Monitor Audio RS6AV or B & W 684 Home Theater

[flashmatics]

Hi guys,

Im setting up a home cinema system and want to know which speaker package is better for 50/50 music/movies:

Monitor Audio RS6AV or B & W 684 Home Theater

The speakers will be coupled with Onkyo 875 Amplifier...

Cheers

 

[Helicon]

Have you bought the amp yet? The only reason i ask is that the amp and speaker match is quite important. There are many amplifiers to choose from in that price bracket, some better at music than others.

Between the two packages you mention, i'd rather go for the MA's. I've not been happy with the sound from B&W for a long time. Do try the 8's against the 6's though, particularly if your music is important to you.

 

[flashmatics]

thanks for the reply helicon..

no i havent yet bought the amp ... but if you could recommend a winning combination in my price bracket i.e approx £2800 that would be great..

both my music AND movies are important to me... how are the MA's for movies?

In what way are the MA's better than the B&W's and why aren't you happy with the B&W's?

P.S what do you mean by ' 8's against the 6's ' ..sorry im not very knowledgeable with regards to model numbers etc

Cheers

 

[deckingman]

Hi,

Can't comment on the MAs but if you can stretch another 200 quid, try substituting the 684s for 683s (keep the rest of the package the same). For me, the 683s were much better for music. Worth a listen anyway.

 

[flashmatics]

cheers ill have a look into that..only concern is im not sure if my room is big enough for 683's..

i think my room is approx 16ft x 14ft ... what size is your room if u dont mind me asking

 

[deckingman]

Only slightly bigger - about 18ft x 14ft. If in doubt, send an e-mail to messrs Bowers and Wilkins on their web site. Found them to be most helpful (and I reckon they should know)

 

[Member 96948]

Why restrict yourself to the usual run of the mill makes? It's not that they're not good, but they're certainly not the only contenders. Have you considered the likes of Neat? Totem? Quad?

There's a group test of sub £1k floor standers in one of this months hifi magazines (I'll look when I get home) and the B&W 683 for instance, gets quite a panning, whilst the JM Labs plus A N Other get a glowing appraisal.

FWIW, I don't think what I've heard from either of the speakers you're interested in would make me get my cheque book out, but that's just my opinion and it's worth no more than your own.

Don't be scared to go listen for yourself. You can either buy what everybody else recommends - in which case you'll just end up with what they've got, or you can go and see what you actually like. Remember, one mans 'detailed' speaker, is another man's 'harsh wallpaper stripper' and there's a significant number of people who wouldn't actually know a good speaker one way or the other.

Try the same speakers in more than one dealer. See what amp/speaker pairings the dealer recommends or what alternatives they offer. You're spending some serious cash, so demand some attention and remember, yours is the only opinion that matters, so you need to go demoing to form one.

Russell

 

[TheHobbit]

I've listened to a lot of 5.1 sets in the last week,including the ones you mentioned.

The MA sliver set was the only one that had the WOW factor, especially with music - sadly out of my budget and also not a good match with my amp allegedly.

The MA bronze was really great with movies but just soso with music, as were the B&W 685s.

The B&W 684s were great in free space but really boomy close to a wall, which unfortunately is where i would have to put them.

In the end I was going for a B&W 685 system as they sounded the best close to a wall - then the shop suggested I tried some MJ Xenos which were just as good (to my ears), but £400 cheaper so I went with them.

If i had the room to use floor standers away from a wall, a compatible amp (and the budget) I would have gone for the MA silvers.

 

[deckingman]

Just curious. Did you try the B&Ws with bungs in when they were close to the wall?

 

[flashmatics]

thanks guys for your feedback ..yeah russ im gonna do research on other makes as well.. its funny some magazines say the B&Ws are awesome and some say they are just ok ... :S

deckingham what do you mean bungs in?

 

[Member 96948]

thanks guys for your feedback ..yeah russ im gonna do research on other makes as well.. its funny some magazines say the B&Ws are awesome and some say they are just ok ... :S

They are good loudspeakers, but speakers are such a personal thing - who's to say?

deckingham what do you mean bungs in?

You place a foam bung in the reflex port, which essentially removes the ports bass output, leaving the speaker acting as a sealed box with lighter bass. That's the theory.

It's basically a method to compensate for a speaker that is too large for the room it's in, or is being operated in a way it isn't really designed for ie, close to a wall when it would prefer free space.

Every time I've heard it done, sure it's reduced low bass output, but it always seems to thicken the lower midrange resulting in a warmer, but chestier sound to voices in particular.

Unless a house move forces a change in modus operandi, it's far better to by the right speaker, rather than the one that looks best, in the first place.

Russell

 

[cribeiro]

Every time I've heard it done, sure it's reduced low bass output, but it always seems to thicken the lower midrange resulting in a warmer, but chestier sound to voices in particular.

Interesting, I must try this with my Richmonds. That's not what I'd expect. Do you have an explanation for this? I can't think of any...

 

[TheHobbit]

Just curious. Did you try the B&Ws with bungs in when they were close to the wall?

Yep. When bungs were fitted the 684s were out-performed by the 685s which were better designed for wall proximity.

 

[deckingman]

thanks guys for your feedback ..yeah russ im gonna do research on other makes as well.. its funny some magazines say the B&Ws are awesome and some say they are just ok ... :S

deckingham what do you mean bungs in?

For sure you need to audition and decide for yourself but your op was fairly specific, so this is what I replied to (and of course it's only my own view, etc).

Lots of talk about the B&W floor standers needing space - all true but I assumed you knew this. Funnily enough, for me, the floor standers were considered more aesthetically pleasing, (even spaced out from the wall) than stand mounted speakers by "er in doors" so this was a big factor in the decision making process.

With regard to bungs as supplied by B&W, they are foam inserts to go in the base ports. There are two types. One is an anular ring to partially mask the ports(s), the other fits inside this ring to fully obscure the port(s) (but being foam, they don't actually seal the box). Depending on which model you may have ports at the back as well as the front so there are lots of combinations to try (partial mask of rear port, both ports, full mask rear port and partial front etc). Just something to play around with to help with the fine tuning depending on speaker positioning, room accoustics etc.

 

[flashmatics]

thanks for your detailed reply deckingham and everyone else..it has been really helpful..really appreciate it

 

[Zorba_8]

What did you decide on in the end?