What (home) hi-fi speakers do you recommend?

[DaveK]

My speakers seem to be getting very boomy / too much bass and it's beginning to annoy me. I little ironic really because I listened to them several times before buying them because I wasn't sure they had enough bass.

 

I am going to try repositioning them (they have side firing bass units) - but I'm also thinking of replacing them.

 

Budget would be around the £1K - £1.5K region.

[RedM]

This used to be my area of expertise but I sold my hi-fi to help get a Supra.

 

Go to a specialist and ask them about home trials. That way you'll be able to hear them in your own place with all the issues available for sorting instantly.

 

I hadn't even thought about the speakers I ended up with but the hi-fi guy said give them a go. A little bit of positioning later and I was well happy although they weren't as pretty as the ones I thought I wanted.

 

In summary, recommending speakers is a no-no. Try a few and see what sounds best. One man's favourites is another muted mess.

[DaveK]

I am planning to do home trialling - I was just hoping to narrow the field a bit.

 

At a hi-fi show a few years ago, I was amazed by Nbien - I'm going to see whether anybody around here stocks them.

[francis]

I've always been a big B&W fan, you might be able to pick up a pair of second hand B&W Nautilus 804's at that price if you're lucky, otherwise second hand 805's would be within budget, or if you want to drop down a range, you could look at the CDM series. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/

[Soonto_HAS_soop]

Monitor Audio are a less expensive brand, but get a regulary excellent write up by What Hi-Fi magazine.

 

Go get the latest copy of the mag, it will give you a good idea of what is available at the moment.

 

I've got a set in my set up and they are an excellent all round speaker. However if you don't primarily use them for movies, I'm not sure how you'd like them.

[DaveK]

I've always been a big B&W fan, you might be able to pick up a pair of second hand B&W Nautilus 804's at that price if you're lucky, otherwise second hand 805's would be within budget, or if you want to drop down a range, you could look at the CDM series. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/

 

I will listen to some B&Ws - when I bought the setup I have now, I listened to a few and had high hopes - but I didn't like them at all. In fact, of all the speakers I tried the B&W would have been at the bottom of my list. But I have a friend who's well into hi-fi and he tells me that's because I was listening to the cheap B&W stuff and if I go up to the next level I'd be impressed.

[DaveK]

Monitor Audio are a less expensive brand, but get a regulary excellent write up by What Hi-Fi magazine.

 

Go get the latest copy of the mag, it will give you a good idea of what is available at the moment.

 

I've got a set in my set up and they are an excellent all round speaker. However if you don't primarily use them for movies, I'm not sure how you'd like them.

 

I don't use them for movies at all.

 

I'm replacing Mission (702s I think) which are about 5 years old and cost me about £800 at the time so if I do replace them, I want a definite upgrade.

[francis]

I've had a pair of Nautilus 803s and 805s and to be honest I've tried a few other speakers in the past and nothing came close, they do require good amplification and a good source though as with most decent speakers. As for other brands you could take a look at Sonus Faber, Focal, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio... But like RedM says I guess it's best to hear them with your own ears first, but there are so many different factors it's often difficult to decide short of getting them back home in your own system - but then you end up having to buy from an expensive dealer which I try to avoid...

[DaveK]

I've had a pair of Nautilus 803s and 805s and to be honest I've tried a few other speakers in the past and nothing came close, they do require good amplification and a good source though as with most decent speakers. As for other brands you could take a look at Sonus Faber, Focal, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio... But like RedM says I guess it's best to hear them with your own ears first, but there are so many different factors it's often difficult to decide short of getting them back home in your own system - but then you end up having to buy from an expensive dealer which I try to avoid...

 

I don't mind dealer prices so much, since it does mean I can try before I buy.

 

Source is Musical Fidelity A3, so it's OK.

 

I just did a quick search - looks like 805s are about £2K new? If so, that's sufficiently close to budget that I'd just up the budget if I liked them.

[francis]

If you like the look of them and like stand mounts then definitely give them a try, they're great speakers. Actually a few years ago I had 805's with a MF Nuvista M3 and 3D and it really was superb, just a shame I had to sell!

[DaveK]

Hmm - I may have started on a slippery slope here. I'm now wondering if maybe I should try some CD players and Amps..... I like the MF stuff I have - and moving up to A5s wouldn't be sooooo expensive really......

[Pabs]

Big, BIG fan of B&W here.... I had some bookshelf B&W's and they really managed to show-up a lot of other speakers twice their size.

 

Unfortunately, because of budget, I ended up with a whole load of Mission speakers as I wanted to use all 7.1 channels of my cinema kit. The kit is definately getting old now, but still does a good enough job for me.

 

I had to get rid of my b&w's... wish I hadn't.

 

CD's/Amp's - I've always been a big fan of NAD and Arcam too

[DaveK]

Big, BIG fan of B&W here.... I had some bookshelf B&W's and they really managed to show-up a lot of other speakers twice their size.

 

Unfortunately, because of budget, I ended up with a whole load of Mission speakers as I wanted to use all 7.1 channels of my cinema kit. The kit is definately getting old now, but still does a good enough job for me.

 

I had to get rid of my b&w's... wish I hadn't.

 

CD's/Amp's - I've always been a big fan of NAD and Arcam too

 

Arcam are pretty good. When I bought the MF stuff, I tried a few - and Arcam sounded almost exactly the same. I only chose MF because I preferred the looks - no flashing lights.

[JohnA]

The speakers are the least important link in the chain, believe it or not.

 

Far more important links are the source and the room.

The amplifier(s) should be tailored around the speakers' efficiency and need for sound pressure levels at your listening position. (i.e. how loud they should play)

 

So it's not a good idea to start from the speakers: start with the room:)

 

 

I've been into HiFi design since I was 14, built my own amplifiers, active crossovers and speakers a few years later. Now I'm settled with electrostatic speakers and a few conventional speakers scattered around at strategic locations, each one driven through a separate power amp.

 

One thing I know is that there is no 'one size fits all' solution. It is a QUEST:d

[chilli]

yeah you need to go and listen to a few pairs and see what you like.

 

be careful of what sounds good initially might not be a good long term speaker, for example speakers that sound clear can actually be artificially bright and can lead to listening fatigue etc in the long term.

 

room acoustics are important, but a good pair of speakers should be able to work well in almost any situation (when set up right) whereas a cheapo pair might only work in one particular setup - this is what you're paying for really, a good setup should sound good under all situations without ever having to resort to tweaking the bass and treble etc.

 

I listened to loads of pairs. a 1k B&W pair in a hi-fi shop in brighton, loved the look but they were totally blown away when compared to a similarly priced entry pair of Naim speakers... My brother also has some B&W and on longer term listening they are a bit lacklustre

 

Be care of monitor audio, it's well known they have an artificial frequency response to make them superficially sound clearer, some people some on long term listening this can result in fatigue as there are peaks in response around the 10k area.

 

After a days listening in a high end hi-fi shop (with speakers for 100k!), I bought a pair of speakers based on sound only (never even heard of the name).

 

I got a pair by a make called "Audes", model "Blues" and can highly recommend them, however they need a serious amp to get the best out of them. this sort of equipment is "high end" and it can be a bottomless pit of £ if you take it too far.

 

get good stuff and none of it should rely on anything else in the chain to make it sound good, it should all be neutral and flexible. however a system will only be as good as the weakest link. Expect to spend some time positioning and fiddling with speakers to make them work with a given room acoustics. Never by speakers to suit a room only though, after all you expect a good pair to last years and work in many environments. If you buy speakers to work in a given room, expect them to sound sh1te elsewhere

 

The only factor really is space and positioning. No point buying speakers designed to work a certain distance away from a rear wall for example if there is no way to position them like that in the space you have. Also no point buying big floor standers if you've not got the space etc.

 

good luck

[chilli]

The speakers are the least important link in the chain, believe it or not.

 

I have to say I disagree.

 

Speakers are the number 1 most important part of a system. No other single component can completely change the sound of a system so drastically.

 

but there are things to watch out for:

 

no matter how good your speakers, they won't make up for a crap source, in fact quite the opposite - better speakers on a bad system just show up how bad it is!

 

no matter how good the speakers, they won't sound good in a bad acoustic environment. Setting up speakers is an art in iteslf.

 

but still speakers (and positioning) really become the most important of a system providing the rest is up to par

[JohnA]

I have to say I disagree.

..

I don't blame you, most people believe the same.

So did I several years back.

After all, the speakers are the tranducer that changes electric signals into actual sound - how could they not be the most important link?

 

But they're not:eyebrows:

Imagine the chain as a river that starts as a spring up in the mountains. The source is where the snows melt, the speakers are downhill where you drink the stuff.

If someone pees upstream, is it ever possible to undo the damage downstream? Think about it and you'll see why the closer you are to the source the more important the link.

You cannot add resolution that isn't there and you cannot undo distortion that has been introduced already. Downstream you can only mask the flaws (at best).

Avoidance is much better.

 

This could turn into a long, specialised thread --- not sure if it's right to hijack it.

[DaveK]

Feel free to hijack it.

 

I am going to experiment with my current speaker positioning, and I will probably also arrange some demos (including the B&W 805's). But I am also wondering if I should just take a step up with the whole system. I like the A3 stuff - but I'm wondering if I should budget about £5K-ish and replace CD, amp and speakers.

[JohnA]

A3, as in Musical Fidelity?

 

If the CD player is your main source, then that is the most important link - along with the quality of recordings (if you play upscaled MP3s don't expect miracles eh?)

 

Location and suspension of the CD player can be vital in some rooms - if it happens to be sitting in standing waves it could seriously affect the sound at high volumes (laser losing the pits and error-correction working full-time)

 

DAC and preamp come next.

 

Have you got any pictures of the room, it is important to have the dimensions along with quantity/type of furnishings. There is only so much you can do in room that is too bright or too dead (acoustically).

[VELOCITY]

I have Kef floor standers here and they are great, also had Monitor Audio before and they are good to.

[DaveK]

A3, as in Musical Fidelity?

 

If the CD player is your main source, then that is the most important link - along with the quality of recordings (if you play upscaled MP3s don't expect miracles eh?)

 

Location and suspension of the CD player can be vital in some rooms - if it happens to be sitting in standing waves it could seriously affect the sound at high volumes (laser losing the pits and error-correction working full-time)

 

DAC and preamp come next.

 

Have you got any pictures of the room, it is important to have the dimensions along with quantity/type of furnishings. There is only so much you can do in room that is too bright or too dead (acoustically).

 

Yes, MF A3.

 

I don't have pics of the room off hand - but there is a limit to how far I'm planning to go anyway. I want a sound I'm happy with - I'm not planning to redecorate my lounge because it will make my stereo sound better.

[Wez]

I also rate Kef, I have some Kef Coda SEs, not used them since I moved but they are small and sound really good, dont have massive bass but for general listening were very pleasent.

[JohnA]

Yes, MF A3..

 

I've got the A3CR preamp, along with some MF monoblocs scattered around.

 

Is yours the integrated amp, 85w per channel or so?

In that case you'd want to go for fairly efficient speakers, if it is to play loud without clipping.

 

On a smaller room this would not be an issue of course.

 

 

You don't necesarily have to redecorate, but if you have large reflective surfaces or assymetrical reflections you might want to minimise their effect.

[DaveK]

I've got the A3CR preamp, along with some MF monoblocs scattered around.

 

Is yours the integrated amp, 85w per channel or so?

In that case you'd want to go for fairly efficient speakers, if it is to play loud without clipping.

 

On a smaller room this would not be an issue of course.

 

 

You don't necesarily have to redecorate, but if you have large reflective surfaces or assymetrical reflections you might want to minimise their effect.

 

It's an integrated amp.

 

The problem I have at the moment is not so much clipping at loud volumes, it's just that it sounds very boomy, which is not good. I would guess it's primarily the speakers that are causing this.

 

The room is small - about 12ft square, and not much furniture to cause uneven surfaces.

[Wez]

You don't necesarily have to redecorate, but if you have large reflective surfaces or assymetrical reflections you might want to minimise their effect.

 

maybe try some deep shagpile carpet and egg boxes glued to the wall