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Affordable speakers that performed way better than their price suggested.

Durmbo said:
o_O Some of us can afford them; some will never be able to. In any case they’re a frivolous spend when there are hugely less expensive speakers of similar or greater abilities to choose from, not to mention a matter of personal taste as all hi-fi is.
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Please let me know when you find them.
 
I'd like to submit the Kef R3 (still a current model) which for £1300 (think they've now gone up to £1500) are an absolute bargain! They take an age to run in and I'm not sure a lot of people hear them at their best, but they really do perform once they've had a couple of hundred hours. I only bought them as a bit of a stop-gap really, but they're still seeing off or at least not being significantly outperformed, by everything I've tried this side of £5k. They certainly play to my preferences for what a speaker should do.
 
BB Wan said:
I'd like to submit the Kef R3 (still a current model) which for £1300 (think they've now gone up to £1500) are an absolute bargain! They take an age to run in and I'm not sure a lot of people hear them at their best, but they really do perform once they've had a couple of hundred hours. I only bought them as a bit of a stop-gap really, but they're still seeing off or at least not being significantly outperformed, by everything I've tried this side of £5k. They certainly play to my preferences for what a speaker should do.
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They’re reduced to £1,199 at the moment at a few dealers https://www.hifix.co.uk/kef-r-serie...EoSZ2PtNHX3IL5r7dRyxGNtjABH9ZXXxoCYBoQAvD_BwE, even better bargain as you describe above.
 
Mission 760i are pretty decent and can be had very cheaply (though when I just looked on eBay most looked a bit 'tired'). KEF 103.2 very good for what I paid for mine.
 
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JTC said:
You don’t need a sub. It benefits from one, definitely, but its bass is ample to cover all but the lowest octave, which makes it surprisingly ‘complete’ sounding to my ears. But I added a sub anyway. In the range it covers it bettered my £8k-ish Tannoys mostly…
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Yeah, I was amazed at how punchy stuff like QOTSA sounded through a pair of these used in the nearfield and couldn’t, honestly, find fault with them in that use-case. I feel they are overpriced, but cannot think of another LS3/5a clone that comes close, and suspect that the dwindling of this hobby, along with other economic pressures, means economies of scale have been telescoping for UK hi fi manufacturers for some time.

However, they are swiftly lost in larger rooms, I’m not convinced the gap between these and my NuNeutrons is as vast as you make out and the tiny rear ported NuNeutrons fare far, far better in larger rooms.

I might pick up a pair of Tablettes and see how they compare, though.
 
Tannoy-633-plus-floorstanding-speakers-black-ash-222612479778.html
Tannoy 633 are really excellent.The dimensions are bit odd and they need to be put on stands despite looking like floor standers but they are remarkably clean and coherent sounding and do not sound like boxes.Not dual concentric and not ported.Just one of those freak speakers where everything seems to gel together and where there does not seem to be any obvious sonic faults.
 
Mr Pig said:
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.
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How can a pair of ‘coloured as hell’ speakers be more musically satisfying?

Every pair of Royds I’ve ever heard has made me want to run from the room, covering my ears. Vile things.
 
Tigerjones said:
One of my first proper pairs of speakers around 20 years ago and here I am with another pair.
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I auditioned a pair against a pair of MK1 Rega ELAs about 23 years ago… I was a teenage audiophile on a budget and the ELAs were a great used buy from my dealer, so I bought them… but I picked a pair of Minstrels up about five years later. The ELAs are class too by the way, but the Minstrels are better looking.
 
jtgofish said:
Tannoy-633-plus-floorstanding-speakers-black-ash-222612479778.html
Tannoy 633 are really excellent.The dimensions are bit odd and they need to be put on stands despite looking like floor standers but they are remarkably clean and coherent sounding and do not sound like boxes.Not dual concentric and not ported.Just one of those freak speakers where everything seems to gel together and where there does not seem to be any obvious sonic faults.
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On eBay now, a pair of Naim SBLs for £600 or best offer. On sound per £, if the amplification can grip them, that is hard to beat.
 
the caretaker said:
To any younglings who may come across this thread..save up your money and buy Dynaudio...the only thing that punchs above its weight is hifi enthusiasts wistful opinions on speakers they once owned a million years ago..so stop buying waccy baccy and save....get Dynaudio, why? Danes dont lie!
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The 42,s are astonishing for their price.
 
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