Tír Na HiFi

Hey guys,

I am looking to buy some floorstanders, budget is up to €3,000. I listen to rock, country, folk and also electronic dance.

Good bass is important to me, going low but keeping it tuneful. Looks are also important, so the likes of Shahinians, Vandersteens, and electrostatics are out.

Something that I am considering is ProAc D18's. Heard them in Cloneys a while back and as far as I can remember, I liked them. Any views on these speakers or any others I should look at?


Cheers!

Hi
I don't know who well they will fit your needs but back in the day I liked Monitor Audio (I had Gold Reference speakers in a 5.1 system) and Spendor (had BC1s but you'd want a more modern design), Focal could be another one to look at. There are a lot of speakers out there. Nothing against Cloney's but I'd advise looking as broadly as you can to get exposed to a good selection. Maybe look at TAS buyers guide and similar sites (http://www.theabsolutesound.com/buyers_guides/) to get some ideas. Of course you'll need to be able to audition whatever you decide on. You might also want to think about buying used, Cloney have Focal Aria 948. ex dem originally €3995.00 now €2995.00. There may be things on the classifieds here.

Will have this pair of available at the end of the month if your interested in a demo PM me.
In solid Walnut and within your budget.

Thanks both. I am particularly interested in ProAc D18's and Sonis Faber Venere 2.5. I know the guys in Cloney have these so must get to them for a demo, they are usually very accommodating.

Any opinions on either of the above two speakers?

Both seem like good options, certainly received good reviews. I haven't heard either though I have listened to other Sonus Faber models. Hopefully you'll get to try both.

With the Sterling and Dollar prices very high against the Euro, you may get a wee bit more bang for your buck buying a speaker brand based in the Euro-zone, via a Euro-zone distributor/retailer rather than a UK one (unless its a very new model reflecting the current exchange rate at both ends). Technology Factory might be one site to look at but I can't vouch for their quality as I haven't bought from them yet.

Cloney's have the D20R in their front room at the moment, I did not get to hear it, but I am sure they are good, however I think they are around the 4K ish price, maybe 4.5k... not sure.

If you are open to 2nd hand gear, there is a wealth of stuff to pick from, so don't rule that sector out either etc.

One possibility...

ProAc Studio 148



I believe around 1700 stg.

The listening suite have a good selection of Dynaudio that could be worth a listen....

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I don't know much about current models of speakers so I can't recommend anything.

But we careful that whatever you end up with will suit your amplifier -- some models can be quite a difficult load on an amp and its not just a question of power.

Try to hear any speaker you are interested in using your own amplifier. Also a home demo would be ideal.