[texashorn91]

I have been extremely happy with my headphone setup, but I am ready to move on to speakers. I want to spend less than $1200 on floorstanding speakers and an integrated amplifier together. The problem is, since I don't have either, it is hard to audition something and still take into account system matching. I don't know where to start. I am also a student, and I have been turned away by a couple of dealers in my area already.

MUSIC:
70% Rock, everything from Bob Dylan to Radiohead
20% Jazz and Blues
10% Rap

LISTENING AREA:
Small, roughly 12x16

On second thought, I could start out with my Marantz 2226b receiver (26 watts) for a while in order to stretch my budget for nicer speakers, and spend money later on an amp. I like my PS Audio GCHA so much that I may get an integrated amp from them too.

I am looking for neutrality throughout the mids and highs, and I want depth and impact in the bass.

A couple of speakers I have looked at (let me know if $ is off):

B&W 684 ($1000)
QUAD 21L ($1200)


Let me know if I can give any further info, thanks a lot.

 

[Duggeh]

Quad 21L and NAD C352. You'll have to buy used, but it's doable, and entirely satisfying.

I have a pair of Quad 21L in black right here which literally in the last 24 hours I've replaced with the 12L in order to move to a desktop rig because of space constraints. I can investigate transatlantic shipping for you and see if I can offer you a good price all-in. You're on your own with the NAD though, as mines now connected to the 12L.

I should warn you against my Quad fanboyism though. If you don't like really awesome speakers accompanied by a finish job at three times their price point, you sould stay away from the Quads.

The B&W will go louder and sound more "big" though.



Also, is that 12x16 in feet, yards, meters or what?


I'd love to chat on this inquiry so lets throw some stuff around.

 

[texashorn91]

I'm sorry to hear you had to downsize your setup, those are some gorgeous speakers, I just looked up where you had posted them. Thank you for your offer, but I am not quite ready to purchase yet. If I do end up deciding on the Quads and you still have them around, I'll definitely shoot you a PM.

My listening area is 12x16 feet. What size is your listening room? Where the 21L's too much for it or did you just move to a different room? Thanks

 

[sochee]

For that much money, and for that small an area...I want to say, go with bookshelves and a sub. Although I may be wrong, I believe floorstanders aren't the best option for such room sizes, and suffer from a lot of cabinet resonance. Everything that they make up in bass (and not always) can be covered with a good sub. Then again, I could be wrong.

 

[texashorn91]

Can anybody clarify this? I was thinking that bookshelves may be more cost effective, but then I would have to put them on stands and purchase a sub, and this would be taking up the same amount of room as a good size floorstander would. I don't know anything about room acoustics.

 

[texashorn91]

sochee, how do you like you Epos speakers? Did you compare them to anything else before you bought them? Thanks

 

[Sherwood]

Shipping speakers is expensive, and odds are not good that your first pair will be your last. Therefore, it behooves you to go local.

Scan your local Craigslist and pick up something newer that looks to be a good deal. Austin's not a bad area for CL finds at all. Also scan Audiogon by your zipcode to find folks selling speakers in your area.

I tend to lean toward monitors for your room size, but I have a similar room with floorstanders and they sound superb.

 

[sochee]

Meh, I recommend the Eposes to everyone, but no one actually ends up buying them They are very nice though, but I've only compared them to Paradigm Atoms..

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/bo...1000-a-445320/

 

[Uncle Erik]

What Sherwood said, but do not shy away from quality vintage speakers. The circa 1972 ESS AMTs I had were sensational. The parents carted them off, but for $300, the AMTs offer performance up top about as good as anything out there. The woofers are typical 70s-era, but they're easily replaced by newer ones.

Also, could you be tempted by DIY? You can stretch your budget pretty far that way. The DIY ProAc Response 2.5 clones I built fit your criteria (oh man, is the bass good!) and cost about $1,000 to pull off. That was a $4,500 speaker new and used ones hover around the $2k mark.

 

[texashorn91]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll be looking into everything that was suggested

 

[koven]

Energy RC50 2 way cherry RC 50 series floorstanding speaker ( 11005) at Vanns.com | features

^ This is an amazing value IMO. It retails for $800 a piece, but they discontinued the wood finishes, so these are on clearance.

Now instead of $800 for one, you can get a pair for <$800, brand new & free shipping!

Alternatives in the same price range:
av123 RS450 (these are gorgeous!)
Aperion Intimus 5T
Swan Diva 4.2
Paradigm Monitor 7
KEF iQ5

I suggest you do some research on avsforum before deciding, a lot of info there about entry level floors.

Add in a used Rotel/NAD/Cambridge/etc from Audiogon for ~$400... and you'd have a hard to beat system for $1200.

 

[Budgie]

Suggestions-
Don't buy them unless you can hear them first.

Take some cd's that you know well.

Ask if there is an in home trial period with money back if not satisfied.

Listen at your normal listening level. Try loud levels too, but only if you like the sound at normal levels, first.

 

[roadcykler]

"Bookshelf" speakers don't necessarily need a subwoofer and you might be surprised at the bass some of them produce. Based on your posted percentages, you'd likely only miss the deep bass in the rap stuff.

I've never understood why a retail outlet for any product would turn someone away for any reason. Even if you tell them you're a student they have no idea what you may have available to you monetarily. That kind of stuff pisses me off and gets the business lots of bad publicity from me.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

i second the reccomendation for a set of Paradigm Monitor 7's, ive myself a pair, ad i love them. About a year and a half ago i went auditioning for several days, and i fell in love with a pair or Magnepan MG12's but unfortunately i didnt have the room for them, but the Paradigms got me closest in sound to those in a traditional dynamic speaker. I tried PSB, NHT, B&W and paradigm and picked the paradigms.

But first and foremost go audition, as much as all your local hi end dealers will let you. And make sure you take music you like, not somethihng someone on here says is a really good demo cd, cuase just cuase its really well recorded and has great dynamics and such, doesnt mean that you have a intimate knowledge of the cd. I used Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as one of my audiotioning cd's, and its known pretty much everywhere to be a pretty good example of the loudness war gone wrong. But regardless its one of my favorites and it still served its purpose to highlight the differnces i heard between the speakers.

and most of all, have fun doing it!!

Soup

 

[warpdriver]

Given the recommendation for RC50's above, I thought I'd throw in the RC30. They are basically slim tower speakers and would be easier to place than the RC50 and probably more suited to your room. As they are slim, and not too deep, they take up the same space as a set of small bookshelf speakers. You shouldn't need a sub with these.

Energy RC30 Cherry 2 way cherry Reference Connoisseur series floorstanding speakerat Vanns.com

The Energy RC series are very neutral but musical speakers.