Anyone got recommendations for a decent pair of floor standing speakers? Nothing too silly in price (so max 400 quid i guess). Aim is to get decent stereo speakers then move to expand it to a 5.1 set up at some point.. not sure if that matters for this though?
i have the whole set can you push your budget a little because i have the Acoustic Energy Aelite's and they are great speakers, plus they look so sexay https://www.forumhifivisual.co.uk/Speakers/Floorstanding/Acoustic_Energy_Aelite_3_1795.html you may find them cheaper look on fleabay, Acoustic Energry used to have a store on there. Hope you have a decent amp to drive them though not sure if they have gone but worth a punt http://ppateteatete.blogspot.com/2012/01/acoustic-energy-aelite-3-floorstanding.html
My brother favours B&W's, I prefer JBL... You just have to go to a decent HiFi shop and have a listen. I picked up a new source (CD) and speakers a few years ago this way - they had the same model of amp I use so were able to just switch around CD player and speaker combinations that were within my budget until I got the sound I wanted. If you call up in advance, and they don't have matching equipment to what you've already got, most places (of sufficient quality) will let you bring in your amp ans source to help you tie in the sound.
This is great advice, as Asura said, most decent shops will allow you to listen to several products and you could be quite surprised how different each set of speakers sounds. A pair of speakers one person recommends could sound quite different to your ears so it's largely a matter of personal preference. In terms of upgrading to 5.1, the general advice is that whilst it is ideal that all 5 speakers are from the same company you can get away with just the two front speakers and a centre channel being from the same brand and then having different rear speakers. Don't forget to budget for decent speaker cable as well
+1 to going and listening. Also what room are they going in? Big rooms with lots of soft furnishings will eat up the bass so you might want something with a bit of punch, a small room with lots of wood flooring and painted walls will act like an echo chamber so you'd want something a bit more delicate.
I'll definitely second the idea of having to listen to things; ideally in your own home if at all possible as rooms do sound very different. For that kind of money I'd also suggest second hand is worth looking at as some serious bargains can be acquired there. Couple of options to look out for: Kef Reference - Model 1, 2 and 3 will probably all fall within your price range. Klipsch RF-52 (these are very marmite speakers it would appear) Also, don't rule out standmounts either; I've heard comparitively tiny standmounts produce some phenomenal noises before. Look out for Quad 12L2 ProAc Tablette Reference Sonus Faber Toy
Why floor standing? At that price I'd still be looking at second hand bargains or smaller, higher quality speakers.
Room has 2 soft chairs and a 3 seater sofa and a bookcase full of stuff so not sure if that'll eat up all the bass. floor standing ones as well they look nice I don't really care if they're floor standing or bookshelf though - they'll either be on the floor under the TV (bookshelf) or next to the tv (floor standing) Amp wise, currently i've got an old techinics amp but will be replacing with an Onkyo SR709 or 609 once i've got speakers etc. I've got a richersounds near by so was thinking of taking a trip down and asking them but wanted to go with some solid BT advice before looking like a total noob.
You do have to take room size and shape as well as the stuff in the room into account; a small square room with floorstanders will be an acoustic nightmare, for the most part. Bookshelves would help in that scenario, but you absolutely must listen before you buy in any case. If you are going to put bookshelves on the floor, they will sound like crap and you really might as well buy absolutely anything. At the price you are looking at, you're far better off looking at the second hand market than buying new. You can get a hell of a lot more for your money than you would imagine, and if you extend your budget a bit further you really can get some fantastic stuff. The absolute best advice that I can give you is that you don't, under any circumstances, follow what hi-fi magazines say and buy the highest rated products and put them all together. My girlfriend's dad does this and the end result is always tragic. In fact, don't follow hi-fi magazines full stop...they are more businesses than anything else (rating down a Linn Majik DS because it doesn't have a USB port...? ). Don't set your eyes out on any particular amp or receiver, again, go and listen to what you potentially could be moving on to in the future. Richer Sounds...eugh. Feel free to go in, but they are far from what I would call specialised. Head to your local Audio-T or the like (they're the first that come to mind as my family have dealt with them for our Linn equipment), have a look at their second hand stock online, and ask for demo. They'll likely be infinitely more helpful and have much more knowledge. Finally...trust your ears, above all else. Take it easy, and listen, don't analyse. Go for the one that you prefer, not the one that technically has more detail, for example
bu bu bu all they do is play the soundtracks to films... is there this much to care about? (also 2nd hand is fine by me.. just not sure what to be looking for)
I think that if you want to get the most for your money then it is definitely worth taking all of those things into consideration, and going the extra mile to find something that is perfectly suited to you. As for what you are looking for...the only way that you can know what kind of sound you are looking for is to go and take a listen. Different brands tend to have their own "house sound"; ie. they all are aimed to sound a certain way, depending on what you are looking for. That's the problem with hi-fi as a whole; people can recommend, and you can read reviews, but at the end of the day we're all looking for something digital to reproduce something very analogue. I could recommend that you looked into a particular brand, but there is no guarantee whatsoever that you'll be satisfied with the sound. It's very much an addiction that constantly pushes you to improve your setup, I can tell you that much!
See if you can pick up a used pair of Linn Kelidhs, you'll pay around your budget and you have the opportunity to go Aktiv with them at a later date which dramatically improves them. Don't be worried if they're 10 or more years old so long as they've been looked after.
All you can do is research more, go to dedicated AV shops with listening rooms, but then you really should be listening with the amp you are going to use with said speakers. Don't miss out go listen to the really high end stuff first, then that gives you a decent set point to judge the rest And don't forget floorstanders or any speakers for that matter need room to breathe also nothing worse than underdriven speakers, don't scrimp on cables or connections, weakest link, yay know. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r5430916-Underdriving-overdriving-speakers-
I had them in mind (being a Linn owner myself), however I was trying to avoid suggesting anything to be neutral... I'd actually suggest stretching the budget and looking Ninkas instead, if going the Linn route. They fix the "issues" that the Keilidhs had as a whole, namely being boomy bass at times, and the soft dome tweeters on the Ninkas sound smoother (though this upgrade can be applied to the Keilidhs anyway. Some serious Linn bargains to be had...provided that you like the sound (which you probably will, it's very neutral).
Nice one! Yep, Ninkas would also suit and are generally agreed to be more pleasing on the eyes and ears! Of course I still have a pair of maple Akurate 242's for sale... http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=221345 And yes, I do work for Linn
damn you all - so much information how can it be this hard to buy some speakers to watch films with Can't see anywhere easily selling Ninka speakers? what kind of price are they and why would they be so much better than say a 200£ pair of cambridge audio speakers?
