Best monitor-type speaker under 2k

Ryan Ryan Bronze Member Username: Wiredcon Phoenix, AZ Post Number: 54 Registered: Oct-07	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 05:51 GMT I'd like to get some advice/suggestion on a pair of bookshelf speakers with the following facts & peronal sonic preferences: Room size: 11.5ft x 9ft x 8ft Amp: I am using a low-powered push-pull Int tube amp (15-18W) Source: Bryston BCD-1 & Gyro MKII w/Benz Ref S I'm trying to find a pair of speaker with the following characteristics: 1. easy to drive 2. warmish sound without loosing too much of detail and transparency 3. great at imaging 4. great sounding at low volume I'm not trying to find the " perfect" sound, but rather looking for a musical expereince where I can get into music. So far, I've tried Usher-Be-718 only. Sonically, I'm quite impressed with the tiny dancers, but it does require a power amp to drive them properly. I really would like to keep my tube amp in the place. If I can get somewhat close sonic performace from Usher Be-718, I would be very happy. I've heard that Proac and Spendor are making good monitors, but don't know where to start nor which models to consider. Any help would be great!
Dan L. Silver Member Username: Kbear Canada Post Number: 235 Registered: Dec-06	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 07:44 GMT I have experience with a couple of brands, Tannoy and PMC. Both relatively easy to drive, both are very musical. I think PMC would give you the warmth you want, while Tannoy tends to be brighter. Tannoy employs dual concentric driver technology, and their new speakers are very well received (especially the Definition series). I have not heard them myself though. My experience with Tannoy is an entry level speaker (Mercury F2, a great speaker given the price). With PMC it's the TB2i, which will likely be the speaker I eventually upgrade to. Very smooth and lush sounding, and very engaging too. I don't think these are that much easier than the Usher to drive though, at least by looking at the numbers. Proac is similar. These three are all about 88dB sensitivity. Spendor seems to be the toughest to drive, the two models I checked coming in at 84-85 dB. There is more to it than just sensitivity figures, but they provide a little context. The lower the sensitivity, the more power you'll need to reach a given volume level.
M.R. Gold Member Username: My_rantz Australia Post Number: 2464 Registered: Nov-05	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 09:09 GMT Have a look at the KEF range, they have some fairly efficient speakers.
Nuck Platinum Member Username: Nuck Post Number: 13366 Registered: Dec-04	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 12:14 GMT http://www.symphonysound.com/articles/tubefriendly.html
Jan Vigne Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigne Dallas, TX Post Number: 13895 Registered: May-04	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 14:38 GMT . The article Nuck links to is a good guide to choosing a speaker for a tube based system and will quickly eliminate many possible contenders due to their electrical incompatibility with your amplifier. It refers to the original LS3/5a which is no longer in production though there are plenty to choose from on the pre owned market. The 3/5a has been replaced by variants of the same design by models from Spendor, Harbeth and Stirling. These are designed as monitor type speakers for the most part. The Stirling is sonically a drop in replacement for the original 3/5a as licenced by the BBC. You can easily find reviews and comparisons of those speakers by doing a little web searching. While KEF supplied the original drivers for the 3/5a their more recent deisngs have strayed from the BBC sound - that might be to your liking or not. IMO you will do even better for the money given your specifications of usage by looking into single driver, full range systems. Again a bit of time spent with a search engine should provide the information you require. I would pay attention to the Omega line and, if your budget does stretch to $2k, check out Bob's line; http://geocities.com/rbrines1/ I've heard his speakers several times in show settings and found them to be among the best available IMO. .
Nuck Platinum Member Username: Nuck Post Number: 13372 Registered: Dec-04	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 14:47 GMT Bob's stuff is considered to have no faults, only varying degrees of excellence.
Nuck Platinum Member Username: Nuck Post Number: 13373 Registered: Dec-04	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 14:48 GMT Also consider... http://www.tektondesign.com/
Chris H Silver Member Username: Hawkbilly Nova Scotia Canada Post Number: 666 Registered: Jul-07	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 16:31 GMT See also; http://www.zuaudio.com/ http://www.jm-reynaud.com/ SDFR solutions are the safest recommendation to match with your amp, but there are 2-way alternatives, you just need to do your homework as Jan and Nuck suggest. Know what is tube friendly. I was in exactly your position a while back and went the 2-way standmount route and have been content with the results. However, my budget was half of yours so you'll have lots of options I ruled out at the time. I'm more likely to go the SDFR route next time round, however in my area it's harder to find that type of speaker to demo.
Ryan Ryan Bronze Member Username: Wiredcon Phoenix, AZ Post Number: 55 Registered: Oct-07	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 17:40 GMT Dan- I've been interested in finding out PMC sound, but it doesnt seem like a suitable choice for me at this moment :-) Nuck- thanks for the great article!! Jan- I'm very interested in trying out full range speakers, but it wil be a challenge to find a place where I can demo any of those single-driver/full range speakers in person. I've never heard them before. Chris- I was about to send you a PM regarding your idea of "kick a*s" media center. Once I'm done with my speaker selection, I was thinking about replacing BCD-1 with BDA-1 and go digital! According to bob's own words, his speakers are somewhat "limited" in a sense that certain type of music reproduction is not so great. I wonder if anyone can give me more insight on how they fare with other genre of music except those already known to be great on those bob's speakers compare to other two-way speakers in general? I'll do some more readings and study on those suggested speakers, and come back with more questions Thank you all for the great suggestions! I really do appreciate it!
Nuck Platinum Member Username: Nuck Post Number: 13378 Registered: Dec-04	Posted on Monday, September 07, 2009 - 18:00 GMT Have fun, RR.

« Previous Thread Next Thread »

Main Forums

Forum Help

Follow Us