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Affordable speakers that performed way better than their price suggested.

IceG said:
Kef Coda 7s circa 1997 - fun little two-way boxes I bought for a friend's first system where they worked fine with some entry-level Jap integrated.

Tried them on a big Chord amplifier - wow. Everything just came together, especially separation, impact and top-to-bottom extension.

Same experience with Mission 760i performing way beyond what I expected (with obvious caveats about volume and deep bass) but not as listenably sweet as the Kefs.
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KEF coda 8 are also very good, and Mission 731 (731i etc).
 
The mint, completely untampered, Kef 104.2's I recently bought for £200. Plus £17 for some heavy duty 25mm casters. As Mick says, golden age for music lovers.
 
theadmans said:
AVI Neutron IV:-

1998-06-av1neutron-1-dd.8uAqUy6Os4DEhr5I7rWPb6dxqfhvq.jpg


Originally about £500 I believe...

...and I bought them secondhand around 10 years ago for £200 in mint condition.

The last of the Made In England Neutrons and the sweet spot of the line IMHO.

People pay much more for LS3/5a speakers...

...but these are even better. Scanspeak tweeters are fantastic.

Mine aren't going anywhere soon!
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Bought a pair for £60 recently and completely agree with all the above.
 
I wouldn’t spit on a pair of B&W DM 4 neither.
Heard these driven by a Naim NAP 250 CB and quite honestly, I couldn’t find any unpleasant sound getting out of there.
They can be bought for spare change nowadays.
Any Celestion specialist on this thread ?
 
Mick P said:
Chaps

The simple truth is that second hand speakers that cost an absolute fortune when they were produced many years ago can be purchased for peanuts today. I am running a pair of Shahinian Arcs that sound fantastic and deliver great music and yet they are not worth much more than a sound bar for the TV. You can buy amps etc that was once revered for bugger all money and you have a job to even give CDs away. This is truly a golden age for music lovers.
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Yep! I’ve not owned Shahinians yet, but they’re on my list… I did pick up some Ruark Talisman 2s for the cost of a decent meal for two, and they sound fantastic on my Naim kit… not just fantastic for £160, but genuinely fantastic. A speaker built to that standard would be well into four figures now, build quality is second to none on Ruarks, and it’s also reflected in their performance… yet they sell for peanuts used.

I nearly pulled the trigger on a pair of Shahinian Hawks for £3.5k last year but resisted having spent a good chunk on an LP12… wish I’d just bought them… £3.5k isn’t cheap, but they’re £16k ish new!
 
Okay, so I mentioned the Ruark Talsmans above which were a fantastic used buy… I’ll add my Toyd Sapphires to the great used buys… but I bought some KEF Q15.2s new in the early 00s for AV duties… but popped them on the end of my Linn system just to see what they were capable of… a lot as it turned out, a really full, involving sound. I can’t remember how much they were exactly, but it was around £200-£250, and they made a lot of sound for that money.
 
Harbeth P3ESR. Not cheap, but definitely affordable. They displaced much more expensive speakers and seem not to put a foot wrong (other than not having deep bass, but you wouldn't expect that).

Also have Neutron IVs; the P3s are leagues ahead, though the AVIs are decent wee things.
 
canonman said:
.Goodmans Maxim 2. Designed by Andy Whittle and incredible for the peanuts they sell for.
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Fair enough but it's really just a rip off of the original Wharfdale Diamond. That's the speaker that should really be in that spotlight. A bit slow and soft sounding if not feed properly but give it a good source and more amplifier than seems right and they take off.

Actually, for similar money Royd A7s beat the crap out of them musically and were less demanding but they're coloured as heck and don't do any kind of volume gracefully. But two cheap, good and very small speakers.
 
theadmans said:
AVI Neutron IV:-

1998-06-av1neutron-1-dd.8uAqUy6Os4DEhr5I7rWPb6dxqfhvq.jpg


Originally about £500 I believe...

...and I bought them secondhand around 10 years ago for £200 in mint condition.

The last of the Made In England Neutrons and the sweet spot of the line IMHO.

People pay much more for LS3/5a speakers...

...but these are even better. Scanspeak tweeters are fantastic.

Mine aren't going anywhere soon!
Click to expand...

I auditioned some against ProAc Tablette 50’s. Must have been around 1998/9. They were great for the size but the ProAc’s were a in different league altogether so bought them!
 
I agree with the B&W DM4 call, much better than the DM2A which was hobbled by its blancmange like bass. Rega's ELA always sounded great to my ears, much better than the over rated Epos ES14 for me.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Yep! I’ve not owned Shahinians yet, but they’re on my list… I did pick up some Ruark Talisman 2s for the cost of a decent meal for two, and they sound fantastic on my Naim kit… not just fantastic for £160, but genuinely fantastic. A speaker built to that standard would be well into four figures now, build quality is second to none on Ruarks, and it’s also reflected in their performance… yet they sell for peanuts used.

I nearly pulled the trigger on a pair of Shahinian Hawks for £3.5k last year but resisted having spent a good chunk on an LP12… wish I’d just bought them… £3.5k isn’t cheap, but they’re £16k ish new!
Click to expand...


Yes agree Ruark are exceptionally well made I have a pair of Templar and they punch way above their weight on the end of a Nait XS something just gels
 
JTC said:
Harbeth P3ESR. Not cheap, but definitely affordable. They displaced much more expensive speakers and seem not to put a foot wrong (other than not having deep bass, but you wouldn't expect that).
Click to expand...
Presume you are adding on the cost of sub here which probably takes it all over £2K?
 
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