Speakers advice please

[Michael loves music]

I'm awaiting delivery of a pioneer PDS 801 stable platter CD player to go with my old nad 3020e amp and at present Mission M30s speakers on Atacama nexus stands in a room 16 feet long by 10 feet wide I'm looking at upgrade of speakers I love electronic music omd kraftwerk alphaville etc what speakers should I look for to go on my stands ?? I look on eBay and have richer sounds 7 miles away Thankyou for your help

[Desmo]

I'm awaiting delivery of a pioneer PDS 801 stable platter CD player to go with my old nad 3020e amp and at present Mission M30s speakers on Atacama nexus stands in a room 16 feet long by 10 feet wide I'm looking at upgrade of speakers I love electronic music omd kraftwerk alphaville etc what speakers should I look for to go on my stands ?? I look on eBay and have richer sounds 7 miles away Thankyou for your help

Gumtree is usually a good place to look for speakers. They often turn up on there at surprisingly low prices. I know several members on here who have sourced speakers from there.

[Light Dependant Resistor]

I'm awaiting delivery of a pioneer PDS 801 stable platter CD player to go with my old nad 3020e amp and at present Mission M30s speakers on Atacama nexus stands in a room 16 feet long by 10 feet wide I'm looking at upgrade of speakers I love electronic music omd kraftwerk alphaville etc what speakers should I look for to go on my stands ?? I look on eBay and have richer sounds 7 miles away Thankyou for your help

Hi
You need to hear a range of speakers, so take your favourite CD's or LP's along to try speakers out at hifi shops.
Try to hear the difference if you can of how a panel speaker like a Quad ESL or Martin Logan ESL sounds, compared
to 2 way speakers. Mounted on stands a good set of 2 way speakers like JR149 or LS3/5a is often close to what
ESL's can do.

2 way refers to the drivers, but also to the crossover which in speakers divide the frequency necessary for
each frequency band. A two way crossover with a slope of change at 6db per octave is usually the best
sounding solution, hence there are many 2 way speakers, with different methods of bass loading.

A good set of little Wharfdales or Kefs on stands is hard to beat, and here you can get even better
sound from them by extending the port that is usually at the rear with a 6 inch or so hollow section-
like you might find in your kitchen the sort of thing foil is placed around. Ensuring it fits well
you may find the sound improves immensely.

Moving to three way requires a lot more thought and initial expense from the manufacturer, there are good
three way designs like Kef B&W. Three way usually requires higher output amplification as the loading
(ohms) with these speakers is lower. History provides us with many experimental speakers that attempted
to spread sound out and Sonab and Bose were good examples of this. Bose 901's were 9, 4 inchdrivers
requiring a equalizer see below concerning foam replacement. Sonab had a good reputation for speakers
that could blend into domestic environments.

You have not mentioned price, but to match with what you already have KEF and B&W, Wharfdale
make speakers that generally sound and work very well. Tannoy has a big following on the forum.

Here are a few tips: acoustic suspension speakers for bass reproduction have the lowest distortion and smallest
cabinet volume. there are not many existing manufacturers of acoustic suspension speakers, but if you
are in to restoring they are worth mentioning

The Gale GS401 used 2x 8 inch acoustic suspension drivers. A quick detour there is a industry
of sellers now online providing foam surround replacements for some of these earlier classic speakers, DON'T get
involved replacing classic speaker drivers with foam - its akin to disposable nappies - they don't last very long.
Rather classic speakers can be fixed with rubber surrounds, and IMO sound even better as the compliance
that is the floppiness of the driver improves further. So if you don't mind a bit of restoration work a set of 2 way
AR's are very good.

Some classic acoustic suspensions are AR7, ( small ) AR6, AR4, AR LST, gale GS401a
a nice page here on Gale GS401a restoration but sadly using foam replacements.
http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3014&sid=b965269a8ac18af71e3a2ec06a896741

The JR149 stands out as a icon of good speaker design, borrowing from the era of acoustic suspension
loading with a Kef B110 and the excellent T27 tweeter.

For really impressive bass response the Linn Isobarik speakers were very good as were Transmission lines
like IMF.

For outright wake your neighbours up the Klipsh la scala is hard to beat
http://www.klipsch.com.au/la-scala-ii-floorstanding-speaker

and here there is some very clever engineering as only 10 watts is usually sufficient to drive them.

So back to your NAD amp and present hifi. determine how much bass response is needed
and try to listen to a range of well made 2 way speakers on stands and extend the rear port.

Cheers / Chris

[Gordon Steadman]

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?37614-FS-kef-chorale-speakers

I reckon these would be a good match for your 3020. Buying from someone on the forum seems a good idea to me. Fair price considering the drive units and condition.

[walpurgis]

Non original tweeters though. May be OK, but for the money you'd pick up a pair of MS Pageant IIs or Mission 780 SEs. They'd be very nice with the NAD.

[Jason P]

What's wrong with the Missions Michael? What don't you like about them? Without some idea of where you think they fall down you might end up with swapping them out for something worse.

For instance, if you feel they are a bit light in the bass, positioning them correctly can help. If positioning them into the room is problematic for you, look for a pair of front-ported speakers (something like the old Dali Lektor series, they have great bass for their size and are fine hard up against a wall).

We need a bit more info to go on!

[Michael loves music]

my mission do sound nice but I thought with quality CD player coming I may need to upgrade ? I understand the pioneer 801 was expensive new so thought better bigger speakers may sound better ? Thankyou for the replies ps before the missions I had AR18s loved them

[Desmo]

my mission do sound nice but I thought with quality CD player coming I may need to upgrade ? I understand the pioneer 801 was expensive new so thought better bigger speakers may sound better ? Thankyou for the replies ps before the missions I had AR18s loved them

I think most of us here would advise "one step at a time". Wait till you get the new CD player, then use it in the system you have for a few weeks, and let it settle down. Then see if you feel you need to change anything. The speakers might be fine. it's very easy to spend lots of money chasing improvements in this hobby, no need to get ahead of yourself.

[Michael loves music]

Celestion Ditton 15 great prices on eBay

[Jason P]

I know you mightn't want to hear this, but stick with what you've got - for now. As Graeme said above, you need time to let a new bit of kit 'bed in' and for you to get a feeling of what it's like - and so many people chase new kit ('I've improved X so now I must change Y') for no discernible improvement. Your new CDP may be 'better' or not; but with regards to the rest you like what you have at the moment, sound wise, so why change? If you don't know the exact reason why, or can't definitely pinpoint the speakers (or any other bit) as a weak spot in your system, you'll be throwing money down the drain.

Stop fretting over the kit you have, stick with the Missions, buy lots of music. After all that's what it's about.

[Michael loves music]

CD player arrived this morning sounds very nice can I improve sound with other speakers on my stands ? A lot of bass and treble would like more detailed vocals

[walpurgis]

CD player arrived this morning sounds very nice can I improve sound with other speakers on my stands ? A lot of bass and treble would like more detailed vocals

Yes. Mission speakers over the last few years really don't do much for me.

If you're on a tight budget. Keep your eyes open for a pair of these near you: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MORDAUNT-SHORT-PAGEANT-SERIES-2-BRITISH-Speakers-Excellent-Sound-/251896250440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aa62fc048

They are reliable and offer an awful lot for the money. They'd run circles around the Missions and are an excellent match to the NAD amp, they are from around the same period too, which is nice. The Pageant II speakers crop up on eBay often and a pair near you will no doubt turn up. Usual price is somewhere between £50 and £80.

Obviously they are not the only option, but they're good.

[Gordon Steadman]

CD player arrived this morning sounds very nice can I improve sound with other speakers on my stands ? A lot of bass and treble would like more detailed vocals

I assume you have the tone controls flat:eyebrows:

[Michael loves music]

tone controls in middle settings on amp analogue and digital lights on CD player more noticeable instruments on here than on nad it's growing on me ! Tone controls off doesn't alter sound much

[agk]

Try using the tone controls to alter the tone.

[Michael loves music]

ive turned treble control half way on nad amp that has made a difference thankyou