Need new speakers...

[instigator]

Hi, I'm new to home theater stuff but as a musician I've been enjoying stereo music on a Cambridge Audio A5 and Mission 701 speakers...

They are like 9 years old...

I bought a mission m2s 5.1 speaker set off eBay for like 50 quid as I wanted to experiment with mixing in surround sound as my mixing desk has 7 analogue audio outs so I could feed an old analogue surround amp...

Finally got a Denon avr 3802 amp from a forum member...

What I have now realized is that I've got a ton more detail and clarity using the new gear... Tonight I plugged the old Mission 701s into the Denon 3802 and they still sounded wooly and less detailed and dynamic and exciting and balanced than the tiny Mission M2s speakers...

Ive just got a cheap Denon 1610 5.1 amp for the lounge to work with appletv 2 and also to listen back to my surround mixes in a more relaxed environment...

So, instead of buying new cheap speakers for the lounge I thought what about getting a new bookshelf speaker set and center speaker for the music room and put my old mission 701 set and the m2s center and left and right into the lounge... And then save money to get another sub...

From what I have read so far speakers like the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 or Cambridge Audio S30 might do the trick?

Can anyone recommend a moderately priced center speaker or another bookshelf speaker that could be an improvement?

I should mention the lounge is about the size of a medium to small double bedroom, it's tiny and when the Denon 3802 and Mission M2S 5.1 setup was in there it was positively thunderous and exhilarating... It's now in the music room which is about 3x bigger and it still sounds fantastic but it has lost a bit of the knocking me off my chair it's so thunderous but again it's still very detailed and exciting...


Thanks in advance...

 

[instigator]

Well I went ahead and ordered the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's for 99 quid from superfi...

Might build my own subwoofer, heh heh...

I made a center speaker for my brother that was a huge improvement over his Sony center speaker so might make one for me too but when I had a quick look around uk shops everything seemed much more expensive and not near as much selection of parts compared to California...

I figure my old Mission 701's can be used as front left and right in the lounge for now...

This is so fun...

The 701's sound warm and big but nowhere near the detail and dynamics of the Mission m2s even in stereo with the sub....

 

[instigator]

Ok so the Diamond 9.1's arrived this morning....

First impressions... Zero of the wooly washy lack of detail the Mission 701's had...

Maybe 25%more detail... Bass is tighter and more balanced with everything...

Not that the 701 was really bad, they are warm and friendly and big sounding... like a wash of warmness with just the edges of detail... but didn't have the detail and dynamics I feel I needed... The 9.1's have more depth to the detail...

I'm playing the 9.1's thorough my old Cambridge Audio A5 amp still... So it might still be useful... As it supports bi-amp or bi wiring I'll have to get more cable and try that out with the new speakers...

Does that mean it has a second little amp in it or is there some sort of cross over in it or something?

 

[instigator]

I've hooked the Diamond 9.1's up to the Denon 3802 and wow... They sound nice...

Really impressed with the old Denon...

Hope the Denon 1610 holds its own when it arrives...

The Diamonds sound just a tiny bit thicker and just ever so slightly harsher than the Mission M2S speakers... Is this because they are new and need a little running in?

 

[instigator]

Ok... So after some more listening and swapping speakers today I've discovered that I love the Mission M2S 5.1 speaker set (that I got on a whim for 50 quid before I got the amp) with the Denon 3802... Just so open and transparent, dynamic, balanced, exciting and rich... In stereo as well as PL II Music... But amazing in stereo... I just can't believe my luck...

The Wharfedale 9.1 sound good on the Denon 3802 but I suspect there is some setting as far as crossover in the amp I need to change to make it sound better as I had to turn the sub down a little which makes sense...

But the 9.1's on the Cambridge Audio A5 are fantastic... Open and big sounding but still with loads of detail that I was missing with the Mission 701's... As the Cambridge Amp has bi amping thingies on the back I will try and grab some more speaker cable and wire it up that way... I understand this can improve clarity?

So now I guess I can use the 701's as stereo speakers for the Denon 1610 for now...

Richer Sounds has Diamond 9 speakers for 29 quid or something, maybe I'll get some of those to make my surround set in the lounge with the 1610... Unless anyone wants to recommend something else?