2. speakers
  3. 163385-156033

Which Speaker

Hi, I'm building my first set up and need some help deciding on a set of speakers, I don' have a ton of money to spend but I've narrowed it down to some speakers that are in a sale deal so I can get the best ones I can. The main input will be vinyl from a pro-ject debut carbon evo and the amp will probably either be a marantz pm6007 or yamaha As501 depending on the speaker. The options I have: KEF Q550, Q Acoustics 3050i, Fyne Audio F303, Yamaha NS-F350, Wharfedale Diamond 12.4, Dali Oberon 5, Bowers & Wilkins 603 and Monitor Audio 200 or 500.
The website does say I can enquire about others to see if they would do a deal for them, they have many options like KEF 750, Dali Opticon 5,Elac Debut F6.2, Monitor Audio Silver 6, Kudos x2 and Mission QX4 - I dont know if they would allow any of these but I can always ask.
Music wise I tend to listen to indie/rock/metal but also a bit of everything from across the board, good bass is important but I can always add a subwoofer in the future. I know the best thing to do would be to listen in person but with full lockdown due to Covid I cant.
I think thats all the information I can give, I know I've listed quite a lot of speakers but it's my first try I want to do it well, thanks in advance for your thoughts.
oliverben5672
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
Thats pretty much what I said earlier soix.

Monitor Audio Silvers and whichever sound signature you prefer with regards to yamaha or marantz...

@Oliver, where are hou getting these deals?  Thats pretty good if you are getting around 35% off new!

adg101
1,062 posts
 
Don’t bash me but if you play much metal, and enjoy it a fairly loud volume you might want to look into Paradigm as another option. Only personally familiar with the B&W and Monitor Audio’s mentioned and both are fine speakers, but if you want to push your system a little on the harder side my opinion is the Paradigms can be pushed harder without losing it.
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
op

i am not up on speakers in your price range but it seems to be that q acoustics and elac are two brands that have made quite good names for themselves making high value lower cost speakers - the andrew jones designed elacs are very well regarded by reviewers

i have not heard monitor audios in decades i know their line has been overhauled many times, perhaps with change of ownership as well... but it soix b-limo and others are suggesting these, i would also trust their advice

going used is a good idea for sure, to get most performance for your $
urbie
275 posts
 
Unfortunately all those speakers you've listed are way better than your apps or receivers that you've listed.
guy-incognito's avatar
guy-incognito
169 posts
 
I have a friend with a Yamaha A-S301 integrated amp and some Monitor Audio Bronze 2 bookshelfs and it sounds very good. He added a used SVS sb1000 sub and the overall sound quality surprises me every time I hear it.

I also have another friend that had Kef Q700 towers and a mid tier Marantz AVR and I was always impressed by the Kef Q series. He likes to listen pretty loud at times and the Kefs did a good job of keeping up. He upgraded to Monitor Audio Gold 200 towers for what its worth. 

Lots of good options for a first system in your list. Set a budget and stick to it. Resist the urge to upsell yourself chasing the opinions of others. There is always a step up the cost ladder available with hi-fi gear and always someone here ready to tell how much better it could be if you just spend a couple hundred more.
More to discover