Suggestions for exciting sounding bookshelf speakers?
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 274 Registered: Jan-05 | I know this is going to make some of you think Im a noob here but here goes. Ive owned some cambridge soundworks fps1000 speakers using them in 2.1 mode since the year 2000. A few months back I bought some m-audio studio monitors but recently sent them back because the amp was falty and tbh although the sound was far more accurate and the soundstage was better I found they didnt have a 'fun factor'. If anyones heard the cambridge soundworks I have, although there are numerous bad things about the speakers they have a certain clearness and wide 3d soundstage. Its hard to explain. The subwoofer although plastic has something about it too with decent extension and midbass. Before I go ahead and buy some wharfedale diamond 8.1s, I want to be sure there isnt any bookshelf speakers that will engage me like the cambridge soundworks do. I think a lot of this could be to do with the type of amp, but any help here would be appreciated. Thanks |
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New member Username: BvgArvada, CO Post Number: 5 Registered: May-06 | I'm not familiar with the Cambridge, but we have some Kef iQ3's that are awesome. They're pretty easy to drive and have the best sound of any bookshelf I've ever heard in the mid-3-figure price class. Happy listening. |
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New member Username: StefanomDublin, CA United States Post Number: 9 Registered: Apr-06 | If this is purely for a computer application, you might consider looking either to CSW's upper lines (eg the Gigaworks/Megaworks), or the Klipsch Promedia line. I currently own the Promedia 2.1, and am very pleased with its performance. While no, it could not ultimately replace my home stereo in performance (which I actually sold, so I guess it has temporarily...), I definately found myself listening to music on the computer a lot more than I had before. I never heard the FPS1000, but I did own the FPS1800 for a while. For the average user, its an alright piece of equipment. I purchased it second hand for 40 bucks or so on ebay, and it wasn't shabby for its application. However, it is in no way a match for the Promedia 2.1s. They are fuller, clearer, louder, and they have a headphone jack, which lets me hook up my Grados when I want a true high fidelity experience. Its thanks to this combo that I maintain my sanity! |
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New member Username: StefanomDublin, CA United States Post Number: 10 Registered: Apr-06 | PS: Regarding bookshelves, it really depends on your preference for music, games, etc, and most of all, the sound you like. Again in regard to the CSW, you might look into their Basscube 821 with a pair of bookshelf speakers (CSW has a few which are decent, but they are pretty expensive for what you get. They are a bit cheaper on E-bay though). The 821 has a BASH amp that will drive them with ~60 watts or so of power, which is enough to get pretty loud. I know they used to sell those packages on their site, but I havn't seen them lately. |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 284 Registered: Jan-05 | Yea I looked at CSW prices and thought no way. Ive ordered the wharfedale diamond 8.1s (should be coming tomorrow) and I'll be auditioning the cambridge audio azur 340a and nad c320bee amps soon. Im sure I wont regret it. I appreciate your input. I've heard a lot of good things about the promedias and I almost went for the altec lansing mx5021s but knew I'd be longing for that umph in 'real speakers'. And my preference is music 95% of the time and I listen to a lot of music! |
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Silver Member Username: TdogroederDes Moines, IA Post Number: 127 Registered: Sep-05 | PSB Image B25's http://www.psbspeakers.com/product.php?pId=15&sId=3 |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 13 Registered: Apr-06 | Good to see that you're going to invest in proper amplification. I guess the main questions I have are what is your total budget for this, and what kind of music do you listen to? |
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Bronze Member Username: OstPost Number: 16 Registered: Apr-06 | Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand Sonus Faber Concertino - these are exciting sounding monitors!  |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 285 Registered: Jan-05 | Speaker search is over although those vienna acoustics look tasty. The wharfedale diamond 8.1s came this morning..they're sexy :D Budget is about £160 for an integrated amp. Speaker cable I think I'll go for the chord carnival silver biwire, 2 meters is £35 or so. Stephen, Music is mainly metal and rock and sometimes fusion rock/jazz and classical. |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 15 Registered: Apr-06 | Well I don't think you can go too wrong with the choices you've made there. Good luck! |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4104 Registered: Mar-05 | > Budget is about £160 for an integrated amp. Speaker cable I think I'll go for the chord carnival silver biwire, 2 meters is £35 or so. You'd be much better off adding 30 quid to your amp budget and keeping 5 quid for some generic speaker cable. |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 287 Registered: Jan-05 | Well I say about £160. That'd get me either one of the amps ive mentioned. What would £190 get me? And a fiver for biwire speaker cable?? |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 16 Registered: Apr-06 | Some people don't feel that uprated speaker wire gives any benefit over standard 14 gauge stuff; some also don't believe biwiring gives any tangible benefit. Its not an argument thats worth getting into. At a minimum, there is a pride of ownership, and the fact you never have to wonder what better wire would do for you. As far as the amps go, you wont go wrong with them. For a lower priced alternative, you might look at a Harman Kardon stereo receiver. The 80 watt version runs ~200 bucks US online, and it is definately an above average piece of equipment, particularly for what you pay. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4107 Registered: Mar-05 | oh, I didn't know you had firm 160 quid prices on those 2 amps. In that case I'd say 30 quid for additional CDs, lol. Let's just say I'm not a big believer in the magic cables school of thought. If you want to biwire you can use normal speaker wire for that, the only advantage of the special biwiring cable is reduced clutter. This might be worth a read: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 288 Registered: Jan-05 | I dont know what to think about cables. Lastnight I decided to run the diamonds off my subwoofer by using some really cheap thin speaker wire and the sound was a bit crap lol. Only did this for fun so I've put them away till I get an amp. I think for the sake of biwiring I will do and at least if I know I've got some chord carnival its a 'decent' speaker wire and I wont be temped to upgrade it. ..And an interesting article on that link! Stephen, I wont be getting a reciever, I dont see the point when I'll be having 2 channels so I may aswell get a dedicated 2 channel amp! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1402 Registered: Sep-04 | JJ, You'd be better off with a single run of Chord Rumour than biwiring with Carnival Silver Plus. Same price, better resolution, better bass, more fun, better overall. Edster and I do not agree on the worth of cabling obviously...  As for Roger Russell, a patent example on how to kill all the differences in cabling by using completely inappropriate connections. Total rubbish. I haven't seen mention of a source in all this. I hope you have a half-decent CD player for this (and associated interconnect). Thinking of the NAD C521BEE as a start point. CD players do sound different. You'll need a not too basic interconnect to go with it for around £30 or more. Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1403 Registered: Sep-04 | By the way, I know you've gone for the Wharfedales, which are a fairly rich sounding speaker (loads of bass for the size), but in terms of fun I much prefer the B&W DM600, which is just about the only B&W I really like nowadays. Regards, Frank. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4125 Registered: Mar-05 | Jarvis, don't know what you mean by "thin cables" --- if they were any smaller than 16 gauge yeah I'd stay away too. But any generic 12-16 gauge cable will do, unless you have some really pricey high end system perhaps. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1407 Registered: Sep-04 | Chord Rumour is incredibly thin, but it's an excellent cable. Same goes for DNM Reson (with the caveat that it's a high capacitance cable so can hurt the odd amplifier). Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 18 Registered: Apr-06 | Jarvis: The HK model I'm referring to is a 2 channel stereo receiver, not an 5/7 channel receiver. In terms of quality, its pretty solid. I was asking around here a while back on how it stacked up against a NAD integrated amp, and the responses I received indicated that it was on par, if not superior in some respects to the NAD (primarily from Jan Vigne, a long time member, although he stated he wasn't NAD's biggest fan either). |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 289 Registered: Jan-05 | Stephen. I'm familiar with Jan Vigne, a great adviser! I'll definately check out the HK then, thanks for suggesting it! I'd appreciate if you linked me to it? Edster, this cable really is thin, not sure of the gauge but Im not expert with wires. I was just under the impression that biwire is better than single! Frank, Im not actually using a cd player, the source is my computer through an emu 0404 soundcard which I think is an amazing 2 channel card. The chord rumour would work out about the same price for 2 metres as the carnival biwire would for 2 metres so I'll have to think over that. Only concern is Im not sure if Im spending too much on speaker cable and whether or not to go with the single or biwire due to my interconnect. It's a custom made interconnect for the emu (db9 to 2 rca) which will run to the amp. The wire isnt too thick but its feel quite hard underneath the teflon ( i think) covering. I'd estimate the wire is 3mm thick-whatever gauge that would be? Cost me roughly £45! |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 290 Registered: Jan-05 | Just had a look at the Harmon Kardon, the 3380 and it sells for about £250. £100 more than I can afford really. Shame, but thanks for the suggestion Stephen. |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 23 Registered: Apr-06 | Really, wow. Here in the states its less than half that...I just bought one for myself for $199, which is a little over £100. Sigh. Either way, Cambridge Audio is solid stuff, so I won't feel too bad for ya. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1413 Registered: Sep-04 | JJ I get where you coming from. I don't know the quality of your interconnect for obvious reasons. If it's anywhere near as good as any other £45 interconnect, it'll be good enough. I agree that the Rumour is expensive. I wonder how much benefit you will get considering the rest of the system. Therefore I'd suggest spending the money you saved on the speaker cable on the amp if possible. Incidentally, one of the best cables to use with NAD is Naim's speaker cable but it's also not cheap at £9.25/m. You get much more throughput and fun using that cable. Regards, Frank. |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 291 Registered: Jan-05 | Thats cheap in the states! How do they manage that. I'd much rather pay £120 for a decent amp lol. I'm sticking with my interconnect, my mind is thinking over which speaker cable now u mention Naims. I would be willing to pay that bit extra but that'd be my limit. Any links to the naim cable would be aprreciated since my searches aren't bringing back any results. Thanks! |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1417 Registered: Sep-04 | Naim cable is not available on the internet. You need a Naim dealer. Have a look on Naim's website at http://www.naim-audio.com under 'Find a retailer'. Regards, Frank. |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 292 Registered: Jan-05 | Thanks Frank. The nearest one to me is in Sheffield at audio images. Wow, Naims stuff is pricey, but no speaker wire on the site. And I guess my next question is..silver or copper wire. The Naim has copper cable wire(I found the cable I think) and the carnival and rumour has silver plated copper. I'm really very stuck now on whether to biwire with the carnival or go single with the rumour due to its superior quality, I think the naim will be to pricey and too much hassle to get hold of. Theres various arguments to biwiring and I always thought it was better. Since I listen to metal, then the rumour which has more detail may be better. Then that makes me think biwiring would otherwise be better to separate the highs and lows so metal music sounds clearer and more detailed that way. I hate making these kind of decisions, but looking at the price, I've found the rumour is £10/m Frank and Im looking for 2 metres which I dont think you can get without terminations. Im not terminating, I just dont have the money! |
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Silver Member Username: James_the_godDoncaster, South Yorkshire England Post Number: 293 Registered: Jan-05 | The Chord Rumour can be had in unterminated 2 metres, but I also came across the qed x-tube xt300. Its the same price as chord rumour, but for 2 metres its an extra £9.50 instead of £8.50 like the rumour. You know anything about the xtube Frank? |
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