Tír Na HiFi

Hi Guys,

After testing few amplifiers to replace mine, I have concluded that actually mine is not that bad and that I should keep it.

However, I am now thinking of replacing my speakers. I got 2months ago a brand new pair of B&W 683, I like them but I think they are more adapted to a solid state amp than a valve one.

I have a budget around 2000€ for this new pair. I have been reading review of few speakers that I founds interesting:

JMR Cantabile Supreme: http://www.jm-reynaud.com/pdf/cantabile_supreme_us.pdf
PMC FB1i : http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio- ... 594/review

I'm looking for a pair of punchy speakers able to give me deep and precise bass as I am mainly listening to Rock and Blues music.

Any other ideas ? A second hand pair of speakers maybe ?

It might be worth giving Cloney Audio a call to see what second hand speakers they have available. 2K should get you a pretty good pair of second hand speakers.
The PMC's you mention above should give you the deep punchy bass that you are looking for but I'm not sure if PMCs are suited to valves?? I've never owned a pair of PMC's so maybe others can comment on this.
What I would say is that its more important to get the speakers right first as they will have the most influence over the sound in your room. You may have to change the amp to suit the speakers though.

+1 on what DaveF said. It all depends on your room, demo as many as possible, what's right for one person, mightn't be right for you. How big is the room?

I see you've changed your tune ;-) The only way to pick a pair of speakers after you've done a bit of research and listened to some of our advice is to audition them in your own room with your current set up....AFAIK Cloney Audio are the only ones who will let you borrow a pair without having to put money down.

Indeed, I'll have to listen to some, unfortunately the choice of speakers that I can listen with my config will be limited as Cloney only sells few brands however I'll go to see them in two weeks and see what they have in stock.
This weekend I'll go to France to try the JMR Cantabile Supreme, according to the reviews they're fab. :)

sdiesel: tell us again what is the rest of your system?

You could also talk to Kronos. Don't know about equipment loans, but they might have other options on the speakers.


fran

Fran wrote:sdiesel: tell us again what is the rest of your system?

You could also talk to Kronos. Don't know about equipment loans, but they might have other options on the speakers.


fran

Hey Fran,

My system:

Amp: Yaqin 100B Custom (double mono KT88)
Valve Bass/Treeble Box

Speakers: B&W 683

Tuner: NAD T412

DAC: Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC

Speaker cables: Chord Epic Twin + Chord Signature - Atlas

Fran wrote:sdiesel: tell us again what is the rest of your system?

You could also talk to Kronos. Don't know about equipment loans, but they might have other options on the speakers.


fran

My experience of KA is you have to pay the full amount before they would consider lending stuff out. I offered to pay the postage to and from but nothing doing. I even mentioned this lovely forum but noooooooo :-( Can't say I blame them but it's impossible for me to get down to their shop....

cybot wrote:

Fran wrote:sdiesel: tell us again what is the rest of your system?

You could also talk to Kronos. Don't know about equipment loans, but they might have other options on the speakers.


fran

My experience of KA is you have to pay the full amount before they would consider lending stuff out. I offered to pay the postage to and from but nothing doing. I even mentioned this lovely forum but noooooooo :-( Can't say I blame them but.....

I guess you'd have to build up a bit of a rep with them first. I found that with Cloney's at the beginning too which is quite understandable. Would KA accept credit card details or a security deposit? (Sorry I dont mean to take the thread off topic too much :-) )

Why *exactly* are you changing? It strikes me that you're in danger of stepping onto the upgrade merry-go-round, and replacing speakers after 2 months, while not necessarily the wrong decision, makes me wonder what's lacking. What is it about the sound you don't like? Why do you think you've fallen out of love with the speakers so quickly? What does your next set need to do that this set doesn't?

Of the mainstream brands, I've always prepared the System Audio sound to the B&W sound, but that's very much a question of taste. I do however think that the SAs go better with valves, but if it's accurate, punchy bass you're looking for, valves may make this a bit difficult.

I'm a PMC fan and former owner, but I could never get them to work effectively with valves. I think PMCs sound at their best with arc-welder levels of power.

To be honest, no matter what you do, do it slowly. Take your time, listen to lots of things. Try to decide what exact sound you're looking for based on hearing lots of systems, and don't just jump into a new set of speakers. I'd be scouring Cloney's pre-owned and listening to anything of interest that comes in, safe in the knowledge that it may take some time to find the right speaker, but so be it.