Looking for Speakers in the 500-600E range in vain

georgiek

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Hey, I recently bought a MARANTZ NR1506 amp and looking for speakers since a while - in vain.

I had some unsuccessful attempts. I was going for the Q Acoustics 3050 but the shop couldn't deliver at the price of purchase after all, then I tried some German ones (Teufel Ultima 40 mk2) which weren't really working - sent'em back, and I decided to up my budget and listened to several speakers including The DALI ZENSOR 5/7 and some bookshelf Monitor Audio (I don't recall the model) which I really liked (surprisingly for bookshelf)

I like warm, deep sound.

I live in Berlin and it's not easy to find Monitor Audio's (most shops sell German speakers which to be honest I don't really trust).

What I did find is some second hand B&W (the P6s for example) which I may be able to get at a decent price (300/400E)

I saw some people suggesting the Monitor Audio MR6 for example. (which I can't seem to find here in Berlin or online)

can you point me to the right direction for my budget/amp and sound preference?
 
Don't know about the prices, but CANTON makes a wide range of speakers. I've heard some Canton and they sounded pretty good. Very popular brand and should be easy to find in Germany.

Next, are you starting with a Pair of speakers in the €500 to €600 range. Or was that intended to be a full 5.1 set?

When it comes to a bargain, these JBL ES90 with TWIN 8" woofers each, should be very powerful speakers. I think JBL is ending this line and coming out with new speakers, so these are deeply discounted -

JBL 4-Wege Standlautsprecher »ES 90«

ES90 | 440-watt, dual 8” four-way floorstanding loudspeaker

Here are the Monitor Audio Bronze BX6 in Berlin, nice speaker, but they are now a discontinued model -

Monitor Audio BX6, 449,00 €, horch und guck Berlin - Ihr Hifi-Ou

Not being very good at German, to the best I can tell, this is a dealer in Berlin -

HiFi im Hinterhof | High Fidelity, High End, TV / Video, Heimkino & MultiRoom in Berlin

Wharfedale is another speaker that is affordable, and not overly bright, it has more of a balanced laid-back sound.

Wharfedale

Wharfedale Lautsprecher | Kaufen für den aktuellen Preis in Berlin

You might check out the older or newer Tannoy Mercury Series.

While the Monitor Audio MR series are certainly low priced enough, really the Bronze are a better series if you can find them and afford them.

Though I didn't specifically find it, in Wharfedale Bookshelf, if you can find the Diamond 10.2 or the newer Diamond 225, these have larger 6.5" (165mm) bass drivers which are about twice as big as a 5" bass driver.

The Wharfedale Diamond 230 is a bit over your budget, but the Diamond series have always been well regarded and highly rated in their price class -

Wharfedale Diamond 230, 349,00 €, horch und guck Berlin - Ihr Hi

Sorry, I couldn't be more help.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Thanks a lot Steve ! Funny that, but actually you will probably help me save some € :) Since I posted this I began increasing my budget at every visit to the hi-fi store, so I was almost ready to pay 1000€ (yes, only for 2 speakers - no surround/5.1 intentions).

I listened a lot, and I was heading towards either buying the Monitor Audio Bronze 6, or a pair of second hand B&W (about 10 yrs old).

I also realized I appreciated a lot when an extra - autonomous subwoofer was in the setup (is that called 2.1? I guess)

So your suggestions: the JBL ES90 looks amazing and seems like it has lots of power, I'll try to listen to it asap (or just order and test home)

I can definitely afford the DIAMOND 230, but it seems it's a 2+1/2 way? Would that be OK/enough?

Regarding the BX6 - as you mentioned and from some reviews I read - it seems they lack a lot compared to the new Bronze series.. although much cheaper of course.

So now I'm between the JBL ES90, the Diamond 230 (I'd love to find them and listen to'em) and the Monitor Audio Bronze 6 (the '5' I listened to it yesterday, it did lack a little bit in terms of depth/base)

Shall I get something and then invest in an extra subwoofer if I feel I need it?
 
update: I ordered JBL ES90 and the Diamond 10.7 . Will try both and return one of 'em
(now I am wondering if my modest/small Marantz can pull that off)
 
Hey @BlueWizard . So, good news first: both the Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 and the JBL sound great ONCE I DISABLED Audussey. Interesting thing I notice? The volume change from 0 to 40 is mild - and from 40 to 60 its a very big change in terms of decibel for all speakers I've tried. Any idea What's happening?

The bad news? The JBL's have a really wicked base, but they're way too boxy/voluminous to place in the living room. I'm wondering if somehow I can push the Wharfedale's a little bit more on the lower/volume level and keep them (as they're generally way more visually pleasant/discrete) or If I just have to convince my girlfriend that "they're not that big after all" and keep the JBL's :D

These are the specs of each in comparison:

Audio Specifications JBL ES90
Power Handling (Recommended) 110W
Power Handling (Peak) 440W
Sensitivity (2.83V@1m) 91dB
Crossover Frequencies 500Hz, 3kHz – 24dB/octave; 12kHz – 18dB/octave
Maximum Recommended Amplifier Power 225W
Frequency Response 36Hz – 40kHz
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
High-Frequncy Transducer 3/4" (19mm) Titanium-laminate dome, shielded; EOS waveguide
Midrange Transducer 4" (100mm) PolyPlas, shielded
Low-Frequency Transducer Dual 8" (200mm) PolyPlas,™ shielded
Ultra High Frequency Transducer 3/4" (19mm) Polyester-film ring-radiator, shielded; EOS waveguide


Audio Specifications Wharfedale Diamond 10.7

Suitable Amplifier Power 30-200 Watts
Impedance (Nominal) 6Ω
A/V Shield no
Sensitivity 90dB
Nominal Frequency Range 30Hz - 24kHz
HF Limit (-10dB) 44kHz
Crossover Frequency 150Hz / 850Hz / 4.5kHz
Dimensions (H*W*D) 965*223*303 (mm)
Bass Driver 2x165mm
Bass/Mid Driver -
Midrange Driver 50mm Dome
Tweeter 25mm
 
The Diamond 10.7 is a nice balanced speaker. Indeed the JBL are on the bass heavy side, that also means they are much harder to place, especially in a small room.

Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 loudspeaker

The Diamond 10.7 while they will still need a bit of space around them, will not quite need as much as I suspect the JBL will.

As far as specs, they are about the same, but specs don't tell you everything. Your ears are the best judge.

The volume output between them is virtually identical.

I have the Diamond 9.6 (2x8") and I found they had a fairly long break-in period. The bass seemed a bit weak when I first got them, but it settled in nicely after a bit of play time. The bass, even now is not excessive. Like I said they are generally a pretty well balanced speaker.

It seems as if you prefer the Diamond 10.7.

Steve/bluewizard
 
@BlueWizard thanks for the guidance:) I am keeping the 10.7 wharfedales. I just played some "Monolake" (check it out) and they showed their marvelousness (seems they play better with time). The JBLs are very imposing, but I think they lack a little bit of the finesse and detail the Diamonds do.

My next step and (promise) last question is: Which subwoofer would match well the Diamonds (while staying in modest size/ budget?) (my living room is about 25m²). I think 200Es of a sub is money totally worth paying to have a more rock solid base. agreed?
 
€200 is not much for a Sub. I would suggest you save up a bit more if you can.

You probably want at least a 10 inch Sub (250mm), as anything smaller than that is not going to go deeper than your Diamond speakers. Some 10 inch Sub don't even go that low. You probably want something in the range of 25hz or less, which is conservative for a Subwoofer.

Steve/bluewizard
 

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