Question Speaker upgrade thoughts

Petay

Established Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Messages
52
Reaction score
23
Points
42
Age
41
Location
Hertfordshire
Firstly I will say that I’ll not buy anything unless I’m allowed a home trial with a full refund promised or until shops re-open for auditions.
Given either option creates limitations in the current climate I want to get a solid shortlist.

What am I looking for - stand mounts to replace my KEF Q550 floor standers.

Why - moving house and aesthetically stand mounts will look nicer plus I’ve upgraded my system since buying the 550s and want to upgrade the speakers now.

my set up is as follows

Rega P3 turntable
Roksan K3 Integrated
Roksan K3 Power amp
CA CXN
Yamaha RX-V6A
Rel T5i
Chord Clearway X

Will be used for music and movie. My music taste is incredibly eclectic but I like weight and detail to my music

budget £1500 ideally a little less as I need to buy stands

shortlist

KEF LS50 Meta
KEF R3
B&W 706 s2

this is based on me liking the Kefs I’ve already got but also liking my B&W 607 S2 anniversaries I have in my second system in the office running off a powernode 2i.

would love to hear thoughts on my existing shortlist and any others I should consider.

cheers
 
Firstly I will say that I’ll not buy anything unless I’m allowed a home trial with a full refund promised or until shops re-open for auditions.
Given either option creates limitations in the current climate I want to get a solid shortlist.

What am I looking for - stand mounts to replace my KEF Q550 floor standers.

Why - moving house and aesthetically stand mounts will look nicer plus I’ve upgraded my system since buying the 550s and want to upgrade the speakers now.

my set up is as follows

Rega P3 turntable
Roksan K3 Integrated
Roksan K3 Power amp
CA CXN
Yamaha RX-V6A
Rel T5i
Chord Clearway X

Will be used for music and movie. My music taste is incredibly eclectic but I like weight and detail to my music

budget £1500 ideally a little less as I need to buy stands

shortlist

KEF LS50 Meta
KEF R3
B&W 706 s2

this is based on me liking the Kefs I’ve already got but also liking my B&W 607 S2 anniversaries I have in my second system in the office running off a powernode 2i.

would love to hear thoughts on my existing shortlist and any others I should consider.

cheers
Your roksan wont have any issues powering any of those... especially having a dyn/rok combo myself.. your issue is going to be partnering that roksan sound..
If you need a more tonally dark speaker due to the roksan being that much too airy.. you might have a problem as non of those 3 really tick that box.

If.. you like the forward nature of the roksan.. then the Dynaudio Evoke 10 .. will be ideal. or p/e for the Evoke 20 and you'll be sorted.

The LS50 is bright at best.. and definately will be edgy on the roksan.. that much i can tell you lol but it will be simple for the roksan to drive even with that impedance curve dropping down around 3 ohm.. the roksan has more than enough current to hammer that LS50 into the middle of an asbo.

B&W are a hodgepodge of either too much or too little mid.. they sound off ... with the dynaudio in general. B&W really need rotel or nad tbh for their sound to work right.

The R3 / or Wharfedale Linton .. both are serious contenders.. but that Linton needs room.. lots of room. At this price point .. you also have the Spendor A1 which whilst lacking in the bass.. more than makes up for in sound quality

Focal or Sonus Faber.. is where my money would probably be.. ex demo Sonus Sonnetto II or the cheaper Focal Aria 906.... and save some pennies
 
Last edited:
Must if not really contemplated the LS50s being to bright as I just assumed they’d be similar in personality to the Q550s I have and that work with the Roksan.

another contender I’ve been looking at since my first post is the Linn Majik 109’s. I’ve never heard a Linn speaker though and can’t find any sort of review on this model
 
Must if not really contemplated the LS50s being to bright as I just assumed they’d be similar in personality to the Q550s I have and that work with the Roksan.

another contender I’ve been looking at since my first post is the Linn Majik 109’s. I’ve never heard a Linn speaker though and can’t find any sort of review on this model
The LS50 is a totally different design to the Q range. those Q550's are more home theatre orientated aimed and are tuned as such albeit with a more shallow bass to their competition.
The LS50 is a UniQ design with the treble drive sat in the centre of the mid bass driver.. I admit the meta version has sorted a few of the treble issues of the original LS50 but.. that driver combo does still err to the brighter side of the mid/top

The Majik 109's are amazing little speakers.. very crisp mid range.. their high is just insane as they have a supertweeter design giving more a crazy additional range to the treble to help keep it clear. Where the majik falls short is the bass with volume... push them hard and you will that upper bass flap .. there is a definate limit with these in how far they can be pushed. I would say these are more 20-25m room size speakers as they do not like high volume.. They are very revealing speakers and need to be partnered with care!

On a side note... Linn have always partnered well with Rega ... Linn have always favoured warmth over the more dynamic Rega :) Just look at the LP12 turntable vs the Rega 10 .. one of the greatest rivalries out there
 
I’d sell the Roksans and buy the 50 Metas and one of these.


And add a second Rel when your cash supply recovers.

Tom from here can arrange a home loan if you’re interested.

Tom @ Cinehome​

 
I’d sell the Roksans and buy the 50 Metas and one of these.


And add a second Rel when your cash supply recovers.

Tom from here can arrange a home loan if you’re interested.

Tom @ Cinehome​

I’d loose way to much in the Roksan as they are both only just Iver a year old and even with the Discount I got from RS I’m. It up for writing down hundreds of pounds in loss. Anyway I really enjoy the Roksan sound and they’ve pair well with my Q550’s so I would prefer to find a set of higher end speakers that pair well with them
 
Aha. A pity.

But I’ve lost so much money over the years on doing that very thing I perfectly understand.
 
Last edited:
Have you considered Kudos and Neat?

These for instance (in black) are a mega bargain.


And PeterTyson have a return policy.
 
Last edited:
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Or, just to be daft...

 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Or, more realisticly;


And these;


All have a good size chunk off their real price and all are exceptional speakers with top class right ups.

I can’t help thinking they’ll outclass the 50 Metas.
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
As above, Neat sx2, adding that at 76 cm tall, it takes up less space than many stand mounts.
 
And finally these bad boys

 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
As above, Neat sx2, adding that at 76 cm tall, it takes up less space than many stand mounts.

Indeed. Noticeably less space than stand mounts on stands and sound bigger.

Plus, no stands.
 
I went from Kef Q300 to Kef R3’s.
They are night and day better.
I listened to a demo of the R5’s after listening to some Kef Blades and also some MA Gold 200’s I think. The R’s are so much clearer than the Q series, the separation of music and the stereo depth are much greater.
 
The LS50s will be much more forward in the treble than the Q550s, you wouldn't think you were listening to the same manufacturer. The old LS50s were too bright for me and I settled on the R300s as I felt they had a much more rounded approach, the brightness was gone and that to me opened up the mids and treble more allowing more detail through. The R300s were a lot easier to partner as well with the exception of Naim.

If still interested in KEF then the R3s will be a substantial improvement over the Q550s and will not be so fatiguing as the LS50s are likely to be with the Roksan. @Paul7777x find of the Dynaudio Focal is a very good shout. Again they are going to be more forward than the KEFs. I'd love to spend a week or two with the Special Forty.
 
Have you considered Kudos and Neat?

These for instance (in black) are a mega bargain.


And PeterTyson have a return policy.
I hadn’t but I’m also trying to go for stand mounts now as the space I have lends its self (aesthetically) to stand mounts more than floor standers and keeping the missus happy is critical
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Thanks for the input chaps, it’s all a little academic until I can audition but I’ve heard a lot of good about the T3s although the Dynaudio are teloying buts I’d have to be able to audition.

move just dropped £900 on an Atacama rack to replace the DIY job I currently have as aside from the supposed sonic improvements it look is better in the room than my current rack.

any thoughts on Bucharest S300 mk2 SE

 
Thanks for the input chaps, it’s all a little academic until I can audition but I’ve heard a lot of good about the T3s although the Dynaudio are teloying buts I’d have to be able to audition.

move just dropped £900 on an Atacama rack to replace the DIY job I currently have as aside from the supposed sonic improvements it look is better in the room than my current rack.

any thoughts on Bucharest S300 mk2 SE

Buchardt are essentially Dynaudio made sexy.. The firm was started by an ex Dynaudio Engineer.. The S300 mk2 SE is a much better sounding speaker than the Dynaudio Evoke 10 at lower volume although once that volume gets cranked it cannot match the Evoke's bass.

Typically a safe bet to Buchardt if you can get the amp right. But... you "are" essentially getting a Dynaudio hybrid
 
I hadn’t but I’m also trying to go for stand mounts now as the space I have lends its self (aesthetically) to stand mounts more than floor standers and keeping the missus happy is critical
Hi. Just a further thought on Neat Motive SX2 (Very satisfied owner here). I went from stand mouted speakers and these definitely blend into the room better, and the wife is much happier with the look.
Don't know if you've seen them in the flesh, but they are properly dinky.
 

Attachments

  • 20210129_090917.jpg
    20210129_090917.jpg
    252.9 KB · Views: 211
So now we are in the new house I think I’d benefit from front ported speakers as we are putting everything against the attached side and with be the speakers being either side of a fire place I’m concerned about bass reverberation
 
The X2s and X3s are bottom ported.

It took all of my will power to not make any childish jokes here, I hope everyone appreciates the effort :smashin:
 
The X2s and X3s are bottom ported.

It took all of my will power to not make any childish jokes here, I hope everyone appreciates the effort :smashin:
I can confirm, it pumps air out of it's bottom.
 
I have looked into this, as my speakers are also back to the wall. You may want to go through the manual of the product you are interested in; I have seen the manufacturer recommending that they be placed away from walls even if front-ported, so it's not the magic one may be hoping for.

Currently experimenting with woolen socks to block the ports; I will give it some time. Interestingly (?) YPAO did not change the cross-over point to the subwoofer (still 100 Hz, but maybethe boom is not at that level and/or maybe it does its calibration by considering all speakers and it's my surrounds that govern this; I can sense yet another YPAO run coming over the weekend. :))
 
For what it’s worth I’ve thrown care to the wind with the budget and am currently contemplating the below

proac response DB1
PMC twenty5.21

as I’ve got a feel for the needs of the listening space in the new house I’ve realised speakers that perform very well throughout the volume range is going to be key as I’ll be doing more low level listening I think. It would also help when in use with the tv for 4.1 set up as I don’t think I’ll be cranking the volume.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom