Classic Speaker Upgrade

[mightymonoped]

One for the collective wisdom of AOS' classic speaker gurus...

I have a niggling urge to try an alternative '70's style' speaker priced up to around £500, as a replacement for my current Mordaunt Short MS 400.

Firstly is this something worth doing for that kind of money?

I like the transparency, detail, scale and ease of driving that my current floor standers give for the limited output from my EL84 amp but am obsessing that I could be getting more (ever the hifi curse).

Current setup is ALLO Katana DAC through Icon Audio Stereo 20PP amp (with decent valves).

Any thoughts or comments on the following (or viable alternatives) will be valued...


Spendor BC1
Spendor SP1
Celestion Ditton 25
Celestion Ditton 33
Celestion Ditton 44
B&W DM2
B&W DM3
B&W DM4

[AJSki2fly]

Not on your list but these are worth trying

https://www.gumtree.com//p/other-stereo-audio/impulse-lali-floor-standing-speakers/1334646753

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223428478396?ul_noapp=true if you go for these then a pair of Pirate stands or equivalent is a must, I have a pair of Type J's and used with Audio Innovations 500 amp (EL84) and was great. (someone else has some Snells up for sale on AoS)

[AJSki2fly]

Try these out https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/133025-for-sale-snell-k-an-spe-silver-wired/

[walpurgis]

There's a pair of Tannoy Eatons in North London about an hour from you. These sound really good.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tannoy-Eaton-Loudspeakers-HPD-295A/223475677443?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

However, personally, I'd spend the money on an amp upgrade. I've owned the Stereo 20PP and it's not exactly the liveliest sounding EL84 amp I've used.

[Macca]

I'm not keen on any of those on your list. None of them are bad speakers but I wouldn't rate any as good. Icon amps sound a bit 'cloggy' to me so I'd be looking for a speaker that is a bit more lively.

[mightymonoped]

I can only assume it's either a room/component synergy thing or my subjective preference but I'm really liking the sound this amp produces in my current room. I can listen to this thing for hours and it seems to be getting better with each upgrade of source.

The combination of the Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 & 12AU7 together with the Reflektor EL84 seems to give me exactly the type of sound I'm enjoying, so I'm not in a rush to replace this just now.

My listening tends to be at fairly low volume levels (being a considerate neighbour :) ), so I guess the transparency, resolution and natural vocals at fairly low volume are probably the most important things to me in this setup.

I'm starting to suspect I should just leave things alone and wait until I'm in the house before I start looking at this again, then I can start looking at the weightier options as far as the amp and speakers are concerned.

[AJSki2fly]

These would work well with your amp, very neutral and natural sounding https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?63608-Impulse-h6-revamped-by-RFC

[Gaz]

Pretty sure the OP said his budget was £500, I doubt he could knock the sellers of the £850 & £1000 speakers down that much lol

[AJSki2fly]

Pretty sure the OP said his budget was £500, I doubt he could knock the sellers of the £850 & £1000 speakers down that much lol

Yeah, but once he's heard them the wallet and moths will fly:lol:, Resistance will be low.:eyebrows:

[mightymonoped]

Yeah, but once he's heard them the wallet and moths will fly:lol:, Resistance will be low.:eyebrows:

Where's the 'flying pig' emoticon when you need it? :lol: