Aesthetically pleasing decent sounding speakers

Adam M

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hi all.

need help.

Just bought a new house with a nice new 18 by 15 lounge and am in negotiations for that pioneer 1080p panel.

Thing is, I would really like a decent complete speaker package that doesnt take over the room, by perhaps blending in slightly, but still being top quality in terms of sound.

Any suggestions?

will be driven by an AX10is, and I am more than happy to add a decent sub.
 
Anthony Gallo Micro Ti's are awesome, but n your room the A'Divas will probably be better :)

dont let their size fool you, my micros can make the floor vibrate in a 12x15 room :eek: and thats with a less powerful pioneer amp than you speak of ;)
 
if the pios are gloss black the piano black monitor audio radius should go very nice, and won't break the bank too much. demo them first of course.
 
i should say, if you can afford them the M&K Xenon packages are awesome, floorstander power sound in satellite speakers :eek:
 
thanks guys.

I already have monitor audio radius 250s in white in my current room but they are being sold with the house. They sound decent, but I think I am looking up the quality ladder.

I also have M and K K4 tripoles in the rear with some K7s as centre rear. I have the option of bringing these with me or selling them on to the next owner - my sister.

I am not necessarily looking for satellites or wall mounted speakers, just something that doesn't become the focal point of the room, eg. my naim credos and ruark dialogue which used to take up a whole wall.

Thankfully the new wall is bigger and barer so it might be possible to reintegrate that little lot. Question is, has speaker technology moved on to the point that I would be neglecting newer options.
 
pair of Monitor Audio GS20's in piano black.....ooohhh sheeeexy :)

and i mean the sound and looks..lol....the black gives them a slightly stealthy diminishing look in one regard, but at the same time makes them a beautiful sight to behold.....your amp will power them nicely too :)

altho i would demo a fair bit first, MA can on occasion appear bright, some Pio amps accentuate this, so get a good home demo of them and listen for a good few hours to see if it matches up ok :)

they are not small, but they are good!......then if you want to keep the centre small, grab a Radius 180 in black as well.....or go for the GS LCR, it isnt exactly small, but in the same black finish will look a treat ;)

sorry if the suggestions come across too big on paper with their dimensions, but its worth considering them.....
 
B&W XT4s and XTc with some M&K tripoles in the rear awesome, As long as you drive them properly they sound awesome.

Demoed them a few times, I am now trying to resist spending too much on Naim electronics to drive them.


Check them out, you wont be disapointed, plus they look awesome.
 
how much are the GS range speakers?
 
The PMC Wafer range are very very good too. Well worth a listen.

wafer1.jpg


http://www.pmcloudspeaker.com/press/wafer.html
 
I really can't imagine such flat speakers sounding good but surely they are worth a listen.

I am also struggling to believe that a small box xspeaker the size of the xenons are really going to be an improvement over the K series rear end I currently have.

Seem like a lot of money for what look like almost identical speaking. I am sure they are great but it is going to take a demo to convince me.

I assume an AX10is won't have trouble driving the 4 ohm xenons?
 
Adam M said:
I really can't imagine such flat speakers sounding good but surely they are worth a listen.

I am also struggling to believe that a small box xspeaker the size of the xenons are really going to be an improvement over the K series rear end I currently have.

Seem like a lot of money for what look like almost identical speaking. I am sure they are great but it is going to take a demo to convince me.

I assume an AX10is won't have trouble driving the 4 ohm xenons?

the av amp driving the xenons was a fairly standard denon unit. not sure which one it was but it was not in the league of the AX10is, more like the pio 1015 denon equivilent :)

i dont know your tastes tbh, but i took my evanescence cd with me and the gallos sounded terrible with them (alough my newer ti's are better). however the M&K's sounded like floorstanders, they handled the harsh and heavy music with ease :)
 
Adam M said:
I am also struggling to believe that a small box xspeaker the size of the xenons are really going to be an improvement over the K series rear end I currently have.
Exactly what i thought the first time i saw the Xenons! The Xenons are more detailed and open, and can actually fill a bigger room more easily (suitable amp required).

If you want something bigger, try the LCR750's. Bigger Miller & Kreisel sound for virtually the same money at £375 each.
 
my google searches for M and K are not coming up with much. any links to the lcr750s?

I am not so against the big speakers, but feel partially short changed by the idea of a satellite in that price range.

For rear speakers, I can't imagine there being a better option than the m and k tripole arrangement. Do the tripole designs go further up the range than just the xenons?
 
Adam M said:
I really can't imagine such flat speakers sounding good but surely they are worth a listen.

I think you'd be very surprised how good they sound, definitely worth a listen.
 
Adam M said:
I am not so against the big speakers, but feel partially short changed by the idea of a satellite in that price range.
I would hold comment on that until you have heard a Gallo setup with a well integrated subwoofer.... So clean and precise, no cabinet reflections / discolouration, and good lookers to boot!!

Same for M&K which for all intents and purposes are satellite too. Would prefer Gallo where music had any priority, but love the way MK punches way above it's weight.
 
music has no priority at all in this room.

Separate room with a dedicated 2 channel monoblock naim set up just for that purpose.
 
I'd be looking really at the 150 range for top notch, or the 850 series as the largest of the smaller cabinet speakers (with nice finishes etc). Not all models are stocked in the UK, although I think we can get most over here (eventually!).

The MPS-150 are shallower, angled speakers to the full THX S-150s (which are bigger boxes so stick out on the wall more). Both use the same drivers, but the MPS-150 is specifically marketed as for use with plasma setups.

150series.jpg


Always tripole surrounds!! SS-150 to go with the above.
 
Liam @ Prog AV said:
Always tripole surrounds!! SS-150 to go with the above.

ahem, Column Surrounds anyone? :D
 
The 850's are no longer imported into this country, but the 750's now are, although only available in black at the moment.
 
guys, you have all been really helpful and it is much appreciated.

having had M and K stuff before I am keen to do it again, but I really am going to need to dem all this stuff to know exactly what I want.

Am leaning toward the idea of going all out and buying a 150 set up (plasma series). But I have so many questions that simply can't be answered on here.

is there a 150 tripole? and what am I looking at to handle the 6th and 7th speaker outputs becuase my current ones don't seem to do much. Am not sure if this will become more of an issue with dd+ or whatever dts has to offer at that point.

Is there a reputable stockist in north london who can dem me what I want to hear?

In fact central london will do, I just can't spend this kind of money without having some proper auditions.
 
The Xenon surrounds should be fine, maybe you're not driving them hard enough :)

There are SS-150 tripole surrounds which are a quite a step up from the Xenons, and there's the S-250 tripoles which are based on the 'in room' LCR-150's, so they're bigger.
 

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