
Registered: Sep-04
Hello saurabh

The Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 is a fine speaker for the money, but you're now looking at more capable speakers it seems. The 9.1 has several weaknesses by comparison to any of the speakers you're looking to upgrade to. Their biggest weakness is an overly rich mid-bass. This gives a warm, pleasant tone, but it slows the speaker down and muddies the proceedings in the process. The 2nd weakness is resolution. By comparison to the rest you mention that I recognise, the 9.1 suffers from a lack of detail, definition and frequency extension.

Quad 11L and 12L: Lots of people love these speakers. They're beautifully finished and are easy to drive so they sparkle in many systems. However, ultimately I find them less engaging than the competition. I find they sound a tad clinical or mechanical. Luckily, they have not got the bass problems of the B&W 600 series and they're a little more refined in the treble too, but I don't think they're in the same class as the Dynaudios for example. Not for me therefore, but like I said before, a lot of people like these speakers!

The Rega R3 is probably the best of the latest Rega speaker line, but I don't think this will be to your taste. It is limited at frequency extremes (a bit like the EPOS) and has a relatively small sound (not like the EPOS). Rega are telling their dealers that the current range of speakers is selling better than any of their previous ranges. I find this difficult to understand since I find very little to really get excited about in the range and the R3 is the only one I got on with because it suffered least from cabinet colouration and bounced along quite happily.

The 1062 is capable of driving the Dynaudio 42 and 52 very well. I think the 52 has heaps more presence and power than the Quads with far more presence added into the mix. You must use medium mass quality stands with the Dynaudios, preferably welded items for better rigidity. Over here we use Partington Super Dreadnoughts with the 52s to good effect. Dynaudio's own stands are also very good of course.

The EPOS 12.2s are very engaging speakers indeed under the right circumstances. They must be used with their open frame stand to work correctly. Using ordinary medium mass stands (such as the ones preferred by the Dynaudios) has a deadening effect on the speaker which just kills its liveliness too much. The odd thing about this speaker is that although it is a large standmount, it does not have very deep bass. If deep bass is what you're after, the Dynaudio is a better bet. However, the EPOS is a huge amount of fun, very engaging indeed so don't discount it out of hand.

The Pacific EVO30 is a good speaker which is nicely finished. I feel it's not really in the same ballpark as the Dynaudios or the EPOS. It has a lot of presence and scale with quite good resolution and depth, but it doesn't engage as well as either the Dyns or EPOS and it doesn't have their resolving power either.

The KEF IQ5 is much improved over the older Q5 in many ways. However, it's not in a very different class to the EVO30 in my view. It's not a bad speaker and it's a lot more wife-friendly than many, it's also more neutrally voiced thankfully, but I feel it doesn't extract the best because there is too much cabinet colouration (though this is much improved over the Q5).

I don't know the current Tannoys.

It's difficult to advise you on alternatives to the Dynaudio and EPOS because I don't know what's available in New Zealand. Here are some other brands which I rate that have models in the performance area you're looking at: Totem, ProAc, PMC, ATC.

I am a little concerned about the speaker cable you're using. Although very good, it is prone to a little brightness. If you do go the Dynaudio route, since the Dyns are not biwired, you may wish to consider either single wiring the anniversary you have but doubled up. The job should be done by resoldering the connections. This will have a beneficial effect on the load shown to the amp by the cable and give better results. Alternatively, you need to consider a more sympathetic cable, one that is a touch more neutral.

The vdh cable has a tendency to be a little dry in the bass so this can also account for the slightly bright result you were getting. The Rotel is a very open window which easily reflects the properties of the system. The NAD 542 is a largely neutral player so this is not the culprit of the brightness.

I hope this helps!
Regards,
Frank.
 

New member
Username: Sukhoi30

New Zealand

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jun-06
Thank you Heaps Frank for the insight

I totally agree to what u said for the VDH cable and did swap it with a esoteric interconnect which i already and the brightness was lower (deciding to get merlin chopin.)


I can get ProAc, PMC, ATC here - but cannot audition them , is there any particular models you would recommend.
i was looking at Proac Tablette 8 >> do they really sound good at slightly high volumes only ?

PMC DB1/ + , metal dome - so a bit wary :-)

ATC - i believe will need lots of power to really drive them.

Any comments?

Also i did audition Rega r3 and was pretty unimpressed, could live with more bass and scale.

Could not Audition Dynaudio 52 (out of stock), but did hear some 42s in action and can say they could really sing for their size, waiting for the dealer to get 52s.

may be Dynaudio 52s will do the trick for me, is there any other recommendation around the same price range?

Regards
and many thanks Nuck and Frank
 

Gold Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2996
Registered: Dec-04
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/Rotel-RA1062-RCD1072.html

Try this one out, saurabh
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Irvington, New York USA

Post Number: 1414
Registered: May-05
saurabh -

The problem may be the mix of NAD and Rotel. I've heard a couple of people (mainly Art Kyle, a regular here) say they like each one very much, but they don't sound good at all together. Since you like Rotel amplification more than NAD, could you borrow a Rotel CD player? Many dealers will let you take home a demo unit for an in home audition, provided that you give them collateral, like a credit card number. This may help with the sound.

Other than that, I agree with Nuck and Frank.
 

New member
Username: Sukhoi30

New Zealand

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jun-06
Thanks Nuck for the link
Thanks Stu

may be thats true - Rotel and NAD may not be the best combination, i did try Rotels rcd 1072 as well as RA 02, the later one is way too bright and even 1072 was slightly bright.

When i was out looking out for CDP the two that really stood out were ARCAM 72or73 (forgot exact model no but had a "T" at the start) and NAD 542 IMHO
and budget.

However (may be i am wrong) except for Arcams treble (which was the best of the lot) i preffered NAD as it sounded better overall (i know many will disagree but just my choice).

I think if it boils down to that then the NAD will have to go as 1062 is just too good to go :-).

But will be very cautious with choices this time.

i think ill get the speakers first and try , if i get close then ill try with cables and interconnects.

Will keep you all posted, many thanks for the feedback.

Regards
Saurabh
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 1457
Registered: Sep-04
ProAC, PMC and ATC are brands I admire but of which I have little experience. ProAc has a tendency to sound a bit clinical to me, but there are many who absolutely love them. PMC know what they're doing with their tweeters, and yes ATC are difficult to drive.

The 52 is like a 42 on steroids. The 42 is very much the little brother and has little of the presence and scale of the 52. Get a listen if you can, because the 52 is very good.

regards,
Frank.
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