[MrAngry01]

Hi All, I am starting to build a budget system with very little real knowledge of what I am doing and looking for a gentle push in the right direction.

I have purchased a Yamaha as 500 amp and matching cd player which are both only a couple of months old from ebay for £280 which seemed like a decent buy. I am now looking to replace my ageing Ruark Swordsman standmounted speakers with budget floorstanders.

I have considered the following:

Mordaunt Short Aviano 6 for £324 (manuf refurbished)
Q Acoustics 2050 for £275
B&W 603 s3 £295 (used)

Will these pair well with this amp?
I am looking to play a mix of music from Floyd to classical on cd and from my pc via Squeezebox.

[MrAngry01]

No one got any ideas, as the Avianos end on ebay in a couple of hours?

[BlueWizard]

All good.

I would add the

- Wharfedale Diamond 10.4 (£329/pr)

- Acoustic Energy Neo 3 (£359/pr)

if you want a real bargain -

- Tannoy Mercury V4 (£269/pr)

I don't think you will have any problems with Yamaha amps, any of these speakers should work fine.

You need to evaluate the Bass Driver Size, though most will be 5". And you need to evaluate the low end response. The Tannoy above = 32hz. The Diamond 10.4 = 38hz. The Q Acoustic 2050i = 44hz. The Acoustic Energy Neo 3 = 43hz.

Keep in mind that numbers don't tell every thing. Those with the Acoustic Energy Neo 3 think the bass is pretty impressive.

Again, if at all possible, you need to listen and judge for yourself. I'm sure a great many people would find each of the speaker fantastic in their budget range.

I don't have the specs on the B&W 603, but they were probably more expensive than the other new speakers you are looking at when they were also new. The older B&W 603 still have many speakers in service, and the demand for those speakers is still reasonably high. It is a desirable speaker.

Mordaunt Short makes quality speakers, and the Aviano 6 originally sold for about £399/pr. I can't find complete specs on them, so I don't know how large the drivers are or what the frequency response is, but I'm sure both are up to standards.

Curious, there doesn't seem to be a Yamaha CDS500, so I suspect you have either the CDS300 or the CDS700. The CDS300 is fine CD player in its price range. The CDS700 is in a MUCH higher price range and should perform accordingly.

That probably doesn't help, but in general, you have a nice selection of speakers. It is not a question of which is good, they are all good. The real question is, which do you like? Only you can determine that.

Steve/bluewizard

[MrAngry01]

Thanks Steve for the detailed response. It is the cheaper CDs300 that I have bought.

I think as most people say its such a subjective issue chosing speakers and everyones taste varies. I just dont want to purchase something that is known to clash with this amp.

I will pay Richer Sounds in Glasgow a visit to have a listen to the Tannoy V4s and the guy selling the B&W 603s says I can bring up my amp to have a listen too so that sounds like the best plan.

[BlueWizard]

Amps do tend to have something of a characteristic sound, and in better equipment, a mismatch can be pretty substantial. But the variation is speakers is much larger than in amps.

I have a Yamaha RX-797 stereo receiver, and it seems fairly neutral to a trace warm, I use it in combination with Diamond 9.6 speaker, which are also fairly neutral. I just don't see a problem with this amp when combined with any speakers on the list.

Far more important, in my view, is which speaker you like the sound of.

The odd thing about any audio product is that for any product that people love, there will be a group of very similar people who hate it, and that spans the price range. Some people love Arcam, some hate it. Some love Rotel, and others hate it. Some love Wharfedale and others hate it. It REALLY is a very personal thing.

However, I think I can safely say all the speakers listed are GOOD. But ... which ones do you like? I confess I've bought a lot of my equipment Sight Unseen. Which means I ordered them off the Internet without ever hearing them in person. I've had real good luck, but I'm sure if I had the resources and access to decent Stereo Shops, I could have found something that suited me better. Still, I got what I have for a very low price, it is quality equipment and I'm very satisfied with it. I suspect you would be satisfied with any of the speakers on the list. But, if it is at all possible, do give a listen before you buy.

I honestly don't think you can go wrong, these are all some of the best speakers in this price range.


Steve/bluewizard

[whos mother]

I got a pair of these for £200 off ebay used but in mint condition still boxed with the protective covers on and everything

Roth OLi 50 review | from TechRadar's expert reviews of Hi-fi and av speakers

I think they sound fantastic,but be warned they are very big.

I listened to the wharfedale floorstanders and the mission mx3,and tannoy v4 at richer sounds and in my opinion the ones I bought are in a different league really open and full sounding.

second hand maybe but only in name

[redboy1]

I can vouch for the AE neo's, superb sounding speakers. audio affair are selling the V2 for 295 delivered. They are great speakers and have not heard a bad word about them.