Floorstanders around £500

nonumb

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Afternoon all.

Some background - I used to have a b&w 602/601/lcr 60 set up partnered with an Arcam avr 300 and a custom sub. When I moved house I sold the front 3 B&Ws because my house was too small to accommodate them. I kept the 601s which are in the study.

I then bought a kef egg set up which quite frankly is a little disappointing in comparison.

I'm now going to be moving house and fancy getting a better set of speakers.

I'm after a pair of floorstanders initially with a budget of say £500 this could be increased by a couple of hundred quid if required. Clearance, new and second hand considered.

Use will be 40:40:20 music:tv:movies but my main concern is music. I miss the warmth and presence of my old speakers especially at lower levels.

I may decide to move these later to a dedicated hifi so music is key. However if they were part of a range which could be used as a 5.1 later than great. Was considering B&W again and using my 601s as rears.

Will be keeping the arcam amp for the moment. Absolute max is about £900 but would prefer to look around £500.

Any recommendations appreciated!
 
I think the dali zensor range might be an option but thinking second hand may get me more for my money.
 
So if I were to blow the budget and was able to get focal 836v floorstanders from nintronics would they be a good buy?

What about as a match for my aging avr300?
 
So if I were to blow the budget and was able to get focal 836v floorstanders from nintronics would they be a good buy?

I imagine the lack of replies is due to speakers being very, very subjective thing and as been said on many occasions, only your ears can decide, preferably in your room in which the music will be played.

With that said the Dali speakers are very well regarded but then again so are the focals, B&W and many others and would all be a good buy.

With that said it is not easy for some of us to audition first due to distance or other inconveniences but this link might be of interest
 
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I'm just testing out a pair of Castle Knight 3's as I type which I quite like. These are very compact floor standing speakers and it's new territory for me as I'm used to the likes of much bigger Mission 753's and MA GR20's when it comes to floor standing speakers but from the little I've heard of these baby things I would certainly be interested in hearing the bigger 4's and 5's if it wasn't for the fact I specifically want something very small for the bedroom. Some will bang on about Castles not being made in the UK anymore which is true but the build and attention to detail still seems up there with the best and they come in various beautiful finishes. Have a look on ebay to find which dealers selling new ones off cheap (as they have been discontinued I believe) and then see if any of them are close for a demo.
 
I forgot to add, I'm using them with an Arcam Alpha 10 amp.
 
The THREE most common choices in this price range are the -

£450/pr = Wharfedale Diamond 155 (2x6.5" bass, 37hz@-6dB)

£499/pr = Monitor Audio Bronze BX5 (2x5.25" bass, ~30hz@-6dB)

£550/pr = Dali Zensor 5 (2x5.25" bass, ~37hz@-6dB)

These are not the only speakers, just the most commonly recommended.

Each is going to have a unique sound though the differences are going to be subtle. Which you will prefer only your ears can tell you. Each of these speaker in their own way is very well regarded.

If you budget is locked at close to £500, then these would certainly all be speaker worth exploring. If you have a bit more flexibility we really just move up into bigger version of the same speakers.

One exceptional value, available from several sources, is the Tannoy DC6T which was originally £850/pr, and now available for around £600/pr. If they appeal to you, and if you can raise your budget, you might give them a listen.

Superfi - TANNOY REVOLUTION DC6T FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS (PAIR)

DC6T = 2x6" bass, 34hz @ -6dB

B&W, Focal, and similar floorstanding are going to be well outside your budget.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Thanks all for the replies. I'm thinking of upping the budget to £1k now.

I'm going to audition some at richer sounds namely the dali and wharfedales.

Just had an audition today at audio t and listened to the b&w 684 s2, kef q500 and monitor audio silver.

Firstly the b&w quite small compared to my old 602s3 but floorstanders. Felt they were really lacking and not what I was expecting.

Changed to the kef q500 and instantly was impressed. Much more 'presence' than the b&ws and completely surprised me as I didn't think I was going to like them. More presence but also more clear I thought.

Next came the monitor audio. Similar to the kefs in sound but a bit more clarity. Undeniably they sounded better but £300 better? Not sure.

I'm going to audition the kef q700 next if I can find some as I really liked the q500.

This was the first time I'd had a proper speaker audition and it was certainly an enlightening experience. I see what people on here mean when they say the audition is a must!

Looking forward to hearing a few more before I make my choice!
 
If you are in the range of £1000/pr, then I would at least consider the Dali Ikon 6 which are £999/pr at Audio Affair.

Dali Ikon 6 MkII Speakers (Pair) for £999.00 in Speakers

Here is a Stereophile Magazine review of the Dali Ikon 6. Dali dealers are not as plentiful as Monitor Audio, Kef, or B&W, but they make some fine speakers.

DALI Ikon 6 loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

If you have room, even the Dali Zensor 7 would be worth considering at about £750/pr. These are much more common than the Dali Ikon 6, and you should have to trouble finding a place to audition the Zensor series.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Hi Bluewizard,

Thanks for the reply. I will try and audition the ikon but should definitely be able to audition the zensor 7!

Thanks
 
I would definitely try and get a home demo if you can. I recently bought the Dali Zensor 5s and they sounded very different in my room compared to the demo room. I was luckily enough to try the zensor 7 at home after purchasing the 5s as I had a bit of buyers remorse. The 7s sounded way to bassy for my room size and I'm glad I actually went with the smaller floor stander.
 

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