New Speaker Advice - Compact Floorstanders

penrodyn

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Hi,

I'm after some advice please on new speakers.

My current setup is

Yamaha AS301 Amp
Raspberry Pi 3 with HiFi Berry for steaming/Internet radio
AudioTechnical LP120 (pre-amp removed) for Vinyl
Wharfedale Diamon 9.1 speakers

I am looking to replace the Wharfedales with floorstanders that I can put either side of our TV and connect the TV to the Amp for watching concerts, films etc but also hopefully upgrade my listening experience when playing FLAC's etc.

I was leaning towards the Q Acoustic 3050 (£349) or even 3050i (£549) but they just seem a little large. The Dali Oberon 5's are a more wife friendly size but then they are a lot more money (£749)! Any recommendations on floorstanders around the same dimensions as the Dali (H830mm x W162mm x D283mm)? I could then spend some of the "saving" on upgrading the turntable or streamer :)

Thanks
Lee
 
Hi,

I'm after some advice please on new speakers.

My current setup is

Yamaha AS301 Amp
Raspberry Pi 3 with HiFi Berry for steaming/Internet radio
AudioTechnical LP120 (pre-amp removed) for Vinyl
Wharfedale Diamon 9.1 speakers

I am looking to replace the Wharfedales with floorstanders that I can put either side of our TV and connect the TV to the Amp for watching concerts, films etc but also hopefully upgrade my listening experience when playing FLAC's etc.

I was leaning towards the Q Acoustic 3050 (£349) or even 3050i (£549) but they just seem a little large. The Dali Oberon 5's are a more wife friendly size but then they are a lot more money (£749)! Any recommendations on floorstanders around the same dimensions as the Dali (H830mm x W162mm x D283mm)? I could then spend some of the "saving" on upgrading the turntable or streamer :)

Thanks
Lee
Hiyas!
Quick question... did you like the sound from the Wharfedales? If so.. i think we can kill 2 birds with one stone here and get you, your help towards the upgrade on the turntable/streamer.

If you liked the sound of your Diamond 9.1's .. i would say try and go have a listen to the Wharfedale Diamond 230 or their bigger brother.. the Diamond 12.3.
The 230's come in at £279 a pair and the 12.3's are £499 a pair. Both not bad sounding to be honest and worth a check out for a demo

Size wise.. the 230's are H963 x W196 x D334 ... and the 12.3's are H975 x W180 x D348

It's a start for you.. but there are other suggestions for you out there :)
 
I have owned both the Wharfedale 12.3s and the Dali Oberon 5s. It may not seem like much on paper, but when the feet and spikes are attached to the 12.3s, they are actually quite large, nearly a metre tall and deep and heavy. Much larger than the Dali.

The Monitor Bronze 200 is similar in size to the Oberon 5s. You may also want to check on Ebay for a Monitor Bronze 5 (previous generation). There is one there for £320. I only recently sold mine...they are brilliant. I'd even pay £550 for them if they were new. I preferred them to the Wharfedale 12.3 and Dali Oberon 5.

A final recommendation would be a PSB T20. These can be bought for £329 at Sevenoaks in the clearance section. I haven't heard them myself, but apparently they have a warm sound, similar to the Wharfedales.

Hope that helps. Good luck :)
 
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Q Acoustics Concept 40 (bit bigger but worth it), and then upgrade amp when funds allow. Also on offer right now, £700 which is great price.

Oberon 5 would also benefit from better amp.
 
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The Bronze 200 that has been called out is a good shout.

Both the 12.3's (we have an ex-demo pair on sale in our section at the mo) and the Concept 40 (again, ex-demo on sale!) are rather larger however. They're closer to the Silver 300 in overall dimensions however....

I still believe the Oberon 5 take beating in their size class - they were £699 but increased not too long ago sadly.

If you went down the route of the Bronze 200 or the Oberon 5, you'll naturally get a bigger, more dynamic sound in the future with a an amp with some more power behind it :)
 
There are some absolutely stonking deals around at the moment on Monitor Audio Silver 200’s. Really classy speakers, for little more than Bronze money. They should be near a grand, but I’ve seen them between £600 to £800. Just check the usual suspects (Sevenoaks, Richers or your local dealer under their Clearance tab online).

MA have released the latest Silver range, so the outgoing models are being heavily discounted. Even though I don’t need any and couldn’t possibly justify it, I’m even tempted myself, but have to tell myself to stop being so silly.

But if I was setting up a new system, at the prices they’re going for at the moment, I’d be snapping the dealer’s hand off.

For me, the Silver range is the sweet spot on MA’s line-up: the build quality and materials are a significant improvement over the Bronze range, and they have one of my favourite tweeters regardless of price. Their reproduction of piano is spot on IMO.
 
Mission lx4 mark 2 are bi ampable and are the floorstanding version of the award winning lx2 mark 2. A bargain at under £400. The equivalent from Monitor Audio are the bronze 200, which have increased in price..They were £570 when launched.

The concept 40 are only 17cm wide and are another bargain as they were £1k when launched. The concept series are superior to the 3000 and 3000i range.
 
These are something of a splendid speaker and a veritable bargain.

Bit of a drive from Wales but as he has the original packaging you should be able to arrange your own courier.


Small, easy to drive and a bucketful of Neats excellence.
 
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+1 for the 6th Gen Monitor Audio Silvers. I've got the 300's. I wouldn't say there's a "bad" model in the range at all to be honest. Size wise, even the 300's are slim for "big floorstanders" (185mm cabinet width). With the outriggers, the very bottom 30mm of the speaker is wider (252mm).

If (and it's a massive if), you can find a pair of Mark 1 Dali Opticon 6's - they're also a stonking speaker imo. But you may have to look at used for the 6's.
 
Opticon 6 are only 195mm wide and are probably one of the slimmest floorstanders with twin 6.5 inch cones.

Monitor 200 and Bronze 200 are not too wide either.
 
Opticon 6 are only 195mm wide and are probably one of the slimmest floorstanders with twin 6.5 inch cones.
In theory, yes. In the flesh they're pretty imposing. Too big for my room when I was shopping about for floorstanders.
 
just bought a pair of open box OBERON 5'S for £550 and have been using them for 10 days now, initial impressions, they sounded like they reviewed, put some eva cassidy - nightbird on and they sound great, put some metal on like carcass - heartwork, and they sounded horrible, messing about with tone controls quickly revealed that there was a lot of bass boom going on in the cabinet affecting guitars & snares, filled in all the gaps yesterday with some wadding, hey presto, problem solved. with such a slim cabinet i wasn't expecting this, would hate to be using these speakers with an amp without tone controls, they can stay now lol. i have done some acoustic treatment in my smallish living room and have these speakers hooked up to a DENON PMA 800 amp, DENON DCD 800 cd player, BELDEN rca's and no name 10awg ofc speaker cable, time to get off the hifi merry go round for a while, hope this helps with your choice of speakers mate.
 

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