2. speakers
  3. 1014760919

monitor or floorstander?

i'll be shopping for new speakers sometime this year, and plan a trip to a local hifi shop in the next few weeks.
previously i have investigated floorstanders only, was leaning toward audio physic virgos (out of budget, but they were sweet, i'd stretch if need be). the same dealer carries spendor, alon, proac, verity, among others but i did not have time to audition competitive speakers.
lately my thoughts have turned to monitor speakers. i suspect my interest in monitors comes from thinking that a monitor, dollar for dollar, will be designed better than a floorstanding sibling.
i would like to keep my budget under $3.5k, but closer to $2.5 or $3k would be preferred and want to wring every goddamn cent for what its worth. buying used is not a problem either.
i'm not dead set on monitors, and still have interest in floorstanders, but i need to hear from monitor people.

my dealer is coming out of a massive remodeling project and usually only stocks top of the line gear in store. i'm hoping he has a pair of spendor 1/2 and proac monitors for audition.
can anyone suggest competitive monitors?

my listening: uncle topelo, son volt, dylan, neil young, zappa, black crowes, alice in chains, soundgraden, miles, monk, coltrane, bill evans, l.hopkins, jack dupree, zeppelin, stones, beatles, asylum street spankers, supersuckers, fu manchu, nebula, gov't mule, g. dead, marley, etc to name a few from recent rotation. so definitley rock (acoustic & heavy), jazz, alt-country listening sessions.

does my taste in music preclude me from being a monitor man?

associated equipment:
rogue audio magnum 99 preamp
rogue audio 88 amp
metronome cd 1
msb link dac iii
music hall 5
pro-ject phono box (temporary fix for phono, to be replaced)
alpha core goertz mi2
alpha core tourmaline ics
ps audio p600
paradigm monitor 7's (artifact from previous system)

my listening room at the moment is a little corner of the basement i call my own, (10' by 12')ish, where i have to set my speakers along short wall, bad huh? unfortunatley NO CHOICE right now.

thanks in advance
fujindemon
mckc
6 posts
 
Fujindemon,

You are fortunate to have a dealer with a selection of floorstanders and monitors for your audition. It really doesn't matter if the speaker is a floorstander or a monitor if it is accurate, well-designed, and placed correctly in your room. Manufacturer margins may allow for sometimes better materials and design in a comparably priced monitor, but it's really a function of execution in each design.

I tend to listen to similiar music and have a monitor speaker. I don't think your music will preclude you from this route. I haven't missed the bass below 40HZ a great deal, but a good subwoofer often makes a nice addition to monitors which does add a possible future variable.

The Spendor 1/2 monitor measures about as accurate as you will find from 60HZ to 10KHZ. It seems to always be one of the favorites of those extremely familiar with live music. You should take the opportunity to give it a good audition with your natural acoustic and vocal recordings.

I use Harbeth monitor speakers in a room very close to your dimensions. Like the Spendor, they come from England and the BBC research projects. The Harbeth designs really push the accuracy envelope and combine some excellent design aspects. They are very placement and equipment friendly. There are a few other speakers with this type of accuracy that you can also research.

Work the speaker angle hard because it with your room are primarily what you're going to hear and have to live with.

Best regards,

Mike C.
buckingham
333 posts
 
That's a tough one. Full range offers so much more than monitors.. But then again there are some monitors that are just as good as any floor stander. Rear-porting should be avoided, the only thing I can recommend is to try out a few different combos to get an idea of what YOU like.
mdomnick
332 posts
 
fugi,

I recently auditioned Canton speakers in an effort to gauge the quality of my paradigm Reference 100s (Paradigm won by far) however there was a monitor by Canton that blew me away. I'm not suggesting Canton itself, but a quality monitor (which you can buy for 3K) will take you far. Coupled with a sub, you have an excellent speaker set up. Check out Talon monitors. I havent heard them, but ALL the reviews are positive. New they are out of your range...but you may be in buisness if you buy used. by the way, the Canton Monitors were being powered by Rogue.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
sorry I can't help with the speaker choice, but I have the same size room and I'm using spica angelus (bass shy floorstanders, not ported) and a Rel strata sub. It works to great effect, but only if I have the speakers at least 2.5 feet from the rear wall and 2 feet from the side wall and listen in the nearfield (about 6 feet from the plane of the speakers).

Funnily enough this is exactly how Audio Physic recommends. I got info. for my placement from these links :

http://www.cardas.com/insights/roomsetup.html

http://www.audiophysic.de/produkte/aufstellung/aufstellung_e2.html

My experience was that floorstanders can work well in a small room so long as they have very tight, controlled bass. I would imagine that rear porting might present problems as well.

But I think you;ll get astounding results even in the small room with the correct speakers.
brulee
564 posts
 
Hi Fuji, I gotta disagree with Buckingham on this one. A small two way will work much better in a room you size. IMO, a good two way always seem to have a more coherent, integrated sound. I don't think you will have nearly the problems with a monitor than a full range floorstander. Although the Virgo's do sound very tempting.
IMO, Gunbei has given you the best advise so far.
Good hunting, hope you find that perfect fit.
More to discover