newbie seeking advice on speakers

hello

i am looking for a pair of standmouts or small floorstanders (my room is quite small 12x9 ft) that are fast and time - or PRaT - well, and are not overly bright (basically, anything that gets the foot tapping).

system is a wadia 830, into a moon i-5 connected via Vdh D102 III. musical tastes include rock/modern/dance/R&B. budget is around £500 (can be increased if there is something worth the extra outlay). s/h is not a problem.

the avi neutrons have been recommended but i would be interested in other opinions. any advice on appropriate speaker cables would also be welcomed (£5-£10 per metre).

many thanks.

 

for the 'fast and time' thing - epos
for the not too bright, huge sound from small speakers - proac 1sc

 

I'd look for a s/h pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.3MkII - should be able to find a pair for around £5-600 (they were £1200 new). Meets your requirements (IMO) and Dynaudios really work well with SimAudio amps. A s/h pair will also mean they're likely to have been properly run in because they can sound a little harsh when new.

Michael.

 

.... or a pair of Dynaudio Audience 52SE, which are thight and fast, can throw a huge soundstage, and are easy to place, certainly given the size of your room.

 

many thanks to everyone who responded. seems like dynaudio then. any cable reommendations?? black rhodium perhaps?

 

I'm shy to recommend cabling in general as I use VdH for all applications and The Wind MKII as a speaker cable. Also tried Siltech, QED and Nordost in the same price ranges but VdH always turned out as the most natural and musical in comparison.

If you have the chance to compare the MC Gold IC with the (pleasant) 102 then you should give it a try. It's not just better for its (much higher) price tag but takes equipment to another musical level.

Good luck.

 

If you can find a pair (not easy), Meadowlark Kestrel or Swift models may fit the bill.

 

Do try some Proac 1SC's mate. Second hand they are in budget, and they're one of the best 'all round' small speakers Ive heard.

Totally different sound to Dynaudio's (IMO), so its worth hearing both to see which direction you prefer.

Epos are great, and another direction again!! - its all different flavours really, no such thing as 'best' of course. Trying out the options is really fun, so good luck with the try-outs.

 

thanks everyone. will be giving all your suggestions a go over the coming weeks.

bottleneck, could you elaborate a bit; how are they different?

 

ooh no, Im not good at describing how hi-fi sounds. Im too practical by nature. Here goes.

Proac 1SC's - full bass, rich sound. a quart in a pint pot. not harsh at all. Looks fab too, good WAF.

Epos ES speakers - more treble, open and detailed and airy. Not as much bass as Proac. Very room dependant. Great for hearing everything in clarity.

Dynaudio 52's - powerful and punchy. Likes a beefy amp. Like the Epos its more forward than the Proac. In the wrong room or with the wrong kit it can be a bit in your face. Good build and drivers.

For near field, I like AE1's aswell. They really do need a beefy amp, but again its good for hearing everything on the record. Good choice if you're only 5 feet away from the speakers.

Hey, thats just my take on it - you might find something very different.

Theres just so many good standmounts. I had a blast with the Leema's the other day, and thats a fab little speaker too. It can fill quite big rooms.

Its all going to depend on the sound you like, and I dont think anyone can tell that apart from you of course.

Are you going to borrow all sorts to try at home?

YOu've got some fantastic partnering kit - you know they deserve the effort!

 

Try the Monitor Audio GR10's as well. Slightly cheaper than the others mentioned @ about £450 s/h but very very good none the less. Very foot-tappy and has a huge following

If you can find them a s/h pair of PMC LB1's would be brilliant I expect. They are quite large, but not too big and definitely fit the bill of huge sound-stage, detail and deep bass. Maybe the cheaper TB2 as well?

 

Its all going to depend on the sound you like, and I dont think anyone can tell that apart from you of course.

Are you going to borrow all sorts to try at home?

agree completely; only my ears etc, etc, and yes, i see many-a-future weekend being taken up with speaker dems. here was i thinking i could crack this in one weekend!

dynaudio are up first, then proac and then oh, i dunno...maybe epos or monitor audio. i've heard the GB1s and TB2s - both very nice. in fact i quite liked the TB2s; they seem to grow on you (though they were partnered with some stratospherically expensive naim kit and i may have been warming to that).

that said, my mate has some proacs (think the 2.5s) and they seem a bit dark to me (parntering equipment - arcam and MF) but i will give the standmounts a go.

on verra!

 

previous post mentioned TB2's and GB1, The former is rear ported and needs a good 15inches between it and rear wall and 3/4 metre from sides. They can work in small room and quire close together (as do mine) as long as your cable doesn't let too much bass through.

The GB's (smaller drivers and front ported) can go quite a bit nearer to rear wall but go deeper than TB2's so are roughly equal in terms of overall subjective frequency response, all said and done- you may have to go for smaller DB1's if your space is too small, but they are excellent anyway.

In last months Hifi plus the reviewer said that a Moon amp (not sure which) was a perfect match for one of this years (2004) award winners- the Reference 3A Dulcet loudspeaker (over budget at £1600 approx). It's a small speaker and I've no idea how much space it needs in relation to walls etc. I'm quite interested myself actually- My gears currently in smallish bedroom.

David.

 

after today, one more boogie box to add to the list: elac. very impressive.

 

what does 'seem a bit dark' mean? out of interest

the answer may steer you towards certain brands,or not

 

If you like ELAC, you probably wont like the Proacs (IMO). EPOS, Dynaudio, Acoustic Energy AE1, and other forward sounding models might be more what you're looking for.

It seems like you like speakers that are a little on the bright side (IMO)

 

saab, dark...not open or forward; more muffled, warm, muddy eg harbeth, classic spendor, proac.

bottleneck, i think you are probably right about the proacs (and my preference for an open, forward - though not bright - sound). i wouldn't describe the elacs as bright. open yes but not bright. there's a HIFI World review on the elac website (www.elac.com) that pretty much sums up my experience (although i listened to a different model). i also listened to some n-sats. now they were bright and forward.