Floorstanding speakers max height 800cm?

[DeadpoolX]

I am currently looking for a pair of high gloss black floorstanding speakers but they have to be no taller than 800mm.
Any suggestions?

 

[Passingbat]

these may fit the bill; they are available in black and i think you can pay extra for gloss finish.

What amp are you pairing them with? That will influence speaker choice.

Monitor Audio R270HD (R270 HD)

 

[DeadpoolX]

They look awesome! Just the ticket. This would be my 1st serious set up so never had amp or floorstanding speakers before?? What would you suggest pairing these speakers with?

 

[Passingbat]

Monitor Audio speakers are bright sounding, so they would generally be paired with warm sounding amps from Yamaha or denon (if talking AV amps). If you are looking at a stereo setup, then you're probably best asking on the HIFI forum for amp suggestions.

 

[BlueWizard]

800cm??? So, no taller than 26 feet then?

OK, you meant 800mm, or 31.5 inches.

First and foremost, what is your budget?

Second, why 800mm? Knowing why might help us come up with better suggestions. And, is it precisely 800mm or roughly 800mm. That also makes a different, we might be able to find something about 800mm, but it would be more difficult to find a floorstander at or under 800mm.

Also, given us some sense of what you are doing and what your requirements are might also help us help you. It is possible, it the circumstances are too restrictive, you might be better off with bookshelf and an appropriately sized stand.

The more we know, the better we can help.

Steve/bluewizad

 

[DeadpoolX]

Ok cool- well i currently have a corner tv unit which is the perfect width for my 32" lcd samsung but I'm upgrading to 50" tv but the mrs is insisting on keeping the tv unit that is part of matching set(desk,nestoftables ,etc) . Therefor I'm thinking that due to the 50" tv overhanging the width of the unit , some speakers either side of the unit would bring it together nicely. Reason for max height 800mm is that would make sure they were just underneath bottom of tv and not touching.

 

[DeadpoolX]

I would like to pair these floorstanders with an av reciever and my ps3. Looking for more of a quality sound for films and gaming only really. -Not after really loud capability just quality . Budget of £600-£1,000.

If the ps3 isn't going to realise the full potential of bluray/sound I would also consider a blu-ray player if you guys think it necessary .

 

[Passingbat]

i think this would be fine and used to be £200 more.

Yamaha RXV2065

The cheaper denon 2310 and Yamaha 1065 would be an option and if you really want to get the best amp and at the top end of your budget, the yamaha 3900 would be good, but it may be overkill for the speakers.

Yamaha RXV3900

What about centre, surrounds and sub?

 

[DeadpoolX]

No green light for surrounds yet or sub, but would the R270's provide a decent amount of bass ?

 

[BlueWizard]

Just a quick thought for now, but if you are looking for a surround sound system that is not going to be used for music, then bookshelf speakers on low stands are probably your best choice. But get bookshelf speakers, NOT tiny satellite speakers; at least, that's my opinion.

Since you will be using the bookshelf with a Sub, the ultra low of a floorstander aren't of much value to you. I personally always prefer floorstanders, but with your height requirement, there are few out there that are going to meet your needs.

Of course, if you find a bookshelf speaker you like, then before you buy, you must search for a stand that gives you the proper clearance from your TV. Stands usually come in a variety of sizes, so that shouldn't be a problem.

In AV amps/Receivers, I would say don't go less than £400, unless you can find a real deal. I think right now there are a Onkyo 607 and a Yamaha that were recently £399, that have been reduced to about £350 or less. That's a good deal. (SuperFi.co.uk and others)

For speakers, if you jump right now, you can probably pull together a Diamond 9.1 system. I think i recently calculated the components at about £430 for a full 5.1 set form AVbristol.co.uk. You can do it cheaper, if you buy at 'best price' locations, but that means buying the full 5.1 system from three or four sources. AVBristol.co.uk can help you pull together a nice system at a good price.

That adds up to roughly £800 for amp and speakers.

In PC World, in the latest issue, they tested a range of BluRay players, and used the PS3 as the standard to compare all the others to. In the end a very low cost Panasonic came out on top, and the PS3 came out in the middle. So, for now, it is a decent BluRay player, and I would leave the BluRay as an upgrade for later if you feel you need it.

Speaker stands are about £50 to £75 per pair. Then you need decent, but not great, speakers wire, and mid-priced quality interconnecting cables. Some of which you might already have.

So, it seems you should be able to arrange a nice system within your budget range.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[DeadpoolX]

Great info BlueWizard, and much appreciated thankyou. I think it's the look of the floorstanding speakers that appeals to me, but I will definately have a look around at bookshelf/stand options ,thanks.
Think I'll stick with the ps3 then for now cheers.

 

[BlueWizard]

Here is a pretty good speaker. These were on deep discount until stocks ran out, but I think there are still a few places that have them for about £199/pr. Mostly from StoneAudio.co.uk and AudioAffair.co.uk .

That's a fair price, but not outstanding, though it is a very good speaker that is exactly 800mm without the speaker spikes.

Product - Products - Wharfedale Hi-Fi

Combine that with the other Diamond 9 speakers I suggested, and the price goes up from roughly £430 to roughly £500. But you would have to buy the speakers from two sources.

Just a thought. Though again, finding a floorstanding model at or under 800mm is going to be difficult.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Crustyloafer]

The Dali Ikon 5s at 810mm might just fit if you have any flexibility in your height restricitons:

DALI International - In admiration of music

As would the Leema Acoustics Xone at 850mm

Xone - Leema Acoustics

 

[DeadpoolX]

I've just stumbled on the Mission 794 speakers also which I love the look of.
Only thing with the diamond 9.1's is no high gloss black. 10.1's do them in that finish though and coupled with speaker stands come in at under 800mm easy.

 

[Passingbat]

Just a quick thought for now, but if you are looking for a surround sound system that is not going to be used for music, then bookshelf speakers on low stands are probably your best choice.

Sorry, have to disagree completely on that as a general principle.

First of all; how many films do you watch that don't have music in them!

My lounge system is used purely for home cinema including TV and flooratanders are excellent in my setup.

With regard to the 270s, they will go down to 48HZ and whilst you really do need a sub for home cinema as well as the 270s, with the right surround speakers you can set a crossover as low as 60-70HZ and reap the benefit of a lot of the frequencies still being handled by the 270s.

For eaxample the 250s and 225s go down to 50 and 55HZ respectively and would be a great pairing to use as surrounds for the 270s.

From a practical, non audio perspective, with standmounts, you have to pay extra for the stands and they don't look as neat as a floorstender.

http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/assets/files/brochures/Radius-HD-Brochure-2009.pdf

 

[BlueWizard]

The problem is the MA R270HD is 1000mm tall; that's too tall. We have to stay at about 800mm or less.

And when I said, bookshelf in a surround system, I was assuming a subwoofer would also be in the mix.

I prefer floorstanders too, but we have some restrictions within which we must work. Given the limited number of floorstanders at or under 800mm, bookshelfs on stands would indeed be a good choice.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Passingbat]

The problem is the MA R270HD is 1000mm tall; that's too tall. We have to stay at about 800mm or less.

That's correct --- I went with the info on Peter Tysons site as in post 2 which says 760 high.


Monitor Audio R270HD (R270 HD)

Just checked the MA brochure and you're right; 1000mm

http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/assets/files/brochures/Radius-HD-Brochure-2009.pdf

Glad you checked, Steve.

 

[DeadpoolX]

Me too- those were ideal ! Glad I didn't get all excited and put an order in.
Is it just the mission 794 's then under 800mm as a floorstanding option?

 

[holiver]

The Quad 21L2 floorstanders are 780mm high according to the manufacturer. They are also available in glossy Piano Black and are beautiful (in my opinion).

 

[BlueWizard]

Well this brings up the problem that I anticipated.

We are now just recommending speakers of a given height, and ignoring the budget. If height was the only requirement, this wouldn't be that hard. But, when compounded by a limited budget, the range of choice in floorstander gets small. Though, some decent floorstander have been suggested.

Does anyone have Q Acoustis 1030i floorstanding speakers. These seem to sit on a small stand or base. Is this base permanently attached to the speaker, or could the speaker stand on its own without that small base? If the base is removable or optional, then these speakers might work, and the price at the moment is outstanding.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[nack]

I would like to pair these floorstanders with an av reciever and my ps3. Looking for more of a quality sound for films and gaming only really. -Not after really loud capability just quality . Budget of £600-£1,000.

If the ps3 isn't going to realise the full potential of bluray/sound I would also consider a blu-ray player if you guys think it necessary .

I've not had much experience with the home cinema stuff (yet) but regarding quality small floorstanding loudspeakers upto £1000 there's only one I can think of.

They're not gloss black but they are supreme quality.

Neat Acoustics Motive product range

 

[DeadpoolX]

Found these and looked at them today in Sevenoaks store -http://www.richersounds.com/product/floorstanders/wharfedale/diamond-10.3/whar-10.3-blk
Guy there told me these are only ones they do at 800mm tall.
He did say that a better quality bookshelf speaker around £450 on stand would give a better sound than these floorstanders though despite the much smaller size.

 

[BlueWizard]

Again, I think if you open it up to bookshelf on low stands, you have a wide open field of possibilities, and if the system is going to have a Subwoofer, then the bookshelf should do a fantastic job.

Also note that this is one of the extremely rare and few times I have ever pushed bookshelf over floorstanders. I'm a diehard floorstander advocate, but there are certain essential physical realities that come into play here.

If you insist on that budget, and floorstanders, give the Diamond 9.4 a second look. It would be a close fit, but it might work, and it is within your system budget.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[DeadpoolX]

Is there much difference between the 9.4's and the 10.3's ?

 

[BlueWizard]

is there much difference between the 9.4's and the 10.3's ?

Price! £200 vs £300

Also, driver size. The Diamond 9.4 has a 6.5" woofer. The 10.3 has a 125mm woofer (about 5").

A 6.5" driver is about 70% larger than a 5" driver.

Scroll down to the bottom of the thread at this link and see some Diamond 9.4 sitting in a living room -

http://www.avforums.com/forums/speakers/1072531-wharfedale-9-4-granite-slabs-flatfeet.html

Personally, I think the new Diamond 10.5, a 3-way with 6.5" woofer, is one of the better Wharfedale speakers around right now, unfortunately the price is still £480/pr.

At this link, you can see some Diamond 10.5 sitting in a living room -

http://www.avforums.com/forums/speakers/978096-new-wharfedale-diamond-10-series-9.html

Unfortunately for you, they are 850mm high without the spikes.

Steve/bluewizar