Worth Upgrading from MA BX2 to BX5??

djpaulc247

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Hi all, I'm considering upgrading from bookshelf fronts to floorstanders but wondering if it's worth it and would appreciate advice from anyone who has upgraded these exact same speakers.

I currently have Monitor Audio BX2's on Atacama stands and whilst I am happy with the sound, I can't help but think I should have got the BX5's or BX6's but I got a package with the BX2's, centre, sub and BXFX's in a combined package with a Yamaha amp at a great price so couldn't resist.

The BX5's are now out of stock in most places but I've found them for £389 brand new and thinking of ordering but will they be a noticeable difference to the BX2's?

Rough floor plan is as follows with the length of the room being 4.2m and width 3.6m at the widest point giving an area of just over 15 m2.
upload_2015-11-5_12-51-14.png

Rough room layout including couches and approx. speaker placement (Speakers are the red dots or squares, positioning of fronts is wrong and was based on in-wall speakers before I decided on bookshelves).

Ignore the extra surrounds, this is when I was drawing a diagram for 7.1 but went with 5.1. Although thinking about it now, I could always keep the BX2's and upgrade to 7.1?

upload_2015-11-5_12-53-21.png


Let me know if you need any more info.
 
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To be honest I would be putting the £389 towards a better subwoofer meaning you would run the crossover slightly higher to give the bx2's an easier time???

Then look at higher quality fronts,,,,,as an upgrade path that we swear not to follow.

If it was me, keep the bx front 3, sell the sub, and buy a better one. Then look at upgrading the front 3.

Steve
 
I would agree with the above.
What do you expect the BX5 to give you extra? The only difference will be a bit of extra bass extension on the BX5. Since you have a sub the fronts should be set to small and a crossover of around 80Hz. The BX2 easily go down to below 80Hz so you would not be using the extra bass extension of the BX5 anyway. As above you would be better off spending the money on a better sub and then eventually going up a level or 2 in speaker quality i.e. to the Silver or Gold range.
Also the 7.1 option you have their does not look like a good option to me. The rear speakers are too close together and not really going to give much, if any improvement. In fact using the BX2 could mean there is not enough room for the sound to disperse properly and this could actually make your system sound worse. Given the location of your sofa I would suggest 5.1 is more suitable anyway.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I know a lot of people don't have a good opinion of the BXW10 but i find it to be more than ample.

I'm not sure what more I am expecting from the BX5's to be honest, but part of it is aesthetics if I'm honest and I prefer the look of the full speaker rather than the bookshelf on a stand.

Probably not worth spending almost £400 on though now I put it like that :blush:
 

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