robotron
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- Feb 10, 2004
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Hi all,
I'm thinking of upgrading my Dali Zensor 1 speakers to something that's the next step up in terms of quality.
Budget is around £450.
They'll be used with a Yamaha R-N602 amp, sources include CD, FLAC from NAS, spotify and SL1210GR turntable.
The Zensors I have are OK, nothing wrong with them as such but I'd like something just a little more "punchy" if that makes sense. I'm not looking to be cranking it out and annoying the neighbours, and certainly don't want anything boomy so didn't want anything too large.
I wasn't sure if a better speaker of similar size would do the job, or if the limitation was a purely physical one caused by the Zensor 1 being so small.
I'm not listening to music at crazy volumes, just modest listening levels. The room is 8'10" x 13'2" and carpeted, with a sofa facing the speakers.
From reading reviews and looking at what's available my shortlist has the following on it:
B&W 607 S2
B&W 606 S2
Dali Oberon 1
Dali Oberon 3
Kef Q150
Kef Q350
The list is basically 3 models of speaker, all of which are in two sizes (smallest of each is very similar to my Zensor 1, larger is the next size up)
On the subject of how and where to buy, I'm not sure that a store audition would be representative of my room and listening levels and I'm trying to keep my in-store shopping to a minimum while Omicron is rife so am tempted to pick one model and buy online. (most likely B&W)
I'm not a fan of wasting everyone's time by using online stores as a free audition service but assuming the worst and that I don't like the result, how easy are returns of hi-fi equipment such as this once it's been opened and used? Are there certain retailers in the UK who are easier to deal with?
I was tempted to use Richer Sounds as they seem to have a good reputation for customer service. Hopefully I won't need to return anything but just wanted to ensure I don't end up stuck with something I don't like.
Thanks for any advice.
I'm thinking of upgrading my Dali Zensor 1 speakers to something that's the next step up in terms of quality.
Budget is around £450.
They'll be used with a Yamaha R-N602 amp, sources include CD, FLAC from NAS, spotify and SL1210GR turntable.
The Zensors I have are OK, nothing wrong with them as such but I'd like something just a little more "punchy" if that makes sense. I'm not looking to be cranking it out and annoying the neighbours, and certainly don't want anything boomy so didn't want anything too large.
I wasn't sure if a better speaker of similar size would do the job, or if the limitation was a purely physical one caused by the Zensor 1 being so small.
I'm not listening to music at crazy volumes, just modest listening levels. The room is 8'10" x 13'2" and carpeted, with a sofa facing the speakers.
From reading reviews and looking at what's available my shortlist has the following on it:
B&W 607 S2
B&W 606 S2
Dali Oberon 1
Dali Oberon 3
Kef Q150
Kef Q350
The list is basically 3 models of speaker, all of which are in two sizes (smallest of each is very similar to my Zensor 1, larger is the next size up)
On the subject of how and where to buy, I'm not sure that a store audition would be representative of my room and listening levels and I'm trying to keep my in-store shopping to a minimum while Omicron is rife so am tempted to pick one model and buy online. (most likely B&W)
I'm not a fan of wasting everyone's time by using online stores as a free audition service but assuming the worst and that I don't like the result, how easy are returns of hi-fi equipment such as this once it's been opened and used? Are there certain retailers in the UK who are easier to deal with?
I was tempted to use Richer Sounds as they seem to have a good reputation for customer service. Hopefully I won't need to return anything but just wanted to ensure I don't end up stuck with something I don't like.
Thanks for any advice.