Floorstanding speakers

[torres del paine]

I'm on the hunt for a cheapish pair of floorstanders to replace my frankly, subdued-sounding wharfedale diamond 8.1 bookshelf speakers. I want a big, warm sound and good low volume performance as my diamonds sound a bit strangled and rather lacking in the midrange.

I'm no audiophile but from what I can gather my speakers have impedance: 6 ohms and sensitivity: 86db, which is rather power hungry. I believe that a speaker with 8 ohms/90db would be better.

I have a Marantz PM7200 amp and CD6000 OSE LE cd player and listen to a lot of electronica, classical and rock.

I've been reading reviews on the internet and searching ebay and have come across all kinds of stuff. Some of the vintage stuff looks promising:

Celestion Ditton 15 XR
B&W DM220
Kef C series

Are these any good?

Thanks in advance

[Glassman]

Linn Keilidh

[teapea]

I have some Linn Keilidh speakers I bought on ebay about 5 years for around £400 ago, they're excellent :-)

[sonic_2k_uk]

Or Linn 5140's or espek's if you can find them.

[torres del paine]

The Keilidh are over what I want to spend and have mixed reviews, but then what doesn't in the confusing world of hifi?

I'm looking at affordable but good 2nd hand stuff:

I'm watching some Celestion Ditton 25s and 44s now, as well as some B&W DM603 S2. The Celestion Dittons have had some really glowing reviews.

Looking into Kefs, there are many, and Spendor and Rogers as well as they seem to have that big, warm sound I'm looking for.

I shall keep looking.

[telecat]

Cambridge R2's or most TDL's are Transmission lines which should do the trick.

[dalos260]

IMO, those Dittons aren't floorstanders, even though they are described as such. For me, they are too low; the tweeter should be around head height when you are sat in a listening position.

[TonyRPH]

I had the same amp/CD combo as the OP and it was dull and lifeless with the Linn Keilidhs.

You don't need floorstanders for good bass - I now have a pair of Dynaudio 52's on Soundstyle Z1 stands - and they sound really good.

I mostly listen to rock.

[Nuisance_Value]

If you're looking at Rogers I would recommend the LS55 floorstanders. Used to have a pair and they were a lovely warm sound with a decent ported bass on them. There's a couple of pairs on ebay at the moment for around £30 - £40, though a pair recently went for around £100 which is what I sold mine for. Still a bargain at that though. Try and find some rosewood ones though, much nicer than the black.

Some reviews here;

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/rogers/floorstandin...

[juansolo]

If you're anywhere in the Leeds area and are prepared to pick up, I've got a pair of mint Q35's for sale. They'd probably fit the bill perfectly. Also got a Q9C centre that almost matches it That has one small mark on the top of it but is otherwise also mint. I've got the covers for them all, but I never use them so they're bagged up in a cupboard. I'll take £120 for the floorstanders and £80 for the centre.

pics here

[torres del paine]

Quick update for those who are interested.

I decided to go for some stand mount speakers, and after some searching on Ebay, I found a MINT pair of Mission 761i speakers for sale, just up the road from me.

Well, for £20 I am well and truly chuffed - they're bleedin lovely speakers. They're pretty unusual speakers for their size. They're 38cm in height but have 2, 5 inch woofers and a 3/4 inch soft dome tweeter in between with ports either side. They're also very sensitive at 90dB at 8 ohms, so easy to drive.

The sound is truly excellent. What sets them apart for me is the mid range and low volume performance, both of which are fantastic. They sound so much more open and vibrant, and not at all muted like my Wharfedale Diamonds. I did some side by side comparisons with some classical, 70s rock and ambient and electronica and the difference between the two speakers was really quite noticeable.

I just need to get some stands now.

Very happy for just twenty notes.