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£150 (kinda)SPEAKERS What would you buy

Don't go anywhere near Rega Kyte's if you don't like bright sounding speakers. They are as bright and tinny with a really nasty forward sound to them. I had a pair for about a month before I moved them on and went back to my (at the time) trusted Wharfedale speakers which didn't have the detail of the Rega's but I could listen to them for more than 10 mins without needing surgery to repair the damage to my ears.
 
Don't go anywhere near Rega Kyte's if you don't like bright sounding speakers. They are as bright and tinny with a really nasty forward sound to them. I had a pair for about a month before I moved them on and went back to my (at the time) trusted Wharfedale speakers which didn't have the detail of the Rega's but I could listen to them for more than 10 mins without needing surgery to repair the damage to my ears.
They seem to be marmite speakers.
 
I’d take a punt on the black Ruark Sabres currently on e bay for £150 plus p + p. If any £150 standmount will fill a large room with good sound, they will. IME, a better speaker than the offerings from Rega and Royd that can be had for similar cash.
Very tempted by these Foxy. I wanted a pair of broadswords when they first came out. - But I was too young and skint
 
I don't really understand the retro comment but would personally avoid Ditton 15's anyway as I have never been very impressed by any I have heard. Another astonishingly good speaker for the money is the Arcam 2 if you can find one. You shouldn't have to pay more than £30-50 for a very good pair. I think the second iteration is the one to go for. The pair I used to have were beautifully voiced and are still doing service in a friends system where they trounced a pair of Ditton 15's.
 
Another astonishingly good speaker for the money is the Arcam 2 if you can find one. You shouldn't have to pay more than £30-50 for a very good pair. I think the second iteration is the one to go for. The pair I used to have were beautifully voiced and are still doing service in a friends system where they trounced a pair of Ditton 15's.
... and a great favourite of Jimmy Hughes if I remember correctly. I have a lot of time for JMH. He encouraged me to experiment with my hifi decades ago.
 
Very tempted by these Foxy. I wanted a pair of broadswords when they first came out. - But I was too young and skint
My first really decent amp and speakers were an Inca tech claymore 2 with some Ruark Sabres that did me through Uni until I shorted the terminals and bought an 8000A. I'd love to try some again as they were very involving and the Dynaudio drivers were pretty robust.
 
My first really decent amp and speakers were an Inca tech claymore 2 with some Ruark Sabres that did me through Uni until I shorted the terminals and bought an 8000A. I'd love to try some again as they were very involving and the Dynaudio drivers were pretty robust.
Gosh.... the flat response rated those components as I recall Foxy. Bet it had PRAT eh?
 
Gosh.... the flat response rated those components as I recall Foxy. Bet it had PRAT eh?

I guess it did. I had the sabres for 12 years and 3 amps until both them and my exposure super XV blew up after a mixer was plugged in. I never read any hi fi magazines or anything like that, these just came up separately at the local hi fi store as P/X items and I bought them as they seemed cheap and I wanted something pokey for my student digs. IIRC, I bought the Sabres and some very hefty stands for £200 and the Claymore for the same. About 1992. They gave me the Claymore after the massive 3 box Tresham Audio amp I bought (one of Richard Dunn's early brands) was dud.
 
My first really decent amp and speakers were an Inca tech claymore 2 with some Ruark Sabres that did me through Uni until I shorted the terminals and bought an 8000A. I'd love to try some again as they were very involving and the Dynaudio drivers were pretty robust.

A fine choice sir. Because @CJ14 who designed that very amp most probably developed it using Sabres. He still has a set in his workshop that Brian O'Rourke gave him, he keeps blowing them up and setting them on fire with monster amps... They're on their fourth set of (uprated) bass drivers now!

Loads or original Claymores still around if you want to revisit them, they are pretty robust and were relatively overspecced. Plus, Colin regularly repairs and uprates them, so they're good to go for another forty years!
 
I had a small second system from Onyko at the time Q Acoustics entry level speakers were getting fantastic reviews. So I bought a pair and was very happy with them. A year later it was my niece's 21 birthday who had just moved into her first flat. So I bought her the same Onyko system this time with the Onyko speakers it came with for £70 extra. About a year later I was in her flat when she played a CD. It grabbed my attention these Onyko speakers were in party mode just so much livelier than my Q's. That's when I stopped reading hifi reviews in magazines.

I agree.
I bought a pair of Concept 20s to see what all the fuss was about.
Possibly the most bland speaker I've heard in a long while. Severely lacking in dynamics, mid bass and treble resolution.
 
A fine choice sir. Because @CJ14 who designed that very amp most probably developed it using Sabres. He still has a set in his workshop that Brian O'Rourke gave him, he keeps blowing them up and setting them on fire with monster amps... They're on their fourth set of (uprated) bass drivers now!

Loads or original Claymores still around if you want to revisit them, they are pretty robust and were relatively overspecced. Plus, Colin regularly repairs and uprates them, so they're good to go for another forty years!
Always wanted a claymore. Might well look out for one and ask Colin to work his magic in the future
 
I agree.
I bought a pair of Concept 20s to see what all the fuss was about.
Possibly the most bland speaker I've heard in a long while. Severely lacking in dynamics, mid bass and treble resolution.
I dunno S. You've certainly put me off. The reason I don't bother with demos anymore is that things that impress me in the short term often do my head in during the longer term. Sometimes bland might become relaxed and listenable down the line. It's a tough one for sure.
 


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