Help - Speakers + Hifi Shops

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Smithy32

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Hi,

I'm new to the speaker game and I'm after a pair of decent speakers so I thought I'd join up to see if I could get some advice? I have a budget of around £1K to include speakers + amp (or active speakers). I was thinking floor standers but if anyone has any other suggestions that would be great.

  • Are there any brands that I should avoid?

  • I'd like to try and listen to them before i buy. Are there any decent shops midlands based that anyone could recommend?

  • Does anyone have an recommendations?

  • I came across the B&W 684s that had good reviews. What do you think to these? I wouldn't be sure what amp to match up with these though.

Cheers!

Rich
 
Hi Rich,

What is your room size?

I think with this budget you are usually better to get stand-mount speakers. They tend to have less cabinet colouration as bigger cabinets need so much more work to keep them 'quiet'.

Active would be my first port of call, and some method to implement room correction would be ideal to get tight clean bass.

What is your source?

You could get a pair of ex-demo AudioSmile Kensai for £1k, but that still needs an amp. Will give you mid and treble to die for though :)
 
I cannot give any recommendations on speakers because I have not heard that many of the currently available models. It's such a personal opinion when it comes down to what is good and what is not so good.

Tenson's advice to get something to suit your room size is good advice.

In and around Birmingham I have bought from these shops in the past. If they stock anything you are interested in hearing you could arrange an audition over the telephone.

Music Matters http://www.musicmatters.co.uk/
Midland Audio Exchange http://www.midlandaudiox-change.co.uk/index_frontscreen.htm

If you do not get more recommendations just google "hifi dealers midlands"
 
Thanks for the advice. I just wondered if there were any big hifi shops about that have loads of choice to try various ranges. The room is our kitchen/diner which is 6.4M x 3.2M. My source is gong to be iPhone. I'd like something wireless such as a Bluetooth connector or possibly use my Apple TV alongside iTunes Match to stream everything. All my music is now stored electronically. What do you mean by 'implement room correction'?
 
I wouldn't recommend the cheaper bluetooth things as they are not very hi-fi. Some brands produce what are supposed to be good ones I think they use a protocal called APT-X. I'm thinking of something like the Arcam rBlink. However the Apple Airport Express is cheaper and also very good that's what I'd go with if you are Apple only.

When you put speakers in a room, the room will reflect the sound and cause it to sound different than it should. The sound changes depending on where the speakers are placed and where the listener is. So, you can get digital systems that measure the effect of the room and reduce it by applying an inverse effect. However it only works for one listening location, in others areas the correction won't really help. So if you move around while listening it's not worth bothering with. If you primarily listen from a specific seat it can help a lot.

Some active speakers have these systems built in. I think JBL do one for around £900. Ahh yes - LSR4326p. I haven't heard them but I bet they are rather brilliant for the cost.
 

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