which speaker?

[raghupb]

If space behind the speakers is tight, but side walls are far way (more than 1 meter), LS50 passives may work in your room.
Unlike typical boxed speakers, their LF extension is not deep.
They may even lend themselves to be seated on an open platform at appropriate height (36" to 45" tweeter postion)

LF start rolling off gradually at 79 Hz (3dB point) to 47 Hz (6dB point).
They may not have the thump that normally cause room boom.

But as I have said earlier, LS50 should be heard at least once or twice in a serious audition before committing.
The real issue is India local pricing is ridiculous.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[metalmickey]

At your budget, I prefer high quality standmounts than 3-way floorstanders, so R3 is my pick in this list above. Maybe add sub(s), if needed. Don't take my word though! I see you are in Chennai so spend some time auditioning various speakers and let your ears decide

yes i would like to audition but unfortunately i live in a town 180kms away from chennai so taking audition is a bit of a hassle but still i guess i will try to audition

 

[Deleted member 38504]

i totally agree with your views and i share the same my listening space is a bedroom irrelevant of any acoustic treatment it would always be a bad sounding room so all i want is just a good stereo rig which sounds musical and connects to me and make me feel my money wasn't wasted. how is the bass and mids on Linton? i heard they are a bit bright? are they

If your listening space is a bedroom then the lintons are a wrong choice. They are huge speakers. Have you seen the dimensions? They need a lot of space around them. Bright? Who told you that? With soft dome tweeters there is no chance they can be bright. Did a Linton owner tell you that or another self proclaimed audiophile did?

 

[metalmickey]

If your listening space is a bedroom then the lintons are a wrong choice. They are huge speakers. Have you seen the dimensions? They need a lot of space around them. Bright? Who told you that? With soft dome tweeters there is no chance they can be bright. Did a Linton owner tell you that or another self proclaimed audiophile did?

haha i am aware of their sound signature but one audiophile who is also a svs and martin logan dealer told me they are bright and suggested me kef!. my bedroom is around 18*18 feet will they be too big for that? I don't want to end up with a boom doom!

 

[Deleted member 38504]

They need a lot of space behind them. Atleast 3-4 feet from rear wall. A dealer is a dealer. Plenty of them here who claim to be helping others by saying they are audiophiles. But they are dealers and are here only to make a living. People have suggested you the kef. They are amazing all round speakers.

The so called dealer who told you they are bright I'm sure doesn't deal in wharfedale. They will sell you what they have and what they want to get rid of. Take the help of forum member's here like Raghu and mash and take a call.

 

[raghupb]

@metalmickey
If you can setup a table top in the large bedroom, your current speakers may just work.
There is very little to complain about B&W.

Towers or large-ish stand-mounts (viz, Lintons, CK, KEF R3, etc) need space around them.
And stand-mounts, well they need stands to perform well.
Rob them of space and they will misbehave, no matter what electronics you throw at them.
Electronics cannot solve physics problems, period.

If you are not looking for large room filling sound and can settle on near field listening, then monitors or compact BS will work.
Get an audio rack/platform or custom build it for your room. Say a tall platform at 36"-40" or a split platform of 20" depth.
Fill the space below to store some heavy material; dictionaries, journals, etc (Bookshelves )
Then widen your search for compact 2-way BS speakers:
- PSB Imagine Mini or other Imagine series (cute size, great sound; I've heard them)
- KEF LS50 (already described above)
- Eight Audio (these are getting lot of good reviews)
- Dynaudio (their models are very well respected)

Or turn everything on its head and go the actives/all-in-one route.
All-in-ones are meant to be lifestyle products and will lend themselves to table top operation.
- KEFs
- Dynaudio
- Genelac
The above are again well regarded usual suspects.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[firearm12]

have an budget of 1.5 lakhs.open to both new and pre used suggestions. preferably front or down ported. room is 20*20 feet bedroom... music - vocal jazz,mostly female vocals.,acoustic and some 80's,early 90's hard rock/metal... midrange purity is what is important to me in a speaker...
amp is a musical fidelity a3.5 stereo integrated.
thanks in advance
regards
dr.sairam venkatesh

Its hard to find speakers which will do metal as well as jazz/vocals equally well. If your preference is more towards vocal jazz and acoustics, do try quad s4. Their ribbon tweeter is exceptional for its imaging capabilities, so refined but you need a very good dac and amp with them to get best from them. The sound signature is smooth and totally fatigue free unlike kef or b&w. Vocals are presented excellently if your signal is good.

 

[metalmickey]

They need a lot of space behind them. Atleast 3-4 feet from rear wall. A dealer is a dealer. Plenty of them here who claim to be helping others by saying they are audiophiles. But they are dealers and are here only to make a living. People have suggested you the kef. They are amazing all round speakers.

The so called dealer who told you they are bright I'm sure doesn't deal in wharfedale. They will sell you what they have and what they want to get rid of. Take the help of forum member's here like Raghu and mash and take a call.

Raghu is being very helpful haven't spoken to anyone this long.. Raghu spent almost a hour n half trying to get me out of confusion... very helpful and enthusiastic like a 20 year old...

 

[metalmickey]

They need a lot of space behind them. Atleast 3-4 feet from rear wall. A dealer is a dealer. Plenty of them here who claim to be helping others by saying they are audiophiles. But they are dealers and are here only to make a living. People have suggested you the kef. They are amazing all round speakers.

The so called dealer who told you they are bright I'm sure doesn't deal in wharfedale. They will sell you what they have and what they want to get rid of. Take the help of forum member's here like Raghu and mash and take a call.

Derek sir ive been eyeing the linton and had it in the hifimart cart before someone bought em and i was informed sold out... if that had been i would have been spared of these confusions...how are the lintons for bass and vocals hving seperate crossover and driver for all frequencies

 

[metalmickey]

Its hard to find speakers which will do metal as well as jazz/vocals equally well. If your preference is more towards vocal jazz and acoustics, do try quad s4. Their ribbon tweeter is exceptional for its imaging capabilities, so refined but you need a very good dac and amp with them to get best from them. The sound signature is smooth and totally fatigue free unlike kef or b&w. Vocals are presented excellently if your signal is good.

hi thanks for suggesting... will try to audition or read about them... but b&w aint bright! at least my decade old 6 series ain't

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Derek sir ive been eyeing the linton and had it in the hifimart cart before someone bought em and i was informed sold out... if that had been i would have been spared of these confusions...how are the lintons for bass and vocals hving seperate crossover and driver for all frequencies

See that’s the point. I didn’t even know they had separate crossovers and drivers for all frequencies. They sound great to me. Nice big speakers with beautiful stands with a nice big soundstage. I had to fiddle around quite a bit to get the placement right and get the best sound out of them. They are soft like vintage speakers. Have enough detail to make you enjoy the music. Not enough for someone who sits with a spl meter or whatever in his hand and wants to listen to every drop of the instrument being played or who wants to listen to every nasal breadth of Diana krall. Be advised, in my hand there is a glass of whiskey when I listen to them.

 

[raghupb]

+1 to what @celester340 says on many things.
The best DACs and cables are in the head.
One's ear-brain mapping can be tuned to be anal or adaptive.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[metalmickey]

See that’s the point. I didn’t even know they had separate crossovers and drivers for all frequencies. They sound great to me. Nice big speakers with beautiful stands with a nice big soundstage. I had to fiddle around quite a bit to get the placement right and get the best sound out of them. They are soft like vintage speakers. Have enough detail to make you enjoy the music. Not enough for someone who sits with a spl meter or whatever in his hand and wants to listen to every drop of the instrument being played or who wants to listen to every nasal breadth of Diana krall. Be advised, in my hand there is a glass of whiskey when I listen to them.

haha derek sir i am just like you... i am not a purist or whatever they wanna call themselves i just want a good speaker which sounds good to me without being bright /harsh and has enough thump to make me atleast tap my feet to something like daft punk! i am almost 100% inclined towards the lintons the only other temptations are a quad s5 tower and a kef r300 bookshelf both offered at a great discount... any help here in choosing between the 3?@raghu sir and Derek sir

 

[drkrack]

any suggestions in my budget? i used to listen to metal all the time back then now its mostly jazz and its sub genres and occasional 90s rock/metal

Basically I'd be looking for a small floorstanders or Larger Bookshelf speakers for your Room size.

Quads S4
Castle knight Avalon
Eight Audio Satori /Rinjani (FS) you can configure them with Berillium tweeters..
Focal 926
Newer 6xx series of B&W
Dali FS on sale in HFV 6 months ago

Don't Forget to listen to ATC SCM 19s before buying any of the above, your amp should be able to drive SCM 19s.

 

[Mi_10]

haha derek sir i am just like i am not a purist or whatever they wanna call themselves i just wany a good speaker which sounds hood to me without being bright /harsh and has enough thump to make me atleast tap my feet to something like daft punk! i am almost 100% inclined towards the lintons the only other temptations are a quad s5 tower and a kef r300 bookshelf both offered at a great discount... any help here in choosing between the 3?@raghu sir and Derek sir

I know you are caught between the Devil (Bangalore) and the Deep Sea (Chennai), but it would be worthwhile to spend time and money in going to one of these places with your Amp / Music Collection and hear it out before pulling the trigger. It is surely hard work and involves lot of time and effort, but if you are searching for that one speaker which you like to keep for years together, then its worth doing it.

Bright or warm or Laid back or Neutral sounding is an abstract description of an Audio Chain and not individual component. Remember, the chain includes the room and the track you play as well !

 

[Naturelover]

A bedroom has large furniture which can potentially block sound from the low positioned drivers of floorstanders.
Best to go with stand mounts in that case.
Though, you might be okay with an 18' x 18' or a 20' x 20' room. You have given both sizes in different posts

 

[metalmickey]

Basically I'd be looking for a small floorstanders or Larger Bookshelf speakers for your Room size.

Quads S4
Castle knight Avalon
Eight Audio Satori /Rinjani (FS) you can configure them with Berillium tweeters..
Focal 926
Newer 6xx series of B&W
Dali FS on sale in HFV 6 months ago

Don't Forget to listen to ATC SCM 19s before buying any of the above, your amp should be able to drive SCM 19s.

yes been thinking of something like the ones you've suggested... almost decided on Linton due to bigger drivers (8 inch woofer) the kef r300 is another option. been offered a great deal but not sure if that will be sufficient for a largish room. quad s5 tower also was offered and i am waiting for someone to help me confirm if they are bright or forward sounding...

 

[metalmickey]

I know you are caught between the Devil (Bangalore) and the Deep Sea (Chennai), but it would be worthwhile to spend time and money in going to one of these places with your Amp / Music Collection and hear it out before pulling the trigger. It is surely hard work and involves lot of time and effort, but if you are searching for that one speaker which you like to keep for years together, then its worth doing it.

Bright or warm or Laid back or Neutral sounding is an abstract description of an Audio Chain and not individual component. Remember, the chain includes the room and the track you play as well !

yup living away from the city has its disadvantages like these...

 

[firearm12]

yes been thinking of something like the ones you've suggested... almost decided on Linton due to bigger drivers (8 inch woofer) the kef r300 is another option. been offered a great deal but not sure if that will be sufficient for a largish room. quad s5 tower also was offered and i am waiting for someone to help me confirm if they are bright or forward sounding...

I have some experience with kef q350 and lot of experience with quad s2 and quad z4. Kef was bright due to aluminium tweeter, not laid back, was forward with in your face details ( it showed details on every opportunity) which was tiring for my ears. The clarity and precision is all there to experience. I think r300 will be better but still bright and forward is kef house sound. On the other hand quad is opposite, very neutral and little laid back, bass will be less then kef and on soft side, mid range and vocals shall be better in quad, never in your face details. Clarity will be little less than kef but its still very refined especially the way the midband is subtly presented. done with right speaker cables and source, you can listen to it 24x7 without ears hurting. In short kef is bright and precise sounding with lots of details and big bass, quad is softer in approach with superb vocals though bass is less. You can never listen bad recodings on kef, no so on quad.

 

[metalmickey]

I have some experience with kef q350 and lot of experience with quad s2 and quad z4. Kef was bright due to aluminium tweeter, not laid back, was forward with in your face details ( it showed details on every opportunity) which was tiring for my ears. The clarity and precision is all there to experience. I think r300 will be better but still bright and forward is kef house sound. On the other hand quad is opposite, very neutral and little laid back, bass will be less then kef and on soft side, mid range and vocals shall be better in quad, never in your face details. Clarity will be little less than kef but its still very refined especially the way the midband is subtly presented. done with right speaker cables and source, you can listen to it 24x7 without ears hurting. In short kef is bright and precise sounding with lots of details and big bass, quad is softer in approach with superb vocals though bass is less. You can never listen bad recodings on kef, no so on quad.

you are the only person to say quad is soft even the distributor says otherwise! yet to come to a conclusion nowhere to audition these two. any place you are aware of in chennai, Bangalore i can demo wharf and quad?