2. speakers
  3. 1085257930

Speaker Choice: Narrowed down, need final opinions

Hi All,

I had a few posts trying to narrown down my choices for high quality, small to midsize floorstanders. As a bit of background I have downscaled from B&W Matrix 801 Series 3 which were too big for me, so I needed to dowscale in size but I do not want to lose in terms of quality. Here are all the details I can think of, if there is anything else which may help please let me know.

I have 2 options now, one of which is the Elac speakers: either the 207.2 or preferably the 208.2. Has anyone got these or heard them somewhere? What were your thoughts? . I also enjoy a decent amount of bass and that is why I would prefer the 208.2, but has anyone heard the 207.2? How is their bass extensions? (by the way the 209.2 is out of my budget)

My other choice is the Monitor Audio Gold Reference 60's ( can get at a fantastic price). I know I won't have a problem with bass with those. In the mids and highs though, is their quality comparable to that of the Elac's, and/or the 801 S3's? My previous options (now ruled out) were the Revel F30's which I could only afford second hand and the pair is now sold, and the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home which unlike the previous Grand Piano's are not biwireable and I do not want to replace/alter my cables.

Associated Equipment:
-Bryston 4B-ST Amplifier
-Electrocompaniet EC 4.5 Preamp
-Kimber KCAG interconnects
-Zu Cable Wax biwire speaker cable
-Shanling CD-T100 CD Player

Room:
-fairly large (about 35ft x 14ft, but divided into 2 by an arch so my room is effectively 17.5ft x 14ft)
-long wall setup
-speakers around 8-9ft apart and listener about 8ft to each speaker

Thanks for the help,
X
xenithon
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Hi There,

Well the N803's are out of the question. They are way out of my budget. As I stated earlier, unfortunately prices vary tremendously from US/EU countries so some products cost roughly the same as overseas and some cost as much as double (different importers, different markups etc.). Also, a few of the choices I have are dealer demos at great price, such as the GR-60's, which would normally be out of budget.

About the speaker with single wire terminals: I really do not want to change my speaker cable. It is the Zu Cable Wax Biwire. This is not available here and was a special import, so sending it back for retermination is not an option really. They are banana plugs all round and that's the problem (can't connect two bananas to a terminal). However I am trying to find a banana to spade adaptor, since then I could connect the cable properly by connecting two spades per terminal. The only problem is finding such an adapter - do you know of any?

Now looking at single-wire speakers, it does not really open up more options unfortunately. Many of the speakers are simply too expensive here, such as the Audio Physic, Vienna Accoustics, Dynaudio. These are single-wire speakers but are hellishly expensive here for some reason, much more than overseas. Others I can look at are the new SF Grand Piano Home (the old versions are not available anywhere). Would those be better than something like the Elac 209 or Monitor Audio GR-60 (my current 2 options).

Thanks for the help,
X
rsbeck
887 posts
 
If you buy used, you can probably get a pair of N803's for about the same price as new F-30's, Homes, or GR-60's.
sean34
95 posts
 
The Audes Blues are the best speakers I have heard in the 4000$ and under price range, they image incredibly well and the soundstage is very accurate. If you look at the audes' websie is says 45htz for the low end...that is very conservative, I heard them drop into the low 30's and the side firing woofer lets you plkace them easily. Go listen to them, also they are very effeciant.
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
hi there,

Rsbeck: the 803's would still be too expensive. The GR-60s and F30s I can get are dealer demos at a greatly reduced price. The 803s even second hand are out of budget. Also as I said before, unfortunately you cannot compare prices here to those in the US/Europe - for example B&W are a lot more expensive here making them out of reach. There is also a limited market here so you may find a used pair of 803's once a year if you are lucky.

Sean34 - I was thinking about the Audes especially after all the great reviews and awards. The problem is that they are not actually available here. I have spoke to Audes and they can ship a pair no problem that means I am buying 'blind' so to speak and have no recourse if they fit terribly with my room or equipment.

2 more alternatives I have added though (single wire speakers previously left out of the equation) are the Vienna Acoustics Mozart and the Audio Physic Spark or Tempo. What are your thoughts on those? I also did not think about them before since they both only have 2 5.5" drivers and thus I fear they may be lacking in the bass region, although I know their sound and build quality are superb.

Cheers,
X
gregm
3,397 posts
 
The Monitor Audios look like one good choice (if you OK their sound, that is). I'm not sure you'll be happy with the sound of the Bryston driving Audio Physic, Elac -- or any speaker that goes for an extended, upper end, and a flattish bass roll-off (mid-low q). It might sound thin to you. Don't know if others agree on this.

Lets make this simpler: what are the available choices. Just list them:), irrespective of their "fame", etc.
More to discover