Question Time to Upgrade Budget Speakers.... Too Many Choices

RS87

Established Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2020
Messages
89
Reaction score
53
Points
71
Location
UK
Hi all

Noob to AVF a few weeks back when I upgraded my Panny ST60 plasma to LG's OLED55CX from Richer Sounds. On the same purchase, I preordered the Denon X2700H, having had my Sony STR-DH820 for 10 years, since this is the first generation of receivers to introduce HDMI 2.1 (I believe).

I had a 7.1 setup:

Roth Oli 3 (floorstanders) Fronts
Tannoy 7C - Centre - On top of 5 tier glass shelved A/V stand
Mission LX-1 - Front High - On wall brackets angled as per Dolby Atmos suggestion
Mission LX-1 - Surround - On corner shelve about a metre above listening position (not changable) currently angled to centre of room for aesthetics.
Yamaha SW-P130 - SW - beside F/R floorstander

I now have the same setup but positioned as 5.1.2 with the highs setup as Dolby Atmos.

I have a 4m x 5m x 3m (L x W x H) boxed front room with my seat in centre position at rear of room. Seating in a U shape along side and back walls.

Having setup the new receiver, using the Audessey setup with all 8 positions giving optimum feedback to the setup, and listening to the instant and vast improvement that the Denon has given me personally compared to the Sony, I owe it to myself to take the next step and upgrade the speakers.

So that's the context of my situation, now my conundrum that I hope for some community assistance with please? Going through my options I just wanted a 7.1 package and they just barely seem existent and trying to find a floorstander package isn't the greatest either. So after countless hours reading around I have come to the conclusion that I will likely purchase floor standers on there own and then buy a 5.1 package later. This option seems to tick all the boxes and allows me to get a higher quality pair of towers first. At this point I should mention that the usage should be balanced for about 50/50 cinema/hi-fi. This receiver has made me love music again, already hear nuances in tracks i haven't heard before, not hard given my old equipment, and this is barely a midrange device.

With that in mind and plenty of reading later I have gotten to the point where I think I want Q Acoustic Concept 40's and possibly the QA 3010i 5.1 package but each brand has a rivalling product that is similarly as good.

COVID-19 means i can't really just go round all the shops listening to what i want and trialling many different types and brands of speakers.

I am open to new and quality used as bang for my buck is the MO hence the Q Acoustic route. The reviews are constantly 5* and at a price point that undercuts KEF, B&W etc.

As i said, bit of a noob, so don't go too hard on the poor choices i made historically :D
 
Probably wrote a little too much but every forum I read, the first reply so often is “we need more information to help you”. :D
 
I guess budget limits will help ?
 
All that mumbo jumbo and I didn't state how much I'm willing to spend.

I started out with £1000 in mind for 7.1. However, i have since done some research and all I said above, so I have broken the budget into two. I can get the Concept 40's new for £700 and the 3010i 5.1 for £600 new.

The budget is not strict as such but from what i can tell so far, you have to spend a crazy amount more (new) to really up the quality of sound from the Concept 40's and all the other towers that are upto £1000 RRP.

Oh towers need to be black and 5.1 white.
 
Last edited:
You thought about going second hand?

Not much help now but I was selling an entire KEF Q 5 speaker surround setup with a spare floorstander for like 800 quid or so a few months ago.

Always going to be great deals if you're willing to wait a bit on the second hand market and will pick up some cracking deals.
 
Thanks for your reply. Yes, certainly willing to go second hand for the very reason you state but the home they come from and the delivery process scares me a bit. But yes, looking for the best value and for the minimum quality of those Q A speakers.

Bearing in mind, I cannot look too high up the quality chain because i'm limited to the X2700H amplifiers sound quality. Granted it's a decent 2020 receiver but can I get reference quality audio from it... I'm sure pro audiophiles will tell me no. So hopefully strike a balance in between somewhere.

I have had a little browse through the classifieds here and on Gumtree with a 100 mile radius from Hampshire too.

Looking to bite the bullet soon (next few weeks) on the floorstanders and prob 5.1 around xmas time.
 
If you lean toward Concept range then the 40s and you would also pick the Concept Centre then ideally, not the lower range 3090Ci! For the surround channels you can buy 3010i individually. Also you should save up for better subwoofer in the ~400£ range at least. Example BK XXLS400.




Not sure is @password1 considering selling he´s Concept 40s?
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
My Concept 40s are run in now and sounding amazing. Unfortunately there are no floorstanders currently on the market that im aware of better than the concept 40s for less money or even similar price point. Think Im keeping them for a while until I find a pair of Monitor Audio Golds near me in gloss black or something irresistible comes up, but right now Im happy keeping them and not in a hurry to sell.

As gasp advises, get the matching concept centre. It's only £50 difference between the 3090i and concept centre.

The front 3 should tonally match and ideally be from the same range. The heights and rears are only for effects and not as important. You might look at used to save some money or even try the concept front 3 with your existing rear and heights.

Im not sure if the denon 2700 will do rhe concepts justice.
 
To improve the sound you only need to replace the front three in the first instance. Surrounds can be changed as and when funds allow. Put all your budget into those front three.
 
Thank you all for those responses, it justifies my research entirely and backs up my point that you really need to spend a lot more to beat those floorstanders which then doesn’t become worth while since I’m limited to the 2700 right now (7.1/5.1.2 with HDMI 2.1 was the deciding factor in that purchase recently btw otherwise I was looking to get the X4500H for £750).

Thanks for pointing out the Concept centre Gasp, I didn’t know it existed so I’ll most definitely be going for that.

So with the important front three taken care of, what advice can you guys offer me by way of SW in general. I failed to research that element simply because I just expected to use what ever come with the 5.1 package I thought I’d end up getting (but won’t be now). I’ll obviously be doing my research on that now but curious on your thoughts. (Will look at your BK suggestion in depth too Gasp).

Thanks again for your helpful replies thus far.
 
Thank you all for those responses, it justifies my research entirely and backs up my point that you really need to spend a lot more to beat those floorstanders which then doesn’t become worth while since I’m limited to the 2700 right now (7.1/5.1.2 with HDMI 2.1 was the deciding factor in that purchase recently btw otherwise I was looking to get the X4500H for £750).

Thanks for pointing out the Concept centre Gasp, I didn’t know it existed so I’ll most definitely be going for that.

So with the important front three taken care of, what advice can you guys offer me by way of SW in general. I failed to research that element simply because I just expected to use what ever come with the 5.1 package I thought I’d end up getting (but won’t be now). I’ll obviously be doing my research on that now but curious on your thoughts. (Will look at your BK suggestion in depth too Gasp).

Thanks again for your helpful replies thus far.

Well BK is quite popular as they are made in UK and they use internet direct business model so the bang for buck is very strong. The models i linked are new grade-b in mint condition with even lower price. XXLS400 has been the ideal choice for long time for person who has mixed use movies/music, with small to medium sized room. If you are only going to use it with movies i would consider the new P12-PR to get stronger low end. The next step from these is BK Monolith if you want even greater impact, but it´s larger.


When you step to 500-800£ range you have SVS, Arendal, XTZ brands to consider.
 
Thanks again for another great post. It appears I should go for the XXLS400-FF.

Reason for FF is because I have a carpeted room on floor boards which BK recommended was best choice to someone else on AVF with same flooring.

Reason for this over the Platinum and the Monolith is they are both geared more towards movies rather than music, more so with the Monolith. If anyone can suggest otherwise, I’d be happy to hear suggestions since the price isn’t much more for the Monolith and the size isn’t off putting at all (even if it is 48kg and a two man courier lift lol).

I think the Platinum would be sufficient if I’m honest since all of these will be very notable upgrades for me however I don’t think I have high expectations with the movie side of things so any upgrade will blow me away out of these 3, granted the Monolith most but I’ll be blown away none the less. Yet, I think I’ll be most critical of how my new sub would perform on a musical level, especially paired with my eventually acquired Concept front 3. Therefore the XXLS-400 appears to come out on top since I’ll be doing a fair amount of music listening with this setup.

Would that be a fair conclusion to make?

Also, since BK seems to tick all the boxes that the Concepts ticked in terms of quality, price and value for money against returns... hopefully I need not look any further than BK and screw my mind up haha? Is there any other sub that comes close for 400 quid? (Please tell me no!:D)
 
No other options for 400£. Sounds like XXLS400 would be spot on for you then. Bookmark this site, the seller is BK Electronics it´s just their other ebay site. You will find weekly new models they have as grade-b, so when the time is right...


It was reviewed 2009 by AVForums. BK haven´t rushed with the new model. :D
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
That’s brilliant, thanks very much.

I’m actually half way through the review but needed to pop back to write that what pleases me greatly is what the reviewer confirmed and that’s when you set this up for listening to music, you are able to make adjustment so that the bass from the speakers blends perfectly with the bass from the sub. So no disjointed heavy sounds and nice musical harmony... to paraphrase of course :D.

Update: the review sums up by saying the sub provides a perfect balance between movies/music... precisely my criteria.
 
Last edited:
I shouldn't do this but does anyone have any knowledge and/or experience with these?

£550 or less for L/R and C seems fairly decent and reviews are good too?

 
I shouldn't do this but does anyone have any knowledge and/or experience with these?

£550 or less for L/R and C seems fairly decent and reviews are good too?


I have heard the next gen from those, but it was the smaller tower. RX8 are larger 3-way model. But no doubt they are great speakers still. Would you like them more than X brand is tough to say. In certain areas i believe the new Silvers are ahead of Concepts. The Concept range uses older/cheaper drivers from 2000i range.

There is also the new Silver 300 in gloss white for really good price!

And natural oak wood veneer:

Silver RX (2010-2014)
Silver 5th Gen (2013-2017)
Silver 6th Gen (2017-)
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Thanks for ever more useful info Grasp. When I can thank properly, I'll be back here to give you the thanks you deserve.

I have asked for a demo as they are only 10miles up the road. The convenience factor of both being local and have the centre speaker is a real plus oh and budget friendly too of course.
 
My Concept 40s are run in now and sounding amazing. Unfortunately there are no floorstanders currently on the market that im aware of better than the concept 40s for less money or even similar price point. Think Im keeping them for a while until I find a pair of Monitor Audio Golds near me in gloss black or something irresistible comes up, but right now Im happy keeping them and not in a hurry to sell.

As gasp advises, get the matching concept centre. It's only £50 difference between the 3090i and concept centre.

The front 3 should tonally match and ideally be from the same range. The heights and rears are only for effects and not as important. You might look at used to save some money or even try the concept front 3 with your existing rear and heights.

Im not sure if the denon 2700 will do rhe concepts justice.

In AVR terms, what would you (and others) consider would be a justifiable step towards giving this type of speaker the freedom to sing so to speak? I won't be upgrading this year, especially since i've only had it a month but i can see myself upgrading the 2700 next year. I just needed an Atmos HDMI 2.1 receiver to start off with but now that i'm going deeper into this rabbit hole, I'm realising this will more than likely just be a short term stop gap.
 
@RS87

Buy the subwoofer before new receiver! I think when you upgrade the receiver, time it so that new model is coming and the old one goes on sale. About august next year if they introduce new models. I think you would consider something like X4700H from Denon which should drop down to 800£ or perhaps something from Yamaha, but they will be brand new models and more expensive.

Hope you like the speakers!
 
The better the amp the better the concepts will sound as they are more revealing than the 3000i. Im not familiar with the latest high end AVRs so dont know which currently on the market would be equivalent in sound quality to say a £500-£1000 stereo amp.

My assumption is a £500 Denon AVR will not sound as good as a decent £500 stereo amp, for music duties at least.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom