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symon
01-05-2009, 12:05
Later this year I will be lucky enough to have a small room all to myself which will have a second music playing system. One of the things I will need almost immediately is a set of speakers for the room. The equipment I will be using will be fairly basic - a Denon integrated amp, a Matsui CDP and a Technics SL DD33. I will probably upgrade these as and when I can in the future. Oh, and I have a couple of DAT machines that I'll probably use as well.

So, the speakers I am looking for will need to be good speakers that will do justice to future and better stuff. As the room is very small, I was thinking bookshelf speakers would be a good way to go. I will also probably spend a lot of time listening through headphones. But, for the times I won't be I'd like a decent set of speakers to enjoy my time with.

My initial plan is to get a set of kef IQ1 speakers http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=KEF-IQ1-WAL

So, my budget is up to £150. The reason for my asking for recommendations is that I know very little about speakers, what they do, how they fit a room, and which ones come properly recommended by the people here. So, I'm hoping you'll be able to point me in the direction of potentially better or more interesting speakers, including bargains to look for on E-bay. Obviously, the less money spent the better, as long as good quality is maintained. One thing I don't want to miss is a good bargain on E-bay, should one come up before I need them.

I listen to a wide range of music, mostly guitar based. It spreads from Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch, to Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Gomez, Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, and other stuff. A wide and dynamic range (I think). So, the speakers need to be good all rounders.

The only other reference point I have is a set of AE floorstanders for my main system. I quite like them, but I don't really have any reference points to know if they are good, or if they are what I really want to hear. I'm still a beginner in terms of understanding what it is I want form a music playing system.

So, any recommendations would be gratefully received. Bargains especially! But, no DIY please! ;)

Ali Tait
01-05-2009, 15:43
If you are happy building your own,check out the frugal-horn and planet10 websites.I've heard the Mini-Fonkens and they are superb.IMHO they beat commercial speakers costing thousands.There's lots of other designs there too.

symon
01-05-2009, 15:48
I had thought about building some. But I think that will have to be a project for the future. My DIY skills are almost non-existent and I have struggled with a simple matter of trying to get a turntable to work. So, for now, I don't think I have the understanding or skills to build a decent (and safe) set of speakers. Still, I'll take a look at those sites anyway. Thanks

DSJR
01-05-2009, 16:52
The IQ1 "should" be able to give you a fairly neutral reference should you decide to build your own speakers later.

There are so many forgotten classics in the used market it would take pages and pages to list most of them at and under £150 the pair. But a few anyway...

TDL RTL2 - MUST be the fugly mk1 version. the mk2 "SE" model was bodged to sound like the popular (with WTF mag) AE109's which are horrid in mid/treble balance..

KEF Chorale III/Concord III or IV - the ones with body stockings on and top/bottom plates. Also Concerto and 104ab.

B&W DM2a's and DM4's - there are lots of good old B&W's, but these had the famous tweeter combination of HF1300/Coles 4001.

Heybrook HB2 - the HB1 was involving but not as clear as it appeared to be.

Spendor Preludes - Vinyl wrapped carcass but a warm and smooth (soft?) sound needing space around them.

Harbeth HL's - Charming if a bit bulky. Great sound regardless of age.

Spendor BC1's - you MAY get a tatty pair for this sort of money, but they need some understanding and TLC to sound best as they are vintage monitors after all.

Tannoy Venus - Larger version of the famous Mercury. There were some pro versions of the Mercury (can't remember the names) but they were more assertive and less boomy.


Hope this sort of helps a bit...

Spectral Morn
01-05-2009, 22:06
Triangle Titus ES...from a few years ago. Very open, detailed, fast with reasonable bass (in a small room anyway) they like open light weight stands and will work brilliantly with valves or low powered class A solid state. I would not use them with brighter solid state but to the warmer side of neutral is fine. New £375...S/H about what you want to spend.

Ruark Preludes stand mount with a nice sound just to the warmer side of neutral...very natural. Were about £350 new S/H about £150 or there abouts.

If you can get them S/H then a pair of Ref 3A Dulcetes are as good as it gets IMHO (I am biased as I use a set...see my second system in the gallery for these). New they are about £1700 pounds but you might find a set for about £800 to £1000 keep them in mind for the future. They are amazing on valves or solid state. They have no x over as such and the bass/mid driver is built by Ref 3A. I love the way Ref 3A speakers work...having a small room need not be a disaster.

Pro-ac super tablets the newer ones ref8 or ref8 signature...you might get a S/H set for about £350 to £500...excellent in small rooms. I would avoid the old/first ones unless you are using valves...they would be a bit bright and forward with solid state IMHO/E. Avoid the Tablet 2000 (about 1992 ) as it was pure crap. They need very heavy four pillar stands such as Target R1's or similar.

Bare in mind that all stand mount speakers have less bass/a lot less bass than a floor stander and they can be a bit in need of power to get them going.

The new Kef iQ1's would be very good (as mentioned) but are a bit bass light.


Regards D S D L