New standmounters for up to £4000?

Crustyloafer

Crustyloafer

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I have decided to move on from my Acoustic Energy AE1 Mk3s and need to find something else to replace them. I am looking for a standmounter that is suitable for use close to a rear wall. My budget is up to around £4000. They will be used with the other equipment listed in my signature below. The only thing I didn't like about the AE1s was their limited volume ouput but everything else they did was fantastic. Any suggestions would be welcome.
 
How about a s/h pair of Wilson Benesch Discoveries? (If you can find any) I would have thought they would match your system well. The port is at the bottom I believe so they may work OK close to walls.

Active ATC 20s also spring to mind and you could get something back for the MF too.
 
When you say standmounts, how big can you go and are you worried about the LLB factor?
 
Crusty,

And there was me thinking you were wainting for the new Monitor Platinum reference series stand mounts. Seeing as your a dealer, your discount, they should cost you a lot less then Full RRP.
By all accounts, they are pretty good.
 
Give the Neat Ultimatums a try - gorgeous speakers, and sound pretty good too. :D

Other obvious candidate is the JM Lab Micro Utopia Be, though they're not to everyone's tastes.

Or how about the ART Expression standmounts? They're lovely, speak to Analogue Kid.

And of course ( ;) ) there's ATC, although you do seem to be rather fond of your amp, so maybe one of the passives? How about the 50s? :D The 20s would prolly be more suitable close to the wall though (sealed vs. ported). Bass is extremely tight and controlled so shouldn't cause problems with close-to-wall siting. Actually, I'd be more worried about the midband as IME close-to-wall siting muddles up the midband to a nasty degree (this is true for most speakers, though I know it's an issue with my 20s - they need to be ac least 40-45cm or so from the wall to avoid midband issues). Home demos are the order of the day, methinks.

Dunc
 
Not sure the MFS will work very close to the rear wall. If you can get them out into the room they can sound superb.

Maybe you should just go and get some AE1 Mk1s - mine go bloody loud! IMO the Mk3 looks and sounds very nice with unchallenging music at low volume but hitting the end stops is hardly a challenge. The Mk1 is unbreakable although it can break amps.
 
there's a new all aluminium speaker from italy in this months hi-fi world. also look at the little krell lat's and their new wooden ones and b&w's 805 sigs too. or if you can find some their older silver signatures are sublime.
cheers


julian
 
Revel M20 is a hugely underrated speaker. IME much better than B&W 805's.

I guess I'll 3rd the Active 20's - I had a pair for a few months and they are really bloody great - dump your amp and get a CA2 pre-amp. You'll love it.

Another choice would be Harbeth Compact 7's or Monitor 30's. I went shopping for a pair of 30's but bought 7's (long story). Ignore the word Compact they're a decent size :) IME, they had a slight bass hump which mean't I prefered the ATC 20's.

As you need to put them close to a wall, you'll need a home demo.. (probably a good idea no matter what you go with, given that constraint).
 
Another vote for the M20's, gave them ago a little over a year ago and liked them very much. They managed to fill my old living room well given it's huge size. Great speaker and with adjustable bass control on the back.
 
oedipus said:
IME, they had a slight bass hump
Click to expand...
They certainly will if you stick them close to a wall and try playing them loud...
My recommendation would be a pair of JBL 4428 monitors. Don't know how they sound, but they look the business :D
JBL 4428 (in Japanese)
 
joel said:
They [Harbeth C7's] certainly will if you stick them close to a wall and try playing them loud...
Click to expand...

No, I beleive it is a characteristic of the speaker. I say this because:

a) I have a fair sized 20x14 listen room with no placement constraints

b) in the positions I tried, the character remained, so it wasn't a placement issue

c) Quad 989's, ATC 50's, 20's, 10's, Ref 3a di Capos etc don't exhibit that character in this room.
 
oedipus said:
No, I beleive it is a characteristic of the speaker.
Click to expand...
Interesting observation, as the designer says they do not (but you are not the first person to make this observation)...
 
joel said:
My recommendation would be a pair of JBL 4428 monitors.
Click to expand...

Joel, in this case, I'd let rip with the LSR32. Designed to be used close to walls, capable of massive levels with minimal distortion, and neutral to a fault by JBL standards :D

See
here

Being serious for a minute, I really cannot think of a really high class standmount that gives high levels and works well close to walls. The old Dynaudio Microns were great, but IME a sealed cabinet is preferrable close to walls, and with a small unit, this is going to mean woeful efficiency or zero bass extension :(
 
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I'm now actually swaying towards the Acoustic Energy AE3 Mk2s as they will give me everything the AE1s did but with higher power handling.
 
Art Expressions - top ported so they can go close to a wall and good at high volume.
 

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