Budget Speakers

[beaNN]

Hello, right well im in need of some speakers. I don't have alot of money to spend on them cos of the good ole poor student.
I am currently placing my music through:

Sherwood Receiver RD-6106R
Aural Envelope EX300

Im going to have around £200 - £250 to spend on some new speakers. I mainly listen to Metal. So any help would be great.

Regards

Richard

[Londondecca]

Go for something like second hand Wharfdale Diamonds with some decent stands

[beaNN]

Well I was considing the Wharfdale Diamond 9.1s which can be had for around the £200 mark, but then theres the others around that mark as well. You think that I should go second hand? Or go and test the speakers for around that price?

[OneDesi]

I would always go second hand and if you look around at the odd Sevenoaks website or other places you can pick up some monitor audio silver S1's for under £200 (they will deliver as well - I don't work for them just use the special offers page quite regularly) - leaves you enough moeny for some stands.

You could probably get some decent floorstanders new, I've heard good things about the mordaunt short range. If you are really lucky you could get some Quad 11L's for £250ish off ebay depending upon the colour.

My faves are the monitor audios but all the other stuff gets good writeups.

Second hand man - you'll get something probably worth £4-500 for your money!

[beaNN]

Theres some Quad 11L's on ebay at the moment. The problem is I won't get to listen to them before I buy. I mean will I be pleased with them? Ok so we have established going second hand would be the better option, are there any other speakers that people would like to recommand?

[OneDesi]

Originally Posted by beaNN

Theres some Quad 11L's on ebay at the moment.

The Quad 11L's you were referring to were probably the ones I just sold in maple and all I can say is they were great. For a speaker so small the bass was impressive to say the least but in the end I have stuck with my Monitor Audio Silver S6 floorstanders as they are a great match with my Musical Fidelity gear (going to sell an older pre/power combo soon) - hence why I recommended the Silver S1's which you can get for under £200 as the range has just been replaced with the RS1's.

Without listening to them you shouldn't really rely on opinions as what is good for you is probably bad for someone else. You could probable get some Dynaudio 42's in your budget but never heard them myself. Another thought, they are a bit light on the bass but as an all round speaker Imy old Mission 780SE were absolutely stunning (probably better all round than the monitor audios but lacked the bass for me!). These go for around £170ish on ebay.

Hope this helps.

[eviljohn2]

I wouldn't recommend the Quads for rock music, I heard Kazmans 21L's and although they were great for music and more easy listening music they sounded horrible and scratchy for the Pitchshifter I played through them.

The Missions would be a good option - I use 771e's to good effect although you could probably get the 773e floorstanders for under £200. At this price range the second hand market is your friend although I'd be wary of eBay as you can't be sure how well the equipment has been looked after.

[OneDesi]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

...second hand market is your friend although I'd be wary of eBay as you can't be sure how well the equipment has been looked after.

I've not had many bad experiences on ebay (touch wood!) but have to admit that I've always struggled to find other sources of secondhand stuff (apart from a few forums) - I think if you are selective on ebay then you cant go wrong.

Actually, quite a few stores like richersounds, sevenoaks and lintoneaudio sell ex demo stuff on ebay (I actually found that Tannoy are selling the old MX2 speakers direct on ebay for £62 plus delivery - my brother has them and even by todays standards they are good budget speaker and look good as well) so they would be quite kosher I'd imagine.

I tend to get through hifi like most people have hot meals hence my love of the second hand market - try the items and sell them on a few weeks later for minimal real cost - its great!

[eviljohn2]

I actually bought quite a lot of my equipment on eBay (including my 771e speakers) although that was a few years ago now. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you use some common sense in what you bid for and know the value of what you're trying to buy. Hence me saying be wary of it.

[OneDesi]

I used to have some 771e's - have you ever compared them to the newer stuff I'd love to know what you think, I sometimes wonder if speakers ever actually change that much and is just marketing games!

[eviljohn2]

I still think that they're excellent speakers although I find that the treble can get a bit crisp at very high volumes. They're very forgiving of poor material, have surprising depth for their size and plenty of detail across the frequency band for their price. The downside is that they do have a fairly distinct "flavour" and if it's not for you or partnered with the wrong kit then they'll sound awful. The other good things about them is that they have a real-wood veneer and match with the 77C1 centre speaker which is phenomenal.

I don't think that speaker technology has evolved that much over the last decade or so - the laws of physics havn't changed so a good design remains just that. The introduction of curved cabinets at sensible prices over the last couple of years can only be a good thing though.