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Floor Standing Speakers @ £3K (ish)

halvis said:
I didn't see a mention of the type music you listen to, except the no Elvis bit. It could help narrow down the choice.

I heard a few new floorstanders last year at this price point and only went with ProAc Response 2.5s I now have in the end as a pair came up at a good saving on the new models i was demoing and I knew their history. I think they are the most balanced speaker I have had, but not the most resolute. They are just a nice speaker to listen to with no hard edges and play well with both valve and solid state.

The reason I mention these is because I also listened to the Graham floorstanders, ls6f and ls5/8 and think they are in a similar ballpark sound wise. I would say they are certainly worth a listen if you like the Proac sound but want a change. They are nicely finished, have only 2 drivers and I found they imaged well with the Naim amps I used to demo them with. The ls6/g occassionaly come up for sale at under £2K, which is a good price 2nd hand. I doubt they would rock out with the best of them, ATC might be better at that. I found the earlier ATC speakers 20 and 35s I had for many years in the past too dry in comparison and nowhere near as absorbing to listen to as these ProAcs and Grahams. Very good loud though.

I also demoed PMC at the same time, I was quite dissapointed and agree, they didn't appear to be good value, quite small for their price and sounded it. Spendor also seemed over priced and under sized.

The ProAc D2 standmounts impressed in the same demo, very nearly went for those. Sound very fresh and exciting with wonderful imaging, a little more so than the Grahams. The front port did make itself known on a few occassions though. The ProAc DT8 floor standers didn't do it for me, they were good, but I thought the Grahams had more about them, they just didn't invite me to listen to them further. I wasn't keen on their design though, they looked a bit tacky IMO, so that could have been part of it.

Kef R7s were OK in a different demo, more of a bass driven sound and not as resolving as all of the above probably. Not as engaging.
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Thank you for the detailed reply Halvis. I listen to a wide variety of stuff, 60s and early 70s rock, 80s pop, Indy guitar stuff, Americana, male and female singer songwriters, acid jazz/neo soul and modern jazz probably covers about 90%. I don’t remember mentioning Elvis, but I’m not a big listener.

Cheers BB
 
Sorry, no idea where the Elvis dislike idea came from.

Similar to my tastes music wise. I seem to appreciate paper driver based speakers now, unless you want to go loud, then they may not really cut it unless they are pretty big.
 
@Brown Bottle - lots of good speakers mentioned here.

Buying second-hand is a great idea if you have decided what you want. A lot of s/h stuff is actually being sold by dealers who sell the same stuff new - which may make auditions and decisions easier.

If buying new (or even ex-dem), I suggest hearing 2 or 3 options at 2 dealers (ie. 4 or 5 options) - and then doing an A/ B at home on the best 2 or 3.

At the dealers, I thought Neat Xplorers amazing - more vigour and emotion than anything I tried and just as good on all the hi-fi-ish issues. At home, I really liked them, but B&W 804 D3 (now a second-hand bargain) were a surprise. I didn't want or expect them to sound better and they didn't in the shop - but they did at my house.

Finally, given your tastes, desire for a natural oak and desire for domestic acceptability, I am surprised no-one has yet suggested hearing a pair of Xplorers - an ex-dem pair would probably be in budget, plus they sound huge and look tiny.
 
Popped into The Audio Lounge (Wigmore Street, London) this afternoon to have a look at the Spendor A7's in the flesh and book a demo. They had a pair and offered to let me have a listen there and then, although I'd have to use some 'high end' kit they had already set up for a demonstration later in the day. The 'high end' kit was a Nagra DAC into a Boulder Pre/Power combo, possibly the most expensive combo of equipment to power Spendor A7's!! The speaker cable was more expensive than the speakers!

Well how did they sound? I only had half an hour but I realy enjoyed them, very clean, without being bright or harsh and with really nice bass, compaired to my Proacs, it was deeper and more textured. The most impressive thing though was their reproduction of vocals, really vivid with lovely tone.

I'd only heard a couple of pairs of Spendors before and wasn't impressed. I've read a few reviews of the A7's but taken them with a pinch of salt, usual magazine hyperbole, I thought. Well I should have left my preconceptions at the door, I was really impressed, certainly not Pipe and Slippers!

I've read a lot of stuff about the Spendor D7.2 being even better but they are bigger than the A7's and considerably larger than my Proacs, I'm going to rule them out because of their size.

BTW, the speakers lined up for the later demonstration were Rockport Avior II, I ruled them out as they were slightly over budget at £46K.

Cheers BB
 
mountain biker said:
I have used Proac R2.5 since 1996 and feel no desire to change them, they have seen me through many upgrades and always allow the upgrade to shine through.

There are some near you I think.

ProAc Response 2.5 Floorstanding Loudspeakers | eBay
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Thanks MB, I fancied a change from Proac and they’re a bit old. We’ve got quite a modern aesthetic in the house and the speakers will need to fit with that.

Cheers BB
 
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Brown Bottle said:
Popped into The Audio Lounge (Wigmore Street, London) this afternoon to have a look at the Spendor A7's in the flesh and book a demo. They had a pair and offered to let me have a listen there and then, although I'd have to use some 'high end' kit they had already set up for a demonstration later in the day. The 'high end' kit was a Nagra DAC into a Boulder Pre/Power combo, possibly the most expensive combo of equipment to power Spendor A7's!! The speaker cable was more expensive than the speakers!

Well how did they sound? I only had half an hour but I realy enjoyed them, very clean, without being bright or harsh and with really nice bass, compaired to my Proacs, it was deeper and more textured. The most impressive thing though was their reproduction of vocals, really vivid with lovely tone.

I'd only heard a couple of pairs of Spendors before and wasn't impressed. I've read a few reviews of the A7's but taken them with a pinch of salt, usual magazine hyperbole, I thought. Well I should have left my preconceptions at the door, I was really impressed, certainly not Pipe and Slippers!

I've read a lot of stuff about the Spendor D7.2 being even better but they are bigger than the A7's and considerably larger than my Proacs, I'm going to rule them out because of their size.

BTW, the speakers lined up for the later demonstration were Rockport Avior II, I ruled them out as they were slightly over budget at £46K.

Cheers BB
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at the bristol show i just loved the a7 . in fact i preferred it to the d7 . absolutely lovely speaker and so natural. great choice
 
If you liked the Spendor A7, I'd definitely recommend listening to the D and Classic series too.

They all have a distinctly different sound signature, but share some traits (great tone and fluidity).

Personally I found the A4 I demoed, slightly lumpy in the bass, and the crossover between mid and tweeter wasn't seamless. Very wife friendly aesthetic and size though.

The Classic 3/1 I now own, have far better bass definition, realism of tone, more coherent crossover (more cohesive generally), smoother highs, never bright, yet still sound open. The A4 were pretty crude by direct comparison.

However, obviously the Classics are bulkier and are not floorstanders, so the A (or D) series may better suit the brief. Or your preferences in sound.
 
I demo’d A4 A7 and D7.2 at home. Of the 3 I think the A7 is the best bang for the buck.

However I had some treble issues in my listening room and I subsequently auditioned Sonus Faber Sonetto III which were excellent - and had a smooth treble. I ended up going for the slightly bigger Sonetto V’s but would thoroughly recommend the SF speakers.

(system Naim 272/Teddy XPS/NAP 300dr)
 
Brown Bottle said:
Popped into The Audio Lounge (Wigmore Street, London) this afternoon to have a look at the Spendor A7's in the flesh and book a demo. They had a pair and offered to let me have a listen there and then, although I'd have to use some 'high end' kit they had already set up for a demonstration later in the day. The 'high end' kit was a Nagra DAC into a Boulder Pre/Power combo, possibly the most expensive combo of equipment to power Spendor A7's!! The speaker cable was more expensive than the speakers!

Well how did they sound? I only had half an hour but I realy enjoyed them, very clean, without being bright or harsh and with really nice bass, compaired to my Proacs, it was deeper and more textured. The most impressive thing though was their reproduction of vocals, really vivid with lovely tone.

I'd only heard a couple of pairs of Spendors before and wasn't impressed. I've read a few reviews of the A7's but taken them with a pinch of salt, usual magazine hyperbole, I thought. Well I should have left my preconceptions at the door, I was really impressed, certainly not Pipe and Slippers!

I've read a lot of stuff about the Spendor D7.2 being even better but they are bigger than the A7's and considerably larger than my Proacs, I'm going to rule them out because of their size.

BTW, the speakers lined up for the later demonstration were Rockport Avior II, I ruled them out as they were slightly over budget at £46K.

Cheers BB
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The A7s, with their overall design and port placement remind me of PMCs, although from what i've read, the A7s aren't a transmission line design (but they do from the port shape and placement and the talk of what they are lined with may actually be gaining some of the advantages of transmission line without the downsides). Anyhow, it did make me wonder if you'd tried PMC as that might give you another data point to check the bass is how you want it. I always find it difficult to know what I like, much easier to find what I don't like, if you know what I mean.

But those A7s do look pretty sensible, and i've not heard a pair, only older Spendors which i've always enjoyed.
 
Cesare said:
The A7s, with their overall design and port placement remind me of PMCs, although from what i've read, the A7s aren't a transmission line design (but they do from the port shape and placement and the talk of what they are lined with may actually be gaining some of the advantages of transmission line without the downsides). Anyhow, it did make me wonder if you'd tried PMC as that might give you another data point to check the bass is how you want it. I always find it difficult to know what I like, much easier to find what I don't like, if you know what I mean.

But those A7s do look pretty sensible, and i've not heard a pair, only older Spendors which i've always enjoyed.
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Thanks Cesare, I'll check out PMC, although I'm not a fan of the slanted appearance. I actually know the sound I like but it's big standmounts with big drivers, driven by Class A amps, it just doesn't work in my current situation. I'm looking for good midrange, tight but not one note bass and a clean top end with any new speakers.

Cheers BB
 
I have a pair of Amphion Argon 7LS which may be up for sale shortly well within your budget, however they are white. Personally, I think that's my favourite finish for Amphions, but YMMV, obvs :).
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I have a pair of Amphion Argon 7LS which may be up for sale shortly well within your budget, however they are white. Personally, I think that's my favourite finish for Amphions, but YMMV, obvs :).
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Sorry Sue, white's a no go. Amphion speakers interest me but the colours are wrong. We may have to have a re-think because Oak is a bit restricting.

Cheers BB
 
Brown Bottle said:
Thanks Cesare, I'll check out PMC, although I'm not a fan of the slanted appearance. I actually know the sound I like but it's big standmounts with big drivers, driven by Class A amps, it just doesn't work in my current situation. I'm looking for good midrange, tight but not one note bass and a clean top end with any new speakers.

Cheers BB
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I agree, the slanted look is odd to me, my experience with PMC was with their old OB1 speaker, but as I say, it would be worth hearing what a transmission line does in case it's a style that works for your ears. The other obvious thing to try would be a sealed cabinet, and i'd suggest the ATC SCM40, certainly if you have an emphasis on midrange as their midrange driver is considered to be world class. The passive version is I think £4k new, but you might be able to get a deal, and there are certainly second hand versions about if this turns out to be a sound you really go for.

Budget wise you've got so many great speakers to choose from, it's going to come down to personal taste and styling. I'm mostly concerned that you just move from one ported design to another when there are other speaker styles that might give you something different which you'd not considered.
 
They're a smidge over your budget but you should consider the ProAc D20R floor-standers. Superb all-rounders with lots of finish options. I love mine.
 
Cesare said:
I agree, the slanted look is odd to me, my experience with PMC was with their old OB1 speaker, but as I say, it would be worth hearing what a transmission line does in case it's a style that works for your ears. The other obvious thing to try would be a sealed cabinet, and i'd suggest the ATC SCM40, certainly if you have an emphasis on midrange as their midrange driver is considered to be world class. The passive version is I think £4k new, but you might be able to get a deal, and there are certainly second hand versions about if this turns out to be a sound you really go for.

Budget wise you've got so many great speakers to choose from, it's going to come down to personal taste and styling. I'm mostly concerned that you just move from one ported design to another when there are other speaker styles that might give you something different which you'd not considered.
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Thanks Cesare, I've ruled out the ATC, it might be a bit irational but it would be in the back of my mind that the actice versions are better. If i had the money I'd be staight on the SCM40a. Passive ATC's have a reputation for needing the wick turning up too. I'll crtainly seek out the PMC but if I don't like the look, I won't be listening.

Cheers BB
 
Iain744 said:
They're a smidge over your budget but you should consider the ProAc D20R floor-standers. Superb all-rounders with lots of finish options. I love mine.
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Iain, I will conside the D20R, although I fancy a change from Proac. I do like Ribbon tweeters! It's about time Proac used magnetic covers though, peg holes in the baffle are a bit 20th Century.

Cheers BB
 
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