Speaker advice needed

[Tucup]

***I think I have posted in the wrong place, Admin please help me to move this***

Hi, I am in the throws of buying some floor standing speakers but I need some advice on what to look for regarding quality. Can anyone advise?

Firstly, I have just missed out on some floor standing speakers by Triangle that went for £400

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIANGLE-FLOORSTANDING-SPEAKERS-/390650972876?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=Q6zCWPUE7Re5ZdJipG3aIO0wUJk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc


it was a little out of my budget so now I am trying to discern the best technical data I should be looking for. For example, is it important about Frequency Response 37 Hz–30 kHz.



I am not interested in powerful neighbour arousing speakers, I am interested in natural, quality reproduction of instruments (aren't we all)

Maybe if I cant afford to spend above £400 I may be out of luck perhaps, your advice appreciated.


Yamaha NS-F150 Floorstand Speakers look good but maybe bad sound reproduction
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140971641519?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Puffin]

If you are buying blind then you will not know how they sound until you get them home. What have you got at the moment? What don't you like about them? What sort of sound do you think a floorstander is going to give you?

Some floorstanders are just a standmount speaker with a bit of extra box on the bottom so that you don't need to buy stands.

You need to go and hear some floorstanders, take a note of what they are and what you like about them. Richer Sounds might be a good place to start as they do discounted stuff.

What amp will you be driving them with? Will it be a good match? So many variables...

[John]

Moved thread as requested
Agree with Rob you need to hear speakers and if you can in your room with your own equipment or as close as you can get to it buying blind rarely works

[Yomanze]

If you are looking at sub £1k then I would strongly recommend looking at standmounts and quality stands. Whilst you won't get ultimate bass extension (which is what can get rooms booming anyway) you will be rewarded with better sound most noticeable in the mids to treble and much lower box coloration / diffraction than floorstanders (in this price range).

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hear hear!
And what bass there is will likely be of far better quality.

[Reffc]

Start with your room and look for a speaker that might suit the room dimensions. Rule of thumb: small room = smallish stand mount speakers; medium room = larger stand mounts/compact floor standers and large room = large speakers. It's a very general rule of thumb but not a bad place to start.

Next, think about where you'll be putting them. Avoid corners if possible and have them at least 1m from side walls. Make sure they're not equidistant from side/rear walls as this leads to standing waves which can cause boominess (depending on speaker design).

Finally look at where your seating position will be. If you're really close up, then multi-driver speakers may have issues of phase shift which becomes more obvious the closer you get, so look for a two way or dual concentric for near field listening (1 to 2m away) beyond which you should be fine with 3-way or more.

Then look at your amp. What is the power rating? This matters because it will decide the speaker sensitivity (stated as dB/1w at 1m) most suited for your circumstances. Smaller long throw speakers tend to be less sensitive (need more driving hence more power).

Finally look at budget.

If you could provide a little more detail on your room, listening position, partnering kit, musical tastes etc, then it would be easier to make some sort of recommendation for you.

[Cotlake]

Some floorstanders are just a standmount speaker with a bit of extra box on the bottom so that you don't need to buy stands.

Really? Why would manufacturers do that when they can get far better bass response by making use of the extended cabinet volume? Are you suggesting that a maker takes a stand mount design, retains the cabinet volume of that design and seals off the extended section which then makes the speaker a floor stander? you might be right but it seems a nonsense to me from a marketing perspective. Surely the average punter would easily detect if the sound of the floor stander has no benefit over the stand mounter. Just my opinion.

[The Grand Wazoo]

It's got nowt to do with getting better a bass response from the speaker - it's about getting better cash response from the customer! So many people buy with their eyes at this level of the market that "a floorstander has got to be better, right?"

[Cotlake]

Hummm, Chris, you have a point. I failed to consider that others may not think as I do about performance or appearance. Sad though, so many people being conned by the industry. shame.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Trouble is, for a £4-500 retail price, if you make a metre tall cabinet, there's no cash to spend on building the cabinet properly. The next one down the range will probably have the same drivers in a smaller box that is inherently better made because of its dimensions.

[Tucup]

Hi, thanks for the quick replies.

Room size is 6m x 4m.

My Amp, which has not arrived yet is a Music Angel XDSE KT88 Valve Amp

My reason for mentioning floor standing speakers was simply the look, I do like the look of big tall speakers made of some luxury wood...But I will take any constructive criticism, or hints here :)

the valve specs are:


Output Power
65 watts x 2 in ultra-linear mode 30watts x 2 for triode mode

Output Tube
Power Tube adopts Shuguang KT88x 4

Frequency
7Hz-70KHz +/-3 dB

Signal/Noise Ratio
90dB

Input/Driver Tube
6N1 x 2, 12AU7 x 2

Distortion
Less than 1% at full power

Ohms
4 ohms and 8 ohms

Consumption
250w

Input Jack
3 groups

[Reffc]

I'd say from your room size and amplification that you could be looking for a sensitive floor stander and one that doesn't present too difficult a load. Castle Harlech or Severns comes to mind or for peanuts, something like the Celestion Ditton 33 or 15 models (very good indeed for the money), or one of the larger Tannoy sixes series such as the 611s or even the Mercury M3s. All of these would come in well within within budget. Also consider the KEF Q range (iQ5), and Focal Chorus floorstanders. You get a lot of speaker for your money these days. Blind buying is a risk but if you do it, make sure you buy something that's easy to move on. Any of the above would be easy enough to shift if you decided against them, all are sensitive enough for use with your amp, all are different but have their own positive qualities.

[Alan]

I have to say Paul ( @reffc ) is usually right on the money, he has made some excellent observations and suggestions and I really respect his experience... But I cannot let the recommendation of Castle Severn 2's slip by unchallenged! Not unless you spend every day listening to Norah Jones & Madeleine Peureux.... (nothing wring with this BTW, it's just a little limiting). The Severn 2 presents music in a warm cuddly way, female vocalists and acoustic instruments sound great until you get a busy piece and then the music gets downight messy, even with beefy Rotel & MF amps. They have a weird sense of putting 'brakes' on the music - there is little freedom or life IIRC.

Sounds odd, I know, but going from these to similar sized (and priced) small floorstanders like Rega Elas or Royd Minstrels really was a world away (though the little Royds are comparatively raucous, if great fun). These felt fast, rhythmic and punchy, while my abiding memory of the Castles is they are great for evening listening and dozing off. Not at all unpleasant, just, well, very relaxing. ;)

Sorry to any and all Severn 2 owners who just spat their tea onto their keyboards! It's just my opinion and experience, I could very well be wrong.

[Reffc]

True Alan. Severns are not for everyone or for every system as they can be laid back but we still don't know what Laurence favours sound-wise. I would certainly endorse your observations and second the recommendation for some of the used Rega floor standers as they seem decent value for money and are pretty competent loudspeakers.

[Alan]

Trudat. :)

[Yomanze]

Ah hello Alan I was just thinking about recommending trying some Minstrels, or Sapphires on Something Solid SL-24 stands given the budget... :)

It's so difficult giving speaker advice though as tastes are so different in this critical area. What sort of music do you like Tucup? This does help a lot with regard to trying to recommend (and ultimately try) stuff...