Morning folks,
Yesterday I got to see various different makes/models of loudspeakers in a good hifi shop, from budget to high-end. This is just a note to share my thoughts, the reason being that I was amazed at the difference between pictures on the internet, and actually seeing them in the flesh
Firstly, I had a good opportunity to compare my own Mordaunt-Short Avant setup, with others I was considering at the time. In the window of the shop, my 906 floorstanders were right next to the Monitor Audio B2s on a pair of good stands. This made me very happy with my decision - not to say there is anything at all wrong with the Monitor Audio B2, it's simply the fact that in my opinion, the MS906 look far nicer. Although the floorstanders in the Avant range are quite deep in size, they're a lot narrower than other's i.e. the B2, which I think makes the Avant series look very elegant.
Now, moving to the opposite window, there stood the Quad 11Ls . These are the main reason if this thread. Just looking at these made me think they are well worth the price tag! The finish on these little standmounters is beautiful! They look a very expensive, well built piece of quality hifi. As you will probably know, the Quads are meant to be sonically excellent to. When I come to upgrade, these will DEFINATELY be on my list. Kazman... you're a very lucky man!
Just a few doors down there was another HIFI shop, so we went in there too. In the window stood the largest loudspeaker I "had" EVER seen in my life - A Tannoy something or other. Have to say it was'nt the prettiest thing i've ever seen, but I honestly did'nt think they made them this huge! All I can say is they seemed MUCH taller than me (i'm 6 ft), and I think they had a single HUGE driver - at least 15". Oh, and they were over £6K.
At the back of the shop stood two pairs of even bigger B&W beasts. I think both pairs must have been from the top end of B&W's Nautilus range. These are a sight to see. All I can say is you must need some sort of mansion hall to accomodate speakers of this size.
The only advice I can give after this event is to try and view the speakers on your list before buying. Internet images can be so different from seeing the "in the flesh".
Yesterday I got to see various different makes/models of loudspeakers in a good hifi shop, from budget to high-end. This is just a note to share my thoughts, the reason being that I was amazed at the difference between pictures on the internet, and actually seeing them in the flesh
Firstly, I had a good opportunity to compare my own Mordaunt-Short Avant setup, with others I was considering at the time. In the window of the shop, my 906 floorstanders were right next to the Monitor Audio B2s on a pair of good stands. This made me very happy with my decision - not to say there is anything at all wrong with the Monitor Audio B2, it's simply the fact that in my opinion, the MS906 look far nicer. Although the floorstanders in the Avant range are quite deep in size, they're a lot narrower than other's i.e. the B2, which I think makes the Avant series look very elegant.
Now, moving to the opposite window, there stood the Quad 11Ls . These are the main reason if this thread. Just looking at these made me think they are well worth the price tag! The finish on these little standmounters is beautiful! They look a very expensive, well built piece of quality hifi. As you will probably know, the Quads are meant to be sonically excellent to. When I come to upgrade, these will DEFINATELY be on my list. Kazman... you're a very lucky man!
Just a few doors down there was another HIFI shop, so we went in there too. In the window stood the largest loudspeaker I "had" EVER seen in my life - A Tannoy something or other. Have to say it was'nt the prettiest thing i've ever seen, but I honestly did'nt think they made them this huge! All I can say is they seemed MUCH taller than me (i'm 6 ft), and I think they had a single HUGE driver - at least 15". Oh, and they were over £6K.
At the back of the shop stood two pairs of even bigger B&W beasts. I think both pairs must have been from the top end of B&W's Nautilus range. These are a sight to see. All I can say is you must need some sort of mansion hall to accomodate speakers of this size.
The only advice I can give after this event is to try and view the speakers on your list before buying. Internet images can be so different from seeing the "in the flesh".