XTZ 95.24’s: Review

Dazzor

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A bit of a preamble….

I recently got an opportunity to check something out from XTZ. I chose these speakers because I've been considering an upgrade from the KEF iQ1's I currently have in my conservatory system. So the bookshelf speaker in XTZ's new 95 range seemed like the logical option for me to explore. My thinking being bolstered by the fact I really like my 99.25's (MkI's) and for the money, I, like many owners, consider them to punch well above their price-tag bracket.

My requirement here is primarily 2-channel music listening; with a bit of TV and gaming duties thrown in here and there….I think the picture below of the KEF's in situ says it all. (My humble retreat from the living room when the wife hits the sky planner and digs out endless episodes of Desperate Housewives)

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In any case, I'm not alone in thinking that if a speaker can handle music it will do other duties well too; even if the enclosed manual lists these as “Sats” (The rest of the 95 family also listed as the manual is a generic one for the range)

Lastly, I am mindful of my fondness for my 99.25's, however I don't consider myself to be entrenched in any kind of brand-loyalty; so injecting any sort of hyperbole here is not on the agenda. If anything I think my expectations based on the 99.25's value-for-money factor has the potential to lead to disappointment.

Build quality, finish and general appearance:

The 95.24 are available in 3 finishes, black-ash effect, walnut effect and also a white finish. I have no idea if the white is textured, matt or some sort of wood-grain effect? Anyway, I decided to opt for the black ash to test. I must say I personally would like to have seen an oak, maple or some sort of light-wood version too, even if it replaced the white option….. Though I suspect white goes down well in Sweden.

Upon taking these out of the box I was encouraged by the solid feel and weight of the cabinets. They have curved edges which I think is a nice touch. The ribbon tweeter die-cast aluminium horn thingy looks to be well made with a nice textured feel. The 6.5” polypropylene, titanium- coloured plated drivers look pretty cool too. The binding posts are the usual fare, gold-plated jobbies, taking either banana plugs or bare wire.

Having said all that, I was not completely sold on the overall aesthetics and size. As I said, I would have loved these to come in some sort of light-wood finish like oak or even maple. In terms of the 95.24's size I simply want a smaller speaker for my conservatory system. Both these are just personal niggles, not a fault with the speaker. In fact I suspect a standmount of this size, for this sort of money will appeal to a wide audience.

The 95 range, from what I can gather by looking on XTZ's website is being pitched towards Home Cinema, in part at least. Even so, the 95.24's are a pretty big “Satellite” speaker in my opinion. They're huge compared to my little KEF's, which I already consider a decent size to act as a satellite speaker.

Having a set of 99.25's I am of course going to draw comparisons. In terms of appearance, the 95.24's are wider but not as deep. I think the 95.24's do look quite nice but the 99.25's have a more refined look about them….But then they are roughly double the price. One thing I did like over my 99.25's was the speaker-grills having invisible magnetic mounting….I do like magnetic speaker-grills.

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How the 95.24's spent their 3 weeks with me

The first 11 days in my conservatory system

I left my Arcam A85 on pretty much all the time for the first 70 hours. Those 70 hours were done either playing radio, some games consol duties, watching TV or playing CD's (Mainly Radio and CD's)

The Last 10 days in my main system

Once I felt that the 95.24's had opened up (more of that later) I placed my 99.25's in the conservatory and used the 95.24's as my front-2 in the living room.

The good thing here is that because I've got both my Yamaha Z7 and Roksan Caspian M-1 series hooked up via a Beresford TC-7220 I can chop and change between a 2-channel hi-fi and my 5.1 system at the push of a button.

How they sound

In my Conservatory system

Hooked up to my Arcam A85 and Marantz CDP these speakers sounded quite nice out of the box, detailed if a little closed-in; bass was a bit dry and not particularly forthright out of the box. I put this down to them being new and needing a few hours under their belt. I also feel that being placed on each end of a dodgy old AV cabinet with a bit blu-tac on each corner will not see the best extracted from any speaker. Having said that, lots of folk will invariably put speakers of this ilk too close together each side of a TV (Just like me) so I felt this was a good thing to report on.

Although the placement of the speakers in my conservatory is far from ideal I soon began to glean a change in their sonic presentation as the hours of play unfolded. Gone was the semi-closed-in sound of < 20 hours play. Once the 95.24's had done about 50 hours (or thereabouts) I really started to notice a more open and separated sound. Bass was more evident, not boomy and certainly what I hoped for given the size of the driver and cabinet.

I could talk more about sound-quality in this section, however, for the purpose of this piece I think I may as well save it for the next section&#8230;.As I have it all set-up much better in my main system.
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In My Living Room (Hifi and Home Cinema)

As I mentioned earlier, I have both Hi-fi and Home Cinema set up here; with my Roksan Caspian and Yamaha Z7 sharing my front-2 via a Beresford TC-7220. The hi-fi side of it also consists of a Marantz CD6003 acting as a transport feeding a Rega DAC into the Roksan. I felt sure that being on stands in a carpeted room would give these speakers a better shot at impressing me over the impediments they faced in my conservatory.

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Home Cinema: As I said, this is not my main concern but certainly something I was going to check out. Initially I set my AVR to 2-channel stereo for all my TV viewing; it just made sense to keep the other 3 speakers and sub out of the equation for a few days. In this capacity I found the 95.24's to be very accomplished. If there's anyone out there with a stereo amp looking for a pair of bookshelf's for under £350 to do both music and TV duties; you could do a lot worse than check these XTZ's out. Vocals were clear and at times I found myself sticking an ear against my dormant 99.25 centre speaker to double check sound was not coming out of it&#8230;..Enough said I think. In this capacity I preferred the +3db tweeter setting so the tuning-plugs went back in (Preferred the 0db setting when in use with my Arcam in the conservatory for music)

Performance as part of a 5.1 set-up was very good too. I blasted a few blu-rays and it all seemed to flow quite well, especially when considering my centre may not have been the perfect match I was used to. At no point did I sense the 95.24's were lacking, they really did an excellent job in this capacity. For these to act as surrounds/rears in a HT set-up may well be overkill in average size rooms (Like mine for sure)
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My main Hi-Fi: So on to a good pasting with my beloved Roksan Caspian. The first CD I grabbed being one of my favourite albums for this sort of thing; Orbital's Insides. The Caspian certainly gave the 95.24's a good workout! I did of course try various types of music.

At moderate to low volumes I was fairly impressed with the dynamics but for me, unless the volume is pumped up a bit I think all speakers have the potential to sound pretty average; others mileage may vary of course. So at decent levels I quickly got a feel for the speaker's character. Depth and soundstage were pretty good I thought with a nice sparkle to the top-end. With music I preferred the tweeter tuning plugs out in both my systems for music (Not for AV). The midrange was pretty good too, I've heard better from a standmount but there was sufficient punch to make me smile with my favourite tracks.

Certainly the 95.24's sounded better in my main system over my Arcam/conservatory system. Whether this was down to room acoustics or different kit in the chain I don't know for sure (bit of both I suspect).If I were to summarize the sound succinctly I'd say&#8230; &#8220;These speakers follow in the footsteps of my 99.25's in that they are a fairly neutral sounding speaker, able to pick out detail whilst maintaining a reasonably full sound&#8221;. These are not &#8220;warm&#8221; sounding speakers in my opinion but they can dish-out a healthy amount of bass. On the bass front; these are not dainty bookshelf speakers, nor are they monsters, so one would hope they can go low-ish&#8230;and I think they do. I'm no REW wizard or anything so measuring the bottom-end wasn't on the cards. However, I am very familiar with my 99.25's on their own and with my SVS SB12+ supporting them, and to me the 95.24's went low enough for a speaker of this size. Not sure what else to say really. I suppose good amplification plays an important part here.

What I liked and what I didn't

Here's a bullet-point affair&#8230;handy for those bored by my guff and wanting a quick run-down :suicide:

For:

&#8226; Ribbon Tweeter; top-end sparkle that remained smooth
&#8226; Decent mid-range punch
&#8226; Option for 0db or +3db tweeter tuning worked very well in my two environments
&#8226; Detailed and separated soundstage for the money
&#8226; Plenty of fun with good recordings
&#8226; Solid build quality
&#8226; Magnetically-mounting speaker grills
&#8226; Very capable as part of a home cinema system.
&#8226; Seemed to partner well with all three of my amps


Against:

&#8226; Bit big for my purposes
&#8226; Only 3 finish options, one of which is white
&#8226; Can sound a bit rough around the edges when pushed hard (maybe I'm spoilt by my 99.25's?)
&#8226; Like the 99 series, not great with poor recordings..IMO anyway


Summary

I'd just like to temper some of the minus points here with consideration for the cost of the 95.24's&#8230;for the money I think they are very good. I personally think that as long as you have 50 quality watts per channel or above in your amp you'd be hard pressed to find this level of performance for less than £500. And I have heard a few standmounts.

At the end of the day, this is just my take on the speakers after 3 weeks&#8230;I liked them and ultimately think they offer excellent value for money. Sadly for me these are a bit big for my requirement and I really would like a light-wood colour finish.

My aim here was to share my humble thoughts; there are plenty of you out there that have forgotten more than I know about hifi / speakers&#8230; and a keener ear for quality too, I'm sure. Others may disagree with my thoughts and that's to be expected, after all, speakers are possibly one of the most subjective areas in hi-fi. I just hope this has been of interest as I have really enjoyed my 3 weeks with the 95.24's.

The 95.24's, in my view anyway, do what a lot of good, modern speakers aim to do, and that's to ride two horses at once. By that I mean they are excellent as part of a home cinema system and can also hold their own with 2-channel music. At £345 I genuinely think these are worth checking out given XTZ's trial at home offer.

Thanks for reading
Darren
 
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Nice. First review I've seen of the 95 series.
Unless I missed it in the text above I do just have to check... are you keeping them? It's a very positive review, but "I have really enjoyed my 3 weeks with the 95.24&rsquo;s" just sounds a bit final!

You may recall from my amp test that I ended up getting some 99.36s, but keeping the 89 centre because the 99 centre is the wrong size and shape - just won't fit. The 95 would though, so this is of some interest to me.
I realise that yours is the other way around to what mine would be (95 fronts with 99 centre), but would you say that the combination 'works'? When you say "my centre may not have been the perfect match I was used to", do you mean that you could actually detect a difference in flavour?

Looking at your system, I see you decided against getting a D3 in the end? Or is that still to come?
Mine's running my 99.36s pretty nicely!
 
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Very good review, detailed, easy to read, informative. I wish I could write review this good.

Thanks for the review.

Just out of curiosity, how do they compare directly to the KEF or the other XTZ speakers you have? I was stunned by how much better the B&W CM5 sounded than the B&W 685. Though the 685 is still a pretty good speaker.

There is always a "For the Money" element in that, if you have a pile more money, you can certainly get better speakers. But at a modest £345/pr, they would be a contender for the B&W 685, and not far off of the Monitor Audio RX1.

I do agree about the finishes as well. Personally, I like a hint of red in my wood, so Cherry, Rosewood, and similar are appealing. Though I'm not in Sweden, I don't think Walnut is that popular any more. Still, walnut is a very traditional finish for speakers. And, in a home cinema room, a dark speaker is certainly preferred, but in a lounge or similar, assuming it is not already dark colored, a light Maple, Birch, or similar would blend in very well.

Still, I assume they have to set some priorities in their speaker finishes, and try to focus on the most popular for now.


Again, very good review.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Nice. First review I've seen of the 95 series.
Unless I missed it in the text above I do just have to check... are you keeping them? It's a very positive review, but "I have really enjoyed my 3 weeks with the 95.24&rsquo;s" just sounds a bit final!

Hi Ben, hope you're well mate.

Yes, it does sound final and sadly it is. They are going back soon. I'd love to keep them but like I said, I really want a much smaller speaker and in a light-wood colour.

I even took the 95.24's to my local dealer, along with my A85 and dem'd them back to back with some Monitor Audio RX1's.....I preferred the 95.24's sound overall but the little RX1's were nice enough and perfect for my purposes. Ideally I'd like to hear the Dynaudio DM 2/6's too as they are small but make a big sound for their size, issue here is they only come in black and cherry wood colour I really don't like. Aesthetics aren't normally so important to me, however, I really want something less visually imposing in my conservatory.

You may recall from my amp test that I ended up getting some 99.36s, but keeping the 89 centre because the 99 centre is the wrong size and shape - just won't fit. The 95 would though, so this is of some interest to me.
I realise that yours is the other way around to what mine would be (95 fronts with 99 centre), but would you say that the combination 'works'? When you say "my centre may not have been the perfect match I was used to", do you mean that you could actually detect a difference in flavour?

When I said.."not the perfect match I was used to" I really just meant that I normally have 3 identical speakers across the front. In terms of hearing a different flavor, no, I didn't hear anything amiss tbh...It all sounded pretty cohesive to me when watching both DD 5.1 and HD Audio with blurays. Of course you're talking about a 95 series center with 99.36's each side, so your mileage may vary....Maybe it's time to get Shaun to dig out a 95.33 for your trial;)

Looking at your system, I see you decided against getting a D3 in the end? Or is that still to come?
Mine's running my 99.36s pretty nicely!

Not sure at the moment, Ben:confused::suicide::rolleyes:

I'm kind of sticking to the old adage here...."If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I am totally intrigued by the D3 but love my Caspian and the sound I have in my main hi-fi system. I hear lots of people on here say that if you're happy with the sound you've got going on then leave it alone.

How are you getting on with the 99.36's and the D3? I imagine that combo to make a very nice sound indeed:smashin:
 
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Very good review, detailed, easy to read, informative. I wish I could write review this good.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks, Steve, comments like this make it all worth while:smashin:

Just out of curiosity, how do they compare directly to the KEF or the other XTZ speakers you have? I was stunned by how much better the B&W CM5 sounded than the B&W 685. Though the 685 is still a pretty good speaker.

There is always a "For the Money" element in that, if you have a pile more money, you can certainly get better speakers. But at a modest £345/pr, they would be a contender for the B&W 685, and not far off of the Monitor Audio RX1.

You're spot-on with the "For the money" bit there. Compared to the little KEF iQ1's the 95.24's, imo, do everything better in terms of sound. The KEF's simply can't go too loud without sounding a bit crowded...simple as that for me. The KEF's are a nice little speaker for moderate llistening levels...but sometimes I want a bit more oomph when I'm on my crosstrainer in my conservatory.

Compared to the 99.25's...It's a very difficult one to call but if I had to quantify this is simple terms I'd say the 95.24's are 80% of my 99.25's 100%...if that makes sense? (20% refinement can be lot sometimes, depending on what you're listening to I think) Bottom line, for the money, an excellent option for folk to explore if nothing else.

As far as Monitor Audio's RX1's go.....Like I said in my reply to Ben (your post here not visible to me when replying, btw) I preferred the sound of the 95.24's.. The top-end was certainly smoother on the 95.24's without loosing detail. The 94.24's as you'd expect from the bigger cabinet and slightly bigger driver also went lower. Having said all that, I do like the RX1's very much and they are a pretty little speaker too.

I do agree about the finishes as well. Personally, I like a hint of red in my wood, so Cherry, Rosewood, and similar are appealing. Though I'm not in Sweden, I don't think Walnut is that popular any more. Still, walnut is a very traditional finish for speakers. And, in a home cinema room, a dark speaker is certainly preferred, but in a lounge or similar, assuming it is not already dark colored, a light Maple, Birch, or similar would blend in very well.

Still, I assume they have to set some priorities in their speaker finishes, and try to focus on the most popular for now.


Again, very good review.

Steve/bluewizard

Agreed, XTZ clearly have a set colour scheme for a reason that most likely makes good business sense...Although it really would be nice to see more finish options. Personally I like the oak finish from Monitor Audio at the moment, wish the cherry was doing it for me, as I'd really like to check out the DM 2/6 from Dynaudio too.

Thanks again for the positive comments:smashin:

Darren
 
Hi Ben, hope you're well mate.
Yes, it does sound final and sadly it is. They are going back soon. I'd love to keep them but like I said, I really want a much smaller speaker and in a light-wood colour.

I even took the 95.24's to my local dealer, along with my A85 and dem'd them back to back with some Monitor Audio RX1's.....I preferred the 95.24's sound overall but the little RX1's were nice enough and perfect for my purposes. Ideally I'd like to hear the Dynaudio DM 2/6's too as they are small but make a big sound for their size, issue here is they only come in black and cherry wood colour I really don't like. Aesthetics aren't normally so important to me, however, I really want something less visually imposing in my conservatory.
I'm very well thank you.
Shame you had to send them back. Or more to the point, shame you've tried them so now you know the sound you could have had!
But I do understand what you're saying about the non-audio considerations for the conservatory. I'm actually just about to mount the crappy Onkyo satellites that I had discarded from my 5.1 as a stereo pair in mine, connected to a squeezebox! Mostly because I need something very small, but also because I really doubt my conservatory will sound any good anyway. Nothing soft in there at all.

When I said.."not the perfect match I was used to" I really just meant that I normally have 3 identical speakers across the front. In terms of hearing a different flavor, no, I didn't hear anything amiss tbh...It all sounded pretty cohesive to me when watching both DD 5.1 and HD Audio with blurays. Of course you're talking about a 95 series center with 99.36's each side, so your mileage may vary....Maybe it's time to get Shaun to dig out a 95.33 for your trial;)
I certainly won't be doing it particularly soon. I'm not unhappy with the performance of the 89 centre, it's just another set of "what if?" questions in my head!
I say I'm not unhappy with its performance, but I've had very limited experience with surround systems.
Not sure at the moment, Ben:confused::suicide::rolleyes:

I'm kind of sticking to the old adage here...."If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I am totally intrigued by the D3 but love my Caspian and the sound I have in my main hi-fi system. I hear lots of people on here say that if you're happy with the sound you've got going on then leave it alone.

How are you getting on with the 99.36's and the D3? I imagine that combo to make a very nice sound indeed:smashin:
Well I've found out what people were talking about when they say it shows a bad recording. When I first got the 36s I was convinced that something was loose in one of the speakers, and was rattling at certain frequencies. Turns out that it was distortion on the track!
But other than that, I'm really enjoying the combo. I'm using it with the digital inputs only, fed by my BR as a transport, and a squeezebox duet. Never heard anything other than a sub that goes as low as the 36s in a controlled way. And the boomy bass issue I had with the 89s is gone.
The D3 looks really classy in black too, especially when it's turned off (the display lets it down slightly). If an electronic device can look quietly confident, then this one does. The demo model was the black/silver colour, which I liked in the pictures. But in the flesh, black was definitely the right choice.


To add to the colour debate on the XTZ range, I actually like the Walnut finish. The other wood in the room is all oak (or oak finish), and while the walnut colour is obviously very different to that, it doesn't look out of place.
If anything I'd say they could ditch the white in favour of a lighter wood.
I doubt there's much market for white speakers anyway, and I'd imagine that anybody wanting white will be looking for speakers that are smaller than the XTZ.
 
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I'm very well thank you.
Shame you had to send them back. Or more to the point, shame you've tried them so now you know the sound you could have had!
But I do understand what you're saying about the non-audio considerations for the conservatory. I'm actually just about to mount the crappy Onkyo satellites that I had discarded from my 5.1 as a stereo pair in mine, connected to a squeezebox! Mostly because I need something very small, but also because I really doubt my conservatory will sound any good anyway. Nothing soft in there at all.

I am a bit gutted but I am really wanting to check out other options now, mainly MA's RX1's and Dynaudio's DM2/6's....Dynaudio's sadly also not coming in the light-wood I want but still being pretty compact with a 6" driver.


Well I've found out what people were talking about when they say it shows a bad recording. When I first got the 36s I was convinced that something was loose in one of the speakers, and was rattling at certain frequencies. Turns out that it was distortion on the track!
But other than that, I'm really enjoying the combo. I'm using it with the digital inputs only, fed by my BR as a transport, and a squeezebox duet. Never heard anything other than a sub that goes as low as the 36s in a controlled way. And the boomy bass issue I had with the 89s is gone.
The D3 looks really classy in black too, especially when it's turned off (the display lets it down slightly). If an electronic device can look quietly confident, then this one does. The demo model was the black/silver colour, which I liked in the pictures. But in the flesh, black was definitely the right choice.

Sounds like you're pretty much in audio Nirvana there, Ben:smashin:

One would hope by buying both amp and speakers from the same manufacturer there would be a very positive synergy....Looks like the D3 and 99.36's tick that box with aplomb.


To add to the colour debate on the XTZ range, I actually like the Walnut finish. The other wood in the room is all oak (or oak finish), and while the walnut colour is obviously very different to that, it doesn't look out of place.

I know what you mean, Perhaps the online imagery isn't doing the walnut finish any favors then. Still, just as a speaker's sonic presentation is quite a subjective area, the finish is too I suppose.

If anything I'd say they could ditch the white in favour of a lighter wood.
I doubt there's much market for white speakers anyway, and I'd imagine that anybody wanting white will be looking for speakers that are smaller than the XTZ.

Couldn't agree more. As I said earlier, I too would happily see the white sacrificed for a light-wood finish:smashin:

Still, being that the 95.24's were too big and unavailable in the finish I wanted made it easier to back them. If either one of these issues were removed I would of been in a right dilemma.:rolleyes:
 
Couldn't agree more. As I said earlier, I too would happily see the white sacrificed for a light-wood finish:smashin:

Still, being that the 95.24's were too big and unavailable in the finish I wanted made it easier to back them. If either one of these issues were removed I would of been in a right dilemma.:rolleyes:
Maybe the white finish is designed for you to colour it in yourself?!
 
Dazzor, great review!:smashin:

Would you think the XTZ 95.24 would be good as rear speakers for the XTZ 99 range as £800 for the 99.25 just for rears seems a little to high for my liking, but the 95.24 seems a better match then the 93.21 as the 95.24 shares a ribbon tweeter like the 99 range so should be a better match?:confused:

Cheers mate!:thumbsup:
 
Dazzor, great review!:smashin:

Would you think the XTZ 95.24 would be good as rear speakers for the XTZ 99 range as £800 for the 99.25 just for rears seems a little to high for my liking, but the 95.24 seems a better match then the 93.21 as the 95.24 shares a ribbon tweeter like the 99 range so should be a better match?:confused:

Cheers mate!:thumbsup:

Thanks for the positive feedback:smashin:

I think the 95.24's would do a sterling job as rears along side your 99's. I found these to have a very similar character to my 99.25's indeed.

Also, matching rears isn't as crucial as say the front-3, IMO. Even then I think the 95.33 would most likely match-up well with 99's each side...based on how the 95.24's sounded to me....So using the 95.24's as rears should be a pretty good synergy I reckon.:thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the positive feedback:smashin:

I think the 95.24's would do a sterling job as rears along side your 99's. I found these to have a very similar character to my 99.25's indeed.

Also, matching rears isn't as crucial as say the front-3, IMO. Even then I think the 95.33 would most likely match-up well with 99's each side...based on how the 95.24's sounded to me....So using the 95.24's as rears should be a pretty good synergy I reckon.:thumbsup:

Cheers mate.:smashin:

I am in the process of getting new speakers and the XTZ 99.36 MKII and 99.25 MKII centre is at the top of my list, but I wanted the best centre speaker I could get and of course afford. So the KEF’s Q series and B&W CM series are on the list as well, I am having a home demo of the XTZ 99.25 MKII centre in 3 weeks so I will see if it suits as I do like dialogue from my centre to have weight to the voices. But I noticed when I was looking at the XTZ 99 series there was no matching rears (I know the 99.25 are but way too expensive and overkill for rears IMPO) and most people are getting the 93.21.

The only problem I have and you been a gamer as well will understand, I play my PS3 now and again but mainly when AAA games come out and when you are in a game rotating the camera and everything is panning from front speakers to rear I was wondering if the 93.21 would sound disjointed but your review made it sound like the 95.24 would be better match for rears then the 93.21.

Hope that made sense?:confused:
 
Thanks for the positive feedback:smashin:

I think the 95.24's would do a sterling job as rears along side your 99's. I found these to have a very similar character to my 99.25's indeed.

Also, matching rears isn't as crucial as say the front-3, IMO. Even then I think the 95.33 would most likely match-up well with 99's each side...based on how the 95.24's sounded to me....So using the 95.24's as rears should be a pretty good synergy I reckon.:thumbsup:


First of all, thanks for a very good and very well written review! Happy to hear you like the sound! About matching speakers, and using 95.24 as rears, I think you are absolutely right. We always aim for a neutral character so the different speakers would still be possible to use together in different setups.

:)

/Rikard

Cheers mate.:smashin:

I am in the process of getting new speakers and the XTZ 99.36 MKII and 99.25 MKII centre is at the top of my list, but I wanted the best centre speaker I could get and of course afford. So the KEF’s Q series and B&W CM series are on the list as well, I am having a home demo of the XTZ 99.25 MKII centre in 3 weeks so I will see if it suits as I do like dialogue from my centre to have weight to the voices. But I noticed when I was looking at the XTZ 99 series there was no matching rears (I know the 99.25 are but way too expensive and overkill for rears IMPO) and most people are getting the 93.21.

The only problem I have and you been a gamer as well will understand, I play my PS3 now and again but mainly when AAA games come out and when you are in a game rotating the camera and everything is panning from front speakers to rear I was wondering if the 93.21 would sound disjointed but your review made it sound like the 95.24 would be better match for rears then the 93.21.

Hope that made sense?:confused:

93.21s work fine as rears together with the 99-series fronts, and so does the 95.24 too. It´s actually more a matter of estetics more than sound in this case. Also, using a center from another brand should not have to be any problem at all if it´s not too far off from "neutral".

:)
 
93.21s work fine as rears together with the 99-series fronts, and so does the 95.24 too. It´s actually more a matter of estetics more than sound in this case. Also, using a center from another brand should not have to be any problem at all if it´s not too far off from "neutral".

:)
Thanks Rikard for your comments.:smashin: Just one question, if you had to choose one pair of speakers from 93.21 and 95.24 for rears for the 99 series and its down to only sound quality or for a better word matching the 99 series which one would you choose?

Plus I would be placing them about 5 inches above ear level tilted down.

Cheers!:)
 
From a purely sonic point of view I would use 95.24s. They can play louder. Not that I would try to max them out, but they do offer a few dBs of extra headroom. They 93.21s sound very similar, and may look better together with the 99-series, but they cannot reach quite the same sound pressure level. This may be hypothetical to most people, and would also depend on what kind of movies you tend to watch and so on.

:)
 
Hi Ben, hope you're well mate.

Ideally I'd like to hear the Dynaudio DM 2/6's too as they are small but make a big sound for their size, issue here is they only come in black and cherry wood colour I really don't like.

Try the Dynaudio Excite X12 - they come in Maple, and sound superb on the end of an Arcam A85 - mine do!
 
Try the Dynaudio Excite X12 - they come in Maple, and sound superb on the end of an Arcam A85 - mine do!
#

Would love to....but these are well over budget for me. This is just my second system at the end of the day.

Thanks for the info though, much appreciated:smashin:
 
Have you listened to the DM 2/6 yet?
Ive listened to them and I love them. But they are over my budget.
So I wonder how you compare them to the 95.24s. Since they are in my budget range, but I dont wanna get dissapointed after listening to the DM 2/6.

Your review is the only one I can find, so I hope you can help me =)
Greetings from Sweden.
 
Have you listened to the DM 2/6 yet?
Ive listened to them and I love them. But they are over my budget.
So I wonder how you compare them to the 95.24s. Since they are in my budget range, but I dont wanna get dissapointed after listening to the DM 2/6.

Your review is the only one I can find, so I hope you can help me =)
Greetings from Sweden.

Greetings from the UK…:smashin:

Sadly I never got a chance to audition the DM 2/6’s….I really wanted to as I’ve read much about their “big sound” from a small cabinet. My local dealer, who incidentally did not have the DM 2/6’s available, mentioned that the Dyn’s were a “sweet sounding” speaker….Quite what he meant by that I don’t know for sure….Warm yet detailed I suspect?

In short, I managed to secure a very good price on a pair of Monitor Audio RX1’s……a price too good to ignore. The RX1’s aren’t without their foibles, however, they are plenty good enough for my purposes for now…..Knowing me, I will end-up selling them and trying something else, but for now they are doing a sterling job with my Arcam A85 (Good pairing, IMO).

Regarding the 95.24’s……If I were you, I’d take XTZ up on the trail period offer and take them along to a dealer that has the DM 2/6’s available for demonstration so you can hear them side-by-side. I’d be very interested to glean your thoughts if you did manage to compare the two.

The 95.24's are a lot of quality speaker for the money, IMO.

Apologies for the potentially unhelpful post and do let us know how you get on.

All the best
Darren
 
But how would you compare the 95.24 to the RX1?
Didnt you say you liked the 95.24s more?
The RX1 has the same price as the DM 2/6 in Sweden.
And Im mostly looking for a surround system, so I cant actually buy that expensive speakers. But now that Ive heard the 2/6 im afraid I might get dissapointed at the 95.24 if I order them.
 
But how would you compare the 95.24 to the RX1?
Didnt you say you liked the 95.24s more?
The RX1 has the same price as the DM 2/6 in Sweden.
And Im mostly looking for a surround system, so I cant actually buy that expensive speakers. But now that Ive heard the 2/6 im afraid I might get dissapointed at the 95.24 if I order them.

The RX1's a nice speaker for it's size, however.....The 95.24's produce a fuller, smoother sound IMO. They are, after all, a bigger speaker. Bigger driver, bigger cabinet. Not loads bigger, but bigger nonetheless. I opted for the RX1's for various reasons that collectively meant more to me than the lift in SQ. The RX1's are a very speaker though, don't get me wrong.

As for direct comparisons with the DM 2/6's.....You're already in Sweden and XTZ offer a trail period with only the return shipping cost to incur if you do return them. If you're near Torup you might even be able return them yourself and avoid this cost altogether?

At least this way you could take the 95.24's along to a Dynaudio dealer and demo the two speakers side-by-side.

.....Oh, and if you do dem the two, please do share your thoughts with us:thumbsup:

All the best
Darren
 
I actually gonna go and listen to the MA BX2 tomorrow since they didnt have the RX1.
How would you compare the 95.24 to the BX2? Its the same price on those two. But you rather compare the 95.24 to the RX1?
 
I actually gonna go and listen to the MA BX2 tomorrow since they didnt have the RX1.
How would you compare the 95.24 to the BX2? Its the same price on those two. But you rather compare the 95.24 to the RX1?

The bronze range from MA are a level below; and the BX2 can be had here for roughly 42% less money than the RX1.

The RX1 is almost the same cabinet dimensions as the BX2, yet the BX2 has a slightly bigger driver (half an inch bigger) yet the RX1 weighs in a full kilogram heavier..I wonder why?

I don't think comparing the BX2 to the 95.24's is totally like apples vs oranges, but it's heading that way I think.

Please do let us know how you get on with your demo of the MA speakers:thumbsup:
 
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Hi

What amp do u suggest to run them speakers off?

Hi there,

Amps:

This is an easy and impossible question to answer all at the same time....

It's easy because these speakers aren't hard to drive, they're not the most sensitive but they aren't a hard load. So basically, I reckon any amp with a true, quality 50wpc should be absolutely fine. In some cases there are amps with less power that will most likely do a better job than others purporting to produce more power.....I don't know all that much about amps to be honest, but I do believe in a decent power-supply/current/amp capability. You see some amps manufacturers quote power ratings that aren't a true representation of their real-life abilities.

It's a difficult question to answer because I, like many, believe amps can differ in their sonic presentation and therefore pairing can be a very subjective matter...so really you need to take your speakers along to dealers and demo amps in your price-range.

If you want to go down the used road, then let me know and maybe if I get time I'll have a scout about at possible options to consider....but first....

What's your budget?
 
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