Speaker Upgrade Suggestions?
Discussion
Hi Folks,
I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
How much space do you have?
I have gone from MA to Tannoy at the start of this year and wow so much better. Having said that the two key things are what you like in the way of sound and your room.
For me, I love the sound of the Tannoy but need to do quite some work on my room to make the best of them.
http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/tannoy-prestige-stirl... would be good to to try (I know over budget)
I have gone from MA to Tannoy at the start of this year and wow so much better. Having said that the two key things are what you like in the way of sound and your room.
For me, I love the sound of the Tannoy but need to do quite some work on my room to make the best of them.
http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/tannoy-prestige-stirl... would be good to to try (I know over budget)
You could stick with monitor audio and get a set of gold 200's or gold 300's for around 2k.
Different drivers, ribbon tweets and three way in the case of the 300's.
No affiliation but I wish I'd have waited to get these rather than the piano black I have.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MONITOR-AUDIO-GOLD-300-...
f:1&frcectupt=true
Different drivers, ribbon tweets and three way in the case of the 300's.
No affiliation but I wish I'd have waited to get these rather than the piano black I have.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MONITOR-AUDIO-GOLD-300-...
f:1&frcectupt=true It’s a very personal and room dependant thing. What sounds fabulous in one room could sound a bag of spanners in another. You need to find a good dealer who can lend you 2 or 3 contenders in budget to try in your room with your system. Having said that, I like pretty much everything I’ve heard from Neat and Kudos.
TorqueDirty said:
Hi Folks,
I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
As said already the speaker/room interaction is as important as any of the equipment being used. I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
How large is the room and how close to rear and side walls will the speakers be when positioned?
As it happens I owned the 308 system for years and really enjoyed it - the pre/power in particular where excellent. I used them with Kef Reference 3.2 then moved onto ref 4.2s and they sounded fantastic together - impact, depth and lush when needed. The UniQ drivers were a perfect match for the MF house sound while the 308 power easily handled the tricky load.
Thoroughly recommended as long as you can give them space to breath - the 4.2 is a BIG speaker. I sold mine for £1100 recently. The 3.2s are a couple of hundred quid cheaper. Nothing else around at that price to match them imho.
I went from MA GS10s to Kef reference 202/2's a good few years ago. I have to say that MA are a good starting point though - my Kefs were a lot more expensive, but definitely diminishing returns.
Completely agree with room setup making a difference. I demo'd some speakers in store - they were floor standers, but can't even remember what brand. They were above the budget I wanted to pay - £5,500 if I remember correctly - and in the demo (which was using very similar kit to my own) - they were unbelievably good. I very nearly paid for them and took them home there and then.
Instead, I took them home to demo - and they were dreadful. For some reason, floor standers just don't work in my lounge - which is a shame because it's what I would really like - but every floorstander I've tried just sounds flat and lifeless.
It took quite a few home demo's before I found the speakers I bought.
Completely agree with room setup making a difference. I demo'd some speakers in store - they were floor standers, but can't even remember what brand. They were above the budget I wanted to pay - £5,500 if I remember correctly - and in the demo (which was using very similar kit to my own) - they were unbelievably good. I very nearly paid for them and took them home there and then.
Instead, I took them home to demo - and they were dreadful. For some reason, floor standers just don't work in my lounge - which is a shame because it's what I would really like - but every floorstander I've tried just sounds flat and lifeless.
It took quite a few home demo's before I found the speakers I bought.
TorqueDirty said:
Hi Folks,
I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
I agree that listening at home is always best; reviews help with the shortlist though. I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
The Focal Aria 936 could be ideal. https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Focal-Aria-936-Save-800...
Thanks for all the suggestions folks,
Very useful and food for thought.
The room is quite large - say 6m x 6m and there is space to have the speakers away from the wall by up to 60cm or so without a problem.
I had actually been thinking about the old PMC FB1s as I had head a lot of good things about them back in the day. Not sure how much of a step up they would be over the GR20s, but probably a reasonable step.
The Tannoy Prestige Stirlings are monsters! Over budget frankly and whilst I'm sure they sound sublime, I'm not massively taken with the looks if I'm honest.
Have to say that the Kef Reference speakers are of real interest. I also found a few pairs of KEF Reference 203/2s for sale at a manageable price. Am I right in assuming that these are more modern speakers than the Kef Reference 3.2 / 4.2 designs?
I should add that my 308 Pre / Power combo drives the front speakers and I have a big Yamaha beast to drive the rears, the center (all MA gold) and a REL Sub (which is also linked to the 308s for added bass when I'm running just music). I guess this means that the main stereo speakers don't HAVE to have floor shaking bass capabilities since the Sub supplements this nicely as needed, but that said I'd be looking for a pair of fronts that don't need any help from the sub ideally.
Small matter of discussing this with the wife but what the hell, the business has had a good year and I feel like treating myself for a change!
No doubt I'll report back in a few months to tell you all about the lovely new curtains that turned out to be more important!
Any other suggestions welcome
TD
Re: Kef Reference, you’re right - the 20X range directly replaced the ref 3/4 range.
I much prefer the earlier ref range - different voicing although the UniQ mid drivers look similar. The earlier range used coupled-cavity loading for the bass drivers connected with a metal rod and, in the 4.2 in particular, is excellent.
I owned the 3.2 then 4.2 in a 5.1 set up for years with a ref200 Centre and 34DS surrounds. An SVS PC13Ultra added the (literally) floor shaking sub bass - for 2 channel stereo with 4.2s driven by the 308 power amp I stopped using the sub - the speakers did not need it.
Demoing used speakers in your own room is a pain but can be done if you buy wisely - buy, try then move them on if they don’t suit. The Kef reference speakers still get a lot of attention to this day and are snapped up pretty quickly if prices sensibly.
Good luck. We all have different tastes in music and hifi but a 308 system + 4.2s really should be tried out if you can find them.
I much prefer the earlier ref range - different voicing although the UniQ mid drivers look similar. The earlier range used coupled-cavity loading for the bass drivers connected with a metal rod and, in the 4.2 in particular, is excellent.
I owned the 3.2 then 4.2 in a 5.1 set up for years with a ref200 Centre and 34DS surrounds. An SVS PC13Ultra added the (literally) floor shaking sub bass - for 2 channel stereo with 4.2s driven by the 308 power amp I stopped using the sub - the speakers did not need it.
Demoing used speakers in your own room is a pain but can be done if you buy wisely - buy, try then move them on if they don’t suit. The Kef reference speakers still get a lot of attention to this day and are snapped up pretty quickly if prices sensibly.
Good luck. We all have different tastes in music and hifi but a 308 system + 4.2s really should be tried out if you can find them.
TorqueDirty said:
Thanks for all the suggestions folks,
Very useful and food for thought.
The room is quite large - say 6m x 6m and there is space to have the speakers away from the wall by up to 60cm or so without a problem.
I had actually been thinking about the old PMC FB1s as I had head a lot of good things about them back in the day. Not sure how much of a step up they would be over the GR20s, but probably a reasonable step.
The Tannoy Prestige Stirlings are monsters! Over budget frankly and whilst I'm sure they sound sublime, I'm not massively taken with the looks if I'm honest.
Have to say that the Kef Reference speakers are of real interest. I also found a few pairs of KEF Reference 203/2s for sale at a manageable price. Am I right in assuming that these are more modern speakers than the Kef Reference 3.2 / 4.2 designs?
I should add that my 308 Pre / Power combo drives the front speakers and I have a big Yamaha beast to drive the rears, the center (all MA gold) and a REL Sub (which is also linked to the 308s for added bass when I'm running just music). I guess this means that the main stereo speakers don't HAVE to have floor shaking bass capabilities since the Sub supplements this nicely as needed, but that said I'd be looking for a pair of fronts that don't need any help from the sub ideally.
Small matter of discussing this with the wife but what the hell, the business has had a good year and I feel like treating myself for a change!
No doubt I'll report back in a few months to tell you all about the lovely new curtains that turned out to be more important!
Any other suggestions welcome
TD
I ran an A308 pre amp with MF A5 power amp and a range of PMC speakers including PMC Twenty 22, 23 and OB1i over a period of a few years. They all sounded sublime but especially the OB1i which were just fantastic. I bought them 2nd hand in excellent condition for £2k and sold them for the same price a year or so later when we were moving house and unfortunately didn’t have room to keep them. I still have the Twenty 23 now which are great for their size, using them with a Roksan M1 pre/power combination. Very useful and food for thought.
The room is quite large - say 6m x 6m and there is space to have the speakers away from the wall by up to 60cm or so without a problem.
I had actually been thinking about the old PMC FB1s as I had head a lot of good things about them back in the day. Not sure how much of a step up they would be over the GR20s, but probably a reasonable step.
The Tannoy Prestige Stirlings are monsters! Over budget frankly and whilst I'm sure they sound sublime, I'm not massively taken with the looks if I'm honest.
Have to say that the Kef Reference speakers are of real interest. I also found a few pairs of KEF Reference 203/2s for sale at a manageable price. Am I right in assuming that these are more modern speakers than the Kef Reference 3.2 / 4.2 designs?
I should add that my 308 Pre / Power combo drives the front speakers and I have a big Yamaha beast to drive the rears, the center (all MA gold) and a REL Sub (which is also linked to the 308s for added bass when I'm running just music). I guess this means that the main stereo speakers don't HAVE to have floor shaking bass capabilities since the Sub supplements this nicely as needed, but that said I'd be looking for a pair of fronts that don't need any help from the sub ideally.
Small matter of discussing this with the wife but what the hell, the business has had a good year and I feel like treating myself for a change!
No doubt I'll report back in a few months to tell you all about the lovely new curtains that turned out to be more important!
Any other suggestions welcome
TD
So my suggestion would also be for PMC, see if you can get a pair of OB1i (rare now unfortunately) or failing that perhaps 2nd hand Twenty 24s. The A308 really is a great amp - I still miss my old one!
Crackie said:
TorqueDirty said:
Hi Folks,
I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
I agree that listening at home is always best; reviews help with the shortlist though. I have been thinking about upgrading my floor standing speakers for a while now and would welcome some suggestions.
Current setup is:
Musical Fidelity A308 pre and power combination with A308 CD. The power amp has been back to Musical fidelity for an upgrade too.
Existing speakers are Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s
I have pretty high end and expensive cables (interconnects and speaker cables) as well. Can't remember exactly what just now but the speaker cables were around £600 as I recall. Can't be bothered to root around behind everything to find out!
My sense is that the speakers are probably the weak link but it has been a while since I immersed myself into the HiFi world and so don't have a great feel for what would constitute a decent step up.
More than happy to buy second hand - in fact I'd probably prefer it since I'd expect to get a better pair for the same money.
Budget? Well I guess up to 2k but if I could get a second-hand solution that gave me a decent upgrade for less than 2K I'd be very happy.
I posted a while ago and one response was that pretty much anything would be an upgrade over the Monitor Audio GR20s (a bit rude I thought) but I did wonder if there were therefore far better speakers to be had for sensible money.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
The Focal Aria 936 could be ideal. https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-936...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Focal-Aria-936-Save-800...
At this level it's the way the speaker presents the sound that matters. The Dual Concentric and Large Tannoy's would love a room that big as would the KLIPSH Classic and Living Voice Speakers. They mostly suit Vavle's but are known to sing nicely with Transistors. The Old Impulse range are pretty Good as well but they are not in production so you would have to find a pair to listen to.
I listen to a very varied selection of music but not a great deal of heavy rock. Acoustic, vocal, classical, blues etc.
So any suggestions?
TD
[/quote]
Left field suggestion but How about a pair of Eclipse TD 510's. If you don't need much base response and like to above, they could be just to ticket.
I was speaking to the technical department at Chord and they use these in their factory listening room...
StescoG66 said:
Don’t know what your budget is, but try Fyne Audio F501 or F502. Hold their own with many far more expensive speakers. If funds permit the bigger F702 is just sublime.
Fyne 501 are not a patch in the Kef Q950 speakers on a back to back listening test in Richer Sounds. YMMVDavidJG said:
For 2k you could get a very nice set of Martin Logans second hand.
If you've never heard them, go and listen to some at your 'local' dealer - once you've heard these you may not want anything else. Just make sure your power amp can handle the load!
I actually started a thread about Martin Logans last year as I have had a serious desire for a pair for years. So these are on the wish list for sure but as you say I'd definitely need a good long listen before taking the plunge - and I guess also have a home demo since I understand they like to be out in the open rather than close to a wall. Someone mentioned 5 feet from the wall is optimal, which is a long way in to the room!If you've never heard them, go and listen to some at your 'local' dealer - once you've heard these you may not want anything else. Just make sure your power amp can handle the load!
The Musical Fidelity 308 is a big beast of an amp and should handle most speakers with ease, but certainly best to check.
Decisions, decisions! All part of the fun.
TD
I've hankered after a pair of Martin Logan's since I heard a pair of Aerius connected to some Copland kit and fell in love right there.
Move on 20+ years and I bought some Electromotions, which are bottom of the range but unbelievable, if you like that sort of thing.
For info, mine are too close to the rear wall and would have audiophiles rolling their eyes but still think they sound great
. Audition a pair if they'll go with your system.
Move on 20+ years and I bought some Electromotions, which are bottom of the range but unbelievable, if you like that sort of thing.
For info, mine are too close to the rear wall and would have audiophiles rolling their eyes but still think they sound great
. Audition a pair if they'll go with your system.Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff