I need some advice: I'm looking for an upgrade for my speakers. I currently run my HK AVR 7300 with a 5.1 setup:fronts: Monitor Audio Bronze floorstanders, rear: MA Bronze bookshelfspeakers an the MA Bronze centerspeaker accompanied with a Infinity Subwoofer Beta 10. My listeningroom (also the living room) is about 40m2. 50% of the time is used for movie watching in 5.1 setup and 50 % is used for music listening in stereo with and without the sub Which speakers would make a major difference and a step up in sound? Let me remind that i'm on a budget. I would eventually sell the MA / Infinty setup to get something newe or some good second hand gear. Can anyone give some thougts?.
I do want new speakers, but i'm on a budget, so i think i can get better quality speakers second hand, but i'm not sure. As for my current speakers: I think the high is too thin and too harsh, the bass is too boomy, i'v moved them around in the room, removed the foam plugs from the bass port, this gave a small improvement. With low volume listening the sound isn't detailed enough.
PSB and Thiel are hard to find for an listening session in the Netherlands. The brands that are widely available here: Kef; Mission, B&W, Klipsch, JM Lab, JBL, Infinity, Canton, Dynaudio, Dali, Elac, Magnat, Monitor Audio, Mordaunt Short, Piega, Quad, Spendor, Wharfedale, Tannoy. and of course some more brands. Any suggestions? Thanks
I've listened to the following combo's: Magnat/ Denon Monitor Audio/ Denon Kef/ Denon Klipsch/ Marantz JBL/ Marantz Monitor Audio/ HK (my current setup) Elac/ HK Mordaunt Short/ Pioneer Monitor Audio/ Pioneer. Monitor Audio/ Onkyo Audiolab/ Onkyo That's about it.
Well i like my current setup, Monitor Audio / HK. Only not detailed enough on low volume, and on louder (say 85%) volumes the speakers loose definition and tend to sound a bit harsh.
If you've listened to all of the combo's above and prefer what you already have (other than the stated concerns at high and low volumes) then I'd think twice about pulling the trigger on new speakers. Why spend a bunch of money on a problem that you haven't found a satisfying solution to ?
Some speakers just don't sound their best until a little current is flowing through them. I think most Monitor Audio speakers are fairly efficient, but not overly so. Speakers that are more efficient (>90db) are more likely to have more life at low volumes. They also won't tax your amplifier as much at higher volumes which may improve the high frequency issue you are experiencing at loud levels. Although, many amps start to get out of their wheel house at 85% on the dial.....depending on how progressive the gain advances via the volume control. Your HK could be just running out of juice, and what you're hearing is a cry to be turned down.
We could all recommend our favorite speakers in the price range to you, but you'd get 8 different answers from 8 different people, unless you give us a point of reference. And if you haven't heard anything else that sounds better to you, it is impossible to guide you down any particular path, other than suggesting you don't buy anything until you know what you want, and why you want it. We've all spent money on components and wished afterwards we hadn't, so we're just trying to help you avoid the same mistakes.