Best floorstanders for under £400

Soldato
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Crowmarsh
Looking to buy some new speakers for downstairs for music and movies so I can move my current 2020i's upstairs for PC use.

Was thinking Q Acoustics 2050i's or maybe 3050 (they may be a little wide though). Also like the look of the Fyne Audio f302's.

Would also consider stand mounts. Maybe Dali Zensor 3's.

Note: Amp is a Denon N9.

Any recommendations?
 
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Hornetstinger is right. The Ceol N5 doesn't have a lot of power, so more efficient speakers will help. Fortunately all the speakers you listed are more efficient than the Q 2020i which are something like 86 or 88dB. The floorstanders and Dalis are 90-92dB.

The N5 spec says 2x60W, but they're measuring in a way that flatters the figures. The N5 draws a maximum of 55W from the mains, and since there's no way to magic up extra Watts than the power supply draws, then in real terms you're dealing with about 20-25W/ch in to 8 Ohms at sensible distortion levels.

Is that enough power?

Bass aside for a moment, apart from that, are you happy with the volume and sound quality from the 2020i speakers?

If yes, then any of your listed models will be okay too.

The Fyne F302 are the most efficient at 92dB, and being 8 Ohm rather than 6 Ohm for the others means that if you had the power to drive them hard then these would probably maintain their scale and composure better at higher volumes.

All the speakers you've listed though are decent.

The Dali being stand mounters won't go as deep as the floorstanding speakers, but in a smaller room they could end up being the best choice since the bass won't dominate the sound.

Don't buy purely on recommendation though. Go have a listen.

Thanks for the reply, some very useful info there :)

My Denon is actually the N9 model, not sure if that makes any difference. I'm guessing these mini all in one systems are all quite low on power though.

I'm very happy with the volume and sound quality of my current 2020i's and would happily keep them downstairs but I need some speakers for my PC so I'm going to pinch them and buy some new ones.

My living room certainly isn't huge, so maybe floorstanders might dominate a little too much? Maybe I'd be better off with stand mounts.
 
First off, my apologies. I did actually look up the N9 but put N5 in the reply by mistake. N5 and N9 both have about the same power rating anyway - 60W in to 4 Ohm @ 1kHz (number of channels driven is inspecified, as is whether that's an RMS power figure) but I have read 65W quoted for the N9 too, not that it really makes any noticeable difference.

Re BIB: All speakers need a bit of space to breath.Usually with bass ported speakers in either standmount or floorstander configuration the rough guide is about 20cm from the back wall and somewhere around 60cm from the nearest side wall. Going progressively closer will have the effect of reinforcing certain bass frequencies where the sound starts to become chesty and eventually boomy. It also messes up the imaging, so you don't get the depth and height of the sound stage. Naturally, the deeper the bass a speaker produces then the more breathing room it will require.

Some of these effects can be offset to a degree by blocking the bass port with a foam bung, but only if the speaker is designed to have this done.

Any speaker designed for this will come supplied with foam bungs in the box. Sometimes they're a simple solid cylinder. Others are a more complex affair consisting of one or two tubes with a solid central cylinder to make a solid shape. Reducing the port diameter with a cylinder allow some progressive tuning rather than the all-or-nothing approach of a solid bung.

There's a recent thread where someone with speakers mounted in the corners of the room tried the bung idea. They got positive results. Have a read here, particularly post #6. https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/wall-mounting-speakers-or-mounting-on-stands.18827371/

Using bungs does change the character of the speaker's sound, so it's not a completely benign solution. But overall if it fixes more than it alters then it's worth investigating.

This brings us back to the question of standmounters versus floorstanders in a room with limited space. Weighing up the pros and cons I look at it this way:

Floor space taken - Equal
Cabinet rigidity (*1) - Better with standmounters under £400
Bass extension - Better with floorstanders
Speaker efficiency (dB/W) - Generally better with larger speakers
In-room positioning flexibility - Better with standmounters.


*1 - If the walls of the cabinet aren't thick enough or braced well enough then they'll vibrate in sympathy with the speaker's drivers. When this happens you hear it as bass notes not stopping cleanly, and as smearing of detail and a loss of accuracy. At worst it can be a pronounced honk at the resonant frequency of whichever panel is vibrating. With small speakers, these resonances are at higher frequencies so are less likely to affect midrange and bass. Also, from an engineering manufacture point of view, the cabinet is the most costly single item, so smaller cabinets mean lower costs which in turn means more money in the budget to spend on thicker panels and more bracing. With floorstanders, the sheer size of the cabinet presents cost issues as well as physical issues. This is why cheap floorstanders in the sub £300 price range often don't sound as tight and musical as as standmounters at 2/3rds the price.

There's a simple test for rigidity. Knock on the side of the cabinet. If it sounds like you've just rapped your knuckles on marble or concrete then the speaker is very rigid. But if it sounds like a big hollow box then that's exactly what the speaker is.


The bottom line is that you need to listen to speakers in a demo that closely mimics how you'll run them at home. Then, if you're doing it properly, borrow the demo pairs of your two top choices and try them in your home. You may find that the speakers you thought were best in-store sound a bit different in your lounge.

Thanks for the info, lots of food for thought there :)

My biggest issue is that I have units either side of where I have my speakers. I do have a bit of clearance from the wall though.

So taking that into consideration and the price bracket I am looking at, maybe stand mounts are the way forwards.

I'm very pleased with the sound from my 2020i's, so maybe something similar, maybe slightly bigger.

Edit: I have added a picture of my setup, so you can see what I mean by limited space:

20180817_074606.jpg


I may just get a second pair of 2020i's for now as they can be had for £89 :)
 
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Thanks for the picture. That's helpful. I see what you mean.

Here's a question: if you're happy with the sound qualty of the 2020i, but we're looking at larger speakers to fill in some more bass, have you considered another pair of 2020i married to a sub?

I'd rather keep it simple stereo two speakers. No real room for a sub.

I am perfectly happy with the 2020i sound, just saw this as an opportunity to upgrade as I need some speakers for upstairs.
 
Pound for Pound, second-hand is always going to be better value than new. Speaker designs evolve gradually. That is to say, what was a very good speaker in the past is still likely to be a very good speaker in today's market too.

The great thing about used is that any issues with the design or reliability will have come to the surface and be well documented. In some ways that provides more reassurance than buying new. For example, a classic entry-level speaker back in the 80s was the Heybrook HB1. In '83 they were around £150. In today's money, with the effects of inflation, that's roughly equivalent to spending £480, so hardly entry-level money today. Over the same period the cost of manufacturing has fallen, so in real terms the Heybrooks would be pitching against the likes of the Dali Zensor 3 at the £300-£350 mark. As good as they still are, old HB1s had a problem with the foam surround on the bass cone. Over time it went brittle. It can be replaced as a DIY project, so it's not a deal breaker, but you'd want to factor that sort of thing in with any potential purchase. So it is with other used speakers. Any major problems will have come to light generally.

Where things start to get a bit messier is with opinions on sound.

We all have an idea in our mind of what "good sound" is, but each of us has a unique version of that, and so any subjective reviews from owners might need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Much depends not only on the speakers but also the room and the partnering equipment.

With that in mind, one thing I'd be careful of is partnering the Ceol with speakers that are going to expose its limitations; the equivalent of a sonic magnifying glass, if you like. Proper journalist reviews will help you pick your way through the older speaker models to avoid this issue.

I can definitely see your reasoning for going second hand. You have to really know your speakers to pick up a proper bargain though I suspect. Probably a lot of overpriced junk out there too. Especially on eBay.

I'm a little mindful of buying something too high end for my amp. As you say, it's limitations will be shown up more and more the higher up you go.
 
so what if they are refurbished? they come with a 12 month warranty.

if you aren't happy send them back within 12 months.

you are getting £2200 speakers for £450. obviously there is going to be a compromise somewhere.

Had another look at these and they are huge, way too big for my modest sized living room.

Currently torn between the Dali Zensor 5 and the Monitor Audio Bronze 5.

Any thoughts on these?
 
I have Monitor Audio BR5’s and they are really good for the money, pack plenty of punch and are not too big or imposing.

This is the sort of size speaker I'm looking for. It's a little above my initial budget, but I may increase it for the right speakers.

Also still interested in the Fyne F302, although there is little info out there on these so far.
 
Yep it’s quite a minefield. To be honest I doubt I’d have the ability to be able tell them all apart by listening so I just went for something at a reasonable price from a reputable brand. Would love to be able to spend big bucks but it would probably be lost on me.

I do worry about this too :p

Maybe another set of 2020i's would be fine.
 
at your price point you should really be looking at second hand and on avforums classifieds.

obviously you are then limited by what's available at the time on there and is local enough to collect.

i picked up all of my equipment from there. including a brand new BK subwoofer someone had bought then never used. he provided the receipt for proof it was a month old and came in original packaging sealed.

£400 new won't get you a lot.

I'm really not keen on second hand unless immaculate condition. I'm too anal about scrapes and dings.

I can push to a little higher price bracket for the right speakers. I'm considering the monitor audio bronze 5's for £549 at the moment.

There is a used set on eBay for £450 at the moment, but seriously, I'd rather pay the extra £100 for new. No idea how people manage to sell second hand stuff for nearly new prices on that site. Must be a lot of suckers about.

Someone is selling Zensor 5's brand new on avforums for £395. I was tempted to make an offer. But I'm not 100% sure on these. Would prefer the Monitor bronzes I think.
 
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Something you might have possibly overlooked here. wouldn't it be prudent to upgrade your amp and move that one to your pc ?

The amp has a lot of functionality I like, including dnla support which I use a lot. I struggle to find too many compact all in one systems with any more power output. I don't really have the room for a bigger setup. It's not a big room, so I don't need huge sound anyway.

I have a decent amp for my pc, Audiolab M-One. Only recently bought that.

I might just stick with 2020i's if my restrictions mean I'm not going to get much of an upgrade.
 
You might be able to get a pair of 684 S2 for that price. Skinnier than other floor standers I've seen too, and really nice sound. B&W generally have a brighter sound signature, but it's definitely not harsh. Stereo separation is excellent too

They look nice. Can see an ex demo set for £399. Would that be a good buy?

Looking at the spec, sensitivity is quite low, so might not be a good pairing for my N9?
 
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