Speakers

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rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I've got a pretty good separate music system thingy but when I bought it I ccouldn't afford decent speakers. Now I'm older and richer I'm going to treat myself to some new ones.
I know nothing about them so I'd welcome some suggestions of make, model, type.
Considering they're for me to listen in the living room, what sort of money do I need to spend for a bit of quality?
 

Steve H

Large Member
Yep - there are loads of parameters to take into consideration when buying decent hi-fi kit. As always the key differentiator is how much are you prepared to spend. What Hi-Fi magazine is pretty good for getting decent, impartial reviews. If you check out there website, they have an awards section which shows the best kit (in their opinion) at different price points.

http://www.whathifi.com/BestBuys/Hi-fi-speakers-BestBuys/Speakers/

Also key with speakers, is ensuring they are mounted really securely and positioned correctly in your room. Just plonking them on a shelf won't get the best out of them.
 
rich p said:
I've got a pretty good separate music system thingy but when I bought it I ccouldn't afford decent speakers. Now I'm older and richer I'm going to treat myself to some new ones.
I know nothing about them so I'd welcome some suggestions of make, model, type.

You'll have trouble getting your old LPs into the that little slot where the CDs go in, Rich! :smile:
 

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
What's wrong with a family gathering round the piano for a sing song whenever you feel like music? We often perform "Smoke on the water", "Can't get you out of my head", "Brimful of Asha" and "Blue Monday" as a family. No need for all this new-fangled musical equipment. :smile:
 
OP
OP
rich p

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
Cheers, men. Good info.
Is the cable irrelevant? I was talked into gold(?) stuff those years ago.
I'll try Richer Sounds and Sevenoaks.
Is £300-£500 a sensible amount to spend or should I go and try and see if my ear can tell the difference?
 

Llama

Veteran
Location
Norfolk
I agree with the recommendations for richers, personally i find them the best on the high street.
You need to decide if you want floorstander or stand mounts, if your looking at £300 -£500 you will get far better value with stand mounts. (if you up your budget then floor standing wharfs are a good bet)

I would take a look at Dali ikons and Mordant short mezzo's (and a bit cheaper but great wharfs 10.1 £200) - go and have a listen

what amp have you got?

Regarding cable I would advise 2.5mm vandamme blue from audiovisualonline at £2 per meter. Its studio quality - i use it in both of my systems. You may want banana plugs for ease - fisual ones from a v online will be fine £5 for 4.

you will need stands - sound style z1 and z2 are both fine. if your any good at woodwork make some from 18mm ply and 2x4 - x4 layers at the bottom and 2 at the top. then laminate the 4x2's in the centre. Good solid cheap stands!

sorry about your wallet

re: cable
with speaker cable you are looking for a good cross section size - 1.5mm is adquate but 2.5mm is only a little more expensive, so I would always use it.
furthermore you want good quality oxygen free copper, forget all the brands. the vandamme blue i mentioned is studio quality and sold usually directly to trade hence no real mark up.
unless you are spending thousands on your kit vandamme blue will be fine!
 
OP
OP
rich p

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
Llama said:
I agree with the recommendations for richers, personally i find them the best on the high street.
You need to decide if you want floorstander or stand mounts, if your looking at £300 -£500 you will get far better value with stand mounts. (if you up your budget then floor standing wharfs are a good bet)

I would take a look at Dali ikons and Mordant short mezzo's (and a bit cheaper but great wharfs 10.1 £200) - go and have a listen

what amp have you got?

Regarding cable I would advise 2.5mm vandamme blue from audiovisualonline at £2 per meter. Its studio quality - i use it in both of my systems. You may want banana plugs for ease - fisual ones from a v online will be fine £5 for 4.

you will need stands - sound style z1 and z2 are both fine. if your any good at woodwork make some from 18mm ply and 2x4 - x4 layers at the bottom and 2 at the top. then laminate the 4x2's in the centre. Good solid cheap stands!

sorry about your wallet

re: cable
with speaker cable you are looking for a good cross section size - 1.5mm is adquate but 2.5mm is only a little more expensive, so I would always use it.
furthermore you want good quality oxygen free copper, forget all the brands. the vandamme blue i mentioned is studio quality and sold usually directly to trade hence no real mark up.
unless you are spending thousands on your kit vandamme blue will be fine!

Mnay thanks. Plenty for me to decipher there!
 

Llama

Veteran
Location
Norfolk
ps i would take what hifi reviews with a large pinch of salt - the big advertisers seem to get five stars everytime !
check out avforums for further reviews
 

BearPear

Veteran
Location
God's Own County
Mr BP's stereo is fairly impressive, mostly Naim stuff. The speakers were £800, but I think when you get to a certain level it is a bit of "the emperor's new clothes" - the demo guy might ask if you can tell the difference in speakers X and speakers Y and, not wanting to confess they sound the same, you say "oh yes, the X's sound much better"!

You have to consider the acoustics of your room as well.
 

SonofSid

Active Member
IMHO will depend what amp and other components you have. No point spending big money if your amp won't do them justice. I used some of the ho-fi formums (hi-fi wigwam ithink it was) when I was shopping for an amp. Pretty useful. Tell em what amp and ask opinions on speakers that would compliment.
 

Norm

Guest
I have trouble being able to tell the difference between a £100 and a £1000 set of speakers. Which, in a way, is a blessing because we don't need to blow much but a long time ago, a friend who is a hi-fi freak convinced me that I was wrong and I would be able to hear the difference. He took me to Richer Sounds in, I think, Kingston where he and one of the assistants laughed at how I said I couldn't tell the difference.

So we went into a test room and listened to a couple of sets, and I was proved right. The ones I thought sounded best were the cheapest set they had in the store.

The moral of that being that you should wrap your ears around as many as you can, preferably your own music connected to the components you have already, to make your own decision. Independent tests and reviews are very good for objective comparisons but listening to music is not objective.
 
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