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HELP! Speakers on a limited budget

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freshmackerel

Member
My first post, so be gentle...

I have an eighties Onkyo A22 amp that I've owned from new and it's served me well, and some Eltax Silverstone 200 floorstanders, but TBH I've been unhappy with the speakers for ages. They're bright, too bright for me, although that could be the amp. Crystal clear sound, and bass can be good, but can't listen to them for too long in comfort really.

Now I'm looking around for speakers, and I can't justify (to my wife) spending that much really - prob £150 absoulte max. I've been looking at reviews and audio forums (like this rather good one!) and on fleabay etc. and I have a shortlist...well not sure I do have a good shortlist actually, but if anyone has a few minutes to spare to give any helpful advice I'd be very grateful.

I like to listen to some odd stuff...I do like my old Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, etc, but listen to Bjork, Jack White, Robyn, Beirut, The Knife, Air...well, all over the place I guess.

I think I need some speakers that are a bit "warmer" if that's a good word for it...less shouty in the midrange. I think that's my main criteria...(and they must be wood, not black or silver!) but floorstanders or bookshelves

I've narrowed it down to this so far: -
- Q Acoustics 2010i or 2020i. New speakers, so no worries about maintenance, and get great reviews...these might be my favourites ATM
- Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s looked like my first choice, but then I found a couple of negative comments, one saying they were a bit harsh. I know it's all a bit down to personal hearing, but harsh isn't something I want to be anywhere near, so now I'm unsure
- Tannoy Mercury V1s - seems they have warm bass, which sounds appealing compared to the Eltax, and perhaps better than the Wharfedales
- Ruark Talisman II - missed out on them on ebay this morning, but wasn't 100% sure, sounds like they could be too bass light, but lots of favourable comments so might consider them if any more come up
- Some EPOS ES14s are on ebay that I could collect. There's some lively discussions on here about them, and they might be affordable (I do like the idea of some nice vintage speakers!)
- and Mordaunt Short MS25i only because they're in my local paper for £50 tonight :)

Or maybe I need to upgrade my amp...!

This is harder than I thought it would be! I know ideally I need to listen to these speakers, but not going to be that easy for the 2nd hand ones, so any experience or advice will be of help, thanks!
 
Burn the budget, and get the ES14's, you'll have to go a long way to get any better, but I'm biased, I've got a couple of pairs here :)

edit, they will show whats happening upstream without mercy
 
Right, and my next spend might be a Naim amp to go nicely with them then...

Just rxd some more pics of the ES14s from the seller, they've never been apart, rubber seals completely intact, no damage apart from the odd mark in the cabinets. These are the MkIIs with the protruding cone.
 
Hi FreshMackerel,
You failed to to say what the source was and under what conditions the speakers would need to operate under. Near a wall, large room etc.

Without swapping out some kit I am not sure you are going to really identify what the issue is 100%. One way to do this would be to buy 2nd hand at a price you know you would make back again on re sale. However can you be bothered and would the other half get the hump?

If the buy / sell cycle is not for you then you need to go to a dealer. Many have 2nd hand or ex demo stock and should let you try at home. Might be more expensive but less stress.

Otherwise there is a huge array of stuff out there....have some fun.

Talismans and Epos 14's are supposed to be good, but I doubt they would appreciate the rest of you system. 1980's Tannoys are nice and smooth and worth a try. M20's etc.

Where are you based?

Simon
 
Naim are a great match, I had my mates Nait 2 here, and at normal volumes they were very nice. (better with my mono 110's )

If your looking at the pair on the bay, I believe they work better with their own open frame stand, another point worth considering.
 
Just make sure you audition said Naim amp option before you buy. Some people love them, some find them.... "shouty with vocals" etc.
 
I have an eighties Marrantz deck, an eighties Onkyo tape deck (!) and a Philips CD player that's about 10 years old after my eighties Philips player gave up.
And it's a fair sized room (15' x 25') with a wooden floor, although the area for listening is about 15' x 10'.

The buy-sell cycle is something I was considering I'd have to do...makes it more fun anyway I guess! (I'm in Devon)

divedeepdog, I'd seen pics of the open frame stands, didn't realise they were matched to the speaker.

"Shouty with vocals" - eurgh, I'll be careful then if I go that route!
 
Talismans are very good, but are fast & detailed rather than warm & weighty. They might not do it for you.
 
If your going for a naim amp i'd hang about and wait for some neat mystique 2s to turn up.
Probably be around £200 ish but well worth it.
 
You don't have to go to a Naim amp. If you like them, by all means, but you woiuld not be the first to say "Ugh, not for me". I can find amps I prefer to Naims for under £100.

If you like ther Epos spkrs, go for it.
 
It's taking me ages reading up on all the speakers, so I think I'll try speakers first and keep my trusty Onkyo amp for now if it works out

I'm looking at some Monitor Audio MA9's too that are just down the road from me, might be a good start on the potential buy-sell cycle.
 
Warm, weighty and inexpensive, hmmm... how about a pair of rega juras if you can find some?

There are some on gumtree at the moment in brighton for £180, it may be worth a look if you are within reasonable traveling distance.
 
Maybe your existing amp may work well with some second hand Celestion Ditton 44s? These can be bought for upwards of £100, are easy to drive, have body and go down fairly deep - on mid period PF recordings you'll hear the simplicity of Nick Mason's kick drum patterns and how well they synchronise with Water's bass!
 
Brighton's too far from Devon unfortunately. The 44's look lovely, but seem to be upwards of more like £250... 2nd hand vintage speakers appear to be getting more expensive year on year, but they're getting older so likely to need maintenance money too.

Reading up on Celestion Dittons now - some good size speakers in their collection from something like 35hz, might suit my taste.
There's some UL6's locally for £60, worth a try?
 
freshmackerel said:
It's taking me ages reading up on all the speakers, so I think I'll try speakers first and keep my trusty Onkyo amp for now if it works out

I'm looking at some Monitor Audio 9's too that are just down the road from me, might be a good start on the potential buy-sell cycle.
Click to expand...



Monitor Audio 9's - The late 1980's design with the metal tweater is a nice refined speaker. It matches very nicely with the Aura range of amplifiers. Not sure it will fill a 25' room though, as I suspect the bass unit is only about 5 inches. If you don't buy it I may be interested as I run an Aura amplifier in a 2nd system.

There was also a MA 9 that was 1970's and much bigger.


Simon
 
to the op: i think your best bet will prob be ebay. thousands of low cost speakers to be had and if they don't work out you can almost always sell them on for what you paid. maybe try some missions(mid to late 90's ones)? the wharfedale 9.1 are a great speaker for the money.
 
Hi Freshmackerel,
Done a little bit of research on your amp and speakers, and it appears that they are no great shakes.

Also Philips CD players from the late 80's onwards tended to have good quality transports, but poor output stages and general implementation (there are a couple of exceptions).

So it looks like you may end up replacing the lot! Can this be done for £150?

1. Cheepest way to improve the CD player may be to add a DAC. The Fiio D3 is getting good feed back and should be possible for £30.

2. Amplifiers? Well I think Exposure and Naim are out of the question, but you should be able to pick up a Creek 4040/4140 or an Arcam A60 for £60 - £80.

3. Speakers? Possibly live with them for a while and then pick some old floor standers (you have quite a big room).


Simon
 
I've had Tannoy Mercury 2.5s in the past and wouldn't have them again. Too lacking in detail for my liking and the bass is a bit overblown too. Though that can be countered by bunging the ports. Look nice though if that's a concern.
 
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